Sunday Evening

It has been a very warm last few days here on the mountain, but there has been a bit of a breeze most of the time, and it is nice sitting out in the shade. I seem to be spending more time outside, than inside painting, but this weather won't last forever, so I am soaking it up. Sadie has decided that every time I head for the door, she would like to go too, even though I know she finds it almost too hot.

I am enjoying the birds that come to the feeder. They do not seem to be too afraid of Sadie and I. There is also the little chipmunk that comes to gather the dropped bird feed. What the song sparrows miss, he/she quickly gathers.

The raspberries are not ripening as quickly as hoped. The u-pickers are cleaning off the ripe ones faster than the berries ripen. Hopefully this week, things will work out better.

I am taking some advice from a great blogger, and trying to live in the moment. It is a struggle when thoughts crowd in, but I am getting better at just being. Watching the birds and looking at my flowers, and painting, and felting helps to keep me in the present. Prayer also helps. It keeps me in the Presence.

Not a great picture, but this Jay likes the smaller feeder for some reason.

Friendly little chippy

Brown Eyed Susans and Day Lillies

and very dry grass.

Sadie having a little nap

I  guess that's all for now.....

Nervous Nelly... er...Sadie

It was a beautiful day today, with the sun shining brightly, and just a bit of breeze. We have had a few days of rain, even a couple of thunderstorms. Sadie was not impressed with the noise of the thunder. She spent the duration of the storm, quivering, either on my lap, or under my desk.

Her big eyes were bigger than usual.

It has finally begun, the raspberry u-pick, not that I have been anxiously awaiting it. I knew it would get here eventually.  We opened at 1pm today, and will probably be open every day, unless it rains or the berries need time to ripen. The days will now be filled with lots of phone calls, running to the door, or hobbling across the road, and answering lots of questions like, "How long will they last?" or

"I have to go on vacation, will there be any berries when I get back?"....etc. My answer is usually non-commital.

I am missing my friend, but I have heard from her and she is really enjoying her new home on the Island. I am really happy for her.

I am busy painting another picture, though it is hard to spend any length of time at it, with all that is going on these days. I did have one whole day to myself Thursday, and Sadie and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I did some painting, some felting and some 'just sitting' outside watching the grass grow.

I should be carrying my camera everywhere I go, because when I see something that would make a nice picture, like the little chipmunk sitting straight up under the bird feeder, watching to see if I was going to make a move, I had no camera to click. He might have had one eye on Sadie, as well. She was about 3ft away, but being Sadie, she did not notice the chipmunk. Sadie has big eyes, but that doesn't mean she has good eyesight.

Dawn just phoned and they are safely home after a four day camping trip to Cape Breton's McCloud's Campground. They had rain the first night, and then lots of sun. I guess the campground was being extra careful about having campfires, as everything was so dry.  It seems to me that there was a wildfire somewhere close by the area a few weeks ago. Rain may dampen the spirits of folk, campers and beach goers, but we need it for the crops, the wells, and to reduce the risk of forest fires.

 

Changes

     As life goes on, changes are a part of it. Things can never stay the same, we grow, we learn, we are dissappointed, we are happy, we are sad. Folks come into our lives and folks leave, move away, and you carry on the best you can.
    
     A very dear friend of mine, and many others in the community, has left our mountain for Prince Edward Island, her childhood home, after many years here. She was, among other things, our very accomplished Church Organist, and now I have been asked to take the position. I won't be able to fill her shoes, but hope that I can live up to the confidence she has in me. This morning was my first, as organist, and it felt a little different somehow, than the times I have filled in when A was away. We shared the responsibilty of the ministry of music. I will miss her so very much, but it has given me a reason to visit the Island again. We were stationed in Summerside for three years, and our oldest daughter was born there. It is a beautiful place, and A will enjoy her new life there.

Today is Canada Day, our 145th birthday as a country. Parties and celebrations are going on all over the country, with a great big one on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa. Here in NS many towns and little villages are having celebrations. As a country, we are always changing!

Changes are happening in the life of our young people who are graduating and beginning a new chapter, setting off to university or college. Lindsay has "graduated" from elementary school and is off to middle school in September. That will be a big change for her.

Now to something I wish I could change. When B had a stroke, three years ago, we stopped having a strawberry u-pick.  We are still getting calls, asking if we are open. I just had to turn away two families who had driven here from Dartmouth to pick our berries. How can I change all the web sites that mention our farm, so that they will not advertise that we have strawberries. Now I will be on a site search to see if I can change what they say about us. One nice thing, even though it isn't true any longer, was that the site these folks followed listed us as a 5* u-pick, and that's why they came here.

Lindsay receiving a Leadership Award

Receiving Graduation Certificat from Principal and teacher

Painting of Lotus Flower - I changed this thing so many times

I finally had to stop, and be done with it.

I love rocks

Friends came to visit, and brought me these rocks. I was thrilled, not only because of the rocks

but because they thought of me, and knew I would appreciate them.

Well, I'm off to do some searching.....Happy Canada Day.....or just Happy Day.......