I am attached to the place I live; sometimes to the
extent of forgetting it is not the whole world.
I live among maple, birch and spruce, in the company
of chickadees and jays, ducks and deer in an old residential area of Riverview,
NB. Here, it is easy to forget that the river, the bay, the Acadian forest and
mountains so close to me are not the whole world for everyone.
Last weekend, we went to Halifax, Nova Scotia and
stayed in a hotel where the scenery was office towers and apartment buildings. This photo is an elliptical-shaped building,
The Martello; the penthouse is offered for $860,000. plus the monthly condo
fees. The other view was the snow
covered uprising slope of The Citadel, topped with white masts; it looked like
the whole hill might be ready to set sail.
Of course, there were trees and parks within the city, and as always, the
gorgeous harbour.
It was unlike what I am used to, that’s all. Not better or worse, simply different. And that was good. My poetry writing mind and my photo seeing
mind were piqued and stimulated by those changes. It was a challenge and gift to roam the city
because it was not familiar.
I realized that I am stuck in my love of the place I
live.
It is helpful and nourishing to get away to
unfamiliar surroundings, to get unstuck and be invited to walk streets shaded
and squeezed by sky scrapers, to notice an abundance of seagulls, oak trees six
stories tall, myriad bistros and cafes, all as inviting as our own, but
different.
We drove out to Peggy’s Cove on Sunday. The granite boulders and the ocean were
strangely soothing. The Cove has never
disappointed; ice, like thin frosting offered the same visual warning to stay off as did the wet, black rocks in
summer. And like summer, people still
walked out to the edges, despite the cautions.
I enjoyed the trip away. It was good to be free of responsibilities, to
do what I wanted, when I wanted.
But, coming home, I relearned something I’ve always
known. The damp salt air, the stony beaches, the salt water marsh, the muddy
Petitcodiac River, the deciduous and evergreen forests of Albert County, New
Brunswick are where my roots stretch deep into the earth and hold me in place.
They are my home.
