An outing with Alice and Art.

I enjoy sharing the places I love with chums who haven't seen them.  In my head I have a "go to" list of nearby favourite places; at the top of that list is Macdonald Hill.   If you come for a visit and only have a couple of hours in Nova Scotia THIS would be the place I'd take you.  So when chums Art and Alice asked to join me on an outing, this is where we went.

Looking from Stony Beach toward Macdonald Hill.

Art and Wendy strolling the beach.

Alice and I were chatting about how sometimes you step into a beach area where there is a lot of water mixed with the sand and a "quicksand" effect is created.  And will you look at that, Art found some!  Bet he was glad he wasn't wearing those shoes.

After a delightful stroll on Stony Beach and a wander along the top of the hill we went to the Heron Tea Room in Macdonald House where Art and Alice treated me to a delicious home-cooked lunch.

Art's desert - Coconut cream pie !

Macdonald Hill rises between Stony Beach and Lawrencetown Beach.  The view is quite wonderful.  

After lunch we hopped back in the car and drove 3 minutes own the road to Lawrencetown Beach to take a gander.

Alice.

One of the boardwalks is ramped for wheelchair access to the beach,

however, the tides driven higher by storm surges have repeatedly destroyed the beach-end of the ramp rendering it it not-so-accessible.

Macdonald Hill in the distance.

Look closely and you might spot the oodles of surfers waiting for next decent wave.

After such a marvellous outing our only problem is -- where do we go next ?

A Car for All seasons.

As a retiree living on a pretty modest income, you might think it odd that this afternoon I headed to the local Mercedes Benz dealership. 

What drew me there, was not some shiny, new, way-out-of-my-league car, but a 1980 Mercedes-Benz sedan with an unusual paint job.

Last fall's news release read:

TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2013 /CNW/ - Mercedes-Benz Canada today announced that the company is undertaking a unique and creative initiative with highly respected and world-renowned Canadian realist painter Tom Forrestall. This innovative project will convert an iconic Mercedes-Benz sedan into a thought-provoking and transportable work of art. A loyal Mercedes-Benz customer for several decades, Forrestall owns a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300 SD that has become the canvas for this large scale work that he has entitled "A Car for All seasons."

I hadn't known anything about this car when I popped into the dealership a couple of weeks ago, after succumbing to curiosity and test-driving a SMART car.

On my way out, I stumbled across a very pleasant man painting the passing seasons on a car. Without having a clue who he was,  I stopped to ask about his work.  He was charming and more than pleased to share the details of what he was up to.

I returned today, less ignorant of the importance of seeing Tom Forrestall working on this marvellous piece, and realizing how fortunate I was to be able to chat with him about his art.

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On the hood of the car, Spring burst into bloom with Ferns and Trilliums drifting seamlessly into the roses and Queen Anne's Lace of summer.

I believe the woman is "Mercedes" of Mercedes Benz fame ...

On the car's roof, summer melts into autumn.  A lost spoon had just been painted into the long grass of summer, and the "model" spoon still lay nearby.

Yep, it has a sun roof.

With delicious simplicity the green oak leaves of summer gave way to acorns and the withered, brown leaves of fall.

Lovely little details, like these downy feathers were hidden amongst the blowing leaves..

Winter had the trunk and rear of the car in its icy grip. 

The artist had worked a Canadian flag into the snow over the rear tire.  While I was there, he was chatting with a couple of other admirers about his plans to add the flag of Nova Scotia into the design on the other side.

He estimates that he'll be working on it for another two or three weeks.

Needless to say  I'll be going back in a couple of weeks to see the finished product before it leaves for parts unknown.

Sorry.  I couldn't resist. Me and the artist.  What a thrill !

My favourite picture of Trey ...

Trey is a photogenic, handsome boy.

He has the most amazing, soppy eyes.

Whether he's sucking on his blankie,

or teasing me with a ball,

his eyes are the windows to his sweet, doggie soul.  

But my favourite picture of Trey isn't a photograph.

It's a beautiful pencil sketch, left at my door, by a wonderful friend.

Thanks Amy-Lynn.

You rock !

Love from Sybil & Trey.    Y