Point Pleasant Park

One of my favourite places in the city. Point Pleasant Park.  I used to come here often but after Hurricane Juan I was too upset with the damage to visit for a long time. Today after being cooped up inside at the market all weekend I had to do some "forest bathing":)

I have re-discovered this park again this last year. It is coming back to itself. Healing. This tree looked beautiful to me, like a totem or a surreal creature reaching for the sky.

This beautiful Copper Beech on Cable Road is one of my fave trees in the park. There are quite a few of them scattered throughout the forest. There is another up near the heather patch I must check on next time I am there.

Look closely and you will see a hidden Blue Jay.
Cable Road again. This is the nicest walk as far as I am concerned. It runs along the NorthWest Arm and late in the afternoon/early evening the light is beautiful. There are often sailboats gliding by and in the early morning the rowing teams are out on the still water. There was a little squirrel who raced ahead of me on this fence, stopping at each post until I came closer.

Not sure what this flowering tree was.(Edited: It is English Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna.Thanks Marian!)

Back up on the main road.into the park

We are so lucky to have this patch of green at the tip of our city!

Local Tasting Tours Halifax

Now that I have your attention.........  I want to tell you about Local Tasting Tours! A new business in town. Last week I went on the very first taste tour in Halifax and it was worth every delicious morsel! Basically, it is a 90 minute walk full of foodie stops and stories. The tour I participated in takes us along Barrington Street.

It starts at the Fish Shop at Pier 20 ( in the Halifax Seaport Market) and after a yummy repast of smoked salmon, breaded haddock tips and fries, we headed out the door. Next stop was Uncommon Grounds where we sampled seedy oatcakes and learned about buying local and the story behind their successful "uncommon" biz.

Emily Forrest, a friend of mine, is the owner and leader of Local Tasting Tours. She did a great job entertaining and informing us all along the way. There is more to the tour than I will write about here, after all I want some of it to be a surprise if you decide to enjoy it.

This tasy morsel was from Morris East where the chef came out and told us a bit about her story and food philosophy. There were about seven different things going on with that mouthful, I had it without the meat and was still delicious!

We stop in front of Government House for a wee snack of Rum Runners cake and learn the history of the place and share a few laughs at the stories told.

This tour is the perfect balance of walking eating and talking:)

We proceed along Barrington Street until we get to Ciboulette. There we had stinging nettle soup and their most wonderful signature biscuits. The chef served us herself and we discovered the serendipitous story of how she came to be there. The food eaten on this tour varies a wee bit depending on the day but it was ALL delicious and one leaves feeling very satisfied.

I recommend it! $25 per person and a fun relaxing way to spend an afternoon, meet some new people and learn a bit more about this terrific city. You book your tickets online or can call 902.818.9055

Audrey's Secret

This is Audrey. She has a friend that comes to visit several times a day. Taps on the window. Yes, a "gullfriend". Strange but true story. Audrey is a rescued cat who was found in an abandoned apartment with frost bitten ears. She now lives the good life with a kind, loving owner and an unusual pal. Audrey's Secret is now for sale in my etsy shop!

time travel

My grandmother Alice, my dad and my grandfather. 1930. Union Street, near Castlegate, Aberdeen, Scotland. This was taken by a street photographer. They would snap random pictures of passersby and hand them a card with info on where to pick up the photo (for a price)

My mum is moving and I came across a treasure trove of photos. Will be scanning them and sharing here, I am sure. I wonder who the dour faced little girl is in the foreground. I have a picture very similar to this one taken on the same street, many many years later, walking with my grandmother when I was a little girl. I remember the photographer sort of jumping out and snapping! This picture also makes me sad and mystified. That beautiful wee little boy died in my arms as an old man. Hard to wrap my head around this stuff sometimes. Photos are magic.

June 1

June! Glorious June:) Such a pretty month, everything is fresh and exciting.

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This 16 x20 painting is called The Red Door and can be purchased here or at the Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market on Saturday and Sundays.

Pavia Gallery, Espresso Bar and Cafe

Doesn't that look pretty? One day last week a friend and I went out for a small hike and a visit to Pavia Gallery Esspresso Bar and Cafe . This is a place I have been wanting to visit for AGES but just never seemed to find the time. Disgraceful really because it is not very far from where I live! It is named after a small town in Northern Italy.

