The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

We had coffee down at the Cove this morning, and guess what: the Iceberg’s still there. It never left. I suppose it read The Buzz last month and decided that it would never get this much attention again, so why not stay. I understand that it plans to camp here all summer. My apologies for suggesting otherwise.

Today on our morning walk we observed that, right on

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

If you missed seeing the Cove iceberg, well, you missed it. It’s gone.

All through February and March, curious people tried to drive down to the park, found that the road wasn’t plowed past the gate, and—possibly for the first time ever—got out of their cars and walked. At the edge of the cape they stood and stared, took pictures, and felt happy. Some even brought along

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

A late winter morning with time to spare, I walk down the road to the home of one of the Cove’s matriarchs and knock on the door unannounced.

“No need to phone,” she says. “You’re always welcome.” She moves her knitting supplies off the rocking chair to make room for me. “Sit down. That used to be the cat’s chair, but he died last year. I wouldn’t have traded that cat for ten mil

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

The day is white on white, with the low sun well hidden behind thick white clouds. No shadows precede me or follow me as I tromp steadily across the crusty snow.

My wide track intersects with fox prints, so neat and clean. What can foxes find to eat in this frozen landscape? They know more about this land than I do. Two crows sit on an apple tree, picking at shrunken

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

Let’s end one year and begin the next with a walk along the shore. What has changed on this beautiful fragile island in the past twelve months? Is the water higher? Maybe. When we moved to the Cove thirty years ago the tide seldom came in past the bridge. Now it regularly floods all the way to the highway.

Along the capes, trees dangle over the edge and swaths of

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

The season of gingerbread houses, eggnog and fruitcake is upon us. And craft fairs. Do we need this many potholders, aprons, wall hangings, scarves, bowls, mugs, earrings, wreaths, wooden potato bins, jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys, squares and sugar cookies? No, we don’t need any of it, but since we want to support our neighbors, and everything looks so nice, w

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

With the wind blowing impetuously and chestnuts in their sharp casings crashing onto the roof like small bombs, this is a good day to be inside by the fire. I’m kind of glad I’m not out holding a HONK sign on the Trans Canada.

I can’t help thinking of those folks who were camped last month down by the hemlocks on Peter’s Road. They had a lot of rain, and the campsite was

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

Did you ever see such a summer for apples? They’re everywhere, on the ground, floating down streams, and more importantly, in our pies and applesauce. How did the trees find enough water this summer to make apples, let alone make them delicious? On a similar topic, how did the cucumbers get so juicy when their roots are such little bits of things?

There was no cucumber

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

Yesterday we were swimming in the Cove. Because it was an overcast day and the sea was choppy we were the only people in the water. Some terns were calling noisily back and forth as they sped overhead on their way to a destination known only to themselves. A pair of seagulls paced restlessly along the sandbar, lost in thought. We swam out further and there just ahead

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

What with keeping the crows out of the cherry tree, chasing cabbage moths and weeding the garden, summer has been flying by. But all work and no play makes a long tiring day, so we decided to head to Montgomery Theatre in North Rustico for the opening of Our Town.

North Rustico is a fancier and busier place than “the crik” of the past, when fishermen were still filling bar

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

Having recently traveled to Sweden in search of ancestral roots, I return to this my chosen island and ask: what is it about Prince Edward Island that makes it unique? It is an island, yes, surrounded by water with all the distinction this implies. But there are lots of islands in the world, 30,000 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago alone.

Is it our potatoes? I

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The Cove Journal
by JoDee Samuelson

Our Island is suddenly green and sparkling clean. We have no time to look away or even blink now that summer is coming. Everything happens with such speed and intensity, one miracle following the next, dandelions, violets, elderflowers, and lupins before we know it.

Some robins have built their nest at eye level in a honeysuckle bush by our door. Any cat with a bit

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