Ready and waiting for Earl

It’s a bit surreal preparing for a hurricane. If it weren’t for the weather forecasters and mass media, we’d have no idea that anything was coming. We take it on faith that they’re right, and act. We aren’t going camping or sailing this holiday weekend. Instead we’ve battened down the hatches and stocked up on [...]

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Halls Harbour Webcam

This has got to be one of the coolest webcam locations in the world. It’s in Halls Harbour, where you can see the fishing boats go up and down with the world’s highest tides on the Bay of Fundy. Here’s how it looked today, Sunday March 14, at high tide. Go to www.novascotiawebcams.ca/hallsharbour/ (will open [...]

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Walking on thick ice

Across from the tidal inlet near our house is a small island which is a symbolic destination for us, depending on the time of year. We celebrate spring, and the ice breaking up, by canoeing to it. In winter, if the ice is thick enough, we walk or skate to it. Today the ice was [...]

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Back into the deep freeze

This morning, as a full moon high tide flooded in, and the air temperature hovered around -15°C, steam rose from the warmer incoming water as it met the cold air. Share and Enjoy:

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23 Things to Love about Winter in Nova Scotia

With thanks to my Facebook friends for their contributions. The smooth, quiet brush of fresh snow under your skis. The way ice breaks and cracks over rocks as the tide falls. Empty beaches with shimmering vistas. The mildness, softness and peace a snowfall brings. Like the folks here, a winter is softness and gentility: quite [...]

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Soft sea ice

I love how the soft sea ice forms, bends and cracks over rocks as the tide recedes. It was -8° C this morning along the shore of the Bay, and the tide was falling. Share and Enjoy:

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Frosty mornings bring ice to sheltered waters

I’m fascinated by the formation of ice and how it interplays with the tides. And it has started again with cold morning temperatures which leave a layer of ice which plays with rocks as the tide goes down. You can hear the cracking as you walk along the shore – just little crick-clicks now, but [...]

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Sailing a home built catamaran in Mahone Bay

My friend Søren just made a lovely video about sailing his catamaran in Mahone Bay. Music is by Drumlin, a local group of 4 very talented siblings from Bridgewater. Here it is: Share and Enjoy:

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Beautiful schooners under sail

Is there any boat more beautiful than a schooner?  What is it about them that draws the eye?  The Schooner Association met in Chester this weekend.  We passed a few heading home on Sunday.  Some photos, taken from our boat: Share and Enjoy:

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“Rockbound” musical a jaw-dropping production

Since we live and sail on Mahone Bay and have come to know most of its islands by sight, I read Frank Parker Day’s 1928 novel Rockbound with great interest.  I wasn’t the only one.  Thanks to CBC’s Canada Reads program, the previously obscure novel has been lionized by the Canadian literary establishment and the [...]

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