Summer Harvest

One of the joys of early summer is the arrival of fresh, locally-grown strawberries and rhubarb.  Yes, they come into season at the same time in this part of the world, so I’m able to make my favourite rhubarb and strawberry jam.

There is something quite therapeutic about chopping fruit and stirring it as it simmers gently.

The end result is a beautiful red jam, capturing the flavours of early summer.

It is lovely to have a few jars put aside for later in the year, though they may not last that long, as I’ve already finished one jar.

However you are spending your time this summer, I hope you stay safe and well.

A Taste of Green Gables

For those of you who are familiar the 1908 story of Anne of Green Gables, you may remember that Anne loved raspberry cordial.

When I came across raspberry cordial earlier in the summer, I had to try some.

Though it was a bit sweet for my liking, it certainly tasted of raspberries, and it made quite a refreshing drink when diluted with soda water: a real taste of Prince Edward Island.

Strawberry Swiss Roll

I love the flavour of fresh local strawberries in summer.  I recently acquired a copy of The National Trust Cookbook and couldn’t wait to try this recipe for strawberry Swiss roll.

First I baked the sponge and rolled it up, leaving it to cool for an hour.  Then I made the buttercream filling, which included some strawberry jam, hence the pink colour.

Once the buttercream had been added, it was sprinkled with fresh strawberries and rolled up again.  I must admit that the sponge was a bit heavier than expected, but I think that was due to the size of eggs that I used.  We buy fresh farm eggs, which are not only extra large, but many of them have double yolks.  Mr Candytuft described it as ‘Omelette cake’, but still managed to eat most of it!

Summer At Last!

Well, I’ve been gone far longer than I anticipated.  I returned to work on Wednesday after ten weeks of recovering from my surgery.  I’m still feeling exhausted at times, so my goal at the moment is to go for walks, even if they are much shorter than they would have been in the past.  

I’m taking one day at a time and have been enjoying visits to the boardwalk now that the weather has finally improved.

The roses are in full bloom and their scent is heavenly.  I just bury my nose in them and inhale.

Whatever you are doing during the summer, I hope that you are taking some time to smell the roses.

Lake of Shining Waters

Back in June, we visited Anne of Green Gables’ house and we stopped at the Green Gables’ Museum on the way home.  

The main reason for stopping here was to see the Lake of Shining Waters.  

We didn’t actually go into the museum because it was packed with tourists and it was a hot day.  We chose to sit in the shade on the veranda and watch the world go by for a few quiet minutes.

I know it is late publishing this post, but I thought that I would share it, as I know that I have some readers who are fans of Anne of Green Gables.  

Open Gardens

I can’t believe that it has been six weeks since I last posted.  I have had issues with posting photographs and only recently discovered that Google no longer supports Picasa, which has made moving photos difficult.  Anyway, I seem to have managed to upload some photos, so here they are.

July and August are the months for open gardens at the garden club, which we joined in the spring.  A chance to have a look at some of the gardens was too good a opportunity to miss, though we haven’t managed to tour all of them.

One of the gardens which drew the largest crowds was the woodcarver’s garden.  The first photo is the intriguing view of the garden from the road, but a short walk to the rear of the house revealed a variety of carvings.  The fairy garden (above) was one of my favourites.

 

There is something very tactile about carvings and I ran my hands over this bald eagle, marvelling at the fact that all of these carvings were done with a chainsaw.

 Another favourite garden was this one.  The front garden was pretty, with sweet little touches like these stars and the peace sign (below).  

 

Behind the house, we found this baby barn which had candle lights in the windows and a willow wreath on the door.  I love those red flowers, but forgot to ask what they were.

What came as a complete surprise was this bed under the trees - the perfect spot for a nap on a hot afternoon. 

Complete with cotton sheets, a cotton nightgown and a teddy bear, it looked so inviting. 

I love this luggage label, which reads, ‘I’m going to make everything around me beautiful - that will be my life’.

How could I resist a photograph of this fireplace, which was on the deck, shaded by a pergola and complete with armchairs for a shady spot to sit and relax. 

We have been out to two more garden tour dates, so I will share some of those photos soon.  

Hope you are all surviving this hot, humid weather.

