{ breath of fresh air }
Weekly, we take our two dogs (Kona: neurotic border collie and Banjo: runty german shepherd cross) to the dog park. In fact, we probably make it there about three to five times a week as long as the weather is decent. We went all winter with the pups, watching them galavant through the snow like little rabbits. In the spring, we did our best to avoid the mudpuddles and melted doggie doo doo. However, now that it is summer, the dog park is in its full glory! I must mention that this park, in a bustling city of about a million people, is paradise! It is several hundred acres of reserved, natural land, nestled on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The park is mostly left on its own, aside from the occasional kindly upkeep from city staff, and as such, the grass is left to grow wild and long, with bushes and trees filling in naturally as they please. There are countless numbers of naturally formed trails, the footfalls of others having formed dusty little tracks to follow through the woods and grasslands. Kona has most recently learned to swim in the dozens of clean little ponds in the park, which is her favorite thing to do now that it's summer. My favorite thing to do now that it's summer is to allow my breath to catch in my throat at the beauty of the wildflowers that are cropping up everywhere.
Being a city girl, I have not been overly accustomed to seeing wildflowers in my lifetime. My mom has always kept pristine, perfectly planned gardens that appeal to the senses in a cultured sort of way. But visiting the dog park in the summer brings a real thrillful attentiveness to the raw beauty of nature: there are thousands of daisies cropping up and forming pools of white in the sea of green grass. Yellow petals dot the outskirts of the pond lands, while in the main field, thousands upon thousands of purple wildflowers (their official name unbeknownst to me!) spill around and around the field. They are very tall, reaching between my knee and waist-height, and they tower over the seeding grasses and daisies below them. From the right angle (nestled in a comfy position in the grass as I was the other day), the little purple orbs dangle against the blue sky above, seemingly suspended there by some magical trick. Their heads seem far too large to be supported by such delicate stems!
At any rate, I snapped dozens of photos of these little gems and came across a few that I loved; I've used one for this new layout. With rain forecasted for the weekend ahead, at least I've made myself a small electronic sanctuary with blue skies and wildflowers for my indoor retreats. Feel free to enjoy it with me anytime!





