Par For The Course

Yesterday we drove to Eastern Passage which is to the east of Dartmouth

and faces the open ocean with the city far in the distance.

You can see the fog bank that was just hanging off in the distance

 waiting to come ashore in the early evening.

This is Devil's Island that is directly opposite a golf course.

What a beautiful spot this is.....on a sunny day!

I can imagine golfers pausing and just 'breathing in the view' along this 'fairway'.

I know we did.

Along The Canal

We took our first trip down to the Annapolis Valley yesterday since late fall.

This 'man-made' canal is in the Gaspereaux Valley of the Annapolis Valley.

Sophie LOVES this spot, as do we. Each season presents new colours.

This is what we found:

No wonder we keep coming back.

Both sides of the trail enveloped us as we walked (Sophie swam!) 

and got caught up in all of its beauty.

A Princely Time

Look who was in town yesterday!

His Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales (in blue suit/right).

Following behind in red tie is our Premier Stephen McNeil,

 and in the middle our mayor, Michael Savage.

HRH was here in Halifax for 24 hours and in the Public Gardens

where he planted an Oak tree next to the one his grandfather,

King George VI, planted in 1939. The plaque in lower right

corner commemorates that visit.

I was surprised at the number of people who showed up to see the Prince.

May sound odd but I always felt a 'kindred spirit' with Prince Charles

as we were born in the same year.....1948.

I often thought while growing up what it would have been like to be born a Prince.

Boy, would things have been different. I am not saying better by any means....just different.

I am sure there are times when he may have wondered the same thing.

I was happy I got a chance to see Prince Charles yesterday.

Contemplative Monday

The following is from 'Heart Advice, Weekly Quotes From Pema Chodron' (click).

WANDERING IN THE WORLD OF DESIRE

"Wandering in the world of desire involves looking for alternatives, 

seeking something to comfort us----food, drink, people.

The word desire encompasses that addiction quality, the way we grab for something

because we want to find a way to make things okay.

That quality comes from never having grown up.

We still want to go home and be able to open the refrigerator and find it full

of our favorite goodies; 

when the going gets tough, we want to yell "Mom"!

But what we're doing as we progress along the path is leaving home and becoming homeless.

Not wandering in the world of desire is about relating directly with how things are.

Loneliness is not a problem. Loneliness is nothing to be solved.

The same thing is true for any other experience we might have."

Eclectic Tastes

It is a long weekend in all of Canada today.....from coast to coast to coast.

Monday is Victoria Day.....in honour of Queen Victoria,
the present Queen Elizabeth's great great grandmother.

Got me thinking about this great country
and in particular my province of Nova Scotia.

Here is our province's unofficial anthem:

Saturday Morning Post

Collectibles to art.......

I set up a few of my mid-century collectibles at a shoppe, 

'Fancy Lucky', in the MacDonald House near the beach

in Lawrencetown.

Sophie inspecting (and wearing I see!) seaweed.

 This 'Species Tulip' (smaller than regular tulips)

 has come back for years now in our garden.

.....view from below.

Catching up with old friends....

Alyce (left) and Paulette (Alyce's daughter) who is an old friend from university days.

Loved this very old townhouse in downtown Halifax yesterday.

A protester in the city.

 'The British are coming, the British are coming'!

Preparation has begun in the Halifax Public Gardens

for Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, 

and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

They will be here on Monday which is a holiday in Canada,

Victoria Day....Queen Victoria is Charles' great great great grandmother.

Everything will sparkle for their visit.

Here is a plaque commemorating Charles' grandfather's, King George VI, 

visit to Halifax in 1939.

This Oak tree was planted by King George back then

and Prince Charles will be planting an Oak tree as well

 in the same vicinity in the gardens.

Passed by this Magnolia tree yesterday in the gardens.

Now here's an Adirondack chair for you....made out of hockey sticks!

One of many development sites in the city.

That is the new library in the background, due to open in September.

While picking up Sophie from doggie daycare yesterday, I noticed this in the garden.

Sophie doesn't like the resident horses at daycare but it appears

that Ron sure does!

I won the bid for this painting at an auction last week.

It is by a French artist Jean Claude Picot.

He is alive and lives in France.

I am waiting for an appraisal 

and what medium was used.

'Forty Winks' Friday

Ron and Sophie taking an afternoon snooze.