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SmellyBlog

Nature, Resources & Rights

And some more food for thought about putting our priorities in order when it comes to taking care of Mother Nature's rights. Ecuador was the first country where humans (also happen to be of American citizenship) were sued for crimes against nature.

Beauty, abandon and abundance - an inspiring and thought provoking photo essay that makes us wonder if really the planet won't be much better off without us. It seems like humanity's extreme need for order actually achieves the opposite.

White Spring at Lighthouse Park

I went for a hike today at Lighthouse Park, and stumbled upon some beautiful white flowers, not all of which were fragrant, but all the same beautiful:

The white lilacs were on the way to the park on Beacon Lane. Crisp looking and befitting a bridal bouquet in appearance alone... Their scent is just a tad cleaner and less sweet than the purple lilac.

Within the park, blooming tall shrubs of what looks like a wild pear judging by the flowers and leaves, but is more likely to be Saskatoon (which will turn into not too small-apple shaped berries later in the summer).

Red elderberry's flowers (aka elderflowers) are described in Plants of Coastal British Columbia as "White to creamy, small, with a strong, unpleasant odour; muberous, in a rounded or pyramidical parasol-like cluster". Admittedly, they did not smell all that bad to me... Not any worse than blackcurrants. But my nose is more tolerant than my taste buds, and I'm still not quite sure if I like elderflower cordial or not.

And last but not least, the pristine lily of the valley blooming by the rocks in the lighthouse keeper's garden. A feast to the senses and a pleasant surprise to find them in the forest by the sea!

Mother Nature


Happy Mother's Day!
Mothers, fathers, daughters and sons - we were all given life by a mother at one point or antoher, and perhaps because this is so obvious we often forget what they did for us... Whether they nurtured us later on, abandoned us, or messed up our life forever with her own interpretation of too much unconditional love is irrelevant. The fact is, she gave us life, and for that we must be eternally grateful.

Today I'd like to remember Mother Nature of all mothers. The mother that gives us a home, food, and a life full of turmoil in the form of earth quakes, floods… you name it. This is all part of life. And life should be respected for what it is, the good and the bad.

I spent my day in Stanley Park yesterday with my daughter, and observed the myriads of trees that got slaughtered by the winds this winter. It is a very sad sight in a rainforest that is always so lush, abundant with greenery and trees growing upon trees. I tried to remember that time and Mother Nature will heal it all. In a pace much slower and subtle than ours, the fallen trees will be covered with moss, and seeds of new trees will sprout and create a new forest upon the dead one.


From the wounds of the dying trees, sappy tears ooze slowly, as a reminder that death is part of life. And like life it has a beauty of its own, as strange as it may sound. The resin and balsams of damaged trees and plant provide quite a few building blocks that I can’t imagine not having on my palette…

Allow me to conclude with remembering once again all the gifts that we are given on a daily basis. The most important things are the things that seem most obvious to us. We take them as granted, because they ARE granted to us. But if we don’t take care of our own Mother Nature, she will not be able to grant us what we need for life on this earth.

We all know how to take care of her. We just don’t do good enough job. And let’s hope that we will not wait until she’s in the hospital dying to tell her how much we love her.
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