Jack’s Walk

 

Belle Anse, Gaspe peninsula, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I went to a place called Belle Anse today, but we usually call the place Glass Beach because there’s always a lot of seaglass to be found among the stones. The secret to all the seaglass here is that a friend of mine feeds the beach. Every autumn she takes buckets of broken up bottles and coloured  glass and tosses them into the surf. It only takes a few days for the sharp edges to round off and by spring all that broken up trash has become treasure. My friend is a stained glass artist and she uses the seaglass to make all sorts of beautiful things. Jack doesn’t care about any of that, though. He just thinks it’s another fine place to frolic in the surf.

A Living Remembrance

Nightjar has sent us photos of a Barberry shrub that she planted in remembrance of Caine. She says:

Here are the photos of the shrub I planted in her memory, it was in such a small pot and badly in need of being planted. The colour red, thorns and berries that attract birds are all things Caine loved, and that’s what made me pick this shrub.

That’s a beautiful way to remember someone, Nightjar. I know Caine would approve. Thanks for sharing.

Barberry shrub, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Thorny and Red, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Berries, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

More thorns, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

 

 

Jack’s Walk

Smuggler’s Cove, ©voyager, all rights reserved

This is Smuggler’s Cove, one of our favourite beaches. It’s a bit out of the way and the road in isn’t well-marked, but that just means we usually have the place to ourselves. The cliffs here show off the mixed rock that is typical of this area and the colours change as the light moves across the sky. At low tide you can walk along the base of the cliffs and if you’re lucky you’ll find a fossil or an agate. I often also find sea urchins and sand dollars here. It’s one of my best places to beach-comb.

 

Tree Tuesday

Majestic 800 year old oak tree, ©rq, all rights reserved

This week rq has sent us gorgeous photos of a majestic oak tree that looks straight out of a fairytale. rq says:

This oak is 800 years old or thereabouts and has earned the title of dižozols, which means ‘Grand/Great Oak’. If a tree adheres to specific criteria regarding trunk diameter and height and other things, it can also aspire to dižkoks status and people can send in submissions to the registry. They get marked on a map as objects of tourist interest, and also go down for preservation measures if anything happens or threatens their surroundings.

This one! Is the second tallest Great Oak in the country at 23m in height, with a trunk circumference of 7.1m or so. It is well and alive, and hosts a large number of birds in its branches, including being permanent home to an owl. It is also hollow inside, home to an unidentified bird, possibly a dove or wood pigeon or some such (see final photo, it’s dim, but there was definitely a bird hissing at me when I peeked in).

 

I visited at sunset, it sits above a winding creek and overlooks some farmland and marshes. 

rq thanks so much. 800 years seems like an impossibly long time for a tree to live, but there it is. This is definitely a tree that I would like to see in person. There are several photos (all of them beautiful) and the rest are below the fold. [Read more…]

Jack’s Walk

Portage River, Gaspe Peninsula, ©voyager, all rights reserved

When most people think about the east coast of Canada they think about the ocean, but because of the beautiful Chic Choc Mountains we have here there are also lots of fresh water rivers and streams. This is the Portage River which flows into the Malbaie Salt Marsh before finding the sea. It’s a great place to canoe or fish and just happens to be behind Jack’s favourite ocean beach, Coin de Banc, making it a great place to rinse saltwater off a tired soggy dog. I’ll spare you another photo of an all wet Jack frolicking in the water.

Jack’s Walk

Chic Choc Mountains, Gaspe, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I are still on the east coast of Quebec in our little village called Perce. There are so many beautiful vistas here that it’s hard to choose, but today I’ll share the Chic Choc (pronounced Shick Shock) mountains. They’re the Canadian part of the Appalachian mountain range and are among the oldest mountains in the world. I love the soft rounded peaks that roll one into the other in a long unbroken chain. I’ll be sharing more photos of certain places in the mountains, but this is the long view to whet your appetite.

After today, Jack’s Walk will be here Monday to Friday only.

