Canada Day Pending...

On July1st 2015 Canada Day will once again be celebrated in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

I’ll be in Canada in Nova Scotia, waving around a maple leaf with a bunch of other Nova Star workers at the Yarmouth Ferry Terminal (and a fellow Americans) saying hello to those who venture both sides of the border to see your wonderful country. The Nova Scotia province will celebrate flags, fire-works, cake and music festivals of all kinds! The Nova Star ferry has planned a celebration for travellers to show appreciation to our south of the border friends.

As a birthday tribute, here are a few things I love about my home country

1) Canadians really are friendly and fun. That’s not just a stereotype, it’s actually true. Canadians are more polite, more laid back, easier to get along with, and they almost never sue anyone. Atlantic Canada, where I’m from, can be compared to the American south for its hospitality.

2) It’s gorgeous. There’s a lot of land up here! That’s because the entire population of Canada is about equal to the entire population of California. So when you’re looking for unspoiled nature and you can’t get to Alaska, try coming up here.

3) The French. Acadians and Quebec's alike they bring culture. The pockets of French communities throughout the Maritimes and Canada give it character and flair. 

4)  Poutine. Speaking of the French, have you tried poutine? French fries golden smothered with gravy and mossa cheese, yummy. 

5)  The Newfoundlanders- My ancestors in my family tree...coming to NS in the early 1900's. If you want to meet the kindest, funniest, and most talented people in North America, travel to the island of Newfoundland.  If you have lots of time on your hands go in the winter and you may get stuck there drinking beer and listening to local stories at a village pub for months. 

6)  It’s clean. Almost everyone I know who’s traveled to Canada says, “I can’t believe how clean it is!” This is because no one litters here. Throwing a wrapper out a window or dropping trash on the ground is akin to frowned upon. Not cool, and not done. And while there may be far more important issues to be so uptight about, it does make for a clean enviroment.

note-

On my last day of High School, I was blessed with a scholarship to NSCC. I arrived to their office full of excitement and good intention to meet with Mr Avis, the councller there. He had looked over my marks to see what classes I would be best suited for. He suggested a mechanical trade and asked me to join his elite group of understudies for a surveillance course, on the sly...I said yes and the rest is history...to those who NO... a puny : )

At my ' graduatiojn' he asked me what I most wanted to be. I told him I was already in contract with God, he laughed, knowing my past, and agreed destiny would allow many adventures. After years now working as a officer with the Justice system, I'm thankful I lived in a country who believes. Not only in the multi-culture people here but that there is a Divine Creation to have faith in.

Green Mother

Outside the country has become alive with trees budding out , flowers blooming and other creature bring their young into a new world. My walks are filled with wild birds busily making nests and calling mates to help. The deer have their young out browsing with them every morning in the dawning of the day. Inside my home I've been enjoying the house plants for days, waiting to get back to work. I noticed they respond to the weather just like wild plants in the woods/fields. This one is opening up after a rather wet few days here in the country. The green Goddess decided to make a appearance for me among the leaves, to remind me that no matter where we are, we are loved and cared for just like the wild beings of our earth. Loving the golden crown ♥

Crystal Ridge

I was on a woods walk along the Digby/Yarmouth line the other day and come upon a large ridge of exposed white/ mauve crystal boulders about 200 feet from north to south exposed to the sun. It was beautiful to see in the natural sun light. The area is a well known geologist site for amethyst , clear quartz and beryl because of ancient volcanic activity in the area. Even amethyest sand appears in the local lakes.  My walk to the local spring for a jug of water was lovely with lots of wild life in the wood. Deer, partridge, porcupine, raccoons and wild cats not to mention the hundreds of song birds now build their nests to raise young.
The ridge runs from upper Corberrie, Digby county to Hardscratch Rd in Yarmouth and is exposed in many places along the way.

LINK- Crystal Ridge

Still Snow Bound...

Whisper is still crunching though the snow on her way to pasture these days. Her nights have been spent in her barn with minus 20 nights. She's had all the hay she could eat to help with energy, keeping warm and condition. So far she has kept her weight on and not too many days left to winter. Soon Spring will add grass back to her diet.
I've been all too tired of shoveling snow, watching TV and needing to write when it's all I can do is think of something different for supper. Hope your winter is keeping you happy, too!

Snow Days

Life's been busy these last few weeks with all the snow and shoveling to do. I did have help from a neighbor once with his tractor to clear the driveway. My horse Whisper, has been getting out a few hours on nice days for exercise. She doesn't appreciate the stall stay days. I've been going through all my VHS tapes and watching oldies but goodies.

 Looking to Spring and nicer weather for walking...as for now, the exercise bike is all I have to look forward to.

                                               (post card of Yarmouth, NS~ 1907)

Under Water Roads

   ( Lake Breeze in mid-summer and the road to it.
A curiosity in my area are the Allen Lake and Lake Breeze road to their islands. At different times of the year, usually summer, they are visible. Other times, they are covered with water but still accessible by foot. No-ones who build these hidden roads but the natives would say they were there as long as they have been here. I wondered if anyone else has found this in their' neck of the woods"...?

(same island on Lake Breeze in early Spring with road under water)

Weather or Not

(Boulder set on ocean side rocks by Mother Nature at Sandford,NS)

I've always loved stones. As a child I spent much of my spare time wondering the fields looking at the stone walls and boulders left by those people before me who cleared the rough stony Nova Scotia soil to make it there home. Weathering of stones are fascinating also. With icy storms, wind swept beaches and fields and the rocks of Metamorphic Rocks/ Sedimentary Rocks its a natural art exhibition!

Erosion is the main physical agent responsible for stone weathering. Particular emphasis is placed on the effects of wind and water. Erosion occurs in windy regions with sandy terrain, but in urban areas it is extremely rare and is often confused with other forms of deterioration. The problem of condensation on surfaces and in pores is extensively discussed, in relation to pore shape and size. Physical effects dominate in the smallest pores, and solution effects in the largest ones.  Small veins in the stone rise, increase because of pressure , freezing-thawing cycles and micro meteorological conditions favorable for the soaking of monuments are discussed. A final section is devoted to the dissolution of stones and the formation of black crusts as a consequence of the way the stone is washed out or simply wet by water. The intensity of rainfall is important in activating or removing the dry pollutant deposits that form on monuments, especially during the dry periods characteristic of the Mediterranean climate. Condensation plays a minor role compared with rainwater. However, the porosity, geometrical shape and exposition of the stone are also important factors which can characterize different local balances and, consequently, the form of weathering.

(most of this info stolen from Physical weathering of stones)