The dance

When the cares of the world feel overwhelming I retreat to nature. There, for a few minutes during a walk, all is forgotten as the elements and the wildlife present their best to all who care to notice. 

Such was the case one day last month, on what looked like a spring day, the salt marsh held the imprints of a small flock of American Black Ducks which appeared to have danced there. 

Their ducky prints are easy to identify among the other animal footprints in the marsh. 

In the stream that day, a Red-breasted Merganser, was veiled behind branches as it dived for food. Usually only dabbling ducks swim there, so this diver was a welcome visitor.

The Black Ducks, common to the area and a visiting Mallard argued a lot that day. If one came too close to the other species, flight occurred. It was a busy stream that day.

A mallard took up residence recently along the stream. He is a handsome stand-out among the more familiar Black Ducks. His companion, a Black Duck, stayed close by, 

relaxed in the setting until multiple Blue Jays sent out an alert.

One day recently, people watched the ducks as a Bald Eagle swooped in on them. All escaped thanks to the early warning system of the jays.

The little birds deserve credit too. Various feeders along the boardwalk attract sparrows, juncos 

                   Dark-eyed Junco, back; Song Sparrow, middle; Tree Sparrow, front

and finches. I especially like these sightings, as the tiny birds present a real challenge to photograph as they flit about more quickly than the ducks.

                                                                         Goldfinch

I always spend time looking out to sea with its changing face which is determined by temperature, wind speed/direction and tide. My husband and I always wonder what the bay will be like on any particular day.

A frozen bay one day, with an off-shore wind, can become an open bay, as in the first photo.

On-shore wind will blow the ice into the bay again, and land and sea are one.

Sometimes the ocean’s surface freezes anew and one could imagine ice skating there.

Then, there’s the slushy ice surface on those days when the temperatures are above zero and it feels like spring.

     

The Red Squirrels deserve mention too. They are always out and about, waiting for a hand-out from walkers who often have peanuts for them. You never know when a squirrel will pop up somewhere.

The wonder of nature is itself like a dance where nature sets the tempo of the music and we are free to engage her.

I hope you enjoy the dance too.

Ballet news

The following post I wrote over six years ago documenting some family history.

This past weekend, our eldest granddaughter appeared with Ballet Jörgen when the ballet company was in Summerside performing the ballet Anne of Green Gables. The story of Anne is based on the book of the same name by islander Lucy Maud Montgomery. 

This Prince Edward Island story was beautifully done by Ballet Jörgen and our granddaughter’s participation in the performance fulfills a prediction she made years ago.

Written in April 2016:

                                  

As part of our Christmas tradition when our daughter was young, we read the story of the Nutcracker. It was one of the books she kept over the years and brought into her own family. 

Her eldest wasn’t two when our daughter started reading the story of Clara and her Christmas dream/adventures. When she saw the video of the ballet, the little one was hooked. One day, as she watched, her grandfather attempted to engage her in conversation about the various characters and she commented, “I want to watch it by myself.” Poppy stopped talking!

She watched Angelina Ballerina as well and liked to do "ballet moves" as she called them, with the characters during each show. Our girl loved dance, especially ballet!

Her parents, wanting to encourage her interest, enrolled her in classes the year she turned three. She enjoyed them, with an enthusiasm that was infectious. Her younger sister started the ballet moves at an early age too and imitated her sister. 

The younger girl was heart broken every time her sister headed off to ballet class because she couldn’t go.

The elder girl especially enjoyed the year-end show, where she was on stage twice. 

She enjoyed every minute of the performance and is looking forward to this year's show when she is on stage three times. That girl has a flair for the dramatic as you can see.

Before Christmas last year, the family went to Moncton to see the local production of the Nutcracker and our girl was enchanted with everything about the show. Even the two year old, though a tad squirmy, was also fascinated with the performance.

Last weekend, their grandfather and I took the girls to see an afternoon performance of Sleeping Beauty by Ballet Jörgen at the local theatre. Tchaikovsky's music means ballet to the girls and when the curtain rose and the music started, they were enthralled. The older one was riveted for the whole performance while the younger checked in periodically. She was her three year old self for the two hour show. 

                                                         Ready for Sleeping Beauty

While I love ballet and classical music, my husband is a country music fan, but he wanted to experience the performance with the girls. Besides, one of us could take a misbehaving child out of the theatre while the other stayed. We joked about him needing to be the one who would have to be taken out. His love of his granddaughters outweighed his own reluctance to watch ballet.

The older girl has told her mother that she dances in her dreams and has performed the role of Clara from the Nutcracker. On this day, during the intermission, before the curtain went up again, she told me, “You know Nanny, I'm going to be up there one day." 

Who knows what Sylvie will do, what she will become? Her ability may not match her interest in ballet. I do know that for a five year old, she has an incredible attention span and interest in dance, especially ballet. We, her family, will continue to encourage her to follow her dreams. 

Next year, it's Swan Lake...without her grandfather!

 

The spirit of a dancer

She was a reluctant newborn, our granddaughter Sylvie. We weren’t sure she’d survive or if she did, if she’d have disabilities. Oxygen deprivation was a concern but Sylvie is our miracle who dances.

She has the spirit of a dancer, showing expression in every movement. This past year, she attended classes in tap, modern and ballet, did exams in modern and tap and did well in them. Sylvie shows “talent and musicality” according to the examiners. Also, she was invited to attend a dance camp this summer though she is younger than the required age for the camp.

At the end of the final show, Sylvie always cries because dance is over for another year. Her teacher sees her ability, enthusiasm and passion for dance and awarded her a trophy as the Junior Dancer of the Year. 

She also won a bursary in honour of a former dancer of the school who died tragically this past year. That young woman, Emma Gillis, had a passion for dance as well.

Sylvie is eight years old and her interest in dance may not survive the teenage years. However for now, her family supports her in her love of dance.

We’ll see where it takes her in the next few years.

A few scuffs

Our granddaughters love to dance. They do ballet, modern, step and tap dance and take to the floor for anything from classical music to jigs and reels. Our daughter and I love to play Newfoundland music for them, especially jigs. We all join in for a scuff, a dance in Newfoundland vernacular. The youngest, Owen, has a few scuffs any time he hears the music. However, he isn’t the only one. Even Georgie, the golden retriever, joins in.

In the photo, she watched as we danced. When the next song started, she sat in front of me and jumped up to place her front paws on my shoulders and danced around with me. She joins in all the time now too.

It appears many creatures, including gulls which are abundant along the coast of Newfoundland, enjoy a few scuffs as well. They dance like Owen.

Check it out.