A change for Submissions

Giliell’s post of earlier today noted that we want Affinity to continue being a community gathering place and that your submissions are an important part of this blog. We want to see your photos and artwork, hear your stories and share what matters to you so we have set up a new mailbox and are ready to receive whatever you want to send. Charly, Giliell and I will be sharing this mailbox so it would be helpful if you could tag your submissions with a topic such as trees, birds, flora, recipes or Tummy Thursday. If your submission doesn’t fit one of those categories be creative with your tags and we’ll figure out where it goes. The new email is:

[email protected]

and it has been linked in the sidebar. I’ve tested it out and it’s working for me, but if you have any difficulties with the link please let us know. We’re looking forward to seeing what you have for us.

Remembering Caine

Descent of Night, ©Caine/Chris Ford, all rights reserved

In April of last year Caine blogged about the creation of this painting, Descent of Night. I fell in love with it instantly and wrote Caine to tell her how much it reminded me of shooting off fireworks at a place called Corner of the Beach. My husband and I do this every year on our anniversary and the colours Caine chose are the colours of the cliffs surrounding the beach. The rich reds and oranges with browns and touches of green. And all those stars are so full of energy, just like fireworks in motion. I asked Caine if it would be possible to get a good quality photograph of the piece and she said yes with no hesitation.

Imagine my surprise when I received a package that was not a photograph, but rather the painting itself. I was dumbstruck. Caine only knew me at that time through a few photo submissions and some comments I’d made on the blog. I was essentially a stranger to her and here she had sent me this incredible piece of art. Imagine! The painting is now a cherished possession of mine. It not only reminds me of fireworks, but also of the kindness and generosity of a stranger who became a treasured friend.

I know many of you also have stories or thoughts about our beloved Caine so we’ve created this thread for you to share them. It will be left open and once I can figure a few things out it will be linked in the sidebar. The rules that Caine put in place still apply. Anything disrespectful will be immediately removed and don’t be an asshole.

Jack’s Walk

Through the meadow, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Toward Perce Rock and Mt. Joli, ©voyager, all rights reserved

So much Blue, ©voyager, all rights reserved

The weather here is perfect today, a rare treat for the Gaspe where it is frequently cool and damp. Jack and I decided to walk the meadow path that leads to the edge of the cliff overlooking North Beach. The ocean looks so blue today and the sky so clear that we wanted to take it in from on high. You can walk even higher, all the way up to the cross which sits atop Mt. Joli, but that’s a steep climb we’ll save for another day.

Jack’s Walk

Perce Rock…going…

…and gone.

Fog is pretty common in Perce and it shows up at any darned time of the day. One minute it’s sunny and the next minute there’s a thick fog. When Jack and I set out this morning the sun was shining and the air was warm and clear, but by the time we got to the beach (a 5 minute walk) the fog was thick and there was a cool breeze. I like the film noire feeling of walking in the fog so Jack and I set out as usual down North Beach where suddenly the Perce Rock disappeared in the mist.

Tree Tuesday

Over the past few weeks Giliell has been sharing her wonderful holiday photos of Barcelona with us and as part of that series she has sent us an incredible tree to add to our collection. It’s called a Yellow Flamboyant and the name is certainly appropriate. This beautiful Spanish tree is filled with flaming color and style. Its flowers are big and bright and plentiful and Giliell’s photos show them off beautifully against a warm summer sky. The photos are all gorgeous, but I am absolutely in love with the last one, looking up through the tree. Flamboyant indeed.

Thanks Giliell.

Yellow Flamboyant tree, ©Giliell, all rights reserved

Flowers of the Yellow Flamboyant tree, ©Giliell, all rights reserved

Looking up through the Yellow Flamboyant tree, ©Giliell, all rights reserved

Jack’s Walk

North Beach, Perce, Quebec, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I took a stroll along North Beach this morning. This is one of our regular go-to places when we’re here because it’s just across the road from where we stay and it’s seldom busy. It’s also beautiful and full of fossils, sea glass, agates and pretty stones of many types.