I Don't Know What I Like Best...

 A misty morning or a sunny morning... maybe a misty morning that turns into a sunny morning.

  I love feeling the distance through fog.

 Gentle drops of moisture that are so small you don't notice them till they accumulate

 I mean aren't these precious little drops of liquid sunshine. Look at that surface tension.
Can you imagine having the ability to create something like this, so delicate and fleeting.
Do you suppose it is instinctual or do mama spiders teach their hundreds of babies how to do it.

 and to think a long time ago, I didn't like Hosta blooms at all.. was I crazy?
I always thought with a plant so big as a Hosta,  with those huge textured leaves spreading outward, what more could you ask for.. it was already beautiful ... well then I saw their tall spiked flowers..so unusual.

We planted this Linden tree 8 yrs ago I believe.

But...  See what I mean... How could anybody not love these?
It makes me feel that the fairies are going to fly in right now and wave their little magic wands, gather up one of those glistening blooms and fly off wearing it as a dress.

 Way back there by the trees is the greenhouse... I just noticed today some plum tomatoes are forming.

 A seagull was here

This is known as the Lone Spruce. It stands about 20 feet from the edge of the driveway.

 John made this big round firepit in the middle of the field not far from the house.  It is about 40 feet across... yes, he laid everyone of those stones in a perfect circle. He seemed to know exactly where each stone fit... 2003, I think was the year

 when it is clear we see the ocean from here... now we can imagine we are the only ones in the world or that we are floating in space.

 It is a perfect place to lie flat on your back at midnight on fine nights and watch the heavens and their goings on.... it's a busy place up there.

...and the trusty guard-dogs that never miss a chance for a walk. They are just happy to be alive.
By the way,  I just thought up a new name for them, "The Three Mouse-getter-ers".

 A crow was here too

Toby is off to check on rabbits

 I love seeing this young tree up close and watching it grow.  It is one of the trees from the picture above that grew here naturally. All we had to do was clear the other plants away to give them more light.. when they come on their own they always do better because it is where they want to be.

Bark from the Lone Spruce... sort of like scales.... see how its textural layers catch all the light and shadows.

That is the United Church on Main St. of St. Martins.  Those old buildings had a lot of style. They don't build structures like that anymore....  wish they did.

Trees distinct lines show up so much better in the fog. And something about rooftops poking out of the fog that is so romantic.  It is like watching nature put on a play.

There is the Lone Spruce

 Still slowly clearing...

another different kind of spider web... I wonder if they meant to catch dewdrops.

 I can't get enough of these Stargazer Lilies... besides being exquisitely beautiful, their scent is out of this world.

 Really, how could something be so beautiful?  and it stays hidden away all year long till this very moment.

 and look at that little Bee.... ready for take-off

 Special seat in the garden

 My darling Hollyhock is well over 8' tall now and if she grows as tall as last year she will reach at least 12'.

Looks like a color riot doesn't it?

Feels very calm, as if everything is whispering.

 Who needs TV when all this is happening

.... sheer entertainment just by looking outside.

The fog has cleared out quite a ways now

Almost...

 Blue sky... it was there all the time.... I love these kind of days.

Pictures taken in the morning of August 14 as I spent time wandering and enjoying Nature up on the bluff.

Desideratum Art and Jewelry, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada

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- A  Retreat in Nature's Paradise -

Beware of the Dog

8 ½" x 11" page from my sketchbook, pen/ink... thought I'd put a few teeth into it.

...even in 66 AD, a dog was a man's best friend... well true at least, for the man who was his master.
Note: Petronious also spelled Petronius

Desideratum Art and Jewelry Studio, St. Martins, NB

Cat # 4

"Cat for Guillaume"

...excerpt below from "Everything Cats Expect You To Know" by Elizabeth Martyn,  pub. 2007

"Cats are never as keen to respond to praise as dogs, because they evolved Not as pack animals,

 but as solitary hunters, for whom food was the only reward worth having. 

Lone wildcats didn't need to develop social skills and were content to walk by themselves. 

Even so, when the opportunity for easier life presented itself, they were quick to make the most of it."

*
approx. 5" x 7" of a cat perched on a windowsill, drawn using a stump  loaded with charcoal dust from another drawing which made very soft, almost elusive marks...  characteristics I think of in a cat.

from Desideratum Art and Jewelry Studio, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada