“Ripples”

Here is my take on Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Ripples this week.

First, some evening shots along the shores near my home:

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view from our deck last night
view from our deck last night
a couple of hours later
a couple of hours later

This morning I shot these pics of my husband and Vivian on their pre-breakfast jaunt:

Vivian follows him everywhere
Vivian follows him everywhere

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as loyal as any dog

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There were a few “ripples” of laughter from behind the camera too.  Smileys

Calm Before the Storm

When you get a beautiful sunny day around here in the middle of February, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to get outside and enjoy it. And especially so, when the forecast is telling you that it is the calm before yet another winter storm.

Yes, the winds are going to whip up again tonight, and we’ll have to be content with more cocooning. But yesterday my husband and I enjoyed a walk on the branch road, on perhaps the most brilliant winter day we’ve had this year.

Here is a sampling of some photos from our walk.

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View from our back deck
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Lots of ice in the Tickle
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View of Perry’s Point from the branch road
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That’s our house (light one with the matching shed)

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His nibs (just kidding 😉 )
Moi
Moi
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Some of the sparse evergreens in our immediate area

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Another little “droke”
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Back on the Point

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Plenty of “batty catters” (Newfoundland term for ice and snow formed on shoreline rocks)
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l love the calm of the blue sky and ocean

How about where you live? Are you enjoying your February weather?

A Winter Visitor

I was a little disappointed this morning when I learned our area wouldn’t be getting the big dumping of snow that St. John’s and the rest of the Avalon Peninsula has in their forecast. Everyone there is bracing for up to seventy centimeters of the white stuff, while we are only expecting five to ten.
Boo! 😦

But then along came a little visitor down by our beach.

January 2013 003
January 2013 007I thought it was an adult harp seal first, because he appeared to be mostly black.

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January 2013 018But as I inched closer…and he turned to see me…

January 2013 019I could see more spottiness and some “whitecoat” on his other side.

January 2013 031When I reassured him that I meant no harm, he seemed to squint his eyes…sort of like my cats do when I talk “love talk” to them. 🙂

Don’t worry, little seal.

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January 2013 044You are so very close to my house.

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January 2013 054I’m not fond of seal meat or flipper pie, so you have nothing to fear from me.

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So even though I’m going to miss the big snowfall back home, I never could have gotten these pics back in my old backyard !

To see photos of the baby seal, or whitecoat, that visited us last winter, click here, and scroll down. 🙂

Heritage Fishing Village

 

Come along with me as I revisit my community’s Living Heritage Village. It is a major tourist attraction in this part of our province, providing a historical look back at the old days for our visitors, and seasonal employment for some of our locals.

Templeman House, a registered heritage home
Templeman plaque
Benjamin Barbour House

The heritage homes also boast a treasure trove of antiques and other artifacts.



I just love this door
Fishing Stage
Fishing Supply Building
Alphaeus Barbour House






Schoolhouse
Old Shoppe restaurant
St. Luke’s Anglican Church is also a living heritage site
The church received the Southcott Award, for preservation of Newfoundland and Labrador’s architectural heritage.

During the summer, the Village provides guided tours by staff in period costumes, as well as dinner theatre and concerts in the buildings I have shown here. Also featured are a craft shop, art gallery, tea room, and a restaurant.

So if you are ever in my area, do drop in and check it out. For more info, visit the website: www.barbour-site.com

Autumn Walk on the East Coast

Come along as we take a stroll through Newtown on this beautiful October day.

partridgeberries – a.k.a. lingonberries

The tide is high this afternoon.
Much of my next door neighbour’s garden is still summer lovely.



I stopped to admire another neighbour’s potato harvest. Of course, he insisted I take a bagful.
Dogberries, a true harbinger of Fall


Lobster traps
Mr. Blue Sky and me
Still wearing his shorts in October, and loving it

The Tickle




Our other neighbour is drying salt fish.
Freshly painted grapnels for next year’s fishing season
Kitties, you should have come with us.

Travel Theme: Oceans

June 8th was World Oceans Day. World Oceans Day has been unofficially celebrated on June 8th since 1992 when Canada proposed the idea at the Earth Summit in Rio, and was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008. The official website is worldoceansday.org.

Here is my contribution to a weekly travel theme challenge created by wheresmybackpack.wordpress.com.  Because I live by the Atlantic Ocean here in Canada, I thought I would share some pics from last year when my daughter and her family visited, and had fun on our sandy seashores.

“looking for treasures”
“I found a starfish, Nanny!”

“Look what I found…a baby crab!”


“dancing with the waves”

Bonavista Bay Polar Bear!

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local Facebook photo

“Be careful what you wish for, Jennifer…”

I have always adored animals, and was enjoying getting closer to nature since my husband and I moved back to rural Newfoundland, but THIS IS A LITTLE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT.

Yes, the big visitor showed up in our little town just yesterday, one of four recent reports of polar bears being on the island of Newfoundland so far this spring (read further and view actual pictures from yesterday from the linked article below).  The Ursus Maritimus doesn’t often make its way this far south.  It is when it is hungrily hunting seals, which are found on icepans this time of year, that it may end up in some of our backyards.  Yikes!!

“Don’t worry,”  says my husband.  “Nobody has ever been attacked by a polar bear in Newtown before.”

Gee, thanks, Honey.  I don’t know why I was worrying.  We are, after all, only talking about the LARGEST LIVING LAND PREDATOR IN THE WORLD.

Silly RCMP, too, for warning us to be on the lookout.  Oh well, as the old joke goes, I won’t have to outrun the bear, I’ll just have to outrun the husband…

Cold and Dreary February? Nahh… Part One (Outdoors)

I have never professed to be a winter-loving person.   I don’t ski, skate or snowmobile, and here in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the winter can drag on longer than many of us like.

But it isn’t all bad.  I do like to go outdoors on the sunny days for walks, or just to take some pictures of things that catch my fanciful eye.  Last week I snapped a few shots of the glittering aftermath of a sleet storm.  It is also satisfying to find signs of wildlife…and finding wildlife itself.

(For better viewing, click on the first photo to start the gallery)

But then, as pretty as all this is, my heart is looking forward.  It waits patiently, yet eagerly for summer.

Coming soon:  Cold and Dreary February?  Nahh… Part Two  (Indoors)

This is why they call it “Bonavista” Bay

Backyard Sunset
Slob Ice in the Bay
Sunshine through the Clouds
My Cat Vivian Enjoying the View
Surreal, isn’t it?
Nature’s Beauty
Winterscape
Backyard View
So Romantic
Visit from a Baby Harp Seal
Whitecoat Watching
St. Luke’s
Beautiful Winter Day
Bald Eagle on Rock.  Notice Flatfish in his Clutches.    Photo courtesy of Wayne Perry
Seagull wants that Flatfish too!         Photo courtesy of Wayne Perry