Sunday, January 17, 2021

Leaving 2020 Behind

Rock Formations at Jack Point
Each year as the old year rolls into a new year, I usually take some time to reflect. I am not a believer in New Year's resolutions. But I do like to look back at the year we have just had and think about the highlights and low-lights, and take note of any big changes. 

Often, I'll also spend some time thinking about the upcoming year. Although I've been known to write out specific goals organized under categories such as "Writing," "Art," Family & Social Life," "Health," and so forth, with numbered subheadings and bullet points, sometimes I simply write a general statement about my hopes for what the year might hold. 

But this year as the old year waned, I found did not want to revisit 2020 and the pandemic experience. Of course, we're still in the middle of it. 

And as I tried to think about 2021, not a single goal floated into my mind. Who knows what's going to happen next with respect to COVID-19? And for that matter, with American politics, systemic racism, and climate change? The experience of living through this pandemic for much of a year has served as a reminder that my personal control over the future is quite limited.

But although I might have thought I spent the entire year fretting about daily new cases of COVID or staring at screens, the photos in my camera tell a different story. I have written about the first half of 2020 here. This post covering July-December completes my account of 2020.

The summer started badly with the death of our beloved old dog, Kate. 

Summer Camping

Tree House

In the summer, the daily new case rate here was down to single digits, so public health relaxed some restrictions. We were able to go on some local camping trips. We especially enjoyed a short camping trip to Malcolm Island with one of my daughters. 

Our original destination was closer to home, but, once the campgrounds were allowed to open, everyone had the same idea and campsites were hard to get. Malcolm Island, near Port McNeill, is one of our favourite places and we had a lovely grassy site just across the road from the ocean. My daughter pitched her tent beside our camper.

   


Bere Point Hike
Whale-watching Blind










 


 Trip to the North

Near Lilloett
During the last half of August, we made a trip to northern British Columbia to visit family and friends. We were in our little house on wheels -- our truck and camper.

After spending several days visiting our northern grandchildren and their parents, we continued on to Terrace, a small city in northern BC where we used to live.

Although we didn't see everyone we would have wished, it was so wonderful to connect with a few family and friends.

Ferry Island
Watson Lakes Hike

We also revisited some familiar hikes and river walks. Unfortunately, almost the entire time that we were in the northern part of the province, the weather was rainy and cold.

We left Terrace and spent several days in Smithers, visiting my brothers and celebrating one brother's special day with him and his family. 

Always the intrepid hikers,  we did a mountain hike to Crater Lake, braving rain, wind, and sleet. This was in August!

Crater Lake Hike

 



Nieces






We returned to Vancouver Island via an overnight ferry from Prince Rupert. Despite the pandemic restrictions, it was still a beautiful trip. We stayed in a nice stateroom with a porthole that framed the view.

Although usually during the summer months, BC Ferries runs a large ferry through the inland passage, because of the reduced number of travellers, we went on a smaller boat this time. For safety, we spent most of the trip either outside, or in our stateroom. The food service on the small ferry was very limited. 

Around Home

In the early part of the summer, I took an all-day introductory kayak course. After that, I began to look in earnest for a secondhand sea kayak. You can read about the results of my search here

Parksville
I continued to do many walks and short hikes in areas nearby. For example, we did countless walks at the Parksville Community Beach, where I snapped this sunset photo one evening with Rob.
Oreo Tarts

Oliver

I tried out some new recipes, including these yummy tarts recommended by Donna at Retirement Reflections. I also have made the winter squash salad described in Donna's blog post -- yummy as well.

We have lavished attention on Oliver, our sole remaining pet. In this photo, he is wearing some jewellery made for him by my grandsons. 

Grandmothering

One of the unexpected joys of this pandemic has been spending more time with my two grandsons. Childcare options have been greatly curtailed because of the pandemic restrictions. I have been providing  part-time childcare while my daughter has worked and gone back to school. 

Fall Becomes Winter

As daily cases rose over the fall, more stringent restrictions were put in place again. Because of my child care role, I still see my grandson's family. However, we can no longer see anyone else, except outdoors with physical distancing. 

At Thanksgiving, we met at Neck Point for a family hike, as we couldn't all gather for a big dinner.

