baa

Up until a couple of years ago, there were sheep at a barn just at the end of our road. They sold their sheep, and now I have to go further to get my lamb fix every spring....but not too much further. We do live in rural Nova Scotia, after all :)

updates

I talked about a "Nova Scotia Postcard" project that I'm working on (collecting images of vintage Nova Scotia postcards to publish in a book). I received this postcard image of Acadia University in Wolfville from Mary M in Ireland (www.etsy.com/shop/glimpsesofthepast).

Note the reference to the "new" stamps of the Queen! This postcard was mailed in 1953.

Do you have a vintage postcard of Nova Scotia that you would like to share with this project? Please send email front and back images of your card to: novascotiapostcards@hotmail.com

me with SHAID manager Harold holding a $1500 donation receipt from Paws For Charity

I went to SHAID yesterday to make the first donation from my 2013 Paws For Charity Project...$1500! The project has sold 163 books (up from 127 books in 2012). Coming later in the year....Weekly Planners & Wall Calendars for 2014.

2nd place - Nature

One of my photos (shown above) won a 2nd place finish in the Nature Category of a print contest at Altantic Photo Supply.

And...looks like I'll be a little busier with the Bridgewater Photo Club for the next year or two...I'll be President of the club....I'm not sure whether congrats or condolences are in order :)

Tree in the Fog

I am working on a project which involves taking photos of trees. These 3 photos are of the same tree...taken on Cape Sable Island in the fog. Not sure what my favourite is....I'm looking for some feedback, so please give me your thoughts.

Cape Sable Island

We take a drive Cape Sable Island a couple of times each year. It's in the south western part of Nova Scotia, and a lot of "locals" never take the drive down that way. We discovered a new beach this time..."The Hawk" which according to the sign is the southerly tip of Nova Scotia..a lovely, beautiful sandy beach. The tide was out, so it was great walking. The fog was in...which you can't really tell in these photos....and it made it a little creepy walking along, not knowing what we were walking to or seeing what we had come from!

a clump of daffodils growing quite far from the house by the beach...not sure if the house is inhabited or not

I always like to take a "family photo" which requires some setting up and running to and fro with the timer set

Charlie, with Riley in the background

seaweed, sand, and rocks

abandonned boats by a fish plant on Cape Sable

another anniversary to celebrate

My apologies for the strange layout...I can't figure out what's

going on with my blogger

My husband and I are celebrating a very special anniversary in

our lives. No, it's not the anniversary of the date we met. And

no, it's not our wedding anniversary.

It is the 5 year anniversary of the date we moved from Ontario

to Nova Scotia. More specifically, we are close to ending the 
fifth year of living life in "the country". People often ask if

we had any difficulty moving to a new province. My standard

reply is "Moving to Nova Scotia was one of the best things we

ever did. But moving to "the country" was a much bigger adjustment!"

We were both raised as "city people". We thought we made the

move to country living 15 years ago, but we were fooling ourselves.

We lived in a subdivision on the outskirts of a small Ontario

town, just south of Ottawa. The houses stood on one or two acres

of land, the roads were all paved, the hydro lines were buried,

and high speed internet was easily accessible. Picking up

necessities from the store was a quick drive down the road. 
Looking back on it, I have to laugh to myself that we thought

this was country living.

We now live on 20 acres of land that sits 1 kilometre off an

unpaved road. Our driveway has pot holes, and the condition of

the road is beyond what a few words can describe. We have

neighbours nearby, but the only homes we see are on nearby

hills. We were lucky enough to get a high speed internet

access pole installed a couple of years after we moved here.

Since we changed to country living, we have learned about ticks.

Then we learned about guinea fowl. That led to dealing with foxes

and hawks, who enjoy the meals we provide. Our dogs have learned

(and re-learned) about porcupines. We have learned how to remove

quills ourselves, after many expensive emergency vet visits. Ah,

the joys of country life.

But...

Living life in the country IS a joy.  Living where I live allows

me to be surrounded by nothing other than the sound of the wind

blowing through the trees.

I have learned the calls of many different birds. I have seen a

red tailed hawk dive into our field after it's prey. I have watched

Evening Grosbeaks feed their young. I have seen woodpeckers pick up

a sunflower seed from our feeder...walk down the feeder post...

insert the seed into a crack in the post, and peck open the seed...

only to repeat the process over and over again. I have rescued a

dove from our pond, and spent hours warming it up and keeping it

safe until it was ready to fly away. I have held a hummingbird in

my hand.

I have nursed guinea keets back to health. I've been 10 feet away

from a hawk dining on one of our full grown guineas.

I have heard the peepers herald spring. I have learned that

juvenile Northern Flickers get thrown from their nest and spend

a few days on the ground before they learn to fly. I can spot a

wood tick from several feet away, and pick them off our dogs

(and people too) without cringing.

I have learned that when you live on a hill, sometimes it's too

windy to hang clothes on the line. I have learned that the smell

of clothes off a laundry line far surpasses the smell of dryer sheets.

I now know how to pick potato beetles off the vines, plant and

harvest garlic, and know what a tomato tastes like moments after

being picked.

I have learned to answer the question "why did you choose to

move here?" with a smile, and the quiet knowledge that I moved

here to enjoy the things in life that really mean something.

Puppy Update

Life has been busy...so busy that I haven't taken nearly as many photos of the new pup as I usually would do. Here are a few photos from our second week with Charlie.

Charlie's first visit to Rissers Beach

Add caption

racing with Riley

enjoying the fenced yard

hanging out on the deck

first walk in downtown Halifax

"working" in the home office

Blurb Books Success Story

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Blurb Books. They were interested in using our Paws For Charity Project as one of their "Success Stories". I answered a few questions by email, and now you can find Paws For Charity under their "Fundraiser" success stories. The only problem is...they used images from last year's project instead of this year! Oh well, any free press is great press!