Deeper Shade of Green

Every day I commute to work via West Coast Express – a suburban train that takes me from Coquitlam to downtown Vancouver in half hour. The railroad tracks hug the coast line of the Burrard ocean inlet – in fact the tracks are mere 2-3 meters from the ocean in many places.

Every time I board the train, I seek out my favourite spot – a window seat on the second floor of the train. That’s because I don’t want to be deprived of the scenery that will unfold before my eyes. Although I have seen it for hundred times by now, it never gets dull and it’s always different – due to the constant changes in weather.

Last Friday I saw  one of the most beautiful mornings anyone could ask for. The kind that makes you want to pull on the emergency brake, jump out of the train, grab your camera and just shoot picture after picture, from different spots and angles. And forget about going to work (if my boss reads this I’m in trouble).

Although the coastline between Port Moody and  Vancouver is dotted with many industries, I don’t let it distract me from the overwhelming beauty surrounding it. You have the calm pacific ocean at the foot of huge mountains, the rain forests and the animals all intertwined, all beautifully complimenting each other.  On this particular morning, a fog was hanging very low, just above the water, like balls of  cotton candy. Above, you had the bluest sky you could imagine, with no cloud to be seen. Then you had the sun coming in at an angle, illuminating the partly exposed rocky beach at mid-tide, with its dark wet colours of logs, rocks and trees. The contrast between the different shapes and colours was out of this world.

You had Blue Herons waiting calmly on rocks to catch a glimpse of a fish; you had a flock of crows going this way and that; you had ducks with their little ones navigating the logs and other natural debris in the calm waters; you had the white seagulls segregating on the dark rocks; you had geese taking off from water, leaving a white trail behind…and all this was illuminated from an angle by our beautiful sun, piercing through a fog. Grandpa moon could be made out in all its glory as a huge white globe in the midst of the fog.

What a wonderful time to be alive, to soak all that beauty in, on your morning commute to work. My batteries get recharged every time I see this scenery to 110 %, ready to go to work and to also work on protecting this natural wonders.

Yes, it is great to be alive, and I am so grateful to be living in this natural splendor – Beautiful British Columbia. No wonder I understand so keenly what we have got to loose and no wonder why I fight so hard to protect all this beauty – I want to be able to share all this with my unborn child and my child to share it with his.