Newfoundland Day 10 and onwards

My last full day in Newfoundland was on Canada Day, July 1. July 2 was almost entirely consumed by travel to return home. It seemed to be a four day weekend, bookended by Canada Day and Independence Day.

The sky over St Phillips/Portugal Cove had some glorious clouds on the fine sunny day that was Canada Day.

The lupins, and these are a "wildflower patch" just along the road from DF's home, remain at their peak of bloom.

The MOTH's garden shed is part of the picture perfect landscape.

More of the lupins up close to show you the variety of color.

The sun sank slowly behind Bell Island and the lights began to come on and twinkle on my last evening in Newfoundland. Well, let me qualify that and say, last evening of this trip because the place does bewitch the visitor and beg them to return.

Now I am back home again. Number 2 son decided he wanted to try making hotcakes for breakfast the next morning and we enjoyed them with the delicious homemade jelly that DF had so carefully wrapped up so they could withstand the trip home in my luggage.

Outside it was time to take a stroll in my own garden and see what had grown while I was away. Out front is a bold splash of blue - ageratums in front did not grow much in two weeks but the delphiniums, lavender and salvia behind them have all burst into bloom at the same time.

On the walk up to the front door the coneflowers are in prime bloom.

Round the back the tomatoes have reached the tops of their current staking system so I will need to come up with an auxiliary method.

It is not exactly trick photography but I'm sure I don't know why the background appears blue here; there was dew still on the leaves and I guess the light caught it at an angle that gave this blueish hue. What I am trying to showcase is the heliopsis (sunflower) that has made a reappearance. This particular patch of garden was originally planted with russian sage, white echinacea and these yellow heliopsis. Over the years a later planting of bridal veil spirea in back crowded things out; the russian sage is totally gone, the white echinacea are now dominated by rogue purple ones but this one heliopsis has sprung back into view newly liberated by the drastic rejuvenation pruning we gave the spirea a few weeks ago.

All gardens have to evolve over time. The area that was my herb garden has gradually become too shady as the crepe myrtle has grown. This season I have relocated the herb garden concept to pots on the driveway. It is not as picture perfect but the herbs get all the sun they want. There are quite a few basil there, planted in hopes of making lots of pesto to go with the tomatoes. But I do wonder if the basil will peak well before the tomatoes ripen. Oh well.

Independence Day was a bit of a fizzle weather wise. It began with an overcast theme and we hopefully put the flag out. But by mid afternoon we had full on rain so the flag had to come down, come inside and be draped out to dry. The hat and sunglasses stayed indoors all day long.

Thus ended my four day holiday weekend.

Newfoundland Day 9

On this day the best photo ops were again beside the sea when we went to the small fishing harbor/village of Quidi Vidi Harbor.

 A fine paint job on this dory.

A lineup of a variety of fishing stages (using the local vernacular for the family fishing sheds).

The two main drawcards to this village are the fishing and the Quidi Vidi Brewery, a well known local craft brewery.

 Now you might be wondering why my photos seem to keep changing color. They follow the weather which changes constantly. On this day we had rain spots, we had cloudy overcast conditions and we had sun so bright sunglasses and sunhat were needed. And with all these changes so the color of the water changes too.

 Another couple of the fishing stages. Do notice the flags that fly in this village - here we see the pirate flag!

The entrance to the harbor is a very narrow one.

 This stage is flying the old Newfoundland flag.

Initially I was not going to include this photo because it looks  poorly composed. But it epitomizes the strong colors that are frequently used. This  bright blue shed has just had a fresh coat of paint. The fellow on the right was working on painting the trim bright pink but he has taken time out to stop and chat with passersby. The large building in the background is a new one; it's called the Quidi Vidi Plantation and houses the visitor information on the main floor and what is known as the "incubator" on the upper floor. Here artists can rent a small space for up to three years while they try to establish themselves as working artisans.

A memorial to the lost presumably.

And to close, another painted dory albeit one that no longer goes in the water.

Please pardon the words which seem to wander at will all over the page. I have given up trying to corral them.