Light

Trying to capture something so elusive as 'light'

is what keeps the photographer going.

And Ron never gives up.

All In A Day's/Port's Work

As Sophie and I turned the corner to go down the hill to the parking lot yesterday at the park,

we found this huge container ship ahead of us docked at the container pier.

Here is some information I found on the 'Marine Traffic' website:

IMO(International Maritime Organization): 9471214

MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity): 428041000

Call Sign: 4XFA            

    Flag: Israel         

         AIS (Automatic Identification System) Type: Cargo                     

     Gross Tonnage: 40542                           

        Deadweight: 50088 t                      

Length x Breadth: 261.01m x 32.25m      

         Year built: 2010                        

Status: Active      

  

Destination: New York

                                  ETA: 2014-10-31   10:00 UTC

Last Known Port: Halifax (CA)    

            Previous Port: Valencia Anch (ES/Spain)

Speed recorded: 16.7/13.7 knots

Just in case you were wondering!

My Slant On Things

Last evening on MacDonald Hill around 5 PM.

Loved all those diagonal lines I could see through my camera lens......

with my camera tilted of course.

Either those are two ships waiting for entry into Halifax Harbour

or, most likely, they are cruise ships leaving the harbour and heading

to the next port of call.

From My Perch On The Hill

Taking in the view this past Sunday on MacDonald Hill......

First there were three....

......then four.....

......five.....

......and six....

......and off they went up the hill.

Contemplative Monday

I just finished watching a recent interview with Pema Chodron.

She was on Oprah Winfrey's show 'Super Soul Sunday'.
It really shows Ani Pema's 'lightness of being', I feel.

Here is the link if you wish to learn a little more about 

this compassionate and wise woman, Pema Chodron:

Pema Chodron on Super Soul Sunday

Eclectic Tastes

Okay everyone, make some room and clear that furniture out of the way.....

Have a great Sunday (and Monday in NZ) everybody.

Saturday Evening Post

Life in our corner of the world......

Crossing lines...

Two crows joy....

Tight squeeze.

On the trail with Sophie, she stops at this path to the beach each day 

in the hope we will take it.

I like chairs! 

From my 'perch' at the shop last Sunday......this person capturing the view.

'Should we or not?'

From MacCormack Beach in Eastern Passage looking towards the cities

of Halifax on the left and Dartmouth on the right.

I like tables too....

Ron and Sophie along the water's edge in Eastern Passage.

Fish plant at Fisherman's Cove in Eastern Passage.

Heading to fish plant to unload.

In a row.

Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble

One very busy clam the other day in Eastern Passage.....

At least I hope it was a clam!!

Tragedy in Canada

As most of you may have heard by now there have been two shootings

of Canadian Armed Forces personnel this week.

One man was run over by a car deliberately 

and the other was shot in Ottawa while on guard

at the Soldier's Memorial Monument near the Parliament Buildings.

It is beginning to sink in now that things will never be the same again

 here in Canada.

It appears at this point in time that these killings were deliberate

and done in the name of ISIS......that extremely radical Islamic group.

Difficult to get my head around how anybody could do this.

Like all Canadians and people around the world,

our hearts go out to these men's families and friends.

May these two images of this Inukshuk which was at the beach Tuesday morning,

stand as a memory of these two soldiers.

In the Inuit language 'Inukshuk' means 'in the likeness of a human'

and also 'someone was here'.

Did You Know?

I didn't.......until today when I looked it up.

We went to a beach in Eastern Passage (just outside Dartmouth) yesterday morning.
We three Amigos walked the boardwalk and the beach.

We came across this Sand Dollar snuggled into the sand.

The term 'Sand Dollar' refers to species of extremely flattened, 
burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida .

Also (the following taken from Wikipedia).....
"Sand Dollars, like all members of the order Clypeasteroida, possess 
a rigid skeleton known as a 'test'. The test consists of calcium
carbonate plates arranged in a fivefold radial pattern.
They move across the seabed using their velvet-textured spines.
When they are alive they can be green, blue, violet or purple.
When they die, they wash ashore and are bleached white by sunlight."

A little background on this little guy/gal.

When Things Were Simpler

Who remembers when pretty much every home had a telephone table and chair?

And when the phone book, (remember those?!) was always in that space provided?

I picked this set up the other day for the shop and it brought back a lot of memories........

when things were simpler.

Contemplative Monday

I have been planning to change the source of these Monday quotes

to another enlightened person that I find inspiring

and helpful in my day-to-day routine.

I hope you do as well.

I had to wait to hear back from his 'office' before I started.

I heard back this week and it's A-OK to use his quotes

 as long as I am accurate and not profiting from his writing.

The only 'profit' I get is the thought it may help one person

get through the day more happily and compassionately.

His name is Thich Nhat Hahn. He is a Buddhist monk and one of the leading

spiritual masters of our time. If you wish to learn more about his life

you can find information on-line.

The source of today's quote comes from his book:

'The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh' (click to learn more)

from the Shambhala Pocket Classics.

A LIFE OF MIRACLES

" As we sit down next to a stream, we can listen to its laughter
 and watch its sparkling waters, noticing the pebbles glistening
 and the fresh green plants nearby,
 and we may be overcome with happiness.

We are one with the stream's freshness, purity, and clarity.
But in just an instant we may find we've had enough.

Our heart is troubled, and we think of other things. We are no longer at one with the stream.

It is of no use to sit in a peaceful forest if our mind is lost in the city.
When we live with a child or a friend, their freshness
and warmth can relax us.

But if our heart is not with them, their precious presence is neglected, 
and they no longer exist. We must be aware of them to appreciate their value,
to allow them to be our happiness.

If through carelessness and forgetfulness we become dissatisfied with them,
 and begin asking too much of them or reprimanding them, we will lose them.

Only after they are gone will we realize their preciousness and feel regret.
But once they are gone, all our regrets are in vain.

Around us, life bursts forth with miracles----a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, 
a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops.
If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere.

Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors,
shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; 
a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos;
a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.

When we are tired and feel discouraged by life's daily struggles,
we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there."

Eclectic Tastes

Everyone knows how to play 'Chopsticks' on the piano....right?

Enjoy and have a great Sunday everyone!

Saturday Morning Post

A week's collection......

I LOVE it when it's Ron's turn for breakfast! 

Face off!

Fall in all it's splendour!

Pretty perfect day last Sunday at the shop.

A look into the shop.

Stairs to more beautiful sky!

Very soft colours that evening.

At the canal in Gaspereaux Valley.

Ron in his element.

Look Ma, no brakes!!