My master and I are best buddies
time together we do love to share
I have proven my “dogged” affection
For a cat, I am told, that is rare
So it gives me great pleasure to flaunt it,
how I’ll follow behind my fine friend,
stay with him as long as I’m needed, then…
…make a bed of his shorts at day’s end.
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*Photo credits go to Paul Sautter Jr. – except for the last two 😉
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!
We might not have the greatest weather in Newfoundland, but we do have some of the loveliest views.
I can’t seem to get enough of our local brand of vitamin Sea.
This photo from my hometown/birthplace.
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I have a treasure trove of pics from our visit to the town of Bonavista.
This one is perfect for the theme of half sea and half sky.
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I took this one evening from the lovely Garden Cove Walking Trail,
while we were staying in Kilmory.
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Of course, this post would not be complete without a view from our own backyard.
“Smell the sea and feel the sky.
Let your soul and spirit fly.”
~ Van Morrison
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Do you find the sea and sky as naturally therapeutic as I do?
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PHOTO CHALLENGE: Half and Half
This week, let’s split our photos in two.
Travel Theme: Land meets Water
(… meets sky? 😉 )
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I can hardly believe it. It’s been nearly five years since my husband and I went through with our plan to trade in our old lives and move out of the city.
In August of 2010, we threw caution to the wind and put our home of ten years on the market. Paul kissed me goodbye, drove to his hometown, and began overseeing the gargantuan job of renovating his grandfather’s old two-storey in Bonavista North. When the sale of our house closed near the end of September, Maisie, Vivian and I joined him. We stayed nearby in a friend’s vacant summer home until the bulk of the work was completed.
During the first week of December that year, we finally had enough upgrades done to buy our new appliances, unpack the boxes, and begin to set up house.
Do I have any regrets? Not many. That first winter, I missed living close to my family, and I still wish I could see my children and grandchildren more often than I do. But other than that, I am happy to have relocated here to our home by the sea. Somehow, I don’t think I would have taken up writing the way I have if I’d stayed in the city, so taking this journey to fulfill my lifelong dream has certainly made it all worthwhile.
Besides that, Paul’s dream to return to his boyhood home has come true too. ❤
Looking back now, I think we can both vouch for the old saying: the best journey is the one that takes you home.
***
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Have you lived to see a dream come to fruition?
Or are you working on one for the future?
Iceberg Alley is what we call the area stretching from the coast of Labrador to the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland, and the best time for viewing bergs is late May and early June.
Saturday was beautiful and sunny, so Paul and I decided to drive to Greenspond to see if there were any icebergs close enough for good snaps. Before we entered the town, we were delighted to meet a few of them next to Greenspond’s causeway.
We drove on into Greenspond to discover even more of the frozen beauties from the North.
Have you ever gotten up close and personal with an iceberg?
This week is a definite departure from the usual routine at our house.
My daughter and her family came to visit on Good Friday, and we had a fun weekend together. Denise and Dave went back to town on Sunday, leaving the children with us for their entire Easter holidays. Here are a few photos.
Needless to say, my time and energy have been devoted mostly to our little guests.
How was your Easter?
In my next post, I will be sharing some news. Stay tuned!
To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty. ~ H. P. Lovecraft
Captured from our doorstep last weekend…
…and a few minutes later.
Photo Challenge: Ephemeral
A couple of weeks ago, we weathered yet another “lovely” ice storm. The freezing rain painted every surface with sleet, resulting in slippery walks, treacherous roads, and a thick coat of glittering rime on just about everything. Oh Joy!
If you’ve never heard about the phenomenon of “ice-fog”, this is what it looks like.
I hoped to capture some shots of sunshine on the glitter, but the forecast wasn’t cooperating. Not one to miss an opportunity, however, I headed outside to see what artistry I might find under the heavy grey overcast of gloom.
The scene is still, frozen in windless silence. I find a stalk encased in a shell of ice.
Abandoned clothespins encapsulated on our summer neighbour’s line.
Who knew they would prove useful for this shutterbug?
Fences are crusted with frost, and icicles trickle in abundance.
The fog begins to clear…
…and the clouds lift a little, allowing a few thin milky rays to shine through.
All at once, everything glows with a sparkly sheen…
…and the “batty catters” take on a cold blue tint at the ocean’s edge.
A wide band of slobby ice meanders in the water near the coastline.
So far, we’ve enjoyed countless sunny days and not too much of the white stuff.
But that may be about to change; a winter storm alert is issued for the weekend.
How are you braving the winter?
Are you longing to put this season behind you?
Or are you finding beauty in unexpected places?
It’s a blue winter day on Perry’s Point.
It isn’t a sad and lonely day, but one painted with the hues of a brilliant blue sky and a blanket of sunshine, the kind of day where the sun and snow merge to design graceful shadows in the hollows of the landscape.
Sun on the newly fallen and drifted snow creates a tapestry of shadowy forms,
from the palest baby blue to the deepest of indigo.
The slanting afternoon rays of sunlight hold little heat,
but warm the heart of this nature-lover nonetheless.
The surface of the snow waves and crests,
while most of the bay lies still under a layer of slush and ice.
Dunes of scalloped white surround me…
…and the only hint of sound is the faint exhale of a frigid breeze.
Certain feathered creatures have already been here.
At the end of the Point I reach the icy blue coastline…
…where the water is still full of movement in spite of the sub-zero air.
Cold, but fluid…
…clear and beautiful.
Other shadows dapple a weather-worn barn…
…and sun-bleached fences.
Hidden in shade, a bird house waits for spring, and a new tenant…
…while our neighbour’s fishing boat awaits a new summer.
Ben Perry’s shed is called a “store” around these parts.
Still more shadows hide in furrows of snow and last summer’s grasses. I wade in.
My toes are like ice cubes inside my boots at this point. I hop over the fence to home.
Time to put the kettle on…
…and thaw myself out with a cup of tea.
And my world changes from blue to green.
How is your January going? What is the colour of your winter?
Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadowed
“Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose.
Anything else is a form of slavery.” ~ Wayne Dyer
How do you picture freedom?
Jennifer's Journal 