Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Oh Canada!



As has been my tradition for the past several years, I pay tribute to Canada on this her 148th birthday, with some of my favourite images  from the past twelve months. Copyright to all photos is held by the author of this blog;  do not copy images without permission.  Sharing the link via facebook or other social media is permitted. Enjoy!

Oh Canada!
(c) 2015 Jean Ballard

Oh Canada, my Canada,

You awaken us with citrus sunrises


upon our lakes and oceans


And even on the rainy days,
your beauty still astounds us.


Your wildflowers....

wherever we look...


grace our lives

with endless colour.


Oh Canada, my Canada,

where the prickly thistle
creates soft down


and an old rotten stump
gives life to more beauty.
Where each new season
brings us joy


And even storms soon pass.

Canada, my Canada,


Where old cabins upon your shores


And ships from near and far

all have their stories to tell.

Oh Canada, my Canada,


From your cities, with their skyscrapers


and busy, hurried lives


to secluded marinas in glassy bays

And old homesteads on estuaries, 
Or ponds in forests deep, 
Your beauty is everywhere.

 Oh Canada, my Canada
You draw us to your endless forests

and hidden lakes

and rivers

where often,  when we choose to see,

Our pleasure can be doubled.

Oh Canada, my Canada,


Where we can hike a lonely trail

Or wander on a hillside

or hike a mountain 
for the views, 

Or kayak on your waters

Or simply sit and rest a spell.

Oh Canada, my Canada,


though we are far from perfect

and have a ways to go
to truly protect your land and air and water


As long as we are ever mindful, 
Of how our actions

 affect our country



You will always nurture us. 


So whether we are big
or small, 

powerful


or quite fragile, 


Just starting out


or taking flight,



We stand on guard

We stand on guard 


We stand on guard for thee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA
We are so lucky to live here.




11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tribute to our lovely country Jean. Love the picture of Grant and Sasha.

Else

barb said...

Great tribute, Jean! Always tear up when I see your Canada day blog. Hope you are taking it easy after so many blogs this past wk! Whew!! I do enjoy each and every one of them, though.
take care,
b
p.s. Scooter asks if you think it is time for 'walkies'????

Sheryl said...

Lovely photos and sentiments.
Happy Canada Day!

(Apparently I AM a robot! I had a lot of trouble with the captcha!)

Jean said...

Scooter, if you can turn off the giant heat lamp in the sky, I'm game for a walk any time! (Actually we could do a shady morning walk - tell your mama to give me a call!).

Kate D. said...

That was awe inspiring Jean, thank you, since I worked all day, this at least made me feel like a Canadian ! thank you

Unknown said...

Absolutely gorgeous Jean. Thank you for sharing!

Marie said...

Lovely tribute to our wonderful Canada, thanks Jean!

Unknown said...

you are amazing beautiful pictures,a very happy Canada day to you and your family

Denise from Sacramento said...

Beautiful. You are a true artist with your camera.

Wendy Hamilton said...

Beautiful. My eyes welled up a bit with the last photo of Eddie. I am curious; where was the pick of of the cottages on the shore taken?

Jean said...

Wendy, that was at Pipers Lagoon Park in Nanaimo - it is known as Shack Island.