Watching the sea ice float away
The powerful north winds of the storm earlier in the week pinned the ice to the shore, even while driving cracks into it. Now there is no wind, and much of the ice that we walked on in January seems poised to float out to sea. What will it take for it to leave? A [...]
Spring breakup
Spring is coming – we know it from watching the ice disappear. Martins River down the road is completely clear now, but outside our sheltered inlet there is a large, solid sheet of ice that goes up and down with the tide but hasn’t yet broken up, except around the edges. When it does, the [...]
Mark of the tide in the snow
I stood and watched the tide start to go out, leaving traces in the snow to mark how high it had been, ice crystals transformed by the brief caress of the ocean.
Spring breakup on Martin’s River
It was about 8 degrees Celsius today, and sunny – a gorgeous day that drew us outside. We went for a walk along Martin’s River, which flows into Mahone Bay between the towns of Mahone Bay and Chester. We saw quite a jumble of ice from upriver blocked by the two bridges: the former railway [...]
Derek Hatfield sails again
Canada’s Derek Hatfield (who makes his home in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia), was forced to retire from the Vendée Globe round the world, non-stop solo sailing race in December, due to damage to his boat. He nursed his Algimouss Spirit of Canada to Hobart, Tasmania, where he fixed the damage, and on February 27, he [...]
A foggy morning on the Nova Scotia coast
It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with temperatures well above freezing. We have a lot of snow and ice for that sun to melt. Still, it feels like spring on a day like this. Some people find this time of year difficult in Nova Scotia, when daffodils are blooming in Victoria on [...]
Mystery tracks on the ocean ice
I saw these on the ice the other day. What do you think it is? It looks like 4 dog paws, then another set of 4 paws, then something dragged for a distance, repeat. Leave comments below. And these? Looks like ducks to me; I can imagine the waddle, and there are lots of ducks [...]
An icy ocean wonderland to explore
We’ve had quite a long cold snap, and the ocean ice in and near our inlet is way over 6 inches thickness, the recommended thickness for safety. Beautifully smooth too, in places, though the wind chill discouraged us from going back for our skates. At low tide, the ice is sitting on or near the [...]
