Summer 2025!

The coneflowers thrived, despite the drought.

Whoosh! Another summer has whizzed by! My sabbatical finished at the end of June and I decided to return to post-sabbatical work by taking 2 weeks of holidays! It was a good strategy, especially because it meant I could be in Cape Breton for my Dad's 87th birthday on 2 July.

Dad & Mom on his birthday

It also meant I could attend another Iyengar yoga retreat at YogaView, near Antigonish. It was a delightful reunion with the other yoga students and teachers. And Lauranne, one of the other students, from PEI, was my neighbour again at the campground where we both stayed.

At YogaView Studio, with Lauranne

The yoga studio was purpose built by its owners, Deborah Lomond and David Eeles, on the lower level of their beautiful home, on a hill overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence. They so generously share their home and the spectacular gardens they have created.

I took Libby, my little teardrop trailer, with me so I could use it to camp while at the yoga retreat (which is not residential). Libby usually attracts attention, and I've given many impromptu tours, at rest stops, gas stations, campgrounds, and even in my driveway! But nothing has ever been quite like the most memorable event of summer 2025.

I was on my way to the Linwood Campground, near YogaView, from Cape Breton, but I had to get air in Libby's tire. I tried a couple of gas stations but the tire inflators were inaccessible (e.g., surrounded by parked cars). Finally, just over the Causeway, in Auld's Cove, I found a gas station that wasn't busy because they had no gas! And the tire inflator was accessible. I put my $2.50 in the machine and was putting air in the tire when a woman, a bit younger than I am, came bouncing over, very enthusiastically. "That is the cutest thing I've ever seen," she said, referring to Libby, "and when I saw it was being towed by a woman on her own, I had to come check it out!" We started to chat, and it was clear that she was interested in getting one for herself. After the person she was there to meet arrived, I gave them both a little tour. I told the woman that I was at Queen's University and gave her my Queen's email address, in case she wanted to be in touch about the trailer. She looked at me, and said, "Do you know Bill Cooper?"

Well, my jaw dropped. I was stunned. I had had lunch with Bill Cooper and his lovely wife, Margaret, two days before I left Kingston. Bill had worked at St. F.X. University in Antigonish for a few years in the 1970s, and over lunch, told me about an old friend, Bob, from St. F.X., who had died just over a year ago. It turned out that I was chatting with Bob's widow, Lavonah.

What are the odds of that?? Too weird!! Though also completely delightful. Lavonah and I exchanged phone numbers, and before I left the Antigonish area, I drove out to see her beautiful property in Malignant Cove, overlooking the Northumberland Strait, and met her two dogs.

I miss the ocean so much. And no. Lake Ontario, is not like the ocean.

I'm sorry I never got to meet Bob. It sounds like he and Lavonah really cherished each other, and gave each other space to have their own hobbies and pasttimes.

Lavonah and I both feel like we have a wonderful new friend!

Back in Kingston, much of the summer has been taken up prepping for a new course, and also getting my (deceased) friend Allan's house ready to sell. It is an elegant 2-story limestone heritage home from the 19th century. We've been painting, cleaning, clearing things out, and landscaping. It feels like we've been helping a grand old lady get ready for her next adventure! There has been some drama at various points along the way. And some layers of sadness that I didn't expect. It really doesn't look like Allan's house anymore. Another reminder that he is gone.

In other news, last Tuesday was my last "first day back to school," 59 years after the first one. Yes. I'm going to retire. Queen's is offering another Voluntary Retirement Package and I'm planning to take it! I hope to schedule my remaining 3 months of sabbatical in the fall of 2026 and then retire at the end of December. I'm getting excited about the next phase of life! It will definitely include more time in Nova Scotia, and by the ocean.

Sending love and gratitude to all my friends and family who helped make summer 2025 memorable in other ways! I hope you know who you are.

Almost full moon, Portsmouth Harbour, September 6th