Foxgloves in my Garden

Whenever foxgloves grow in my garden,

I think of my childhood.

They were fairy hats,

or dresses for tiny folk.

They were signs of magic, 

always a surprise,

always welcome.

Mysterious.

Climbing Roses in Bloom

Everything feels rosy today.  

The climbing roses are in full bloom

and I get to spend hours with my writing group.

What could be better?

Southeast Cove, Big Tancook Island, NS

From Big Tancook Island, 

we watched this boat sail across Southeast Cove 

and moor.

It stayed for several days and nights.

We wondered if it belonged to one of

the many summer residents on the island

or to someone visiting, like us.

The island in the background is Ironbound Island, 

the third Tancook Island.  

This view is the one we enjoyed 

throughout our vacation in the rental cottage

on Big Tancook Island.

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Peonies in our Yard 2014

The peonies in our yard this year bloomed later

than usual but were worth the wait.

We enjoyed their beauty while it lasted.

After Tropical Storm Arthur went through

with its heavy winds and rain, 

there was nothing left but

petal confetti.  And yet, it too offered

loveliness.

I'm not complaining about a bit of plant destruction, 

especially compared to what happened 

across much of our province

because of Arthur.

Sunrise on Big Tancook Island NS

We spent five days on Big Tancook Island to celebrate

Gary's special birthday this year.  This is the 5 am view 

from our bedroom window, birthday sunrise.

The colours of the southeast cove 

and the morning sky warmed

and changed like melting crayons.

Our time on Big Tancook Island 

and our birthday celebrations 

were peaceful, full of delight

and laughter.

Big Tancook Island is the ultimate get-away, 

providing opportunities to shed the unnecessary

burdens of life and to simply be,

fully alive, and aware of the natural world.

Gary says it made a birthday he will never forget.

Spectrum Beaver SS Ultralight, Big Tancook Island, NS

The first morning in our rental cottage

on Big Tancook Island, our breakfast was

interrupted by strange sounds.

When we went to the deck to check it out,

we saw a Spectrum Beaver SS ultralight

aircraft taxiing out on the southeast cove.

The pilot (neighbour Neil's son) spent some time

getting the feel of the plane before

going out further into the bay,

toward Ironbound Island

turning...

heading back towards the cove and shallower waters

while picking up speed.

He gained enough speed that he was able to lift off,

higher,

then higher, before descending

and heading back to the dock for a consultation 

with watching family.

He sat and floated while talking things over,

then he tried the water again.

When that didn't work, he returned a second time.

The family helped hook the plane to

the bucket of a second-hand

island vehicle which

they leveraged to remove the ultralight from the water.

We talked to Neil's son later in the day.

He had scared himself slightly 

with going airborne, his family as well.

He had plans to remove the pontoons

(which he had bought separately

and attached to the ultralight), to move 

them back further on the plane... 

or perhaps even to sell it.

After watching and worrying from the dock,

selling was an idea his father liked very much.

*The home-built Spectrum Beaver SS

(single seat) is similar to the RX-28,

but powered by a 40hp (30KW) Rotax 447

engine and a wing derived from RX550 Plus

design, with additional ribs.

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 with additional information, if you click on them.

Big Tancook Island NS, Animals and Birds

Our first night on Big Tancook Island, we watched this eagle soar and float over the shoreline, hunting for food in the out-going tides.

The neighbour had chickens running free 

around his yard and sometimes, 

they came over into ours to visit.

This young deer had unusual markings and seemed always 

to be by herself, at the edge of the graveyards and fields.

This deer had many fast-moving companions 

but stopped long enough for me to capture her photo.

The cat-tail marsh was full of red-winged blackbirds.

They searched the lawns for food 

and returned to the cat-tail marsh to feed babies,

hidden in cup-shaped nests made of rushes.

And one herring gull made it his business...

to patrol the roof edge, whenever we barbecued.

We shooed him away many times, as we cooked.

Diving ducks floated in circles on the out-going tides,

disappearing under the water for food.  

I wasn't able to get close enough

to identify them.

On calm evenings, we watched and heard loons, 

at the water's edge.  The evening light looked like stripes 

on the water's surface.

Big Tancook Island, off the coast of Chester in Nova Scotia, has white-tail deer, muskrats, mice, rabbits, snakes and many birds. Walking the trails or the shorelines, we were often rewarded with encounters with the natural world.

It was a pleasure visiting Big Tancook Island, a beautiful, peaceful place of heart's ease.

For more information about the Big Tancook Island area, click here.