Oceanfront cottages on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula
Three pony blogs in a row – must be a record, and must mean we’re excited about them! Here we are at The Doctor’s House, getting ready to shoe the horses, courtesy of ferrier Kevin Dillon. He’s a great hand and did a great job. And it was a group effort: Clifford entertained by reading the poem Pegasus, Janet, Isabelle and The Berry groomed the ponies while they waited their turn, the ponies were (mostly) cooperative, and in the end we warmed up with tea in the Solarium. Not a bad day!
Lots of pony posts lately – I’m sure Clifford George, advocate for the Newfoundland pony, will be happy! Now that we’re running The Doctor’s House Inn & Spa, which is also an animal sanctuary, it’s like we’re up to our eyeballs with beautiful equines, with 4 making our herd! And that’s a good thing! Scenes like the one pictured above, of ponies grazing near the ocean, never fail to conjure up images of the Newfoundland of the past. And that’s a good thing, too!
Now that Jerry and The Berry are getting The Doctor’s House up and operational (for our June 1st open), I have a fun task – getting to know all the Newfoundland ponies (there’s three of ’em) that make the Inn and Spa home. Normally I have no problem with my fellow four-leggeds, but Newfoundland ponies are proud and different, and there was definitely an intense initiation period. I think I’m starting to win them over. Good thing, too – Bridie just joined the family, and Clifford George thinks she’s pregnant. I’m going to have to work hard to become the leader of this big pack!
I’ve been sharing Allison George’s work on this humble blog for awhile, and I was thrilled to see her getting more recognition. Oopoomoo is a Canadian photography website led by Samantha Chrysanthou and Darwin Wiggettm, two award-winning photographers. In fact, Allison tells me that Darwin is probably one of Canada’s top leading landscape photographers. I highly reccomend you check out their post featuring Allison’s latest work(you’ll see more than I’ve featured here). It’s stunning, and a refreshing, unique take on Newfoundland photography. Thanks for sharing, Allison, and congrats on the post!
Around this time last year, we were going crazy trying to get our heads around the idea of running our newly acquired cottages. Now we’re going crazy getting ready to open our newly acquired Inn and Spa and soon-to-be constructed cafe and gift shop. Seems like a mad summer ahead of us, but I know if I can squeeze in a few good sunsets like this one (not hard in the Wonderful World of Whiteway), I’ll be ok.
Saturday’s we showcase gorgeous pictures of Newfoundland, often taken by the great Bud Vincent. Here’s what Bud said about this shot he captured in Pouch Cove:
“This world of ours sure is changing quickly..I guess there are more properties and homes guarded by special security devices than one would imagine. Yet here, in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, one simply continues on with the old-fashioned way of securing one’s property. Maybe we all can learn a thing or two from this photo …
Just zoom in on the security device on the bottom right hand door.
Yes, it’s a piece of rope wrapped around a four inch nail…Now, that’s security…”
This article MOSTLY speaks for itself – but I never miss an opportunity to get a word in! With little more than a year in the tourism industry, we’re not experts – but we’ve been very happy with our progress and have learned a lot. We were thrilled to share some of those lessons with the St. John’s Board of Trade Business News. If you haven’t read it yet, take a look! The Berry knows her stuff and has lots to offer!
If you follow the blog, you know there’s been lots of projects underway. I’m excited about them all, but perhaps none as much as getting this beauty sea worthy. Taking out our beautiful Boston Whaler, the A Wake at Last, was one of the highlights of last summer. God willing we’ll get lots of enjoyment – and catch lots of fish – out of it this year, too.
Ok, Ok, I tried taking a break from blogging – and it didn’t stick! I love my daily writing routine, and besides – there’s so much going on around here that I love sharing. Like when the very talented Newfoundland musician, Daniel Payne, brought some friends out to stay for two nights. I love his music, by the way, and it was a favourite of guests last summer when I would take them out boating or fishing.
Wine and flowers on the deck, great company, bright sun soon followed by a glowing sunset. What more could you ask for – or blog about?
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – a four legged’s work is never done. Jerry, The Berry and their fantastic crew of Eric, Michael, Hubert, Leslie, Mike and Roy, think they’re busy – which they are, building us a new cafe and gift shop (!) and preparing The Doctor’s House for our fast approaching open date (!). But they forget – it’s so much harder to supervise! I have to many pies to keep my paws in – I barely have time to relax by the water anymore. Of course Jerry still gets my morning walk in, but I’ll sure be happy when these new projects are up and running, and I can go back to my usual role as Guest Relations Supervisor – that’s my favourite! Especially when people take advantage of pets staying free this Spring and bring me lots of friends!
