I expect that when you look at this photo you see a weather-worn old shed on a dismal coast.  I see so much more than that.  I see Lester's shed.

This is me when I was a little girl.  I was probably three in this photo.  I am standing in front of my parent's garden and beyond that is Lester's house.  Lester was our neighbor, a sweet man who I adored.  He lived alone and didn't mind that I liked to visit him every day, frequently intruding on tea and toast time.  He was always patient and kind.

There really wasn't much to do in my tiny rural community so I would visit whenever I was allowed the chance.  Because this photo of me as a child is faded with age it is difficult to tell that the house in which Lester lived was a vibrant sunshine-bright yellow.

At the bottom of his property, almost hanging off a small cliff on the ocean's edge, was a large shed where I loved to watch Lester build anything from toboggans to model boats, to the occasional dory.  I can still smell the saw dust, and the turpentine in which he would soak his paint brushes.  Lester's shed was painted with the same bright yellow paint as his house and I think both were beautiful perched on the ocean's edge.

Lester passed away when I was young and his house has since been painted white, and as you can see, the harsh coastal weather has exposed the faded gray boards beneath the surface of the paint.  I think there is something beautiful about the building either way.  The vibrant yellow is a reminder for me of Lester, and the weather-worn boards are a reminder of the refreshing salt air spray and what coastal communities are built to endure.

As a side note I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the lighthouse in the photo of me as child.  I feel lucky to have grown up with an actual lighthouse in my childhood neighbor's yard.  That particular lighthouse was a working range light until 1970.  In the last several years it has been demolished.  If you are like me and believe that lighthouses are an important part of Canada's culture, heritage and tourism industry I encourage you to visit the following site and sign the petition to become a "lighthouse keeper". http://www.savecanadaslighthouses.ca

In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy my photo of "Lester's Shed" however you choose to see it.  When I look at it I see it painted vibrant sunshine-bright yellow.