Together with Lissa's card this morning, came an other card, with a picture of my mum at 18, from her childhood friend. Edith died in 1996. But now she is on my wall, together with Sigrunn, my treasure at work, Oddveig, my favorite, you're not supposed to have favorites but yet everyone needs to be someone's favorite, and Lise, an artist I knew since way back and who surely has forgotten all about this old water color painting.

Well, that's all there is needed for an advent-full day.

december

I have ordered photos printed out on canvas!

I will sign them and wrap them in for Christmas presents :)

hoarfrost

Thick layers of frost

even on the spiderweb

and the dog can walk on the frozen morass.

africa is here

Salihom at an Eritrean party in Leikanger last night.

Bye bye, blue sky

the weatherman says we saw the last of blue skies and golden autumn sunlight today for a while.  Come back soon!

gothic

A glimpse through the window in the attic this morning.

Crisp & Clear

we get sun sometimes in between the showers

and it could not be lovelier.

Late Autumn - Douglas Park, Vancouver

ordinary days at school

It is beautiful but we live our lives in a slope. Only this small football field is flat. Rest is uphill.

maple leaves forever

Let me stop to say a blessing for these woods: 

for crows barking and squirrels scampering, 

for trees and fungus and multi-colored leaves,

for the way sunlight laces with shadows 

through each branch and leaf of tree, 

for these paths that take me in, 

for these paths that lead me out.

           - Michael S. Glaser

                  

cold swim

Swimming season is not yet over. Mari is getting out of the water after PE lesson at the dock at school . She looks like an angel...

hard life

Dog has an injury and has resigned on the coach.

cold is best

Snow in the mountain, frozen ground, icing cold, clear air, walking is easy, breathing is easy and it is all totally magic.

Elliott and Jasper

it turned out to be a beautiful

Thanksgiving long weekend in Victoria, which

was spent with these two gentle

Savannah cats and their "mom and dad".

Now we're back to gloom and rain.... *sigh*

høstferie

Lunch at Herman, the local cafe,

playing by the seaside in the sunshine, before a lazy night with a lousy movie. Nine days off work!

vehicles into ploughshares?

transportation transformation....

bicycle planter

unused railway bed becomes a community garden

Red sky at night...

...sailors' delight

after a very gray day, the clouds broke up and let in some light
 just before sundown.

this morning

Think I am the last person on the planet. Hermansverk is gone, the road to Sogndal and the fjord - all gone.

more reflections...

 this time at an actual reflecting pool

 at "The Lagoons" on False Creek

A reflection of the sun shining through weeping willows

impromptu reflecting pool

puddly autumnal reflections

a gray day

Bits and pieces of eternity, reflected in small puddles.

Tiny Visitors

most likely a female Anna's Hummingbird
You can see the tip of her tongue at the end of her beak.
They have very long thin tongues that allow them to lap up nectar
from flowers and feeders.

appears to be a juvenile male
with the red colour on throat and crown just coming in, but
I can't tell for sure without an abundance of light  catching the feathers.
In the shade, the coloured areas can look black.

Rufous Hummingbirds is the variety typically found in the forests around here and on Vancouver Island.  But the quieter, less feisty Anna's Hummingbirds, which were once more likely to be found in California, are well-adapted to urban areas.  In the past, Anna's migrated as far north as British Columbia in the summer, but would return in the winter to the Baja and southern California.  However, with the increase in hummingbird feeders, Anna's have expanded their winter range all the way up the coast of the Pacific Northwest and will stay in Vancouver year round.

It's a bit difficult to see their beautiful irridescent colours from my apartment because I've got the feeder in a sheltered and shaded spot, which makes them feel safer as they feed.
more photos of Anna's

matja

This is my dog, in the middle of an embroidery.

an other sunny day

Got home early a Friday afternoon, and took the dog for a walk. This is taken a 15 minutes walk from the house.

September Sun

summer was late coming

but it's lingering...

and we are making the most of it.

windsurfing on a Friday evening as the sail reflects the light
 from the sinking sun

dusk

By the fjord late afternoon. Days are shorter.

autumn

Went to Trondheim to see Mikkel. A new semester has started and campus is crowded.

Back in Leikanger Bluebells are still blue

ordinary days

School has started and the new kids walk over to were I sit in the sunshine, and asks "what are you doing here?"

I reach out my hand and tell them "my name is Trine and I work here"

They make things so easy, those ordinary kids.

Fraser Valley eats

Garlic Festival in Agassiz B.C.

I never realized there were so many varieties!
The most common variety at B.C. supermarkets is Red Russian, brought
here by the Doukhobors who settled in the Kootenays.

   The festival was held for the 2d year at Limbert Mountain Farm.  I picked up a variety of fresh garlics, garlic cheese, garlic honey, and a fresh raspberry peach pie that was still warm from the oven.

http://www.limbertmountainfarm.com/

http://www.honeyviewfarm.ca/               

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blackberry-Lane-BB-and-Pie-Bakery/117089458304565

http://www.farmhousecheeses.com/

http://www.slowfoodvancouver.com/index.php/AgassizTour/

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/vancouver/Edible-Events/

Vangsnes - Hella

The dog and I waiting for the ferry

ordinary rooms

Just bought new towels for the bathroom. Rainbow towels.

See Ya Later....

view of the vineyards at See Ya Later Ranch, and the Okanagan valley beyond,
at Okanagan Falls, B.C.

The vineyard itself is called Hawthorne Mountain
Vineyards and was established in 1960.

Such a beautiful spot, wish i had brought my camera; these were taken with my phone.  The wine was good, the view from the patio spectacular.  Lunch was tasty as well, but unfortunately the service was very slow... make that painfully slow.

http://www.sylranch.com/about/default.asp

Gunda Marie

Gunda Marie

Parsons

juicy peaches at Parsons in Keremeos, BC

       This is not the coast; it's inland in the Similkameen valley

one of BC's fruit-growing regions.

I've just returned with lots of fresh fruit.

organically grown

The Parsons family was one of the first farm families in the area.
They've operated their fruit stand since 1908.

sigrunn 50

Homemade beer for all big occasions

Hippie party

One more hippie left over form the the 70ies

The sun went down, and came back again while we still sat around the fireplace.