What is Vivian staring at?
What has gotten her so concerned?
***
“The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax-murderer.” — Paula Poundstone
“That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.” ― Ray Bradbury
“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” — Charles Dickens
Summer here in Newfoundland and Labrador is gradually drawing to a close.
It was a lovely one – and still is – and now, Environment Canada is predicting a warmer than usual fall. I’ll take it! I’d already been dreaming of a sunny September so that is more than welcome news. We are in the process of painting our house, so good weather is gladly received for that as well.
Today I’m sharing pics I took in July of Barbour Tickle here in Newtown. Along the tickle lies Barbour Living Heritage Village, which has been offering a taste of history to tourists since 1991. From the NL Tourism site:
“Venture along the coastal loop to Newtown, known as the Venice of Newfoundland to explore with local guides and experience life in the outport. Tour the active village by day, dine at the Olde Shoppe Restaurant, enjoy an evening of live music or theatre…Visit the Barbour Living Heritage Village today for a Newfoundland outport experience.”
Tours and events are wrapping up for the season very soon, so if you’re planning a visit, better make it this weekend!
Find out more about the Barbour site here.
My Season’s End Newsletter will be emailed out next week. If you’re not on the list yet, please click on the tickle photo below to add yourself. You will then be eligible to enter a Reader Gift Basket Giveaway for a Kindle Fire, a $25 Amazon eCard & a bottle of wine to be drawn at the end of September.
See you next month!
The flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow dies;
All that we wish to stay
Tempts and then flies.
What is this world’s delight?
Lightning that mocks the night,
Brief even as bright.*
*This is the first stanza of The Flower that Smiles Today by Percy Shelley, one of my favourite poems. Read the entire poem and a brief analysis here.
And a favourite quote:
“Man’s life is brief and transitory, Literature endures forever.”
― Rory Stewart, The Places in Between
Flowers of primary colours: travel theme by wheresmybackpack.com
Photos: jenniferkellandperry.com
July is over! Whaaa?
Can you believe how quickly it whizzed by?
This month is shaping up to be
another busy one for yours truly.
First, there’s this:
I am honoured to be making three appearances during this Author Tour.
Getting to rub shoulders with the literary talent in our fair province is a huge part of the fun. Do drop by our libraries if you’re in Gander or Clarenville on these above dates, or if you’re in St. John’s for the Grand Finale. (More about the finale later)
I will also be busy with my two grandkids + one little friend, who are coming tomorrow for a week-long stay here on Perry’s Point.
And then there’s work on the new novel in between all of this, not to mention all those chances to soak up more summer.
FYI:
I’m running an Amazon Countdown Deal
for Calmer Secrets from
August 2nd to August 9th.
Score a Kindle copy
of this sequel to Calmer Girls
at a discount on Amazon.com
and Amazon.co.uk.
What are your plans for August?
Do tell!
One summer day, when my son Brian was just a little boy, his Aunt Sherry came to babysit him.
When I got home from work, I found a note stuck to the fridge. It read: “Took Brain to the beach. Sherry.” We all had a great laugh over the funny spelling. (Yes, my boy is smart, but that’s beside the point.)
Fast forward to the present. Last week, he had some time off, so he came to visit for a couple of days. The weather was perfect and off we went. We took Brain Brian to Lumsden North beach for some practice on his golf swing.
This is one of his favourite pastimes when he visits. I’ve blogged about beach golf here before, when they used the beach right next to our house as a driving range and the sandbar as a target. Check out the photos here.
The next morning was even warmer and more beautiful, so for a change, we headed out to the beach at Cape Freels.
Momma got bored watching, so she went for a walk.
Too bad she didn’t bring her own brain to the beach. She forgot to turn her iPhone the proper way for the following video! Oh well, if you watch it on your phone, it’s fine. And black bars or not, it’s still pretty, and the sounds of the wind and waves will help you feel the warm sun and the gentle sea breeze on your face.
Happy Friday, everyone!
Will you be going to the beach this weekend?
After nine days, the children have gone home.
Our house yawns astonishingly quiet and empty. The beaches here on Sandy-Feet Avenue and Perry’s Point look abandoned, lonely and forlorn; bereft of the three little beach bums that ran across them countless times a day.
A myriad of reminders surround me: empty sand pails, tiny mementos in the form of sea glass and shells from the beach, our grandson’s toy army tank left behind, a day pass from Windmill Bight Park, a box of our granddaughter’s favourite crackers in the cupboard, a candy wrapper under the bed. There is even a folder of GoPro videos they made saved on my PC desktop.
And I’m amazed at how much longer it takes for the dishwasher and the washing machine to fill up in their absence.
We miss our two grandchildren – plus one little friend – but we had an incredible time together filled with sweet summer memories and photos to look back on.
And there is always next year, God willing!
Here are a few captures from last week.
During one of these lazy afternoons, our girl decided she wanted to write a story. So while her friend and our boy continued playing on the beach, she sat down nearby with a pad of lined paper and a pencil. When I asked her what her story was about, she said with a shy grin, “Cats.”
I guess the (grand)apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
*All photos taken with iPhone 6
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fun
“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
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!
Now that summer is here,
I take time out of every one of my days to prowl around Perry’s Point.
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.
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.
Jennifer says that’s a good thing, but we disagree.
I’ve been known to sit and wait here patiently for hours. I kid you not.
Hmm. Unfortunately, not much stirring here this afternoon.
I’ll check back again after sunset.
In the meantime, I think I’ll run out to the end of the point…
…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?
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
Spring
Summer
Autumn in Newtown
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
~ Albert Einstein
Jennifer's Journal 