It is Wednesday evening. I am sitting by the fireplace listening to trees moving in the wind outside and the gentle pattern of misty rain on lush foliage. I am house sitting for the night for two of my closest friends. They live in one of the older neighbourhoods in Charlottetown, on Prince Edward Island, called Victoria Park. I love being in their home for a number of reasons. It is peaceful. They have a fireplace and I simply love to sit by it and read/write. They have a dog named Calypso that I absolutely adore who is currently curled up on her bed beside me enjoying the warmth of the fire after a rather good supper served by yours truly. It appears I am becoming a dog person of sorts. I have been walking Chloe, a 13 year old Shih tzu, daily, for over three months now. And I dog sit Caly whenever my friends Ann and Stephen are out of town. Who would have thought that I would ever call myself a dog person? Just goes to show that people do change.

Last night I was sitting at the Baha'i Nineteen Day Feast listening to members of the community read from the holy writings. Sitting in this incredibly beautiful space that I helped create with a room full of people who I love deeply, from the bottom of my heart, I found myself feeling the deepest, most complete sensation of happiness and contentment. I love it here. I love my community. I love the land and sea. There is so much about this place that brings me joy that even the cold rainy weather in June has not got me down.

This evening my dear friend Louise and I took a walk with her dog Daphne and Calypso. We walked along the boardwalk that runs along the shoreline and looks out across the Charlottetown harbour and up the mouth of the river. This misty rain had the effect of shrouding the headland in the distance in a translucent, dreamlike blur. Blue herons waded the shoreline, their dark bodies, elegant necks and long legs graceful against the dark surface of the water and the grey blur of rain and sky. We walked and talked and walked some more. I love walking with Louise. She is an incredibly talented landscape painter and I find she always makes me see my surroundings and my inner landscape far more clearly than I might if I were walking the same path alone.

It is good to be sitting by the fire writing. It is good to be home. Inside and out. It is good to be on this island, living among friends.