We've had a few happenings lately, featuring a World of the Feathered Kind.

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During a recent hike, we were fortunate to catch sighting of the Barred Owl, perched high atop one of the Douglas Firs, quietly watching us as we navigated the trails below. My first sighting of an owl in the real world, and not behind zoo-type bars.

I firmly believe that it is always a special moment to see nature at its wildest. We gazed upwards and wondered what the Barred Owl thought of us, and as we got a little too close, perhaps encroaching on his territory in the hopes for that perfect photo, he flew away. Silent and with just a hint of whisper, he landed on the branches just a few trees away, totally obscured from our view, and then, just like that, the moment was gone.

The next day, we found ourselves attending the Rebecca Jewel (Artist and Anthropologist) "Soaring High Landing Hard" exhibit at the Alcheringa Gallery which features works of art of the feathered kind, some of the Extinct Kind to be exact.

The Gallery turned out to be quite an afternoon of interesting connections and unique experiences for us. For a wide variety of reasons.

It is always a proud moment, when momma sees her son working his first real job, in his chosen area of study. You give your children roots and wings, and it is always a heart moment when you see them soaring on their own.



This small gallery with its brightly lit and airy space turned out to be an absorbing place to spend some time. It embraced our souls and our minds, the walls adorned with various pieces that each begged a second or third look, and the shelves chock full of books of places and images that looked exotic, foreign, somewhat full of mystery. A world I knew nothing about but was eager to investigate.



The Alcheringa Gallery showcases indigenous art from Canada, Australia and Papua New Guinea to name but a few areas. In fact Alcheringa "is an Aboriginal Australian word for the Dreamtime, the mythical time of creation, when the world and all living creatures were sung into existence".

Rebecca's exhibition, using and showcasing feathers, is described as the "veneration and exploitation of birds", and we were fortunate to chat with her for a little while, gaining some insight into her words and her inspiration,



and as we explored her artistic works of the feathered kind, we found ourselves immersed in a world of her creating, the often poignantly descriptive words on the panels beside each piece, telling of a world that has been shaped and ultimately destroyed by man's flights .

We mingled and we chatted, as we let our eyes, our minds and our souls wander and wonder.

"Hello" said a kind voice near us, "My name is Kate, may I ask you a few questions...?" And that is how we got interviewed by professional art blogger Kate Cino,



and although we could not speak, or so we thought, to any particular Flights of Fancy that entertained our souls, we are all too familiar with the plight of Nature, and could in fact, speak about the endangered Sisserou Parrot, found on Dominica, one of our favourite Caribbean Islands.

"I can't imagine if that Barred Owl, that we saw the other day", I mused out loud, "were to have been the last owl of its kind, never to be seen with our eyes, ever again?"

We spent some time allowing our eyes to be dazzled by something totally unique, allowing our minds to be expanded by the reality of the different. We were totally feathered away towards new horizons, exploring a world that is somehow both familiar, and yet also new to us, something we experience when we Adventure, a Veneration of a Nature that needs Nurturing. A Nature that is disappearing.



If you have a chance, explore on that a way, nurture your soul and let yourself be feathered away. We sure were.