Cadeaux de la Mer

West Advocate beach

Lofty cool gusts
Storming gales
Steady fresh breezes
To fill my sails

Beachcombing shore
Tidal rifts
Briskmaking strolls
To receive her gifts

Today, we are packing up the van and heading east.....more east to Nova Scotia. Our destination is to a big white farmhouse which sits up on a hill overlooking the village of Spencer's Island and the beautiful ocean.....the Bay of Chignecto to be exact. The house is the childhood home of my mother-in-law. The village, once a thriving shipbuilding centre, as were many of the little villages along the Parsboro shore, is now a sleepy little place at this time of year, before the folks "from away" arrive for the summer. Even then, it still has a sleepy feel to it.

Unlike the ocean.
It never sleeps.
It clears my head
Consumes my thoughts
Embraces my songs
Takes away my frustrations
And it always makes me feel alive.

For the next couple of days, we will slow down, go for walks, visit with the friends and family who call this place home year round, share meals of scallops and lobster and maybe some flounder, sit by the big fireplace in the livingroom to read and to play cards. We will take many trips down the hill to the beach to collect driftwood, shells, to breathe in the salt air and take in the spectacular medicinal view. A big bonfire is in the plans.........


This is the place where I first secured my emotional roots when we moved to the Maritimes. As I write, I am inundated with stories of fresh memories -- so much so that I find it difficult to capture just one to share. Perhaps the stories need to wait.......they need to gestate and formulate during a few ambling walks along the shoreline over the next couple of days while I decompress and clear my head and only focus on finding the treasures tucked in the sand and pebbles along the shoreline.

The ocean...............sculptured by the winds with everchanging skies which reflect an inviting panorama palette of colour on her waves will be my destination. Away from busy. Away from it all. A welcoming respite for me and my family and our dog. I can't tell you how much we all need her rejuvenating medicine.

I could cry salty tears
Where have I been all these years
A little while, tell me now
How long has this been going on?
(Van Morrison, How long has this been going on?)

See you soon. xo

For more Sunday Scribblings on the "ocean" please visit this link to their site.