Sometimes we sit lamenting as memory traces back The old familiar landmarks that we miss from off our track. They’ve built the railway stations where our feet were wont to skate, They motor over footpaths where our lovers used to wait. But there’s one left still – dear old Signal Hill.*
I’ve always loved Signal Hill. That’s probably why I incorporated into a couple of scenes in my debut novel, Calmer Girls.
Overlooking St. John’s Harbour and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the capital city’s most popular tourist attraction.
I take the time every summer to pay a visit, and this past July was no exception. Here are a few shots from that gorgeously sunny and breezy day – then again, as any tourist can attest, it’s always quite breezy atop this hill!
The iconic Cabot Tower – jenniferkellandperry.com
In the distant past, Signal Hill has been the setting for victorious battle, the location for Marconi’s monumental establishment of wireless telegraph communication, and a signalling station for approaching ships.
Today it is a National Historic Site under Parks Canada.
The best thing I like about Signal Hill?
The views, of course!
jenniferkellandperry.com
If you look closely at some of my pics, you can see the trail around the hill.
This is not a hiking trail for the faint of heart.
This is one of my favourite books of all time. Though I read it in my twenties, it has always stayed with me.
I was delighted when my husband Paul bought a copy recently and read it. I was equally delighted that he enjoyed it as much as I did!
A small sampling of reviews:
“Besides telling a good story, the author has peopled it with a small group of characters so powerfully drawn as to linger long in memory.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
“To me the most impressive aspect of ‘The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter’ is the astonishing humanity that enables a white writer, for the first time in Southern fiction, to handle Negro characters with as much ease and justice as those of her own race.” – Richard Wright New Republic
“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter has remarkable power, sweep and certainty . . . Her art suggests a Van Gogh painting peopled with Faulkner figures.” – The New York Times Book Review
Carson McCullers (1917-1967) was the author of numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Member of the Wedding, Reflections in a Golden Eye, and Clock Without Hands. Born in Columbus, Georgia, on February 19, 1917, she became a promising pianist and enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York when she was seventeen, but lacking money for tuition, she never attended classes. Instead she studied writing at Columbia University, which ultimately led to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, the novel that made her an overnight literary sensation at the age of twenty-three. On September 29, 1967, at age fifty, she died in Nyack, New York, where she is buried.
What novel have you read that stayed with you for many years?
Now that summer is drawing to a close and I’m back to work on my manuscript, coffee has once again become more vital to my daily routine. Yes, writers and their coffee is a cliché but with good reason. Many of us can’t live without it!
Straight up black is the way I drink it, preferably served in my favourite mug. I love the wide lip and pretty colours on this hand-painted beauty.
My writing brain works best in the early morning, so while I wait sleepy-eyed for the coffee to brew, I picture a caffeine-craving miniature version of myself swimming across the surface of a full cuppa java, gulping as I go. Mmmmm…
What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup.
– Henry Rollins
Do you love coffee as much as I do? Black or with sugar and cream? Or is tea your go-to hot beverage? Please share with me below!
This past summer, Perry’s Point here in Newtown, Newfoundland & Labrador received a new addition. A project of the Cape Freels Development Association, this information display is a reminder and a history lesson to all about the first people who inhabited this area: the Beothuks.
I will let the display speak for itself.
Please read to learn more about this fascinating First Nation.
Thank you to the Cape Freels Association, Winston Perry, and to anyone else involved in this worthy initiative.
As it happened, earlier this year I readThe Last Beothuk, the newest release by localauthor Gary Collins. I wholly recommend this historical novel to anyone interested in learning more about the way of life of these indigenous people and what ultimately became of them.
Inspired by True Events:
“Long after Demasduit’s skull has been stolen from her grave, and years after Shanawdithit has died, one Beothuk and his family survive. Bursting out of the pages of Newfoundland history appears Kop, the last true Beothuk. When all the other members of his tribe are exterminated by the Europeans, Kop seeks revenge against the Unwanted Ones. Hidden among the Bear Clan of the Mi’kmaq, the Beothuk strikes back. Follow Kop on his trail of defiance against the European marauders upon his Island. See what becomes of a man who has nothing to lose or live for. Stay with him on a hundred trails and sit with him across the smoke of a hundred campfires. You will not only weep for the last Beothuk—you will cheer him on as he pushes back against the Unwanted Ones.”
Hello, friends! Vivian and Maisie here, back on Jennifer’s blog to reshare a wonderful list with you. We pounced on this list and shared it during a nighttime prowl on the web back in 2015, and we both thought it deserved another post before the cold weather returns.
