Leaving Jasper and then going for a scenic ride on Whistlers Skytram.
The Skytram
Driving through the Rocky Mountains
The picturesque scenery through the “Rocky’s” was spectacular
Then after 7 hours on the road, we the see the sunset at Salmon Arm, our overnight destination …
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025
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Adjustable
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I have sailed far away
Higher than the calm of Corio Bay
And here I shall stay
In my welcoming chalet
Ably adjusted in every way
Come what may
Until my journey’s closing essay
Unfolds through a Canadian mandala
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025
Bison on the Prairie at Wainwright
Canadian Army Base, Wainwright
Wainwright Pump Jack
The iconic “Trestle”, straddles the “Battle River”
Barbecue dinner, overlooking “Lake Clear”
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025
Featured Image: Ivor in front of the iconic Hatley Castle (1908)
Cousin Penny and her husband Dave
Pea Hen and a duck on the pond
Above and below images are from the rose garden
The fernery garden
The Japanese garden and pond
Above; The Italian garden area
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2nd 2025
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Between Today’s Isobars
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Silently the bell rings
Quietly the birds sing
Secretly I hear the forest hum
Discretely I count up the sum
The number of stars
Between today’s isobars
And out beyond Mars
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Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025
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Home Away From Home
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On an island under the northern stars
Among the giant evergreen cedars
Within my personal astrodome
Feeling at ease in my home away from home
I am on top of the world
Uncurling my ancient bones, yet unfurled
Giving my weary soul another joyful whirl
In a land covered by forests and berries
Living a dream on an island with magical fairies
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Ivor Steven (c) September 2025
Today, cousin Lynn and I went to the lovely seaside town, Sidney
My cousin with the ‘Statue’ outside Tanner’s Books
The Sidney waterfront
Apartments overlooking the sea and the cafe on the pier
Statues at the waterfront, and me and Mungo
My purchases at Tanner’s Books
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Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from February 2019, when I was preparing myself for a trip to America/New York/Philadelphia, to visit my Philadelphia “cousins”, and today, here I am on Vancouver Island visiting my Canadian “cousins”.
Dusty Passport (revised)
Here I was resting, home again from the hospital,
after a second stroke had laid me up.
I was rekindling thoughts of travelling to America —
an adventure I’d always promised myself.
Night is not always dark, you know.
Firstly, I had to find my passport.
Yes, I’d hidden it somewhere safe.
After turning the bedroom inside out,
then, throwing the lounge room upside down,
the lost document was on a garage shelf —
looking dusty, but still only five years old.
Jumping for joy, you’d think I’d found gold.
Hardly ever been stamped — a Chinese one, that’s all.
Many years have passed since my last call.
I clasped that passport firmly in my hand’
and I said, “It’s time”, before my clock runs out of sand.
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
An Ice Cream Cone
I’m flying up, against gravity’s undertow
Higher than all the birds I know
Above white clouds full of snow
My wings are made of steel and bone
And within this long underbelly I am not alone
As we burst through the wind’s vibration zone
Then out of the blue I am handed an ice cream cone
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=5UdkiRKj4U8&si=o6GWwU-RHFKcgjfp
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Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Transition
The daedal grey clouds hang motionless
There is not a breath of wind in the calmness
And the gliding birds look weightless
The afternoon sun remains inactive
Slumbering behind the sky’s silvery curtain
And there is a swelling aura of expectation
From the amazed audience standing at the station
All waiting for the beginning of the pilgrim’s mission
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 