Tuesday 29 May 2012

Teapots, Thorns & Time In Ocean Park

THEY SAY TIME FLIES and it certainly felt that way when I arrived at the annual Pottery Fair at the Ocean Park Community Hall in South Surrey just as the event was ending.

It was minutes shy of four o'clock but people were already packing up.

I did step past the doors of the heritage building to find creativity galore inside. A lot of words beginning with "T" sprung to mind.

A teapot at the entrance was the raffle prize. The potter, Lynn, likes to add red pigment to her clay I was told. The very sight of it conjured up thoughts about the tantalizing cups of hot tea I have had that tend to stop time.

The potter also fashioned this lovely square clock. I miss the tick-tock of older more rounded clocks and sometimes wonder if time is like a ball of circling twine instead of linear. Perhaps our yesterdays, todays and tomorrows reside simultaneously at the same moment in space. For the scientifically inclined there is the String Theory to think about.

Lofty theories about time can quickly unravel when it comes to the thorny issue of aging, however, when we are no longer terrifically toned. Sometimes we start to tilt and need wheelchair ramps like the one at the back of the community hall. The ramp is also handy for tots in strollers.

Constructed in 1926, the building is regularly maintained and remains an important hub for social gatherings in modern times.

My daughter took tap dancing lessons there when she was small. So did I for a while as an adult. Here is a picture of her shoes amid the tinsel.

I once rented a table at the hall to display my cards for a Christmas Craft Fair.

A few days after the Pottery Fair, I was surprised to see a painter's ladder tilted against the outer wall of the old building.

It took careful tilting for this young man to reach the difficult spots with a brush. In certain lighting, the tint of the paint appears to be lemon yellow.

Except for a little moss growing at the tip of the roof, the passage of time is barely visible at the hall thanks to the recent makeover.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

This post showcases the letter "T". If you think words are fun and enjoy playing with the alphabet, visit ABC Wednesday.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Flower Hearts & Dangling Diamonds

IN MY WORLD of Ocean Park in BC there are many pretty sights along the pathways in spring. This one pictured above captured my imagination recently because it reminded me of a string of jewelry on a necklace.

The tiny bleeding hearts brushed by fingers of leaves gleamed in the sunlight. An extended bead dangled from each flower like a raindrop shaped diamond.

Some plants have yet to reach their full potential. Right now this cone shaped bloom has the look of a bristle brush. But its destiny is to transform.

The rhododendron was aglow with buds.

Those that blossom first will fade sooner than the late bloomers.

To enjoy more sights from around the globe visit Our World.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Wednesday 16 May 2012

1001 Steps, Seeds & New Beginnings

THE SPRING SEASON is a wonderland of new beginnings. Fresh ferns have sprung up through the 1001 Steps in the Ocean Park community of Surrey, BC, with the promise that each life will unfurl to its brightest potential.

There have been technological and personal challenges along the way of creating my first blog. Although I will continue to post there, I find the need to construct a different place for overflow pictures and thoughts amid a virtual and physical neighbourhood that is ever-changing.

Much like the buds I captured recently at Elgin Heritage Park in Surrey, the new season gave me incentive to start this second blog where I will post additional art, photographs and writings.

Pondering the lessons of nature, there is art to discover everywhere in the natural world. I love how rain plunks down on puddles painting soft circles.

Smatterings of rain throughout spring encourage new growth. I see green creeping through faded grassy swamps.

Bright colors are beginning to lace through darkened bare branches.

The sun is making more frequent appearances as earth travels the sky.

Petals, sprouted seemingly out of nothingness, have already started to fall.

Although spring has yet to turn the corner, thoughts of summer are never far behind. How eagerly we push time as seasons revolve.

The true nature of time is a mystery but it is clear that hours feel like minutes in happy times and minutes feel like hours on difficult days.

However slowly or swiftly the days go by, seasons circle as if in a mystic garden where life re-seeds itself to heal and grow.



Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

This post showcases the letter "S" for slow and swift seasons, spring, fresh starts, summer and seeds. If you think words are fun and enjoy playing with the alphabet, visit ABC Wednesday.