Memories

I don’t know when he bought her. But as story goes, he saved up to purchase a boat by tossing all his spare change into the bottom of his duffle bag while working the lines for Canadian Pacific Telecommunications.  This would have happened in the late 40’s or, more likely the the early 50’s.

But I know when my grandfather was directed to sell her.  That would have happened just after he suffered a heart attack in 1968.  I was five years old. And I know that the advice he recieved – to sell this beautiful wooden shooner in an effort to reduce stress – was bad advice.  I’m sure it caused more stress than it relieved. My grandmother always said, it broke his heart. Indeed, his condition for the sale was that the boat not sail in his local waters, so he wouldn’t have to see her.

The Wawaloon has changed hands a couple of times until she found her way home.  Most recently, she was bought by a friend of the family under whose care she was underwent a generous and sympathetic restoration. And!  That also means we get invited for a sail from time to time!!

It is the most comforting and exhilarating feeling to enter a space, a childhood space that is firmly woven into family lore, a space that you have not been in for almost 50 years.  And then to find that space looks, feels and smells the exactly the same as it did back then. 

I half expected to hear my grandparents voices.  

I guess that’s the essence of nostalgia.

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Over The Edge

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over.  Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the centre” – Kurt Vonnegut 

Peering over the edge of a wing for a quick glance at Manhattan. July 2016.

A Fine Day

It started out foggy here this morning. You can see the fog is still laying off shore, waiting to make its way back in this evening.  That’s typical weather for us on hot summer days.  

I took advantage of the cool fog to head into the vineyard and start the trimming and tieing up. And wow!  That’s five rows done!  I’m so pleased. The fog had retreated and it was mighty hot by the time I’d finished, but a satisfying accomplishment nonetheless.

Then to clean the chicken coop, because who enjoys a dirty coop (especially in this heat and humidity)?!  Now it’s all cleaned up, with fresh bedding and even some rose petals sprinkled in the nesting boxes.  I collected 4 eggs for my efforts there. 

A load of laundry on the line, the kitchen cleaned up and supper is ready. And the anticipation seeing #1 son, who will be home for dinner tonight.  What could make this day any better? 

An hour or so of quiet time on the porch  swing in the shade (feet in the warm sun), a light breeze, my book and cuppa, surrounded by roses. That’s my cherry on top!

I know. I know. The rose bushes need a trimming, too.  I’ll save that for tomorrow. 😉

WPC – cherry on top

Bloomin’ Details

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A little look at the July garden – in close detail (that way you can’t see the weeds):

Some Rose Bay roses …

Lace cap hydrangea …

Honeysuckle …

Borage …

Tarragon …

Blue potato blossoms …

Here’s a baby plum …

The back currents are ready for picking ..,

But the first of the peas are in the trug …

I’m off to pick some currents, or maybe some haskaps, or some maybe some weeds…..

Cheers for now!  Happy Gardening!

WPC – Details

Old Stony Brook Doors

Just a couple of pretty doors I wandered past while visiting Old Stony Brook, Long Island this week.

I just love a red door!  This pretty church looks as though it has recently received a new coat of shingles. 

The door to the Three Village Inn & Tavern. This door was so inviting we went inside for a bit of supper and a pint. Very charming! 

Linked to Norm’s Thursday Doors

Flora – Close up

  
Lavender in Bloom (I waited too long to pick … again)

  
Lace-cap Hydrangea (encouraged to Blue with coffee grounds)

Weekly Photo Challenge – Close-up

Wet Paint

  

  The rain on the window this morning was a welcome sound, bringing with it permission to linger a little. That’s what happens after a very busy weekend.  Just as we have done for the past four years, an artsy friend and I participated in the our local community art gallery’s annual fundraising event, Paint Sea on Site.  That’s kind of an awkward title for a wet paint sale.

  
If you are not familiar with a wet paint sale, it works like this:  artists (from near & far) sign up and spread out around the town to create art.  The artwork is collected throughout the day, and often whilst still wet, the pieces are displayed at a central venue for the public to enjoy and bid on, silent auction style.  At the end of the day, the highest bidder walks away with a piece of original art.  Fifty percent of the proceeds go to the art gallery and the other fifty percent goes to the artist.

