Two weeks ago my holidays were nothing more than my imagination, while reality was a cluttered desk, deadlines and responsibility.
But today my imagination has turned into reality!
It’s like a different world down here in Palm Springs, California!
As I write this I’m sitting under a lemon tree in the back yard and the pungent fruit hangs heavy on waxy green branches.
I, of course, think this is quite wonderful, even when a juicy, ripe lemon plops to the ground, narrowly missing my head,
But the people who live here, I’m sure don’t think it’s wonderful at all. In fact, I’m sure they don’t notice the lemons and the oranges and the grapefruit trees and feel amazed.
But we do, us Canadian type people who left our scarves and mitts and snow tires somewhere on the other side of the snow covered mountains,
“Canada, you’re from Canada,” some guy who said he was from Tulsa asked me. “The land of the frozen north.” He looked at me quizzically and I felt like he was conjuring up images of unrelenting blizzards that blew right through summer,
“It’s not that bad,” I replied almost apologetically.
My holiday in Palm Springs has sped by on the wings of excitement, interrupted only by the need for food and sleep.
It is quite magical here, really!
As I write this column, I see in the not very far distance; the jagged edges of mountains; rocky cutouts against a faultless blue sky.
I imagine bad guys or maybe good guys hiding in the crevices of the rocks; their trusty mounts sure-footed and steady beneath them.
I rub my eyes and my travelling companions tell me I watch too many movies,
Yesterday I caught a quick afternoon siesta under the lemon tree in the back yard and I was interrupted by the bright and furious whirring of a hummingbird.
Once again I felt the curious sensation of awe like when the sun splashes colour all over the sky and you happen to glance out the window. The other day we saw the desert in bloom and it was like that colour came right down from the sky and painted the sand and then tossed in some blues and lavenders and a bunch of other colours to finish off the handiwork.
It has been a great holiday, days stretched out in a lovely long chain of colour and sounds that assault the senses in a most pleasant way.
But it is almost over and it is good.
There is much to be said for the frozen north after all, especially if that means home.
And perhaps to actually live here where lemon trees grow and backyard swimming pools lay like blue pools of tranquility the magic and the awe would disappear.
But for me, at least, Palm Springs, California will remain in my mind as a great and delightful oasis of wonder and delight setting the stage for a holiday etched in quiet awesomeness.