Tags
books, bookstores, Gardens, L.M. Montgomery, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, photography, Prince Edward Island, reading
Here are some of the pictures I took this summer in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
On the ferry to PEI at the end of June, on my way to the L.M. Montgomery Institute conference in Charlottetown and the unveiling of the Project Bookmark Canada plaque honouring Montgomery’s poem “The Gable Window” in Cavendish:
Wood Islands Lighthouse, PEI
Charlottetown sky
“The Gable Window” Bookmark, Cavendish, PEI
PEI lupines (which always make me think of Barbara Cooney’s book Miss Rumphius: “You must do something to make the world more beautiful.”)
Back in Nova Scotia:
In the garden at the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm, Nova Scotia
Hiking at Graves Island Provincial Park, Nova Scotia
The view from Graves Island
The Halifax Public Gardens
Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia
A few photos from a run at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax:
After I read Charis Cotter’s novel The Painting (Tundra, 2017), part of which takes place at a lighthouse in Newfoundland, I wanted to visit a lighthouse, so I chose one that’s close to home—Peggy’s Cove. From the novel:
I sat on my bed and looked at the painting of Newfoundland on my wall.
It was just as beautiful as ever. The road was so inviting—as if Maisie was saying come in, come here, come into this world and walk along the road to the lighthouse, and you will find something you have always wanted. I realized that that was what it always said to me. It was the promise of a different world, a world of heartbreaking beauty where everything was right and seabirds flew against the sky and the wind blew patterns in the tall grass.
But it wasn’t really that wonderful world. Now I knew how unhappy Claire had been there.
This section is from the perspective of Annie, one of the two heroines. I loved the epigraphs from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, and Claire’s passion for the Bookmobile that visits the remote community where she lives: “I don’t know what I would have done without that Bookmobile…. I never felt better than when I walked home from school with my eight new books weighing down my knapsack, with all that new reading ahead of me.” Claire’s favourite books include Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden and novels by L.M. Montgomery (“I wiped away my tears and reached for Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables. I was just about an orphan now, so I might as well read books about orphans.”)
Peggy’s Cove
Walking along the St. John River, on a short trip to Fredericton, New Brunswick:
The last few photos are from a day trip with my daughter to River John, Nova Scotia, to visit one of our favourite bookstores, Mabel Murple’s Book Shoppe & Dreamery:
Sarah Emsley 
Beautiful! If I didn’t already live here, I’d be desperate to come visit. 🙂
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Ha! I’m glad you do live here. Looking forward to seeing you again soon, probably at The Old Triangle.
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How is it that every picture was lovelier than the last? Beautiful post, and it seems you had a wonderful summer – I’m so glad!
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I did indeed. Thanks, Jaclyn. Hope you have a great long weekend!
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Beautiful! Impressive photography skills as well. I’m hoping to visit PEI at some point. I will keep you posted if I do. 🍃
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I hope you’ll take lots of pictures when you do! Yes, please do keep me posted. Thanks for the compliment.
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Beautiful photography, Sarah. The Mable Murple house is particularly good. Gerri
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Thanks very much, Gerri!
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So beautiful! It makes me wonder (as I’ve been wondering for some time) what other LM Montgomery fans think of “Anne with an E”? I watched the first season somewhat taken aback by how dark it is, but the second season turned out to be unwatchable for me as it seems to have left LM in the dust. It has nothing of the original story to it, which seems a shame to me. Especially so because the performances by the actors is uniformly good, and the girl playing Anne, especially, is wonderful! Am I alone in my feelings on this? Maybe I’m just not seeing the need to “modernize” and “sensationalize” the characters. Love to hear the thoughts of others.
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Glad you liked the photos!
I agree, it’s a shame that adaptation of Anne of Green Gables leaves the original story behind. I was disappointed, because I thought the casting was excellent, and I had high hopes for the series. But by the end of the first episode, it was so far from the spirit of Montgomery’s novel that I stopped watching. My daughter and I returned to other adaptations we love, including the “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne & Gilbert” musicals, and the 1985 movie.
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I’m glad I’m not alone… I wonder if it’s a sign of our times that what they seemed to leave out was the “nice”? As though it wasn’t hard enough for Anne to be an orphan, she had to be abused, as well. And all the townspeople were so mean to her, which I gather rings “true” to people these days, but it’s not what I love about Avonlea and PEI. In the end, I just wish they’d been more careful with such a beloved character and book.
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Yes, it isn’t the Avonlea Montgomery imagined. I wasn’t expecting the series, or any adaptation, to be exactly like the book, of course, but I did hope that it would be true to the spirit in which the story was created, and I don’t think it was. Adding and enhancing darker aspects of the story also means it’s no longer appropriate for young children, and I found that disappointing, because for years, watching (and reading) versions of the Anne story has been something my daughter and I enjoy together.
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We enjoyed the photos. We there any cool insights from the Montgomery conference?
Bill and Doreen say hi and have asked when you will be back at the cottage!
Best, Sharon
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Hello to Bill and Doreen! I don’t know yet when we’ll get there. It’s very kind of them to ask. And I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
The highlight of the conference for me was Betsy Epperly’s talk on Emily Climbs. So many of the papers were on Anne — which was great, but it was also nice to focus on Emily for a while. I took plenty of notes and I hope her paper will be published. She talked about Montgomery’s “point about the young artist’s need to move fluidly through time.” Addressing what Emily calls “the flash,” she said “We must notice how ecstasy is bracketed by ordinary inconveniences and interruptions. The artist must be able to deal with both.” And “art must have everyday life in its register.”
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It must be nearly 26 years since my wife and I visited Petite Rivere Nova Scotia to visit my Cousin Margaret Henry and Alban her husband and family. It was a Holiday we will always remember and our tour of Cape Breton. Alas Margaret and Alban have passed away, they had a Daughter called Claire who lived at or very near Peggy’s Cove. The Family are now scattered over Nova Scotia? Sheilagh who we try to keep in touch with, is in Halifax which I still remember watching the Min day gun fired at the Castle. One of Margarets Grandchildren was into big ship sailing and I understand she operated on the Halifax Ferrys. J.Norman Kidd.
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Lovely pictures. They bring back my visit to the Maritimes, which with Quebec are now my favourite parts of Canada.
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I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed them, Anne. Thanks.
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