October 30, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 13 Comments

The Royston Wrecks

In the late 1930s, in Comox Bay on Vancouver Island, near the town of Royston, it seems that a breakwater was needed to help prevent rough waters from breaking up log booms before they could be towed to market.

About fourteen decommissioned boats of various kinds were scuttled in a line to form a breakwater to protect the shoreline from the worst of the sloshing waves.

Now, about 100 years later, pieces of a few of the wrecks still remain.

But it is only a matter of time before the saltwater and southeast winds will rust and break up the last of the wrecks.

Meanwhile, they are a bit of a landmark (or seamark), fondly called:

“The Royston Wrecks”

We were not always carcasses of rust,

But fine in form, yet seaworthy, robust;

Our time had come, our breakup loomed ahead,

They dragged us to the beach to rot instead.

At least our strength allowed us to reclaim

Some semblance of our pride and long-term fame.

Though battered by the sea from time to time,

Our rusting hulls and decks beset by slime,

We rested firmly on the bar to break

The might of stormy waves that tried to shake

Us loose from settling on the rocky floor,

Where we regained our usefulness once more.

A hundred years, we sheltered yonder beach

And proudly kept the onslaught out of reach.

May 15, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 34 Comments

Dogwood

The dogwood has been B.C.’s provincial flower since 1956.

I’m trying to teach this bird some tricks–

The petal count for blossoms.

Though some have four, some five, some six,

The difficulty’s awesome.

Provincial flower of B.C.,

I am in fact a tree,

My flowers bloom for all to see,

I glow with majesty.

April 24, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 24 Comments

Trilliums

Flowers don’t often write poetry, but these flowers are two petals short of a load, so anything goes.

Short on petal,

Long on lines,

Test our mettle,

No one whines.

We are trilliums,

That we are,

Trilliums ‘n’ trilliums,

Here to afar.

Like Brazilians,

Or gazillions,

We are trilliums,

By the millions.

January 22, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 26 Comments

Moon on Silver Star

Photo at Silver Star (ski hill) courtesy of Pat G.

Brightly lit, the night is silent,

Snow has muffled sound,

Footsteps spoil the peaceful evening,

Crunching all around.

Moonlight guides me to my cabin,

Warmth and comfort cheer,

Beauty outside, cozy fire,

Best of two worlds here.

December 31, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 41 Comments

A Bright New Morning

No soul in sight

It’s getting light,

The air is crisp,

Beneath the wisp

Of clouds that let

The sunshine get

To shine on me

Before I ski.

Okay, so I made that up; I’m not going to ski, but I can imagine and dream a little.

But those who stand there on this hill,

Are feeling anything but chill.

Filling lungs with crisp, clean air,

Joyful and without a care.

Oxygen revives their brains,

As the plaque inside them drains.

O-k-a-y…

I must stop this silly rhyming,

As I’m losing all my timing.

*****

Have a happy 2025.

Thank you, Pat, for the photos.

January 5, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 66 Comments

Make the Best of it

I know I’ve been moaning and groaning about the snow and how hard it is for the tiny hummingbirds and other little creatures who have to try to survive in the snow and cold.

But for those of you who can shut that dilemma out of your head, you may want to make the best of this snowy weather.

If you have access to a ski hill, you can do that (if you’re still young enough to take advantage of this vigorous pastime).

At the top of the chairlift, have a look around and enjoy the crisp air. Take in the vastness of the valley below. Do you feel small?

Forget about birds that want to land on a branch. They are gone from this frozen place, leaving it all to you.

Pure and clean! And now for an exhilarating ride to the bottom of the hill. Swish! … Don’t fall.

Photos by Pat Gerrie

British Columbia

June 4, 2021
by wordsfromanneli 32 Comments

Beary Scary

Years ago, before I got a good camera, I took this photo of a grizzly. It’s not very clear, but I really didn’t want to do a close-up.

This is the Orford River which flows into Bute Inlet on the west coast of British Columbia.

We had tied the fish boat to a small dock in a bay around the corner, and then took a ride up the river in our aluminum skiff. The area was known for grizzlies and we wanted to see one, but I hadn’t counted on two things:

that we would actually see one not too far away,

and that the mouth of the Orford has a lot of sandbars.

I’ve had nightmares about bears forever, but it would still be a big deal to see one. I knew if a bear actually came along and tried to chase us, we could just turn the skiff around, rev up the outboard, and roar out of there.

On the way upriver though, we were pushing the boat off one sandbar after another with the oars to keep in water deep enough to use the motor. These sandbars were spotty and just when you thought you were in the clear, up popped another one. So I was even more nervous than usual. And of course that’s when we saw him.

Even with his hind end in the water, as he swatted at salmon going by, I could tell he was huge. We watched for a moment or two, but when he saw us, we knew it.

His head came up and he stretched his neck up tall. Then as he sauntered in our direction along the fallen log that you see lying across the river, we thought it was time to get out of there.

There are some things you do in your life that seem okay at the time, and later you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?!”

This was one of those times.

It was a big thrill to see the bear, but what if he hadn’t been so agreeable? Didn’t I know how fast they can run for a short sprint? And what if we had gotten high-centered on one of those sandbars in our haste to get away.

Everything could have ended up differently.

And I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about it,

because bears don’t have Internet inside their bellies.

May 27, 2021
by wordsfromanneli 34 Comments

Foaming at the Mouth

No, it’s not a rabid animal. It’s just a creek flowing into the lake, but at its mouth, there is a lot of foam.

The frothy bubbles swirled and flowed in sweeping circles, making patterns on the lake.

This is clean, clean water, but for some reason the foam formed when the water splashed over the rocks at the mouth of the creek, and stayed frothy for quite some distance into the lake.