PINING FOR THE ISLAND

I have been back to Ontario since Oct 5th and I must admit I'm pining for the island. Though the lake, which I am so fortunate to live near, is beautiful, I find myself looking for signs of life: a spray of water of a whale cruising through the straight, the barking of the sea lions basking in the sun, the curious gaze of playful seals checking me out at dockside, the opportunistic bald eagles keeping watch at Seymour Narrows for fish that have been churned up to the surface by the furious waters, the drama of the seals and salmon as they fight for life at Miracle Beach and the comings and goings of seaplanes, barges, fishing boats, sea taxi's and zodiacs.

Curious seal at the float homes in Victoria

Lake Ontario, in comparison, is my meditative place even in stormy weather and I have yet to slip into the closure that fall brings. I have been to the lake only once since my return probably because of this. Part of me wants to keep the activity alive, but I know that that's not possible. It is the nature of nature to change and I resist it every year.

on our hike to Elk falls

Only this year I look outside myself, beyond the lake for mountains covered in coniferous green in the distance as far as the eye can see assuring me that only wild things live there. But, to the immediate south the lake dips into the horizon, the lights from the distant Niagara region to the south-west glimmer at night and the CN tower is a beacon signifying the density of Toronto in the south-east, growing by the minute; its buildings reach up to the sky. And, I do not look to the north as I know miles and miles of suburbia with its groomed lands, strip malls, shopping centres, and other man-made distractions separate me from any sign of wild things.

And, though this brilliant autumn has been blessing and dazzling us with splashes of luminous oranges, yellows, reds and golds, I am immune to its charms. The proliferation of deciduous trees that makes this season so stunning is exactly that which creates the skeletal, barren canvas of winter hibernation to come.

And as we head into the time of inner reflection and reckoning I wonder what transformations will occur before we burst forth into the renewal of spring.

The one small consolation that in about 20 months I will be return to the home of my heart and spirit serves as a beacon to warm the cold winter months to come.

view from Mount Washington

THANK YOU VANCOUVER ISLAND... see you in the summer of 2012