*Travel theme: Enlightened
I know our Atlantic Canadian summers are short and I treasure the warmer days while they’re here, but there is something about this season of change I truly love as well.
Late summer and early fall has a uniquely different quality, where on a sunny day the air lends a crisper, more metallic edge to the natural world. (This love affair hinges on one important caveat: that the northeast wind doesn’t blow too much and turn our world chilly and wet for days on end.)
The outlines of clouds against the steel-blue sky look sharper, heralding the approach of what is to come. Most foliage and grasses are still summery green. I relish them all the more, knowing the colours will soon transition into vibrant shades of red and gold before finally fading to the cool grey and white hues of late autumn and winter.
It is a season of harvest and renewal, a time of new beginnings and the dawning of fresh ideas. The kiddies are back in their classes. Though my own school days and child rearing years are well behind me, I still feel that push of motivation into new plans and goals, to make the transition into a stricter work schedule, to get back to writing more in the coming months. November and NaNoWriMo are still a ways off, but I strive to clear up all loose ends in preparation for – dare I say it without jinxing myself – a 50 thousand-word first draft of a brand-spanking new novel.
Then there are the berries. Where would this season be without the berries?
fruits of the first trip
…and fruits of the second
In two afternoon jaunts, the blueberries are now picked, and it won’t be long before we are in on the barrens again to pick partridgeberries. (In other parts of the world, these lovely bitter, relatives of the cranberry are called lingonberries or cowberries.) I make plenty of the “patchy-berry” jam for my other half since he likes it on his morning toast all year round, not to mention in the occasional pastry tart with a generous dollop of thick cream.
Especially anticipated, besides an excursion on the barrens, is picking the plump, juicy partridgeberries that grow right here on our land. I checked all around the Point last week and it looks like a bumper crop this year, probably a sign of how plentiful their growth is everywhere else. They, along with the blueberries and the cod from the food fishery, will go a long way in keeping our deep freeze full for another winter.
Coinciding with the cool-down in temperature is a return to more bread-baking. There’s nothing like the smell of a fresh batch from the oven to take the chill out of your day.
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
What do you like the most about this time of year?
Relief from the heat? A return to a more orderly schedule?
Getting the children out from underfoot and back in school?
Or are you sad because the summer is nearly spent?
Do tell!
This post was inspired by Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Seasonal.
Last week, a friend of ours had to say goodbye to her 20-year-old orange tabby, Theo.
Understandably (to us, anyway), she is having a rough time over it.
Mr. Theo
June 1996 – 8 September 2016
Ever remembered, ever loved.
Just a cat, you may be thinking? Well, the truth is, to anyone who loves a cat the way they deserve to be loved, her grief is real and profound. Not only is a cat like a beloved child, but it is also a companion when you are lonely, a source of comfort when you are suffering or simply having an off day, and a wellspring of joy to anyone who appreciates animals for their natural beauty and abilities.
Our own cats, Maisie and Vivian, recently turned nine, so I guess you could say they now have about half their natural lives behind them.
“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”
—Jean Cocteau
“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.”
—Colette
“What greater gift than the love of a cat?”
—Charles Dickens
Is there a special feline in your life?
Or are you more of a dog person?
Have you lost a beloved pet recently?
Please share in the comments below.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” – John Steinbeck
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” ― William Shakespeare
“A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, just as you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to break through the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts – which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward.”
~ excerpt from The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
Do you agree with this quote?
What is the difference between writing style and writing voice?
I found this article on the topic:
One of the first composition principles a student of photography learns is the rule of thirds.
Storytelling, too, can rely on the rule of three, using repetition of a part of the story to build and then resolve tension.
But what about the number three applied to life and people?
When it comes to a trio of children, the general rule is usually FUN!
Born into a family of three children, I already know this.
Of course, I also know the mischief three little people can get up to.
I was looking after my grandchildren one day, when they and their friend asked me if they could paint their faces. Thinking that the girls, being older, had the good judgement not to use markers, I said “Sure, go ahead.”
Off they went to their playroom. To make a long story short, it took quite a bit of soap and elbow grease that night to erase most of the wonderful face art by marker (so my daughter informed me). Our little boy ended up sporting green eyebrows for a couple of weeks!
Oh dear. My bad.
The moral of the story? Grandmas can make boo-boos sometimes too.
Fun is not limited to children, of course. Get the right three adults together and laughter will surely ensue.
When that trio includes my husband and his sister Julie,
who both love hamming it up for the camera, fun is guaranteed.
Three’s a crowd? Not around here. We just needed more wine.*
“There is something magical about three, you know – a trio is tight and nicely economical.” ~ Ian Williams
“If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.” ~ Laurence J. Peter
“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wish bone, a back bone and a funny bone.” ~ Reba McEntire
What trio comes to your mind when you think of fun and camaraderie?
WPC: Trio
WTT: Camaraderie
* “Photos of us” taken by Paul Sautter
Luminous: radiating or reflecting light; shining, bright.
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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
When Menchies opened in St. John’s a few years back,
it was an instant hit with my grandchildren.
Not actually ice cream but frozen yogurt, it still makes for terrific sundaes.
As if you couldn’t tell by those mega-watt smiles! Ha ha 😀
🍧🍦🍨
Ice cream is happiness condensed. – Jessi Lane Adams
Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not! – Anonymous
The best way to teach children about taxes is to eat 30% of their ice cream.
– Bill Murray
🍦🍧🍦
What’s your favourite treat when you like to reward yourself?
This Week’s Photo Challenge: Treats
Three Day Quote Challenge
What is it that inspires our desire to create?
What moves an artist to draw or to paint a picture? What sparks the passion in a writer to pen a poem or a story? What is it that prompts a photographer to run for her camera and try to capture that perfect shot?
Here are a few things that give me continued inspiration:
1. The ocean, which surrounds me… (No surprise there, right? 😉 )
Every day, it is a slightly different colour, morphing between shades of blue sapphire, steel grey, or deep, dark navy with racing waves and frothy white-caps. On other days, it is as calm and flat as a mirror.
The sea is a living thing: mercurial, organic, merciless, and endlessly beautiful.
2. I’ve always had a passion for all animals (no, not just my cats! 😉 ).
Horses, dogs, whales, and birds…
…natural beings of the forest and untamed creatures of the sea and sky.
3. My granddaughter inspires me with her sunny smile, her boundless energy and curiosity, and her sweet innocent, loving heart.
4. My grandson inspires me with those impossibly long eyelashes, his sense of humour, his quick wit, and his infectious laughter (even when he teases his crinkly Nanny).
5. Teaching children about Nature, and why we need to respect it, appreciate it and care for it is a spark for my imagination. I love answering their many questions…
… and listening to them tell of their own experiences in the beautiful, natural world.
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Have you ever noticed how Children and Nature go so happily together?
“Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them.”
~ Audubon Nature Preschool“As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us..”
~ Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this EarthDo you have special childhood memories of exploring Nature?
What fills you with inspiration? Do tell!
Just a quick note tonight, friends, to let you know I will be away for two weeks starting this weekend.
I’m not sure if I’ll have the time to blog before I come home again, but I do know I will enjoy this break to renew and refresh, soak up some summer fun around the province, and look for new inspiration.
I finally received my editor’s developmental review of my manuscript this past week, and am pleased to say most of the changes are not actual changes, but additions to what I have, so my laptop will go with me.
But you know what? That isn’t work because, to me, it is a labour of love.
Take care, and see you in a couple of weeks! 🙂
– Jennifer ❤
Jennifer's Journal 