  
It’s a two day event and is so much fun!  My friend and I have a longstanding date to spend the weekend together.  We use the opportunity to catch up, while supporting each other as we rush to get some work done.  We talk, we paint, we eat, we entertain friends, acquaintances and tourists who stop by.  The time absolutely flies!

  
It is usually one of the hottest weekend of the summer, which can produce some challenges to keep the paint from drying too quickly. And so, we have learned to seek out a place with some shade.  (We also try to be near some public washrooms – but that’s just because we like our comforts)  Heat and drying paint was not a problem this year, not by a long shot. Saturday was cloudy and cool – a little too cool for me – and on Sunday it absolutely poured rain!  

  
The smart people moved inside to work, but not us! No! We stuck it out, finding shelter under a generous person’s deck. It worked pretty well for the morning, but by afternoon, everything was so wet including the canvasses, it make working very difficult, indeed.  The above daisies were in our host’s garden, the blue sky was in my dreams.

 
  
At the end of each day, we went back with our last pieces to watch the auction close, tally the results and compare notes of the day with all the other painters.  There were around 70 of us this year. The gallery provides us with a nice salad supper and some social time.  In spite of the weather, I’m happy to say that all seven of the pieces I produced this weekend sold. (I forgot to take pictures of the last two – no surprise, there). 

But perhaps more significantly, by bedtime last night, my body was tired, my eyes were blurry and my heart was full of the companionable friendships – some newly made and others warmly renewed. 

Garden Share – July

Oh July!  Full-on summer time!! Thanks, again, to Julie of Frog Pond Farm for introducing me the Garden Share Collective.

Here in Nova Scotia, it seems that we have gone from winter to summer in a week!  A week ago on Sunday I reached for a heavy coat to go out and run some errands.  Today it is 25C and sunny!  It’s a bit of a shock.  We have also been getting healthy dose of rain about every three days (and usually in the nighttime, which is nice).  So, the grapes,  the herbs, the veg and the roses are all catching up after a slow start.  And the weeds?  Well!  They are loving this!!

Here is a little taste of the strawberries, which are in full production:

Besides the weeds, it is my little flock of chickens who are my main concern.  On May 1, we had a visit from a fox.  Yup!  You know how that turned out.  She (I suspect it was a mama fox with a family to feed) took out the entire flock except for one sweet Silver Phoenix hen.  It didn’t help that it was the very day we were leaving to go on holiday.  There was nothing we could do, but leave her here alone in the coop under the care of my father who dropped in twice a day to check on her. Immediately upon our return I set about sourcing some chicks.

 Introducing…..our new flock:  6 Austrolops, 2 white bantam Silkies, and 2 Houdan. Here they are on day one:

The Houdan were about a month older than the others, so I kept them separate for a couple weeks before introducing them the our one remaining hen.  They were very skittish.  One kept hiding under the other and seemed to be in constant panic mode.  I’ve been worried for weeks about how to best introduce the chicks to these three.  I placed them in a self contained dog kennel inside the coop for 4 days.  This way everyone could meet each other without contact.  They are growing as fast as the weeds in the garden and their small space was getting crowded fast! Last night I took them from the kennel and placed them on the roosting bar.  They settled immediately. All that worry!!  This morning I went out to open the coop up to the run and watch these babies explore their new surroundings.  Here they come!

 

So far, so good. They are about 7 weeks old now.  My poor Phoenix girl doesn’t seem to know how she got herself into this mess.  It must feel like an invasion every few weeks.

Mademoiselle Houdan is just in a constant state of confusion, anyway.  But she’s certainly a looker!!

But my real concern is her sister.  The second Houdan chick, who is now about 11 weeks old is unable to stand up properly.  Her legs just don’t seem to support her and spread out in opposite directions.  We first noticed a problem about 10 days ago, and the issue has continued to get worse.  I separated her from the coop before introducing the chicks as I just didn’t want to add to her stress.  I also wanted her to be in a small space with easy access to food and water.

I don’t know what has caused this leg issue, and I don’t know if there is anything I can do to help her.  If she can’t support herself, she may not be able to stay clean and access the necessary food & water. So I’m really at a loss. If anyone has had a similar experience, or have heard of such a thing, I’d be very interested in learning more.

 In the meantime, I’ll keep her quiet and safe, while I enjoy watching those little chicks grow and explore.

Serenity

A soft July morning in lovely Lunenburg………
Weekly Photo Challenge – Serenity