melinda markey photo: August 2013

8/27/13

brian + laurel // engaged

Love all around at the Kissing Bridge near Waterloo, Ontario.

8/25/13

34/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

the 52 project: 34/52.

[52 project participants who inspired me last week: Jane Mabel, The Beetle Shack, Christina Lowry Designs, Milk Please Mum, Sunny + Scout, and of course, Che and Fidel]

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Today, we spent our morning in the forest on Mt. Seymour. The path to Dog Mountain was a little more rocky and root-filled than we had expected, but it didn't matter, we took our time, listening to the buzz of insects high in the trees while watching our footing. Once at the peak we brought out the hiking snacks where Gracie took one look at our bowl of blueberries and instructed us to "put them on the mountain", pointing at the rock beside her feet. It's a joy to know that she's developing a relationship with "the mountain" through physically being on it.

I had a hard time choosing just one photo this week. We did a little face painting with mud while on the trail - portrayed in colour above, and in black and white below (the second photo taken by my husband). It was pretty swell!

Happy, mud-faced baby.

8/22/13

newfoundland // maybe a moose

Family vacation in Newfoundland, Signal Hill path.

I'll never forget the first time I visited the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I was instantly taken by it's coarse beauty, unoccupied beaches, lively people and roaring winds (we arrived on the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia). That was two years ago in October, when our babe was a mere four months old. In early August of this year we traveled there again, and this time I knew I was in for a treat as our generous hosts shared both their home and their cabin space with us - offering a glimpse of Newfoundland most visitors will never see. We spent several days on Fair Island, one of the earliest fishing bases in Bonavista Bay. There, we picked wild blueberries until our bellies would hold no more, hung ourselves face-first off the dock in search of starfish and red jellies, swam in the chilly Atlantic ocean and participated in an "ode to cod" (e.g., catching, sharing, and frying it up, followed by a schooling in the way of the tongues and britches).

Following our time in the country we met with extended family and explored in and around St. John's, visiting several great pubs, namely, Yellow Belly Brewery and Public House and The Inn of the Olde in Quidi Vidi where Linda offers "stories, beers and wood burning stoves". We climbed Signal Hill to Cabot Tower, roamed the foggy grounds at Cape Spear and traversed a portion of the East Coast Trail at Witless Bay. Having only two weeks was bittersweet; endless ocean views are hard to give up, but at least we have an ocean to love here at home (hello, Pacific, we love you too!).

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Wild Newfoundland neighbours of note: minke whales, one moose, a mink, a nest of rabbits, a sculpin, several cod, baby starfish (who performed an overnight disappearing act), bats, seals, a loon or two, and countless seabirds.