Hirtle’s Beach, south of Lunenburg, is a popular destination year round for local residents, though it is less known to tourists than Rissers Beach or Crescent Beach.
It’s one of those beaches where the sand gets washed away for the winter and returns for the summer – soft beige sand deep enough to bury your brother in.
The waves can be big enough for fun body surfing. This is the North Atlantic and the water tends to be cold, but once in a while, warmer ocean currents will come by and surprise you. Not that these teenagers care that much.
At the far end of Hirtle’s Beach is a wonderful hiking trail around Gaff Point.
Here’s some more scenery of Hirtle’s Beach featuring my brother and his dogs, Nixxy and Jake. These are Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers – yes, it’s an official breed. They are smart and fast, great agility dogs – these dogs have lots of ribbons at home.
One of Nova Scotia’s best kept secrets is the “Noel Shore” along the Minas Basin between the Avon River at Windsor and the mouth of the Shubenacadie near Truro. The deep clay soil supports large, lush trees, and the rolling scenery is only surpassed by stunning views of the Basin.
Recently, we were lucky to stay a week with friends at Tenecape near Burntcoat Head. The beach is grand to explore at low tide. Such a contrast with the water lapping at the cliffs at high tide.
If high tide occurs toward the end of a sunny day, the water can actually be quite swimmable, as it gets warmed by the sand as it comes in.
The Maritimes had a winter like no other. Prince Edward Island had a record-breaking total snowfall of 549.6 cm, which works out to about 18 ft of snow (to date). Fortunately it didn’t fall all at once. Thanks to social media, images of people tunnelling through snowbanks to look for their cars, and Good Samaritans sculpting Grand Canyons so that neighbours could leave their homes, became etched into the popular consciousness.
March 20, moving a lot of fluffy white stuff.
The volume of snow we got here on the South Shore of Nova Scotia wouldn’t faze Northern New Brunswick, but the fact is that we don’t have enough of the heavy equipment needed to handle it around here, as the amount was highly unusual. The usual driveway-clearing equipment, trucks with plows bolted on, were breaking down, and the big backhoes required to liberate some homes were charging $175 per driveway two days after the big storm of March 18. If I were in the snow clearing business, I’d be wondering whether this winter was a harbinger of more climate chaos and if I should invest in heavier equipment.
Many barns around the province caved in, and nurseries lost greenhouses, which are usually uninsurable.
As well as financially and physically, the winter was hard on many people psychologically. The storms came twice a week during a period that some called March Madness, and at times it felt like being bludgeoned repeatedly with a pool noodle reinforced with a hockey stick. There was Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse and many unnamed storms which continued well into April.
I emerged from the winter with newfound upper body and core strength, and was grateful for my teenaged son who is looking buff these days.
Here are some photos from the winter that was.
Looking south from Crandall Point, March 5
Chipping away at ice in driveway, March 6
Walking on the sea ice to Plum Island March 8. Someone else has been here.
View from the top of Plum I. Oak Island is on the right, Chester ahead.
Formations in the sea ice from rocks in changing tides, March 8.
Bluenose II’s bowsprit dripping into the sunset, March 16, on the Lunenburg waterfront
March 18, after the biggest snowstorm, taken from inside as I dig a path to the door
March 20, finally getting plowed. It took a backhoe to do it.
March 20, moving a lot of fluffy white stuff.
March 23, from the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg
March 23, Bluenose II’s masts rise above the snow in the parking lot.
March 25, Mailboxes dwarfed by snowbanks
March 27: Good morning. More snow for you.
March 27. More snow.
March 27. That’s what teenagers are for.
March 31. More snow! But so pretty.
These Merganser Ducks would rather be inland, but there’s nowhere to go.
“Well, Margaret, I guess we’ll have to wait it out.”
April 2. Walking on 2 1/2 ft of compacted snow gives a new perspective.
April 5. Robins are back, and having a tough time finding bare ground and worms.
April 5. Daily exercise program: liberating the driveway.
April 7: Good morning. More snow for you.
April 8: The swingset greenhouse melts the snow around it.
The February 15-16 storm that completely buried cars in Prince Edward Island continues to make life difficult for Nova Scotians more than a week later. Tall snowbanks make driving and walking difficult and dangerous, especially in the towns. Elsewhere, snowshoes are the vehicle of choice. Clogged or hidden storm sewers result in flooding when it’s warm(ish) and thick ice when it’s cold, especially in Halifax. Around Mahone Bay, people have been removing snow from roofs and decks to mitigate damage and leaks, especially whenever rain threatens. What a winter!
