I live on Prince Edward Island, that little bow tie on the east coast of Canada. It would take a long day’s drive to get from North Cape to East Point with much-varied landscape in between. It is very fertile land and will grow almost anything that can survive the climate. Winters can be very harsh with snow up past the eaves. My young cousins were coasting down the slope of the roof into the yard at one point in a recent winter. It will make wonderful memories for them in these days of global warming.
Prince Edward Island has changed a great deal since I was a child. New faces, new ways and lots of company from foreign lands. It’s educational and sometimes a little unsettling, but we extend a welcome to everyone. At least, most of us do. It is still a lovely place to live and much more interesting for the diversity. So welcome all, whether you come for a lifetime or just a visit.
An interesting point about living on an island is that you can’t get lost. It has sides. You can only go so far before you run into ocean and you have to turn around or get your feet wet. While I was living inland for so many years I longed for the circumference of place that the Island provided. I felt as if I were a broken egg with no shell to define my edges and that I was liable to run if I didn’t keep a tight hold of my container. I missed the neighbourliness of people here, even when I didn’t know them. I was away for thirty years but found that it still existed after all this time. To my mind, this signifies Island living.
