Nature – Page 14 – Jennifer's Journal

Vivian’s View From Here: On the Prowl

Published on July 6, 2016July 7, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry28 Comments

Hello, y’all! Vivian K. Perry here,
back on Jennifer’s Journal today to tell you how much I love this post.

No, no, no, not this blog post (shakes furry head).
This fence post! 005

Now that summer is here,
I take time out of every one of my days to prowl around Perry’s Point.

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This is my favourite perch – a bird’s-eye view, if you will –
where I can keep a sharp lookout for little creatures in the grass like voles and shrews.

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Now that sister Maisie and I will soon be turning nine,
we’ve finally come to terms with our limitations
and admit the birds around here are too smart and swift for us to actually hunt.

021

Jennifer says that’s a good thing, but we disagree.

024

I’ve been known to sit and wait here patiently for hours. I kid you not.
Hmm. Unfortunately, not much stirring here this afternoon.

025

I’ll check back again after sunset.

027

In the meantime, I think I’ll run out to the end of the point…

028

…to check on the mink burrows!
Chat soon!

***

Do you have a cat like me that likes to prowl?

What do you do with your summer days?

A Weekend Walk (…and book stuff)

Published on May 24, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry21 Comments

This past Victoria Day long weekend turned out to be a beautiful and sunny one here on the island of Newfoundland.

We headed out on Saturday hoping to find icebergs, but unlike last year’s bumper crop, they kept their distance for the most part, hugging the horizon.

Undaunted, Paul and I took a hike around the trail in Greenspond and still managed to capture these pretty nature scenes.
001 006 022 021 Icebergs big and small can be seen dotting most of the horizon.
023 042 078 I zoomed in for these two. Notice the wide band of blue, which is called looming.
068 The atmospheric phenomenon of looming made this iceberg seem to stretch -or refract – vertically into a shape that made me think of a water bomber…sort of.
064 039 These little shelters house picnic tables along the Greenspond trail.
028 066 Now for the funny and unexpected part of our hike:
007 I decided to snap a photo of this helmet someone had picked up and placed here, thinking I would show it on Facebook to help unite it with its owner. But… 009 This is where I stepped back to get a shot from the other side, and my “accident-prone” foot got caught in a crevice. Down I went. Luckily I missed the big rocks and my camera was also unharmed. At home, I discovered I’d taken the above photo by accident!
010 I got the other shot, no harm done. Hubs got a little fright (and a laugh), though. 😉

What did you do for fun this weekend?
(and did you lose a helmet?)

Author updates:

I’m running a Goodreads Book Giveaway! Enter here or on the sidebar for a chance to win a signed, first edition paperback of Calmer Girls. Though the winning entry is randomly chosen by Goodreads, I will mail the book directly to the winner.

And…I’m attending my Book Launch this Saturday in St. John’s:

Untitled Here is the link for the Library announcement:
NL Book Launch – Jennifer Kelland Perry
A.C. Hunter Adult Library

***

Have a safe and inspiring week, everyone. ❤
(and watch out for those crevices!)

Gratitude

Published on May 5, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry18 Comments

**Bath Time Bliss – jenniferkellandperry.com**

Gratitude

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;
Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;
Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,
For round about you there are men less fortunate than you.

Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom,
The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom;
Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet,
The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet.

Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blessed you are,
How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar!
And what if rain shall fall today and you with grief are sad;
Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.

~ Edgar A. Guest

Edgar Albert Guest was born in Britain but grew up and spent most of his life in the U.S.A. He was a product of “small town” America and the values and lifestyle he had as a boy permeates his writing both prose and poem. He worked most of his adult life as newspaperman, syndicated country-wide and is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for over 30 years. – AllPoetry.com

Travel Theme: Poetry – combine a favourite poem with a fitting photo.

Do you have any favourite poems to share? What are you grateful for?

Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: “Calm”

Published on March 17, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry58 Comments

Spring is a long, drawn-out affair here on the island of Newfoundland.

No matter what the calendar says, we still have to endure the odd snowstorm and it seems to take forever to warm up.

Sleet storms are common. But the next day I take in the results with my camera…

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…because when the sun comes out, everything shimmers and glows with a crust of rime.

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Tufts of grass lay frozen and still.

Silence reigns today because the spring ice is in and the air is calm.
Our “flippery” friend lolls about, basking in the peace and quiet.
(And I do believe I made up a word. 😉 )

harp seal — Turn that frown upside down!

You are free, little seal. Nothing to hurt you here.

Just another quiet day on Perry’s Point.

Hugh’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Week 17 – Calm

Abstracts in Seasonal Photography

Published on February 24, 2016February 25, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry32 Comments

Designing abstract images from nature photography can be creative fun. When you play around with your photos to highlight shape, colour, texture, etc., you can come up with some interesting captures.

In this post, I share images from the four seasons.
All but one were taken here in Newfoundland.

Winter in Newtown

Cold Atlantic off Perrys Point, Newtown, NL — Cold Atlantic Ocean off Perry’s Point

Spring

Iceberg, Greenspond, NL — Iceberg in Greenspond, NL

Spring Thaw, Newtown, NL — Spring Thaw in Newtown

Summer

Thunderclouds, Newtown, NL — Thunderclouds over Newtown

Evergreens, Garden Cove, NL — Evergreen Branches in Garden Cove, NL

Autumn in Newtown

Granite on Perry's Point, Newtown, NL — Granite and Lichen on Perry’s Point

Partridgeberries on the Point — Partridgeberries

Mackerel Sky, Newtown, NL — Mackerel Sky in Newtown

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
~ Albert Einstein

Vivian’s View From Here: Weekend Blizzard

Published on January 29, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry34 Comments

Hey, everyone, I’m back!!

