Category: Scenery

Vivian’s View From Here: A Fresh Look

Published on by J. Kelland Perry39 Comments

Hello everyone! Vivian K. Perry here, eager to bring you a fresh look of me enjoying Perry’s Point this morning.

It’s been an odd sort of winter here in Newfoundland and Labrador, with less snow than usual, particularly here on the Bonavista North coastline where a strong gale often whisks the flakes away before they can even think about settling. But overnight last night the light wind allowed a pretty layer of snow to fall, and the sun came out, so I couldn’t wait to go outside and explore.

This was my second trip outside this morning.
Time to make more tracks!

I’ve made plenty of paw prints but I look for the dry spots too.


I think I’ve had enough for now. Time to go inside for a cuddle.

“You know, sometimes the world seems like a pretty mean place.
That’s why animals are so soft and huggy.” – Bill Watterson

Check out my very short YouTube video below
to see how I try to retrace my snow-prints! ~ love, Vivian


Photo Challenge: Sunday Stills – Another Fresh Look At…

Sunday Snaps: Feeding the Birds, Parisian Style

Published on by J. Kelland Perry30 Comments

Happy Sunday, all!

This afternoon has me wistfully looking back on our European trip, yet again. For this post in particular, I’m reminiscing about Paris and our visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

As enthralling as it was to take a tour inside this extraordinary example of French Gothic architecture, I was equally enamored with the feathery congregation outside!

In April of 2019, a massive fire tore through the roof of the Notre Dame, but a restoration by artisans is in the works. I have a feeling these birds have missed the tourists and will be happy when this historic cathedral reopens in 2024.

By the way, did you know that February is National Bird Feeding Month in the U.S.?

“Birds are the most popular group in the animal kingdom. We feed them and tame them and think we know them. And yet they inhabit a world which is really rather mysterious.” ~ David Attenborough

Photo Challenge: Sunday Stills — Are You a #Bird Feeder?

My photos originally shared here: Scenes From France – Part 3: More Paris!

Which Way?

Published on by J. Kelland Perry27 Comments

Happy Friday, all!
Here’s a fun photo challenge from the blog Alive and Trekking.

Which way do I go for my favourite local walking trail?
To Greenspond, of course!

Greenspond Walking Trail

And which way to Bennett Island?
Across the water from Newtown, that’s where.

Rowing to Bennett Island

“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

While visiting Italy, which way to Siena?
Through this archway!

Our group entering Siena in Italy.
Most of the walls built in the 10th and 11th century still surround the city today.

And which direction do we go to spend lots of money?
This way!

Shops and boutiques line many of the streets in Siena.

Here I am getting ready to leave Grand Central Station
to explore New York City. But which way should I go?
There’s so much to see!

Excited to visit the Big Apple

Back in Newfoundland, what is the only way
to enter St. John’s Harbour from the Atlantic Ocean?
Through the Narrows.

From Signal Hill, watching a boat enter the Narrows of St. John’s Harbour

“Happiness is a direction, not a place.”
~ Sydney J. Harris

Signal Hill, St. John’s

And finally, which way was Maisie going on that lovely August day?
Where was she leading Vivian? Who knows?

“Right behind you, Sis!”

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
~ George Harrison (and perhaps Louis Carroll?)

Photo Challenge: Which Way by Alive and Trekking

Weathered

Published on by J. Kelland Perry41 Comments

“Some old things are lovely warm still with the life of forgotten men who made them.”
~ D. H. Lawrence

I snapped these photos with my phone on July 11th last year while visiting my daughter and her family at their summer property in Lead Cove, NL. They are of my son-in-law’s shed, which once belonged to his father, and to his grandfather before that. The above quote came to mind from one of my previous posts, titled Old.

The weathered closeup depicted in the last photo takes me back to that summer afternoon, when I pressed my hand on the sun-warmed clapboard, grey as driftwood under its flakes of peeling paint. There’s something about old structures that inspire a longing, speak in soft whispers, as if sharing with me the poignant aura of days long gone.

Photo Challenge: Weather(ed) – Travel With Intent
Photo Challenge: Closeup or Macro – Cee Neuner

Sunday Snap: Sunrise

Published on by J. Kelland Perry31 Comments
Sunrise over Bennett Island

Happy December, everyone!

Wait—what?? How can this be? I had thought my November would have dragged by much more slowly, after I signed up for NaNoWriMo and sequestered myself to my writing cave for thirty days. Most of those days started early too—pitch-black early before the clocks rolled back on the 7th—and yet the month flew by anyway.

It was pleasant rising with the sun on those mornings. Most of this blog’s “sun photography” has been of the sunset variety like the one on my header, but there is something special about the quality of the sun at dawn. The stillness, the quietude, the fresh hope that gives birth to each new day is perfect inspiration for writing a new chapter in a novel or starting a new chapter in your life.