 

We continue to explore trails and shorelines near home. I sometimes meet with friends for physically -distanced hikes and walks. For example, I met up with Deb who blogs at The Widow Badass for a hike to Jack Point recently. 

Deb and Petroglyphs
Rob and I celebrated New Year's Day by hiking the trails at Moorecroft Park. It was rainy, of course.

As I look through my photos and share them with you, one thing becomes very clear. Although it has been an unusual year, and a difficult year, life went on. My life was mostly filled with joy. And that joy took the form of friends, family, and nature. 


18 comments:

  1. You have done a lot despite everything! Your cat is obviously VERY tolerant.

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    1. Yes, the adjective “busy” is an appropriate descriptor for me. Our cat is a very sociable fellow. He likes to be fussed over, even to the point of very jewellery.

      Jude

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  2. Lovely retrospective, Jude. Happy to have been part of a couple of nature walks with you last year. Here's to things getting better in 2021!

    Deb

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    1. Thanks Deb. You had to move to Vancouver Island to introduce me to the Jack Point and Westwood Lake hikes!

      Jude

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  3. While 2020 was a sh*t-show in so many ways, there was joy to be found ... and you definitely did. Family, friends, nature will always figure large in the joy category - pandemic or not!

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    1. Hi Joanne. I have found that I learn the most about what really matters during difficult times. This pandemic certainly fits the category of difficult times.

      Jude

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  4. This is a very comprehensive post, Jude, organizing your thoughts and sharing your wisdom. Daily digits seems like a historical fact now. Chuck and I reflect on how thankful we are every day living on the Island with access to beautiful hikes. I enjoy all of your photos. I especially like the photos of your family and all the big smiles. A heartwarming photo of you and the boys at the end. A beautiful post, Jude!

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    1. Hi Erica. I love that last photo of me with my grandsons. My daughter took it. There actually aren’t that many photos around of me with my grandchildren, as I am the picture taker of the family.

      Jude

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  5. Great memories and photos, Jude! 2020 was a very odd year, but I think we can always find positives if we look... and you have a lot of them to remember. I love that last picture of you and your grandsons.

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    1. Janis, I have spent hours everyday poring over the news, and most of it has been bad news about upsetting topics. Thank goodness for all the photos in my phone. Looking at the photos reminded me that there were good times too.

      Jude

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  6. Hi, Jude - I love your focus on joy. Of all of your great photos here, the closing one with you and your grandsons is my favourite.
    Thank you for the shoutout on the recipes. Those mini-cheesecakes are always a hit in our home.
    Wishing you a great year ahead.

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    1. I love that photo of my two grandsons and me. My grandsons (and their parents) were the beneficiaries of the oreo tarts, although the younger one didn’t want to have anything to do with the cheesecake part of the tart. He dug down to get the cookie out of the bottom and only ate that. The older grandson gobbled his tart up and wanted seconds.

      Jude

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  7. A fun filled year for you despite all the Covid noise. You are a lucky camper.

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  8. I remember most of your stories and activities, Jude. Those photos do show you had a relatively busy and happy 2020.

    I'm sure you're glad to own and make use of your truck camper and having friends and family nearby still allows for meetings and excursions outside. Living on that beautiful island of yours helps as well.

    I'd love to take that ferry from the mainland through the inland passage one day. Keep enjoying nature, friends, and family as much as you can in 2021!!!

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    1. Hi Liesbet. We love our truck and camper. It’s the perfect setup for us because we like to get off the highways up into the mountains and more remote areas. Also, the truck is comfortable to travel in for longer road trips, and if we take the back seats out, we can put our mountain bikes in and have them with us too.

      This winter, we have put the camper back on the truck and are using it as our own personal ski chalet. That way, we don’t have to go into the lodge to put our gear on, or for lunch or a warm up. It’s a good way to reduce risk during these COVID times.

      The inland passage is a beautiful trip, and we have taken it a number of times. I highly recommend it. Next time you come to BC, another really fabulous trip to take is the ferry from Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). And one that I’ve still never done, and which we were going to do in 2020 but had to postpone, is the ferry up the Alaska coast.

      Jude

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  9. Great reflections on an .... interesting year. Thanks for this, Judith.

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    1. “Interesting” year is right. But we had some fun times in spite of it.

      Jude

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