rock weed hunt

 After planting last Saturday I went down to the beach to find rock week to fertilize it, but hardly any had been washed up. I suppose I need to wait until there is a storm, but then the storm would not necessarily be very welcome. I suppose that one just waits to see what life washes in.

And now, do you eat bananas? Here is a movie trailer:


BANANAS!* trailer from WG Film on Vimeo.

blue bay

In the distance you can see the blue of the bay that never freezes.This is my neighbour's wash line. I cannot imagine living in a repressive society that will not allow one to to hang out the laundry. Someone has done a study and written the book on Nova Scotian wash lines. Everyone has a different system. Personally, I work on rainbow sequences.

And a young man in blue jeans:

at the beach

We went to the beach today, thinking that we would walk along the shingle, but the wind was fierce, so we turned and went through the woods. As in life, there is always another way.

guy with tractor

Wanted guy with tractor for serious relationship - send picture of tractor. Actually I didn't want a guy or a tractor at all, but the phoned ringed and there was this guy saying that my neighbour had said that I wanted the back field mowed. Well I had really thought that I would forgo the mowing and have a wildlife refuge. Obviously my neighbour thought otherwise. And I live in this community, so five minutes later the guy with tractor and bush hog turned up. It turned out that the tractor was an old friend. For years Oscar had driven the old white tractor up and down the road. Then Oscar passed away and the tractor disappeared. Here it was again given to a young man making it work for him. Next year, no doubt, the field will be mowed again. Cycles of life, I suppose.

lighthouse keeper

The Saturday before I left it was my turn to be the lighthouse host. The lighthouse is open on weekend afternoons during the summer. I entertained the visitors who came to see climb the stairs and see the presentation.
The lighthouse had been declared redundant. These days we have technology, but we did not want to lose our lighthouse. So we formed a society and bought it from the Federal Department of Transport. It cost us a dollar, a loonie, but then, or course, we were responsible for the upkeep. There were some lively meetings. Now I am away, I am out of the loop, but I was still on for my volunteer stint as the keeper of the light.

bluffs

Saturday I walked through the forest down to the bluffs. This is my land, but how can one own land? I only have its stewardship for a time. There is something about standing on top of the bluffs with the ocean pounding below that gives me such energy, such a wonderful high.

fish shack

Here's one of the fish shacks down by the wharf. Sometimes you hear country music coming out of an empty shack - the radio keeps the rats out of the bait. Now wouldn't it be something if the computers could digitally reproduce smell? Then I could send you the full effect!

Cape Islanders

These are Cape Islanders tied up at our wharf in Hampton at high tide. At low tide they would be resting on the ocean floor. I took the picture yesterday when we went for a walk. It's lobster season, but it was too rough today to go out. The fisherman next door had gone down to the wharf at 4:30, but they decided to call it off. And it was windy on the road when I drove back today to Sussex - 500 kilometers - but if you look at the horizon you can see Saint Martin's - and I'm really just inland from there. I want wings, and a calm sea.

strawberries

This is my neighbour's strawberry stand - you drop a toonie and two quarters into the yogourt container. The soil here is quite gravelly and needs a lot of amendment - like seaweed, but when I was gardening a few kilometres away it was brick-quality clay. There are always challenges. I am eating strawberries for three meals a day.

country technology

This is Joan's garden. I've using her computer, but here on the shore we only get dial-up. So sometimes I can load pictures onto the blog and sometimes - like the last time that I tried, it just comes up blank. But it worked today. I've been putting primer on the exterior of the house, working around on the shady side. I can only do what I can reach, then I'll have to get someone to do the high ladder work. Somehow, for me, paint cans and July just go together.

early morning

Early in the morning just across the road the horses were grazing on the hill. I cannot capture the mist in the photo, but I hope that this brings a certain dampness with it for you to share.

shore

I walked to the shore to reintroduce myself to the ocean.

wharf

This is our wharf, just a stroll down the road. The lobster boats are gearing up and the tide is about midway. It is so good to be back.