Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

In our quest to get out of our busy life and into the wilderness, we decided on Cape North, the northernmost point of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This is a place of sea, moose, bear, and mountains. There was hardly a car on the road and the beaches were mostly abandoned. In a little bed and breakfast, we hunkered down to what really matters--long hikes up winding trails that spiraled around vistas of crashing waves and mountains dotted with fir trees. The air was briny and pine-filled--a total sensory experience. Our B & B was rustic--no frills. Mid-week, we met a lovely photographer and poet couple that might have been us some years ago. They were from Quebec. We shared wine, photographs but alas no poetry since my French is not what it used to be (though I'm working on it) and she doesn't write in English. Still the sensibility of poets and photographers is a universal language (as is wine and fruit...) I return to my work at hand--two collections that I am polishing at the moment--one is my collaboration with Geraldine Mills and one is my own collection. I hope the end of summer will bring completion to both so I can begin my teaching poised to create new work.