Category: home life

May the Guardians of the Sacred Light watch over you and your loved ones this holiday season. Merry Christmas from Monica and Nelson at Nellyglass Studio.

Monica decided to replenish our health snacks today. I was her official taster and photographer. I feel healthier already!

Are you drawn to pretty lights?… me too, like a moth.

Monica and I got out of the house on this beautiful October afternoon for a 3-hour loop drive around central Queens County. We saw the leaves in their zenith framing two splendid waterfalls… and we were quieted.

Monica and I stole away for a 2-night escape to beautiful Grand Manan Island… in search of lobster, sea glass and some quality together time. We found all that… and had our fill.

These 48 photos highlight our 48 hours on Grand Manan Island.

I will miss winter, sort of. What I’ll miss is Monica’s winter recipe adventures. And I’ll miss taking photos (I often hover about while she is creating). For my own amusement I created a Google photos album. If you are bored or interested, it’s a delightful scroll down through the 68 photos in the album. If anything catches your eye, each photo has a descriptive comment you can open and read. (otherwise, I’d never remember).

Thank you for viewing our 2022 Winter Menu

On this beautiful Sunday morning (in June), Monica and I went for a hike just twenty minutes from home to discover Tracy Falls. Nestled in a deep ravine in the Willow Grove area of East Saint John just past the airport, Tracy Falls is elusive. You can’t see it until you turn a final corner and, there it is! A fourty foot cascade that fills the shady chasm with cool mist. It was a hot day and Mon and I had already gotten lost once by taking a wrong path. Being here was heaven. The water was low and the falls were diminished, but we would really like to come back during the freshet. It must be spectacular!

On this beautiful cloudless Victoria Day, Monica and I got out of the house and went for a morning drive to the Kingston Peninsula. With the Hiking Trails of New Brunswick book in hand, we sought out the Moss Glen trail. At just 2.3 kms, it is rated “easy” on the difficulty scale. A lovely time of year with very few mosquitoes yet, we especially enjoyed the trilliums blooming on the forest floor. Just down the brook a short distance, we found the two Moss Glenn waterfalls (upper and lower). They are both impressive and inviting as summer swimming spots for locals. We ended our tour with a picnic lunch beside the river waiting for the Summerville ferry back to Saint John. Start to finish was 3 hours. The rest of the day was enjoyed on the back deck.

April 24th was the nicest day of the year so far. Temperatures soared to 20 C in Saint John. Monica and I wanted to get out of the house and go for a walk on one of the 145 official NB Hiking Trails. We headed west to Deer Island to do the only registered trail on the island; the Clark Gregory Nature Preserve trail at Chocolate Cove. It is listed as ‘moderate’ difficulty with a couple of wet spots and lots of tip-toeing around roots and rocks. However, it is short at only 1.5 kms and only took us 30-40 minutes. The views across the water of satellite islands and fishing weirs are gorgeous. It is well worth the trip for something different plus the ferry ride to and from the island is always interesting.

Working up an appetite on our hike called for lunch on a beach somewhere. So, we headed to Deer Island Point at the southern tip of the island. The tide was ebbing fast giving us a dramatic show of “Old Sow” (world’s second largest whirlpool) as we enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches in the sunshine. Then a bit of peaceful beach-combing for sea glass and digestion of lunch.

We continued our tour around the island poking into random side roads to discover hidden gems like buoy covered shacks and small herds of deer! We could not drive past the 45th Parallel Restaurant at Fairhaven without stopping in for a hot fudge brownie sundae… these are home-made brownies…hot and scrumptious!

We ended our day on the drive back to Saint John with a stop into the Canada Green garden nursery and landscape center in St. George. Besides having any plant or garden tool you could want, a tour of the property is like strolling through a zen garden abounding with fountains and sculptures. Monnie picked up an herb planter (pre-Mother’s Day gift). I will look forward to whatever she plants and subsequently feeds to me. 😁

Thanks for reading. Here is a short photo album covering our drive and walk on Deer Island April 2021.

Monica commands the kitchen 95% of the time. My 5% is Friday night!

Monica and I are really enjoying watching the birds through our livingroom window. It’s like a TV Reality show. Such drama! One of them will claim the bird feeder. Who will it be?