Every now and then, we are struck by the beauty of our little Prince Edward Island home. It is not that we take it for granted, but every so often, its garden quality is so evident. Being Newfoundlanders, we appreciate it even more.
On the way to buy some vegetable plants for the garden this year, we passed acres and acres of land at various stages of readiness for planting.
The fertile red soil sits expectantly, waiting for the magic of seed, sun and rain to do the work. We live on a garden in the ocean.
We compare this home to our birthplace where our ancestors fought for every acre of earth, where soil was a precious commodity, as precious as the cod which brought them to that rock in the North Atlantic.
Our ancestors worked to accumulate enough earth to grow vegetables to sustain the family through the winter.
The acquisition and maintenance of the soil was a huge effort.
The history of farming on this island is as deep as the fertile red soil which sustains it.
The island is famous for its potatoes of course, and also products of the ocean as well.
Here the soil is almost devoid of rock however, rich and deep, soaking up water easily. Growing can be as easy as turning the sod.
Canada is a vast country with such diversity of environment. We are island people of the east coast of this country, from two such diverse islands that are less than five hundred kilometers apart. They are each beautiful in such different ways. Their unique beauty is not lost on us.
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