Fair Island of the Sea

While most of the people who loyally read this blog are friends and family, I've noticed that since I started participating in blog hops, some weeks I actually have more blog visits from our neighbours south of the border.  This is exciting to me, because it means that I am starting to branch out a little in the homestead blogging world and make connections with other people who share a similar vision for simpler lifestyle.  I love connecting with people, and blogging has become a little addictive because it is such an amazing way to form new connections and learn new things.  Consequently, I thought that it might be interesting for some visitors to this little blog to know a little more about me and where I come from.

For those of you that aren't all that familiar with eastern Canadian geography, you might still have heard of Prince Edward Island if you read Anne of Green Gables as a child or if you are ardent fans of Live! with Regis and Kelly (I think it might just be Kelly now though?).  It is a beautiful island nestled in the Northumberland Strait where beaches, pastoral scenery, fantastic food, and friendly people can all be found.  It has its flaws, to be sure, but there isn't another place on the planet I can imagine calling home.  It's a land of red soil, white dunes, gentle, forested hills, rolling fields, and old wooden farmhouses.  This island throws community fundraisers when someone is in need, leaves doors unlocked, says hello to every passing face, and lets you turn even if you don't have the right-of-way.  It is also a place where finding a job in your field can be challenging, where we haven't looked (and aren't looking) after our beautiful environment the way we should be, and where we are learning that initial welcomes and friendliness aren't always enough when we meet new people.  We have a lot to learn on PEI, but we have an awful lot to give and share.  And I'd like to introduce you to a bit of the countryside.

My sister, the very lovely (and most loyal of readers) Rebecca of Lot 65, took these photos of PEI when she was here visiting for the summer, a few months before she gave me the tear-jerkingly happy news that she was moving home permanently.  She generously told me I could use her photos for blog posts any time I like, and so I thought I would share them here to give you just a quick idea of what my home looks like. (I love that these photos were taken on a cloudy day, it makes our gentle island look a little more mysterious and grown up!)

When I first posted this, I meant to include a PEI Tourism video of aerial video footage that was used to entice the royal couple to visit when they were touring Canada in the summer.  It gives a really good idea of what PEI is like!

This post is linked to Farmgirl Fridays at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House, and Homestead Barn Hop #54 at Homestead Revival.