We had a whopper of a nor’easter last night. Schools closed early yesterday and it was a foregone conclusion that they’d be closed today. Many offices in the Maritimes are closed today.
Here close to the Atlantic coast, we had little rain though it was forecast. It came down as ice pellets. The top couple of inches are made of ice pellets, averaging about 1 mm in diameter.
We I don’t often get to ski on our road before it’s plowed, but at time of writing it still is covered, though it seems that 4-wheel drive trucks can get through.
As you can see, the snow drifts around to collect on the sheltered, south-facing side of my swingset greenhouse.
Lunenburg is unique in Nova Scotia in its history and personality. Much of that has to do with the people who settled the town in 1753.
My son participated in a youth documentary filmmaking workshop in September 2014. It was part of the (first annual, as it was a great success) Lunenburg Doc Fest. Here is the result of his work:
The panoramic image of Peggy’s Cove below comes from 360Cities. If you click on the red button, then you can play with the arrows or your mouse or finger to turn yourself around within the image, and use your scroll button to zoom in and out. Clicking on the white arrows inside the image will take you to another 360° panorama. Go fullscreen for the most fun!
CBC Radio host Peter Gzowski once said, “Rose Vaughan’s songs are like Alice Munro short stories.”
High praise, given that Munro just won the Nobel Prize in Literature!
Halifax singer/songwriter Rose Vaughan has penned many iconic tunes over the decades. As a young and vibrant septuagenarian, she still performs occasionally and plans more recordings.
The Trio’s second album
One of her tunes, “Stone and Sand”, from the Rose Vaughan Trio’s 1993 Fire in the Snow album, is featured in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2e7VMqJKt4
Rose’s songs have been going around in my head lately, as well as on my DVD player, because she recently hired me to get her songs online so people could buy them digitally.
The Trio’s third album
I was delighted to be asked, as I’ve known Rose since the 1990s and even played a little accordion on her Winter Rose album. Cathy Porter, a consummate musician who did most of the Trio’s arranging and has gone on to be a sought-after side performer with some of Nova Scotia’s biggest stars, also enhanced the sound of bands I was in back then – much smaller stars in the firmament, I assure you.
Their music was part of my life in the years after I returned to Nova Scotia and before I had my family. They’re lovely human beings whom I feel privileged to know.
The Trio’s first album, Sweet Tarragon
Each of Rose’s songs paints a story. The music is gentle and melodic, and the lyrics thoughtful and introspective. I can’t claim to be objective because of the nostalgia factor, but I’m truly enjoying listening to the albums again.
If you like “Stone and Sand” above, I invite you to take a listen to the songs on the Artist Playlist on her Facebook page, and samples of her other songs there and on her website, where she now sells CDs and mp3s.
The newly rebuilt Bluenose II sits at Lunenburg Foundry at the innermost part of the harbour. Sails and rigging make the job seem complete from a distance, though I’m sure there’s lots going on below decks. She’s a beauty.
Bluenose II at Lunenburg Foundry, October 24, 2013. Photo by Heather Holm
Wynand was sporting the sleek street Segway model while Max was roadtesting the fat-tired all-terrain version, complete with racey fenders. The knobby tires give an advantage on rough roads, but there’s a sacrifice in range compared to the street model of these electric-powered standup vehicles.
Heather on a Segway in 2005
I tried out a Segway some years ago in PEI (left). While it was fun, I wondered where it would find its market. It’s slower than a bicycle and faster than walking, and usually I want the exercise.
Wynand pointed out that he goes back and forth between the Kayak Shack and the Hotel many times a day, and a Segway would be more convenient than a bicycle and save walking time.
Large airports and warehouses are other places where a Segway doesn’t go fast enough to cause accidents but can increase efficiency.
Furthermore, you can wear it with anything, though high heels might handicap your ability to maneuver it.
The Kayak Shack will be offering guided Segway tours this summer! From the hotel, which overlooks Oak Island, the rail trail leads nicely to Crandall Road which is 1.4 km long and ends at the Oak Island causeway. Tours of Oak Island itself may happen, but the view at the causeway provides a great destination itself.
So I expect to see groups of these quiet vehicles humming down our road this summer. They’re quiet enough that you can have a conversation, so we’ll hear the voices before we hear the hum.
Here’s a little video illustrating that effect. You can even hear the birds!
