Sunny hike to Freshwater

We set out early for Bay Bulls and walked from there to Freshwater along the East Coast Trail and back. The last time I walked that segment, David and I did the last part in the dark, having miscalculated how long it would take us from the Spout. We had small headlights but still crept along very slowly to Bay Bulls as we couldn’t easily tell when we were on the edge of a cliff. Let’s just say it was a bonding experience. This time Camille, Alison and I did it in brilliant sunshine and I finally got to see the stunning scenery I had missed the last time.

We set out in brilliant sunshine…

My hiking companions: Alison…

and Camille.

Tuckamore, which I think of as natural bonsai: trees that would be tall but are dwarfed and sculpted by the wind and the sea.

And a ghostly root of another tuckamore.

After lunch the fog started to roll in.

The sky changed from turquoise to opal.

And then to shades of grey at the Bay Bulls Lighthouse, which is where we realized last time that we were not going to make it out by nightfall.

There was a great big sea, or as the midwife in A Midwife’s Tale put it, “a great sea a-going.”

And a snotty var at the end of the trail.

Two moons, a star and ships’ horns

Here in St. John’s, two things they’re doing to keep peoples’ spirits up are relighting the Christmas star on Cabot Tower for the duration of the quarantine and playing a harbour symphony (ships’ horns) every Friday evening in honour of all the essential workers. The huge full moon last night also helped raise my spirits and when I downloaded it from my camera, I found another photo from a month or two ago of an almost full moon. It’s the only one I’ve ever taken with my small camera that shows the moon’s craters in something like 3D so I’ve added that photo here too, even though it’s not as recent.

Harbour symphony in honour of essential workers from Elizabeth Yeoman on Vimeo.

The star on Signal Hill, usually lit during the Christmas season but now re-lit until the end of the current crisis.

Last month’s moon, nearly full, showing craters along the lower edge

This month’s full moon.

Two ways to pass the time under quarantine

I made this little hat. It took a week, though not full time, and I posted my progress on Instagram every evening. Peoples’ “likes” and comments were very encouraging, and now I’ll send it off for my little grandson.

Yesterday I went for a walk up Signal Hill and saw this (look carefully at the upper left quadrant to see what I saw). Some people find more adventurous ways than I did of passing the time under lockdown.