“I write for the same reason I watch the sun rise every morning. Not to express some great truth, but because it makes me feel wildly, gloriously alive.” ~ Marty Rubin

A Photo a Week Challenge: Sunrise

Sunday Snaps: Beach Birds

Published on by J. Kelland Perry22 Comments

Even though it’s November, we are still seeing shorebirds around Perry’s Point. Sandpipers, plovers, whatever the species, I like them all.

And I love that they make their home here in late spring, summer and fall. With the cold temperatures increasing, I predict our feathered friends will be winging their way south very soon. Here are three of my favourite shots of them from my files.

This one seems to have something to say!

So imagine my delight when I scored these lovelies at HomeSense recently:

Now I can enjoy beach birds all year round. 🙂

Bloggers and e-friends: My apologies for not visiting your blogs as much this month, due to my participation in NaNoWriMo. By the time I finish writing each day, I need to take a break from constant screens. But I shall return!

Have a wonderful week, everyone.

A Thankful Heart

Published on by J. Kelland Perry33 Comments

Hi, everyone! It’s a wild and windy Thanksgiving weekend with storm surges in my corner of the world, so I thought I’d share a few photos that show weather that is more, shall we say, temperate.

“The unthankful heart
discovers no mercies;
but the thankful heart
will find, in every hour,
some heavenly blessings.”
– Henry Ward Beecher

“I’m grateful for always
this moment, the now,
no matter what form it takes.”
– Eckhart Tolle

Autumn sky

Happy Sunday, all,
and Happy Thanksgiving
to my Canadian friends and followers!
♥♥♥

Sunday Snaps: Vanishing Points

Published on by J. Kelland Perry23 Comments

To create an illusion of depth in photography, you need perspective. One way to create perspective is by using vanishing points. A vanishing point, or point of convergence, is the spot on the horizon line where the other lines diminish. Sometimes it is visible, other times not.

To start, I’m sharing three of my photos from here in Newfoundland and Labrador. They show fall, winter and summer, in that order.

Driving to Corner Brook on the Island’s West Coast
Looking back at our house from the shovelled path
The gang enjoying Cape Island Beach, Cape Freels

The following three photos were captured during my travels:

Driving through Tuscany
Shopping in Montreal
Champs-Elysees, Paris

“They dealt in transformations; they suggested an endless series of possibilities, extending like the reflections in two mirrors set facing one another, stretching on, replica after replica, to the vanishing point.” – Margaret Atwood

A Photo a Week Challenge: Vanishing Point

“Venice of Newfoundland”: a Bird’s Eye View

Published on by J. Kelland Perry40 Comments

Thanks to two local photographers, you can see why Newtown has been nicknamed “the Venice of Newfoundland.” The community is like an archipelago, connected by a series of causeways and bridges.

Newtown: Tom Cochrane Photo, August 11, Facebook
Barbour Heritage Village, Newtown:
Chelsey Lawrence Photography, Sept. 22, Facebook

I think it’s pretty cool that our house can be seen in both photos. 🙂

A Cat Pic, Southpaws, and an Abundance of Jennifers

Published on by J. Kelland Perry27 Comments
Vivian in her “Summer Happy Place”

Happy Sunday, all!

The above photo was taken by my son’s significant other, Jennifer (yes, another Jennifer, but I’ll return to that topic in a bit).

Vivian was enjoying a catnap in our back garden that day. Some days during summer, she crawls into the wild rosebushes in our garden for naps that can last for hours! She hasn’t got the life, I know. Thinking of the photographer reminded me of something I wanted to share.

Photo by Pexels.com

First, about the southpaws: I am a lefthanded person. I was one of those little girls whose grandmother tried to switch her over to righthandedness, whether I was holding a spoon, fork, crayon or pencil. But I was having none of that. No siree bob. Mom finally convinced my Nanny Lambert that it was useless for her to keep trying.

I was the only lefty in my immediate family. My parents, sister, and brother were all righthanded. But then something interesting happened.

I had: 1 GIRL and 1 BOY

My brother had: 1 BOY

My sister had: 1 BOY and 1 GIRL

Three of those boys, our only sons, were born lefthanded! What are the odds on that?

Now, back to the “Jennifers.”

There are three other Jennifers in my extended family. No, none of them were named after me (shucks).

These other Jennifers are the wives/significant others of mine and my siblings’ three sons! All three couples have been together for years. ❤

Funny how life in all its randomness created such a happenstance. Do you have any strange coincidences in your family? Many southpaws? While thinking on that, have another, more closeup look at our Vivian. Thanks again for the great capture, Jenny!