Get away...

A friend of mine went to Greece for a month and left me the use of his little house on the beach.

It's only a 5 minute drive from here but feels like a real get away.

Norene and I took advantage of it to have a girls night out...

The view from the inside...

Yup, it's RIGHT on the beach!

Not the kind of place you want to be when you hear a tsunami warning,

but what a place to be during these gorgeous days of  September.

The fish boats were out...well...fishing..for what I'm not sure

but there was one big sea lion cruising in front of the house and lots of sea birds as well...

The view from the porch...

No phone, no t.v, no cell service, no Internet.

Kind of  'Gilligan Island-ish', except we weren't stranded and didn't

need to make a radio out of a coconut shell.

So we packed up good food, good wine, good ciders and moved in.

We sat out here and talked about sisters and husbands and kids and life in general...

We laughed a lot, which I definitely needed...

But mostly we just sat and soaked up the view and enjoyed the rare hot day on the sea...

After a few snacks we walked down the beach to have a look at this great piece of art...

Someone had taken advantage of a big old driftwood stump and turned it into

a shipwreck, complete with seaweed rigging and plastic bag flag...

How fun is that?!

After dinner we sat and watched the magnificent sunset develop...

We were up early, a little groggy but eager to see the mornings perfect light begin...

Lots of busy little birds along the shore...

You can barely see their little legs as they run around...

Pretty beach houses line the way...

...beachy collections adorn the front yards...

this guy told us that he'd been collecting fish boat floats for 8 years...

We spotted this group of otters trying to spy on us...can you see them through the driftwood fence?

On our way back we saw that they had made their way to the water...

A crow for Tracy...

All in all a most perfect little break on a most perfect summer like autumn day...good for the soul...

Brave new world...

 It seemed that our summer had only just begun.
After a long wet spring, we dove into a long wet and cold summer. 

Plants were slow to start, bare legs, barely came out into the light of day.

And then in August the sun and the heat really came on.

Our faces turned a bit browner as they turned toward the sun.

Lakes and rivers became places to swim, not just a place to walk along.

The veggies began to plump and the bees buzzed a little louder.

All was right and beautiful in the world.

 But life is ever changing.

Now the school bus rumbles down our road  again.

Twice a day like clockwork.

Autumn is wrapping her arms about us.

Blackberry pickers pop up on the sides of the road.

Trying to contain the last of summers flavour.

She is cool and foggy in the mornings.

Like me, her moods can change.

Clear and warm and then shrouded and hiding.

When I go out to the garden, I take my cue from the sunflowers.

 Standing ever so tall and brave, turning their heads to follow the final countdown of warm days.

They are proud of their stance and show it.

 Knowing that soon their heads will droop and later feed the winter birds.

But BRAVE!
I am gathering creative 'nuts', so to speak.
Anticipating new projects that will take me into the studio.

 It sits vacant more than not during the summer months.

 Waiting for that first cool day when I come in with mug of tea in hand,
turning on the CBC, firing up the stove, watching the birds get ready for winter
through rain streaked windows.
On another note, I am feeling so grateful for all who have been thinking
of my family and I right now.
Social Networking can have some negative feedback but
I feel that through posting and reading others blogs, we have found
kindred spirits amongst us.
Sharing bits of our daily lives is a personal thing and I thank you all
for allowing me into your world.
I feel that's what life's all about.
Connecting with humankind.
Finding those common threads and discovering new and different ones as well,
giving strength and faith in these crazy times.
Hope your autumn is bringing you promise as each season should.