A Wobbily Door

The bitter cold of this (so far) snow-free January let up yesterday. I could NOT resist taking a nice long “Thinking Walk” (to borrow a phrase from Winnie the Pooh).

I was rewarded with this beauty of a fishing shed and her wobbily door.

As you can imagine, I wasn’t alone. Lots of dog walkers. I bet most doggies protested two days ago when the wind chill was -20C. But yesterday was a glorious 10c above. And out we all trotted!

(Honestly, a girl has to have a flexible wardrobe to get through winters here.)

The crows were plentiful, too. They were calling to each other, foraging in the grasses and even, like this one, stopping to rest and appreciate.

At least that’s what I like to think he was doing. Or maybe he had me under surveillance.

Crows know things.

Linked with Norm’s Thursday Doors

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Silence

A little bit snowy, a little bit foggy, a little bit sunny. Late afternoon light on a December afternoon.

WPC – silence

Serene

A moment of quiet amidst the frenzy of preparations.

WPC – serene

Pedestrian

This late summer squash blossom is attracting lots of attention from the honey bees. They seem to be queuing up. And, if you could see further in, you’d find three more bees in the throats of the flower. Amazing!!

WPC – pedestrian

Happy Place

“Now and then it is good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy”  – Guillaume Apollinare

Hirtle’s Beach

If you challenge me to state my “happy place” I won’t do it.  It’s not because I’m being difficult, or because I am unhappy.  But rather because I have found happiness in so many “places” I couldn’t possibly pin down just one.  I am happy in all the usual places like in my home especially (like this weekend) when my kids are around or in my garden, or touring on my bicycle.  I have found great happiness in the most unlikely places such as stuck in traffic with a good friend, or in a hospital (specifically in a delivery room when my sons were born).  So, I think happiness has little to do with place.

This weekend our boys (plus one girlfriend) and a group of our friends gathered here at our place to help us harvest our grapes.  That generosity made me happy.  Seeing those grapes off to the winery, taking all the fretting and worrying with them, made me very happy indeed.

Today, with all that work behind us, and weather feeling more like summer than mid autumn, Son #1 and I drove to his favourite beach, just to look at the water.  It’s only 10 minutes from home. This boy has just graduated from university and is in the process of sorting out the next steps in his journey – trying so hard to get it just right.

We are lucky to live in a place that is literally surrounded by beaches. But this one.  This beautiful place with more than three kilometres of sand facing the North Atlantic is a pretty special spot.

For a moment this afternoon, standing there together, with our feet in the sand and the sun on our faces, drinking in the gentle surf and the breeze …… well, that was a lovely moment of happiness.

Happy Place – weekly photo challenge

A Walk in the June Garden

However many years she lived, Mary always felt that she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow. – Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Finally – green and growing.  Even though we are a full two weeks behind the usual growing season this year, the June garden is full of promise.

In the vineyard, the grapes are just beginning to flower.  We are working hard to double the plantings in our little vineyard this spring, so these little flowers are very encouraging.

The Hascap berries are fully formed and just thinking about turning blue.  They should be ripe in about 2 or 3 weeks.  Do you know about hascaps?

The hops are reaching….. reaching….. reaching!

The French Tarragon is at it’s peak!  Yum!

The hard neck garlic is looking hale and healthy.

And the strawberries are coming along.

Do you remember the cold frame that was buried under several feet of snow this winter?  Well, here’s what has been going on in there… the carrots, kale and lettuce thrived… and are now giving us an early harvest.  We’ve happily been enjoying the kale for weeks.

The irises …

bleeding heart, bluebells, lambs ears, and ….

the first poppy!

 If you ask me, nothing says “June Garden” like the sight and scent of the lilac.

Vivid

Vivid: Producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind. Mid-17th century: from Latin vividus, from vivere “to live” (OED)

Overlooking the vineyard and the beach on a November afternoon.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid

Landscape

Landscape – The easiest assignment, I thought; just point and shoot. Right? But that’s not how it played out. I started taking photos early this morning. But each time I looked again, the change in light had completely altered the scene. (Reference last weekend’s assignment) I’ve finally settled on this latest shot, taken in the late afternoon. I love this golden afternoon light! And how nice for those lovely clouds to show up as if on cue. I didn’t need to crop at all, but I did focus on keeping that horizon level.