Vivian K. Perry here, to tell you all about the
snowstorm forecast for most of the island of Newfoundland tonight and tomorrow.

We’re well acquainted with winter storms in this neck of the woods, but I think we are in for a mother of a blizzard this time, with 30 to 50 centimeters and high winds promised for central, and for us, before it’s all over!

Here are Maisie and I, first this morning, and second, how we will weather the storm:

Besides all of this, there is still work to be done. Please watch this little video clip below of me in Paul’s office. He puts me in a bed on top of his printer when I get lonely for his company. Be sure to turn up your volume so you can hear me purr.

Stay warm and see you all next time after we dig out!

Road Trip: Eastport Peninsula

Published on December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 by J. Kelland Perry32 Comments

Earlier this fall, Paul and I visited the Eastport Peninsula in the central part of Bonavista Bay. With an economy that traditionally focused on its rich natural resources, it has become one of Newfoundland’s most popular tourist destinations. The peninsula is home to sandy beaches, motels, cottages, campgrounds, bed & breakfasts and inns, and is part of The Road to The Beaches tourism region.

Eastport Peninsula - photo credit: tango7174 — **Eastport Peninsula** – *photo credit: tango7174*

NLC_Eastport5_tango7174 — **Salvage Bay** – *photo credit: tango7174*

This pretty peninsula extends from Terra Nova National Park and follows the coastline along Newman Sound to the south, around the community of Salvage, around Salvage Bay to the east and then following Damnable Bay, Morris Channel, Fair and False Bay, Bloody Reach and Northeast Arm on the north.

Don’t you love the funny place names?

After Paul finished his work in Eastport and before we retreated to our cabin for the night, we took a drive out to the farthest point of the peninsula. This drive brought us through Salvage, population 174. Most of the residents there are retirees.

Canadian radio host Michael Enright calls the 9 kilometre walk from Salvage to Eastport “the most beautiful in the world.” Even though it was on the damp side during our visit, I could certainly see why he calls it that. With its peaceful winding road lined with trees, foliage and gorgeous, tidy properties, I could also see why someone would choose to spend their retirement years there.

Of course being a fan of all things feathery,
I had to stop to get up close and personal with the lovely ducks in the area.

I told Paul – and the ducks – that I would love to return to the Park next summer. A longer stay in this area of the island is a highly anticipated holiday for me when the weather warms up again.

Luminous

Published on November 12, 2015November 16, 2015 by J. Kelland Perry29 Comments

Luminous: radiating or reflecting light; shining, bright.

**Overlooking Barbour Tickle on a brilliant autumn day**

☀️

☀️

**The shores off the Point** **bathed in milky sunlight**

Direct observation of the luminous essence of nature is for me indispensable. – Robert Delaunay

Be luminous. Don’t adapt yourself to the circumstances around you but change them to be better. Always take your sunshine wherever you go. – Islam Elnady

I believe there is luminosity hiding in the shadow of the mundane. And things that hover on the periphery of our vision. If that’s magic, then I believe in it. – Natasha Mostert

Photo Challenge: Luminous

Three Day Quote Challenge

So Long, Summer

Published on September 23, 2015March 13, 2018 by J. Kelland Perry29 Comments

Although the calendar tells me it is now officially fall, I am enchanted by these last few days of beautiful temperate weather we are enjoying in Newfoundland. Paul and I even had a chance to lie in the sun and read yesterday evening. It was so gorgeous on our deck that we didn’t want to go inside for supper until the sun sank low on the horizon.

As much as I love the summer temperatures, it’s nearly time to say good-bye.
Happily, I have a nostalgic affection for fall and everything it brings.

Here are a couple of pics I snapped of ripening apples
on our recent trip to Springdale in Green Bay:

The view beyond the apple trees:

We stayed overnight in nearby King’s Point.
Here is the view from our room the next morning:

Before leaving, I made sure to visit the pottery and craft store to browse and to buy a few things:
If you ever get the opportunity to visit the area, do stop in here. You won’t be sorry.

One of the perks of my husband’s job is joining him on these road trips.
We love any opportunity to visit the many corners of our island.

***
Two evenings ago, I had to run for my camera again.
The sunset on Perry’s Point was so stunning,
I think Maisie and Vivian were even spellbound:

After the sun disappeared, the sky took on a strikingly different quality:

Another good-bye…
That same evening, I received a call from my sister.
My beloved aunt in the U.S. had passed away suddenly.

I am inclined to let imagination take hold,
to fancy that as she went to join my dad (her brother),
she painted that sky as a farewell to her loved ones here at home.

Rest easy, Aunt Irene. All is well.
❤

Friday Bouquet #29

Published on September 18, 2015February 12, 2020 by J. Kelland Perry

Because I have roots in Grates Cove, a little beluga whale has been all over my Facebook feed lately. That is where I recently discovered Jared through his Beluga At My Doorstep post.

His blog, Bird⋅the⋅Rock, specializes in bird & nature tours in Newfoundland.

From the blog’s About page:

Jared Clarke is a native Newfoundlander who grew up on the northeast coast of the island and was introduced to the outdoors at a very young age – mostly by his grandfathers…Despite his “official” training as a health researcher (PhD Medicine), his love of nature and sharing it with others has consistently led him astray. Jared has led tours big and small across Newfoundland; from historic St. John’s to the ancient Viking settlement of L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island and many points in between.

Check out the beautiful photos Jared captured in the link below. There’s even a short video of the whale:

A Beluga At My Doorstep

I’ve disabled comments here in the hope you will comment on Jared’s blog.
If you do, please tell him Jennifer sent you.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

❤

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