Happy first day of summer, friends! We are experiencing an early heat wave here in Newfoundland, so our longed-for season received an early start.
Last week, while the weather was cooler and we were having our morning coffee out on the deck, we saw a cloud that was nothing short of spectacular. It started with a low bank of fog stretching across the entire horizon, but soon morphed into a tall white marvel.
And just before it dispersed, it grew even bigger:
“A cloudless plain blue sky is like a flowerless garden.” – Terri Guillemets
On the eve of our heat wave, the sky and clouds were an artist’s tableau:
“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now. From up and down, and still somehow, it’s cloud illusions I recall. I really don’t know clouds at all.” – Joni Mitchell
Last month, our daughter Denise surprised us with this lovely sun-catcher she found online. Does it remind you of anyone?
Is it a coincidence that she found a cat replica that looks like our Vivian, who passed away in November? I think not. Now we have a visual reminder that she is still peering out over Perry’s Point, which she knew like the back of her paw. 🐾
It’s also the perfectly fitting remembrance of her many guest posts on this blog—“Vivian’s View From Here”.
We still miss her terribly, yes.
But I like to think we have our own little guardian angel
watching over us. 💙
“What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
Here is the second (and final) instalment of dramatic photo highlights from my blogging archives. I’ll start with two “vivid skies” left over from Part 1:
I wasn’t long running for my camera when this giant funnel cloud appeared by our house a few years ago. At first I thought it was a tornado!
***
Cotton candy clouds at sunset are always a summery treat:
***
A perennial favourite—my clothespins encased in a glaze of ice:
***
A spider and her web I discovered on my kitchen window one misty summer night. I was amazed by the detail:
***
This ghostly tree caught my eye one November, outside a Grand Falls-Windsor inn:
***
Berg watching in Greenspond was a delight that day in June 2015.
Admiring Nature’s sculptures in Iceberg Alley. Check out the entire blog post here.
***
“Study Nature, love Nature, stay close to Nature. It will never fail you.”
I honestly can’t believe how fast this year flew by. 2023 was quite eventful, what with signing a new publishing contract—YAY!—as well as reaching a couple of personal milestones. More on those in a bit.
Not everything was rosy, however.
As many of you know, we had to say goodbye to our Vivian in November. Eight weeks later, the grief is still so raw, so fresh. I think the only way to ease the loss is to rescue another cat, or two, come spring.
Now for the milestones. In 2023, our house here on Perry’s Point turned one hundred years old!
We’ve lived here since we left the city in 2010, with very few regrets. Paul and I love it here next to the ocean and away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.
If you haven’t already, check out my post from 2020, Ten Years in This Old House, to see how we spruced it up before we moved in.
Milestone Number 2: On August 15th, Paul and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary.
25 years married to my best friend. Of course Paul always reminds me we were together four years before our wedding day. 💕
I am deeply thankful on this New Year’s Eve for many things, and one of them is having you, my blogger friends, in my life. Each of you have made blogging much more meaningful than I ever thought possible when I started this journey. Which just so happened to be on New Year’s Eve, 2011.
The time has come to blog about something I’ve always dreaded, and the tears will be inevitable as I write it. It has taken me a while to accept the heartbreaking fact that, after a brief but devastating illness, our precious Vivian is no longer with us.
Vivian K. Perry
Life is too quiet now. Our home will never be the same. Perry’s Point will never be the same. I’m still grieving far too much to make these words eloquent, so just know that our pain and loss is real.
Vivian was our constant companion and our family member for over sixteen wonderful years. Her love and her devotion to Paul and me was unconditional and mutual. She will remain in our hearts forever.
Her last night on my lap—November 2/23
My hope is that she is reunited with her sister Maisie, enjoying all kinds of capers, cuddles and catnaps in a sweet kitty afterlife.
🐾 🐾 ❤️❤️ 🐾 🐾
Rest easy, sweet kitty!
I’m sharing Vivian’s first guest post on my blog from 2012 below:
When I first moved to Newtown back in 2010, my husband Paul told me how he used to play in “the farm” as a child. “Show me this farm!” I said. “Oh, it isn’t actually a farm anymore,” he chuckled. “But we used to play Cowboys and Indians, and climb the big rocks over there. Folks pick berries there now.”
In recent years, the farm trail has been upgraded and storyboards have been added.
The Farm: “In the late 1860’s and into the 1900’s, there were two ways to get from Perry’s Point to E & S Barbour’s and William Barbour and Son’s businesses. The long way was a semicircle past the Greens and Tulk’s houses, but usually when asked which way you had gone, the answer would be across “the Farm”.
“Uncle Ned Green had a long “hen’s house” . . . and in the summer, horses would gather to feed and were not driven away. This was the area where all young kids would play games, climb the rocks, and build mud and wooden huts. The Farm became their playground in the summer and a place for snow sledding in the winter. It was also a great place to pick berries in late summer.”
Did you know Beothuk children played here long before Paul and his friends did?
”Nature gives us so much: clean air, beautiful landscape, breathtaking views, fish, animals, and the list goes on. We want people to come, see, and actually walk the path where a tribe of Beothuk once lived with their children and took care of the land without damaging our environment. We need to show our appreciation to the first peoples by protecting and preserving this same environment for future generations.”
Well said and I couldn’t agree more!
*This hiking trail is part of the Wonder Shore Trails system which start in Greenspond and go all the way to Musgrave Harbour here in beautiful Bonavista North.
Greetings, Peeps and Pets. Vivian K. Perry here, happy to share that I celebrated a milestone birthday last week. I know, I know, I’m already sweet and fabulous!
Sixteen wonderful years with Jennifer and Paul—three years in the city, thirteen in the country. And thirteen years with my sweet and beautiful sister Maisie.
Our Maisie
I still get to explore the outdoors here on Perry’s Point …
… especially during the gentle days of summer.
I even grab naps outside!
🐾 🐾 🐾
Yet, it’s equally as lovely indoors where I get tons of love and attention.
Jennifer says she can’t imagine life without me.
All I know is, however long I remain in this earthly realm …
With all the hype and hoopla about the new Barbie movie—no, this isn’t a review as I haven’t seen it yet—I thought I’d dig out the only Barbie I own right now.
It’s also fitting to share her this year because she was a bridal shower gift to me back in 1998, from my husband Paul’s Aunt Cassie. Yes, on August 15th, we will celebrate our silver wedding anniversary!
The box she came in has gotten a little damaged over the years.
Twenty five years later, I’m dusting Barbie off and “unveiling” her for you. This is what is written on the back of the box:
Below are her accessories:
… and her open-toe pumps:
Here she is with her veil on:
… and with the veil pulled back:
Before I put her away, should I reenact our wedding?
Jennifer's Journal 