Brian Crawford » nature

up

Brian — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 00:11:00 +0000

today my friend Damien and I climbed the Puy de Dôme; at 1464 meters tall it is the largest of the several inactive volcanoes in the Clermont-Ferrand region. It took us about two hours to hike our way up the mountain and back down again. It was a lot of fun and a good trek, especially after having attended a party last night where there was much eating and drinking (of wine, cheese, paté and foie gras, no less) – the fresh air and the exercise was well worth it.

while up at the top of the mountain we were pretty much inside of a cloud – we ended up soaking wet not from the rain or from sweat but from the cold humidity of the cloud. At the top we had a great view of Clermont-Ferrand and of the surrounding region, though Damien’s camera ran out of batteries before we reached the top (and I left mine in Canada). Nonetheless, I’ll try to post some pictures later.

messages in the clouds

Brian — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 04:44:00 +0000

sometimes, I think, God sends you a sign.

as I have posted earlier we bought a cottage in Ontario a while back. At any rate, I have been pretty much completely happy with the purchase… but I’ve always added the caveat that the one thing that I would probably change is the exposure. The cottage has an eastern view of the lake, and I would have prefered western exposure, for the sunsets. I don’t usually wake up early enough for the sunrises!

so this evening I decided to watch the sun setting for the last time at the cottage, as I am leaving for school tomorrow morning. I knew that I wouldn’t get the actual sunset, facing east, but I wanted to watch the lake one last time before going overseas. While I sat there on the dock I realized that it is nice to be heading off to another country knowing that I have a place that feels like home to come back to when school is over. It was a nice feeling.

at any rate, while I was sitting there, the eastern sky started to turn orange, and then pink, and then a very vibrant purple. Just for me!

meanwhile, this was what was happening in the west (not that I could see it from the dock):

I suppose this is a sign if there ever was one, to be happy with what you have. And not to put any “… but I’d be happier if!” sort of statements after it. It’s something I’m going to try to remember.

take a hike

Brian — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 05:10:00 +0000

this afternoon I went for a 3 or 4 kilometer hike at Silent Lake Provincial Park, which is located 2 or 3 miles from our new place. I had a really nice walk; the weather was beautiful, the forest smelled crisp in that certain way that only a forest in autumn can smell, and when the wind whistled through the branches of the trees above me I would soon be showered with red and yellow leaves. Even better, I was the only person on the trail that I knew of – it was me, some white tailed deer, and some chipmunks. The park comprises the entirety of Silent Lake itself, so when you’re looking out upon the water you won’t see any dwellings or motorized vehicles. It’s really quite nice.

I took a few pictures (that naturally don’t do the reality justice, yet here they are):

Silent Lake from the beach
A marshy pond along the trail
A view of the trail itself, while walking along it
A beaver dam (note the difference in the water level before and behind it – the water reaches the top of the dam)

scenery

Brian — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 03:50:00 +0000

I’m back in Canada until next Sunday – had some work I had to do, which has almost been completed. Classes officially start on October 12th (I managed to transfer into a better program, after which I’ll receive 2 Masters degrees – an MBA from South Carolina and an MSc from ESC Clermont).

At any rate, we went to Algonquin Park today, which was a lot of fun. The leaves have been changing, which has been pretty, though they are not quite yet at their zenith. At any rate, here are a few pictures – they’re dark, since it was overcast and somewhat gloomy today, but they still turned out okay:

A nice vista
A beaver lodge (if you’re observant you can find it in the other picture as well)

Also, here are some kid pictures:

Amelia in yellow
Callum picking blueberries (last month)

This evening I’m drinking a little bit of Havana Club Rum. Having lived in the States for the past several years it’s been something I’ve been unable to drink. Cheers!