Nowhere is this truer than in my beloved Newfoundland.  No matter how often I return, it does seem that life, and freedom, joy, and simple pleasures … begin here.    ESPECIALLY where the road ends.  Yesterday, we turned down a lane we hadn’t been before off of Route 237, and what do we find at this “dump”?  A stunning field of lupins, so unexpected, so THERE.  Then a friendly fellow driving a large truck rolled down his window … and I thought he was saying something about “illegal” … and I thought I wasn’t supposed to be there, however, when I said sorry, he repeated himself about the eagle that awaited us if we just drove on a few yards further.  And there it was … a gorgeous juvenile eagle sitting on a rock overlooking the dump … not more than 5 feet from us, and in no hurry to leave as my camera came out for the occasion.

Today, we wandered down another paved road just off from Trinity, and what do we find but the abandoned Trinity Loop Amusement Park … vandalized yes, but easy to conjure up the images of happier years .. you could almost hear the children’s laughter as they lined up for the bumper water rides, feel their anticipation as in years gone by they would be lining up for popcorn and icecream, sense the competitive spirit of young siblings as they knocked around the mini-golf course, and hear the squeals of fright and fun as they rode the ferris wheel, which has long since lost its seats and operator, but still stands tall here.

Next, we wandered down another road, where we happened upon a mother duckling safely escorting her ducklings across the road and under the guardrail to descend upon the pond below.

Nowhere have I found such serendipity and happenstance as I have found in Newfoundland.

Paradise indeed.  No built-in wrap around deck seating, or paint-baked rockers.  Simple kitchen chairs set out, designed to make the understatement of “come sit a spell”.  While the rock of Keels lays beyond, surrounded by millions of blueberries for the taking.