Oct 24 - Photo a Day - Weather

Beautiful Cloud Cover Above Ottawa

Dreary Days

For over ten years, one of my weekly clients sat down in my chair, and 85% of the time, complained about the weather -- we did, after all, live in Seattle. He had lived there all of his life, so chilly dampness was not new. But if it wasn't late July or August, those glorious days of which songs have been written, he was cranky.

I often wondered, and even asked a few times why he stayed. He didn't have an answer. He dreamed of retiring, like so many do, to the hot deserts of Arizona. He vacationed in the southwestern states and in arid eastern Washington. And yet he dug his uncomfortable webbed feet into Seattle's mossy ground. It was a choice, of course. His friends and family, his home and his routine took precedence over his hatred of the weather. But he never made peace with the drizzle. With the exception of those few weeks in summer, he subscribed to Murphy's Law: if it wasn't raining, it was bound to, once Saturday arrived.

Since I'm a glass-half-full person, I tried everything I could think of to show him an optional view. He would listen politely. He would chuckle kindly at my attempts to cajole him out of his gloomy funk over soggy boots and raincoats. We cracked up about many subjects over the years, but for my friend, the Pacific Northwest's climate was not, and could never be amusing or -- heaven forbid -- endearing.

Oct 22 - Photo a Day - In Your Town

Britania Park at Sunset

Nature Inside City Limits

Everyone warned me and many laughed when I told them I was moving from Seattle to Ottawa....      "Canada?? Don't you know how cold it is up there?" Yes, I knew, but it definitely couldn't be worse than living 4000 miles from the man that I loved.

The winter before I arrived, Ottawa had record snowfalls. Looking at photos of six foot snowbanks wasn't encouraging, but I had learned to drive in the snow, and having been a motorcycle rider I knew that staying warm was all about the gear.

My friends were right. Winters aren't easy here. Chipping a thick layer of freezing-rain ice off car windows is no fun. However, relaxing in front of a crackling fire with Pierre, Copper, and Penny more than compensates for the harsh climate. And have I mentioned that Ottawa is stunningly beautiful?

I used to say that Seattle was Paradise. I've learned that there is more than one Paradise on Earth. This federal capital of just under a million people -- a quarter of the size of Seattle -- contains a whopping 850 parks. Seattle Parks and Rec, on the other hand, maintains only 400. So even though I can't gaze out at (or take a short road-trip to) Mount Rainier's majesty, nor see the rest of the Cascade nor Olympic mountain ranges, my sweetheart, dog, and I are able to romp every few blocks in lovely open fields dotted with a huge variety of trees.

And when, like today, I can no longer stand being so far from the sea, we can visit one of the meandering parks along the Ottawa or Rideau Rivers and listen to the soft rhythmic waves swish up to the shore.