our time in the land of the heart-shaped stone . . .

We just returned from a blessedly wonderful week on Pender Island. Here are the things I brought home with me:

--the sound of a butterfly's wings (like crepe paper)
--the taste of rose petals (a little like mint)
--the warmth of stones baked in the sun
--the chill of morning
--the blood-like taste of iron in the water
--the knowledge that our world is both infinitely large and infinitely small
--the iridescence of a peacock's back
--the feeling of breaking shale
--the way my sister's hair falls across her face
--a burnt scalp

What an impossibly beautiful place it is.