EL NINO

All eyes are on these North Shore mountains in Vancouver as the warming affects of El Nino has Olympic officials, contestants, and fans nervous as the countdown to the 2010 games grows imminent. It's almost comical to see to what pains they are taking to save the snow!

All that aside, I was delighted to spend 24 hours this past weekend absorbing the rare beauty of coastal sunshine on a January day. We drove over the Coquihalla through miserable slushy snow and torrential rain to be greeted with a blue sky over Vancouver. I didn't even need to use my new 'Vancouver' umbrella which only swung fashionably on my arm.

A visit to a dear friend in West Vancouver gave us the opportunity to enjoy the seaside walkway along Ambleside Park with views across to Stanley Park, the city skyline, and the Lions Gate bridge. Walkers and joggers were out in numbers that would make one think it was a spring day.

The ocean has such an attraction for me. I am always mesmerized by the endless movement of the water, across a curved horizon from one shore thousands of miles around our Earth to the shoreline I chose to delight in on this particular day. Had I had more time I would have been down amongst the rocks, head bent in concentration to spot a 'heart' rock.

A flotilla of ducks bob effortlessly over the continuous waves. I wonder what agenda they had?

A whiskered driftwood seal revels in the refreshing spray.

The vastness of the ocean reminded me of the hymn, The Love of God by Frederick M Lehman written in 1917. In the third verse he wrote:

" Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

were every stalk on Earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky."

God's love is immeasurable, unconditional and eternally available.

Lions Gate Bridge

At the end of the day I received two gifts from the sea. A delicious dinner of baked Pacific Salmon prepared by our dear friend and a little heart rock from her collection from along the seaside that I had enjoyed earlier on this beautiful winter day. Thanks my 'HEART' friend.