One May update

Hello dear followers.  I hope you've been well in the interim since we visited. Wally and I have, as have Muji and Babu. Spring has been kind to us this year, taking her sweet time with no unnecessary dramas. We are experiencing her full fledged now.

Eleven days ago I caught sight of this piebald deer, named for the amount of white in her coat.

At first I thought she might have been shedding her winter undercoat, or worse, had a type of parasite called mange.

But her smooth coat and full body indicate that she is in good health as she browsed beyond the lilacs.

All the while we were serenaded by this sweet warbler

that eventually left in a blur of wings as I became too obvious

On another morning, looking out in the same direction, I savoured the muted colours through the mist

The little maple tree is much taller this year. The namesake of Forget-Me-Not Cabin

are growing all about the yard this year.

The Lilacs are filling the air with their heady perfume.

Wally fixed the old rototiller that he found roadside 2 years ago and retilled the garden.

More Forget-Me-Nots at the foot of the old Ash Tree.

We headed out that day to hunt for a new old car.

We had to take a detour which put us out front of this magnificent tree outside the United Church.

New Sewers, curbs, paving and a bicycle lane are being added to the kilometre of road that will run by our house. I've enjoyed the quiet until they reach us sometime soon.

We found a car in Sackville (at least I did) but Wally needed to assure himself that we had tried all possibilities so we made our way through Dartmouth stopping at a dozen places. In between we found a pretty park in which to eat our lunch with this fabulous view of downtown Halifax.

a goldfinch serenaded us all the way through lunch as we parked under what I think may have been an enormous Jack Pine. It was lovely and peaceful and surprisingly cold near the sea as we were.

Another view of Halifax from downtown Dartmouth.

Dartmouth is not my favourite place in the world. Industry, crime, poverty, economic depression.

Here we see the fog coming in on a sunny day as we approach the preamble to the oil refinery.

But then there was a pocket of prettiness in a strip of well cared for homes that I found particularly charming

This green trimmed house with its rounded portico had the advantage of an attached double garage

I love the stonework here including the steps that gives this quaint cottage some eminence.

One sees a lot of these types of rowhouses in Halifax as well with the partially mansarded roof.

There is a quiet dignity to this traditional, well-cared for home.

Decks and Stairs give with the huge triangular entrance give this box some pizzazz.

Another triangular entrance on a storybook cottage...

seen from the side amidst a nest of trees and landscaping

I admire the narrow shutters on this humble house that give it a lift.

a wood panelled United Church, so common on the east coast, this one a humdinger.

We begin our journey back to the original car. The quaint parts of Dartmouth are only somewhat redeeming considering what a difficult town it can be to live in. I love the charm of this little house.

We tour past houses where people proudly tend their little lots right under this giant bridge to Halifax. It shook me up and caused me to recount my blessings 

So we got that new old car. I kept reassuring Wally that even though it had manual window openers, we had, indeed, upgraded. He gets it now though he found it hard to say good-bye to the old jalopy. 

We head home under the crazy vast sky of Mount Uniak

New cloudscapes loom as we drive north back to the Valley

Coming into farm country I see a giraffe

It is a giraffe

What do you see?

In parting, a picture of Babu, looking somewhat skeptical as I encroach his personal space

and Muji, a beacon of health

I must say that I'm very proud of the hurdles I've accomplished with Muji. He has never looked healthier. Babu benefits by association and gets a toned down version of Muji's protocol as one can have "too much of a good thing". As I wrote in my last post, last paragraph, change can be hard but when applied consciously, slowly and deliberately, it can open up a better world...

starting in one's own "back yard".

blessings