Mother's day

Today is Mother's Day and it's a beautiful sunny day! We've been deprived of sun for the last five weeks. Our Spring has been slow to come and everything is blooming late. This continuous gray weather and lack of colourful flowers has dampened everyone's mood. I woke up early, saw a definite blue sky, and decided to venture out before the rest of the town woke up.

I headed off to Gairloch Gardens with my camera and puppy in hand. The Garden was quiet except for the chirping birds and scouring squirels. The lawn, trees, and gardens were nicely manicured.

Gairloch Gardens was founded in 1971 by James Gairdner. There is a lovely garden maintained by the town and an art gallery that often features local artists and art classes for the youth. Many elements make this garden very appealing.  There is a rose garden which displays a large variety of roses, beatutiful young and old trees, sitting areas, and a magnificent view of the lake. People come here to relax, meditate, play, stroll, walk their dogs, and take pictures. You can often catch a wedding party here during the summer months.

My husband and I used to come here when the children were young. It was an easy outing where the children could feed the ducks and the geese. They loved throwing our leftover bread at the birds whether on land or in the water. I'm sure the geese enjoyed it too and many of them were rather plump and greedy! The garden became overpopulated with geese which made the greens rather messy let alone that the geese became dependant on humans for their food. The town eventually asked the residents to stop feeding the birds and also initiated a program where the geese were gathered and relocated. Now, when you visit the garden, it is cleaner and you only see a handful of ducks and geese claiming their territory.

This morning I saw one family of geese taking their young out for a stroll in the pond. Befitting for Mother's Day, the young swam close to their mother as their father, most likely on duty, lagged slightly behind. I became very aware of the overall tranquility as I crouched down for my shot. I could feel the warmth of the sun, I sensed how my feet sank into the moist grass, birds sang in the background, the sun illumated the pond, and gentle waves rippled away as the family quietly displaced the water. Everything seemed perfect in that moment.