James and I hiked up to Bertha Falls, in Waterton Lakes National Park, on November 18, 2023. Neither of us had ever hiked that trail this late in the season. It was beautiful. It was like hiking a whole new trail, almost.
I got a lot of inspiration yesterday, so I was up all night writing poetry. I have typed up my poem, Bertha’s Diamond Majesty, and have included it below. It’s just a simple sonnet, with videos placed in between the stanzas.
Bertha’s Diamond Majesty
This hike to Bertha Falls has been
a first for me, this time of year.
Although there’s little left that’s green,
I’m really glad I’m hiking here.
This falls is lovely everyday –
in June, when there’s a heavy flow,
or on this mid-November day,
when water’s cool and movement’s slow.
I’ve never seen this falls with ice
between the rocks with “toques” of snow.
It’s different and it’s really nice –
this side of Bertha I now know –
bejeweled in diamond majesty,
and sharing all her wealth with me.
There are still awesome hiking days waiting for you in Waterton Lakes National Park. You may want to start packing along some of those crampons, though. The return trip down the mountain can be slippery.
Waterton is beautiful any time of year. Having mountain trails to easily hike this time of year is a rarity. Having completely clear roads will soon be very rare, also. I am thankful for every day that I get out to Waterton.
I recorded This American Mountain in the fall of 2022 on the morning that I wrote the song. What I recorded was my first draft. My song did not turn out great so I ended up changing it a lot since the day that I wrote it. It is good to have the freedom to not be perfect right away and to have the freedom to keep learning and improving.
I always record my first drafts and post them. I like posting first drafts – it feels less “scripted” (which makes me feel more “free”. I do my movie reviews and deck dinner chats completely unscripted (which has gotten me into some trouble with YouTube repeatedly). When I get blocked for some unknown reason, it certainly reminds me of the fact that as much as I want to believe that I am “free”, that freedom has conditions. Perhaps it has to, to ensure everyone continues to enjoy this relative freedom that we enjoy in northern America.
This American Mountain was recorded at Cameron Lake in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is a part of an International Peace Park that Canada and the United States share (Waterton joins with Glacier National Park, which is in the United States of America). The mountain that I was showing (and singing about in my song) is located in the United States, I have been told. I have never crossed the border into the United States to enter Glacier National Park. I have always wanted to.
Now Canadians need a passport to cross into the United States. This wasn’t the case in the past. When people take advantage to the freedoms that others offer them, there are consequences. No one likes being taken advantage of.
I don’t want to offend anyone with the things I say on my deck dinner videos that I upload onto YouTube. I can’t imagine how I am doing so but since YouTube thinks that I do, I guess I may have to start scripting myself (or avoid doing the deck dinner video reviews). Perhaps I’ll just sing more songs to birds and flowers instead. These lovely native Americans always receive me well.
When it comes down to it, I’m not going to “fight the power” to have my movie reviews heard by the masses (very few people who might care to watch them). At my age I have little “fight” left in me so it has to be something really worth fighting for to get me “battle-ready”. I’d rather be thankful for all the freedoms I have here in North America.
I am so thankful that I get to go out and see so many beautiful native flowers and birds in Lethbridge and in the nearby Rock Mountains where I hike regularly in the summer. I love being a Canadian every time I am out on a hike. So, whenever I get down about things that I would like to have but do not, I just go out and surround myself with the things that I love most of all that I do have. When I go out hiking, I forget all about life’s shortcomings and remember just how wealthy I really am.
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