A11

Bill Robb

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

It may seem odd to show tulips now that the snow has come, but I snapped this picture on a walk through Moncton's historic Victoria Park last June.

Enlarge Photo

Bill Robb/This Week

Victoria Park in the springtime.

Now, as I stroll over the ground that is starting to freeze and look at the flower beds with frost and traces of snow mingled in the earth patterns, I am reminded of planning ahead to make the best of our landscapes.

I always visit Victoria Park in the heart of Moncton in November, usually near Remembrance Day.

It is a ritual for me to walk again around the Soldiers' Memorial and hold my old quiet meditation.

The starkness of the twigs against the gun-metal sky of late autumn sends the message to me that the close of yet another year approaches.

If we want beauty and brightness when the sun warms again, we have to put those bulbs into the ground in autumn, just as the city workers do so creatively at Victoria Park.

Though a late autumn walk with the icy whispers of worst winds to come curls around my fingers is starkly beautiful, it does make one long for a quick advance to spring when the colour will return.

Showing how it looks then as I consider how it looks now was my mental exercise to go with my physical exercise of a walk around it this week.

n Community Walks is a weekly feature that highlights urban and rural walking paths in Moncton. If you have a suggestion for a future walk, e-mail thisweek@brunswicknews.com.