Foto-fest: 4 months with family, friends and nature

What a ride my “summer-autumn” season has been. Gardening, visiting, cooking and accommodating guests, not willing to miss the glories of wonderful weather, being in and feeling nature…..interspersed with trips to the airport picking up or dropping off travellers. Not a roller coaster,  more like a magnetic levitation : the term used for trains with magnetic fields to propel them along quickly, yet with stability. I admit there were moments I felt off balance with all the kaffuffle, but like the trains; I stayed on track. And the great memories are worth it.

This photo story isn’t chronological but a random, spontaneous style much like how life happened. Photos are first: followed by captions.

Such glorious summer weather for gardening and its pleasures: wonderful to share the work and wonder with daughter Renee – now my closest neighbour – who’s also entranced by the joys of nature. Thanks to her I observed in our garden the cycle of the monarch larvae, chrysalis, through to butterfly stage.

So delighted with two raspberry crops, early summer and fall – in spite of my willy-nilly cane pruning last fall!

Family from our western Canadian roots, Trent and Shauna Forsberg. Prairie people – including Derryl and I – are always keen to walk a beach. Great talks with these special folks.

Dale and Ella Unland: Alberta friends we’ve known forever. SO much laughter and reminiscing. Heart-filling.

On a perfectly beautiful day I joined the Sole Mates (hiking group of women of similar-vintage) for a ferry ride across the bay from Chester, Nova Scotia to Tancook Island. Met by a friendly local who toured us around – some of us sitting in the back of her half-ton truck (one of the few vehicles on the island) we saw the island’s highlights: including a small gift shop where I discovered a thin Tancook 101 booklet. At the time of printing, one of the details listed in “everything you need to know about life on Big Tancook Island” was that six students were enrolled at the elementary school. An island with a vibe all its own? Of a truth.

Dream come true for Renee and I. Hiking in to Pollett’s Cove (Cape Breton Island) , tent overnight and hike back out the next day. We had so much fun…. loved it. Her video version tells the full story of this fun trip!

How blessed: all of us love outdoor activity. Derryl, Brad and I hiking near Sussex, NB. Cycling with Brad near Chester, NS.

Before moving to Nova Scotia in 2007 I hadn’t a clue how much water there was here! The rivers, the lakes, the Atlantic Ocean. I LOVE it: the best stand-in for the open skies of the prairies.

LaHave River: the body of water I see from our house and yard – and walk along, on the secondary road at the end of our driveway. I will NEVER tire of this gift. Nor take for granted the gift of paddling my kayak on this river (from which this photo was taken) and look up where our home, the Sanctuary sits – on the left behind that front row of white houses. This summer a seal has been bobbing up and down on this stretch of water, but never staying up long enough for me to capture on camera!

Unlimited beaches to enjoy in full sun. Or watch at early evening, in awe, waiting for the moon to rise.

…..endless shorelines to explore walking, kayaking, cycling.

Nature’s paintbrush dressing up our backyard, splashing across the sky and over the LaHave. Breathtaking.

Now it’s November, dealing with dry oak leaves wanting to swish through the door, putting ‘things in order’ in the garden. Planting garlic in a couple of days.

I am blessed, I am grateful.

Thanks for reading, Karen.