We wereanimal shelter adoptees eleven years ago, so this is a cause that is naturally near and dear to our kitty-cat hearts.
MaisieVivian
Have a purr-usal and see why we think these are all worthy reasons to bring a lovely little cat like either of us – or a friendly doggie! – into your heart and home this fall.
Ten REASONS TO ADOPT A PET FROM A SHELTER
1. Every pet adopted from a shelter, instead of purchased from a pet store or breeder, improves the pet overpopulation problem.
2. Adopting a dog or cat from a no-kill shelter can free up space for older or special needs pets that may not find new homes before the end of their natural lives.
3. There are plenty of animals to choose from at most shelters. They come in every age, shape, size, coat color and breed mix. You can find purebreds at shelters as well.
4. Compared to the cost of purchasing a pet, adopting one is relatively inexpensive. And if you get a slightly older dog or cat, there’s a good chance he is already fully vaccinated and neutered.
5. Adopting an older pet allows you to skip over the time-consuming, often frustrating puppy or kitten stage of development and takes the guesswork out of what your pet will look like as an adult – size, the thickness and color of her coat, and her basic temperament, for example.
6. Most rescues do assessments on every pet taken in, to determine things like temperament, whether the pet has any aversion to other pets or people, whether he is housebroken, has had obedience training, etc.
7. Many shelters also offer lots of new owner support and materials about training, behavior problems, nutrition, grooming and general care.
8. If you have kids, adopting a shelter animal can open their eyes to the plight of homeless pets, teach compassion and responsibility, and show them how wonderful it feels to give a home to a pet that might otherwise live in a cage or be euthanized.
9. An older adoptive pet can be the perfect companion for an older person. Many middle-aged and senior dogs and cats require less physical exertion and attention than younger animals.
10. An adopted pet can enrich your life. The unconditional love and loyalty of a dog or cat can lift depression, ease loneliness, lower blood pressure, and give you a reason to get up in the morning. A kitty asleep in your lap feels warm and comforting. A dog that loves to walk or run outdoors can be just the incentive you need to start exercising regularly.
*list adapted from source: healthypets.mercola.com
If this list prompts just one of you to adopt a pet, we have helped an animal in need. And if you share the list, you could help an animal too.
Think about it.
Love,
Vivian & Maisie
♥
For local readers: All cat adoptions at Humane Services in St. John’s include microchipping, vaccinations, flea/worming treatments, Feline Leukemia and FIV testing AND spay/neuter. Visit http://www.stjohns.ca/…/animal-care-and-adop…/adoptable-pets for more info and to see all of their available pets.
“If I had my life to live over, I’d pick more daisies.” – Don Herold
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” – Carl Sagan
I am s-l-o-w-l-y but surely easing myself back into the blogosphere after a longer hiatus than planned. Summer and my love for it has been a delightful and major distraction, but of course those days are racing by. As the weather cools, you should see me around more often.
Now, where was I?
Oh yes – he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me…
It’s that time of year again, when hubs and I gear up to leave home for the required and much-anticipated summer getaway. I will be adding on an extra week myself, starting tomorrow, to stay with my grandchildren while their parents fly off on a vacation of their own.
After that, my days will pretty much belong to me, to indulge in the things I like besides writing and blogging. Time to explore, relax, and enjoy the summery season for a spell. Time to do lots of reading, visit friends and family both in and outside the capital city, and find new moments of inspiration through the lens of my camera. You might catch a glimpse of me on other social media, but I’m going to try my best to keep that to a minimum too.
Here are a few of my backyard snaps from past summer posts, as well as a new video from a few days ago.
Vivian the beach bumA nice kelp-free spot on our beachThe extreme tip of Perry’s PointNeighbour Ben Perry’s buoys
***
The northern gannet is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family. Photo Source: Wikipedia
Northern gannets employ an ingenious way to fish for food. They “corral” the fish by flying around together in a circle over the water where the fish can see them. The fish school tightly together for safety, but that’s when these birds plummet, diving deep into the waves to catch them. Sorry for the blurriness, but it was a quick capture with my iPhone. Short and sweet so don’t blink!
Please turn up your volume to hear the gannets in their glee.
Stay safe and have fun, everyone,
and I’ll catch up with you in August. 🙂
What are you doing this summer for a change of pace?
This is one of my favourite books of all time. Though I read it in my twenties, it has always stayed with me.
Now that summer is drawing to a close and I’m back to work on my manuscript, coffee has once again become more vital to my daily routine. Yes, writers and their coffee is a cliché but with good reason. Many of us can’t live without it!
Jennifer's Journal 