St Dunstan's Basilica

Our first visit to Charlottetown was a couple of weeks after we arrived on Prince Edward Island.  We went for a walk after lunch and visited St Dunstan's Basilica.  It was a hot afternoon and pleasant to escape the bustle of the tourist crowds and step into the calm of this beautiful church.  Stepping inside, the eye was immediately drawn to the Rose window and altar.  The stained-glass windows, light fixtures and pillars depict almost three hundred angels.

St Dunstan's Chapel was the original wooden church on this site.  It was constructed in 1816 and dedicated to St Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was an Anglo-Saxon saint, from Glastonbury.  The original church was later replaced by a larger wooden cathedral in 1843. 

The cornerstone of the third cathedral on this site was laid in 1896.  It was built in the form of a Latin cross and was dedicated in 1907.  Six years after its dedication, it was destroyed by fire.

The fourth cathedral was reconstructed from the walls of the former one and the interior was completed in the English Gothic style.  Completed in 1919, it was the largest cathedral in the Maritimes.  Ten years later, on the centenary of the formation of the Diocese of Charlottetown, Pope Pius XI honoured the financial sacrifices made by the Islanders to resurrect this church from the ashes and granted St Dunstan's the title of Basilica, one of only twenty such churches in Canada.

The exterior part of the Basilica was difficult to photograph, due to crowds, other builidings and trees.  It is French Gothic in style and topped by spiral crosses on the spires.

I don't feel that my photos did the building justice, so if you would like to see some better images, please visit the Basilica's webiste here.

Nature Trail

I've read that exercising outdoors puts us in touch with nature, which brings a sense of wellbeing.  We have recently exchanged pounding the pavements of a large city for a boardwalk on the island we now call home.

Our morning walks offer us sights of seabirds on the beach and the first glimpses of autumn colour.

Chipmunks abound and stuff their pouches with tasty treats left by walkers.

This one looked like he had a bad case of mumps after filling his face with as much as he could carry.  

We have yet to identify this bird, which we couldn't find in our bird guide.

But we do know what is in this nest - osprey chicks, which we can hear calling to their parents.  They are too far away for a good photo and their nest is on the top of a telegraph pole.

Nature offers such riches and puts us in touch with the subtle change of seasons almost before it is happening.  

In Search of the Red Squirrel

On our first walk last Thursday, we were delighted to discover that there are red squirrels in the area.  In fact, one had been leaning over the railing of this bird box, but sadly, the camera took too long to focus, so I missed the shot.

Here he is running down the tree.

And hanging off the edge of the bird box.

When we returned on Friday, we went armed with almonds to entice them out from cover. Though shy at first, the temptation of a tasty almond was too great.

I had the camera on and ready, so I managed to capture this photo.  Here he is with the almond in his paws.  Though we have been back twice since, we haven't seen red squirrels this weekend, so can only assume that they are so stuffed with peanuts (lots of people leave them) that they are sleeping off their overindulgence!

Our Morning Walk

We set out on Thursday morning to explore somewhere new and decided to walk the boardwalk.  We parked close to the beach and headed west towards the lighthouse.

We saw an inviting path to the lighthouse, but chose to continue on our route.

At this time of year, there are many beautiful wild flowers blooming.

I saw cow parsley amongst other varieties (I definitely need a wild flower guide).

In the distance, a light buoy to mark the harbour entrance.

Wetland habitat along the shore.

We passed the lighthouse and continued our walk.

We reached the shelter of the trees, which gave us protection from the blustery wind.

The boardwalk continues to wind its way and all that we hear are the sounds of nature.

It is a lovely walk because we can see the shore for almost the entire route.

Seaside goldenrod in bloom (I have yet to identify the purple flowers).

Wetland habitat, where we saw many birds.

And on towards the end of the trail.

The path ends in a rugged spot where we can stand and listen to the waves.

Looking across, we can see the Confederation Bridge in the distance.  It is hard to believe that we have been islanders for almost three weeks.

The view back towards town.

The rocky sandstone shoreline, for which PEI is famous.

The perfect end to a pretty boardwalk and a walk which is set to become a firm favourite.  We enjoyed it so much that we returned yesterday and retraced our steps.