Early Fall Morning on the Bluff in St. Martins, NB

Natures layers of texture and soft color

We let the surrounding field grow this year for a change and now it has turned golden... it makes a beautiful contrast against the treeline.

 

The Mountain Ash along the driveway and the surrounding hedgerow borders,

 are laden with berries...We have always tried to encourage native plants and shrubs that feed the birds and wildlife...  and I love how the color brightens everything up.... soon the birds will find them. The Robins and Cedar Waxwings love them.

As I was wandering around in the warmth and calmness of the morning, taking pictures, Church bells began ringing. 

 It was Sunday... It was pretty special. 

I can see 3 Church steeples from up here, this is the closest one down on Main St.

 ...there are even a few bright red berries on the Holly bush this year.

Love these 3 Sisters...  They are Spruce Trees.

....might be almost time to carefully prune a couple of the trees in front of them so the view is better exposed.
 Blueberries and cranberries, in season, grow just below them to the right on the sandstone bluff... intermixed with low growing juniper.

If it seems I am obsessed with the view of Quaco Head jutting out into the bay... I am. 

In all weather conditions it is the highlight of my view... It never disappoints... 

 it shows what is happening with the mighty tides.... coming in, heading out, high tide, low tide..

 and the way the light changes on its surface as it moves from east to west.

I love the way the morning sun highlights the eastern exposure of the houses in the distance.

It feels cozy here in the hidden firepit when a fire is snap, crackle and popping.

White Flocks at the corner of the greenhouse.

The children's camp tucked into the trees.

 The Virginia Creeper changed from green to crimson without me even noticing.. 

How time sneaks up on a person.

The natural world  is taking a well deserved rest... a new season has settled in

 ... a lovely place to have our coffee and tea this morning. Fresh air, beautiful view and birds flitting back and forth, church bells ringing...
 we sat in wondrous contemplation...

The Rosa Rugosa is still treating us with blooms scattered here and there. such a hardy shrub... rarely needs tending.

 Fall has arrived and its only just begun.

Photographs taken by me, Gwen Buchanan, early Sunday morning, Sept. 28

from up on the Big Red Rock, St. Martins, New Brunswick.

Desideratum Art Studio.

Self-Portrait Linocut by Beck

I love Black and White...   I love Faces...  and I love the strength of these lines..

This is one of my favourite artworks....  It was done by my daughter, Rebecca.  

This piece hangs where I can see it when I enter the house... 

She stares across the room towards the front door... watching all who enter.

... rather like a Guardian...

 She hangs just above the steel wood rack ... the fuel for our homes hearth...
...perhaps she guards over our warmth too...

...oh and along with John who keeps the wood rack filled and the fires stoked.

Linocut self-portrait approx. size 6" x 9"...  

Antique frame 15" x 17".. used as I found it, chips and all... I like things that show their life ... 

...Hornet's nest and tiny bird nest on twig hang above.
... the heavy duty 5' tall wood rack, John made.

Rebecca lives happily in Saint John, New Brunswick with Stephen, Hannah, Callum and Ben... my darlings, All. 

.

Delay Not

...I believe you cannot wait ...

And let life peaceably pass you by....


You must grab it...

Arms spread wide...

With both hands.... and an inquiring mind...


Savor it...

Devour it...

Intoxicate your mind with it.....



.......To the depths of your very soul...

....No one.... can do it... but you...

Time moves much too quickly.....

This sunrise occurred during the late fall, last year at 8:30 on a November morning, where the sun rises directly in front of our view over the Bay of Fundy.... where the sky is vast....
... it changed immensely during very brief moments... taken from the front verandah.

A - Hunting We Will Go... Moose Skull

One day John went hunting.... this is what he got... found on the forest floor...

No... the rest of the beast did not come home with him... just this... Slim pickens... at first I thought...


But no... if not our bellies filled... it allowed the feeding of something else within us ... one of the understanding of nature.... that forms every mammal.



This structure of the Moose skull was intriguing to examine... 24" from base to tip of nose... the sheer size alone was something to behold... even with the antlers chewed off... from a passing porcupine or two... showing another step in how this creature fit into the food chain..



Huge worn teeth... that chewed a cud... before he became part of the process...



The teeth are barely held in place now... due to the wearing away of the skull... which allowed the inquiry of how the teeth were held in place .... how large the roots were.... and how far back they went into the skull...

When I shook it ... it click-itty-click jangled like a musical instrument...



Lichens have taken up residence on most of the upper surface...



...A beauty in themselves...


...Feeding on the bone in the never-ending cycle... death feeding life...



I keep it outdoors in the garden... and watch this process continue as the years go by...



Moose... Alces alces... 6' - 9' tall... largest deer in the world... horse size...dk. brown hair... high humped shoulders... huge pendulous muzzle... males have massive palmate antlers, broadly flattened... spread 4'-5'

... cloven hoof prints usually more than 5" long and pointed... poor eyesight, actually moose are color-blind, but have excellent hearing and sense of smell to compensate... very good swimmers,up to 6 mph... and runners, 35 mph... mothers are extremely aggressive and very protective of their calves...

...habitat is spruce forests and swamps... most of Canada, upper regions of United States... when black flies and mosquitoes torment them in summer, they may nearly submerge themselves in lakes...or roll in a wallow to acquire a protective coating...

...Moose are browsers rather than grazers... love waterlilies, aquatic and marsh plants, twigs, buds, aspen, dogwood, cherry, maple , viburnum.... also peeled -off willow and poplar bark and leaves stripped with their bottom lip...

...tend to be solitary animals..


They visit us every now and then...