You can find it at the juncture of Herring Cove Road and Purcell's Cove Road. We were there on a sunny Thursday afternoon and it was quite a bustling little spot. People coming and going. That is my big black bag getting it's fifteen minutes of fame, didn't even see it in this pic!

 Mmmm, treats..
The cafe always has an exhibit up on the walls. This one was fascinating! UK artist Ian Gilson who now lives in Herring Cove, has his first show in Canada. Read a review about it here. Photographer Alison Sanford also has some pictures on display in a little gallery at the back of the cafe.

Each of the wee boxes holds a tiny skeleton diorama. So curious and intriguing to look at.

Say Hi to Christopher Webb, the owner of this friendly cafe and a great artist in his own right. He is manning the super duper coffee console. I have to say, the coffee is AMAZING. They bring it in from Florence, Italy. Mokaflor is a small family coffee roasting business and Pavia are the only distributers in Canada. SO delicious.

Add what did I have for lunch? Roasted veggie panini!

After our little interlude at Pavia, we then drove around the corner to the Herring Cove lookoff and enjoyed a lovely walk along the coast.

Again, I wonder why I don't do this more often! (no excuse)That's a house on the bottom left.

 Aah, can't you feel that salty fresh air and hear the surf?

:)

Every spring my 80+ year old neighbor puts this chair in the middle of her "forget me not " meadow. The lawn is not mowed until the flowers have faded. I am so happy she does this.

“There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up, and she looks down, she looks at the mouse. Then she just takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.”
― Pema Chödrön

Valley Adventure

The long weekend brought beautiful weather and after working Saturday and Sunday  I was desperate to escape the city and head into the countryside!
A friend of mine told me I must go to Luckett Vinyards and I am SO GLAD we did.  It was our first stop. What an amazing view over the fields and off towards the headland Blomidon. Blomidon according to First Nation folklore, was  the home of Glooscap, a Mi'kmaq God/giant/magician/benevolent leader who one day vanished into the sunset.

Inside, there is a tasting bar where you can sample various wines and all around are the large silver containers full of ripening vino. Pete also has a brand of olive oil available for tasting too as wells as other tasty bits and pieces. Buy a bottle, get a picnic and head off into the vines! Something I'd like to do later this summer:)
You eat outside, al fresco, under large umbrellas overlooking that magnificent view. Did I mention it already? Worth mentioning again:)  That's Pete himself making sure everyone is happy.

 We ordered veggie paninis which were absolutely delicious, artichokes and asparagus were part of the inner bounty. Mmmm. I ordered a Muscat to drink, a wonderful fragrant white wine.

The famous red phone box out in the vineyard is a wonderful touch of whimsy and a nod to Pete Luckett's heritage. His signature wine is called Phone Box Red. 
Oh, I forgot to mention that there were three Eagles soaring ovehead as we dined!!!

Our next stop was The Big Red Barn in Port Williams.

I always stop in here on any trip to Wolfville. Hidden behind giant lilac bushes and trees you might miss it if you did not know it was here.

You never know what you will find.

Chock-a-block with goodies. Remember this daguerrotype? I found it here.

Four floors!

OK, enough poking about, onward ho to.. ...oh yes, and they had one of these! Hard to get out of this place, always something else to see.

I better wrap this up, too many pictures I want to share. We ended our day at Domaine de Grand Pre. A small place somewhere in Europe. Ha ha, not really but it could have been. That's my mum.

I mean really, could this not be the South of France or Italy? More alfresco dining. A light supper here before heading home. Of course in between the two meals there were bookstores visited, apple blossom hunting, gelato sampling (I had some ginger beer instead), Wolfville exploring and of course treasure hunting at the "barn". Did not want to make a long post even longer!

Waiting for salads.

Mum had one of the best caesar salads she's ever tasted, I think it was the Dragon's Breath blue cheese that found it's way into the dressing:) This was my parsnip and apple salad with hazlenuts. An exotic coleslaw but oh so delicious!

 I hope you enjoyed our little holiday Monday adventure!