A Very Quiet Week

Yes, after all the action of the past 2 weeks I finally crashed. I have done nothing to tell you about at all. Definitely needed to catch up on some much needed sleep and some housework which has been seriously neglected since the hot weather started.

Nancy has gone away to PEI with her sister and Niece, so I am a bit lost without her. When she returns her and her hubby are off again to Newfoundland for a couple of weeks before she starts back at school for the Fall term. Rob and I are off to PEI for a week in September, which I am really looking forward to, I cannot wait to get back there and take some photos. I have plenty in the archives from year ago now, but am hoping to get some better ones for the collection.

I watched the opening of the Olympic Games, I thought they did a great job creating a wonderful spectacle, Rowan Atkinson and the fireworks were my highlights. I am pretty sure that is all I will be watching though as you know I am not exactly the worlds greatest sports fan ;o)

Now, if there were an Olympic sport for watching the most reality TV I would win that hands down!

Until next week I will leave you with more of my (historical) recent images.

A Postcard from Louisbourg

After the Canon Fire - Louisbourg Fortress

Walking in History - Louisbourg Fortress

Another Wonderful Sunny Week

I cannot believe another week has flown past. It's been another hot one with absolutely no rain. I had quite a bit of catching up to do work-wise on Monday from my week off, but by Wednesday I was back on track.

I only worked a 4 day week as I had Friday off to go on a pre-booked boat trip organised by the camera club. One of our members has his own boat, and about 12 of us took advantage of this and headed out in and around Halifax Harbour as the Tall Ship Festival is on this weekend. What a gorgeous day, so relaxing. From Purcell's Cove Marina we took a leisurely ride up the Northwest Arm, so many boats and the houses there are just stunning, each one with their own dock and boat house, oh how I would love to live in one of them. It reminds me of those luxury homes you see in Florida, but the prices here would be much cheaper.

After the Northwest Arm we headed over to McNabs Island, where the more adventurous went for a long hike for their picnic...Not me, I stayed sunning on the boat with Cheryl and Suzanne, it was so relaxing and very hot. About 5 pm, we sailed down into the Halifax Harbour and took in the sights of the Tall Ships, then docked over in Dartmouth for a spot of dinner, before once more heading out onto the water to watch the fireworks (they have the fireworks every night whilst the ships are in town). It was a magical day. I think any given opportunity I will be out on a boat now, I just love it.

Saturday Anne, myself and Rob took a drive out to Seafoam Lavendar Farm. I have wanted to get back there and see the plants in all their glory since I stumbled across the place last year. Very pretty place. I like the way they accent the area with little touches of purple on chair and benches.
Once we had finished their we headed off to Big Al's at Tatamagouche for some dinner and wound our way back home arriving about 9.30 pm.

Today I am knackered. I have been editing images and catching up with all the stuff I haven't been doing all week. Tomorrow it's back to the daily grind, who knows what next weekend will hold in store. Rob has gone off down town today to check out the Tall Ships, I would have gone with him but I just don't have the time :o(

Finally, good news...I sold some images on Getty! Hooray!!! I bagged myself $235 this month. One of the images sold to Saatchi and Saatchi. Now this is something eh?

Several images below from the weekend, Click to View Larger! Plus an odd shot of my feet, just to show you how sunny it has been here...Not the most attractive feet I know, I officially call them my sandal feet now. :o)

 

 

Setting of from a colourful and beautiful Purcell's Cove

Marina

There was a very tropical feel about the harbour yesterday

Some of the more traditional houses along the Northwest Arm

And the not so traditional...Yes this is just one house!

McNabs Island Lighthouse

Tall Ships along the Waterfront

More Tall Ships along the Waterfront

A couple of the ships were docked at Dartmouth as well,

the small, white boat on the right in the image was our boat

Sitting amongst the Lavender

Such a pretty sight!

It's a travesty I am posting this image after all those lovely

shots above! My Sandal Feet!

A Week Off

Finally, I took a week off work this week and I couldn't have picked a better week weather wise, it's been a scorcher. Most days it has been about 28-30 degrees. The humidity has been a killer.

Last weekend We didn't really do too much as Rob's back was still bothering him, but we took a little drive out round Sambro way as the weather was nice. His back is much better now than it was and he has had a few trips to physio to help him back into shape.

Monday Nancy and I went to the lake for a swim and to catch a few rays, the water was pretty much the perfect temperture and a welcome relief from the heat. Later in the day around 6.30 pm we headed off to meet Cheryl, Deb, Suzanne and Angie at the beach. Deb had arranged a photo shoot with a local ballerina. Dressed up in her training tutu and ballet pumps she made some stunning shapes on the beach for us. The only downer was the bugs that suddenly came to life at sundown and nearly drove us all mad.

Tuesday I did pretty much nothing, just sorted out some bits at home and packed up some clothes for the little trip Nancy and I had planned for Wednesday through Friday. We headed off very early on Wednesday to Cape Breton, stopping many times on route for photo ops. We also stopped in at her sisters house in Antigonish, it was nice to finally meet her and her husband as I had heard so much about them and have interacted with them through flickr. Another really lovely place we stopped at was Port Hood Beach. We couldn't help but get knee deep in the water, it felt so good. After I had my shoes back on thankfully I spotted several jellyfish along the beach and in the water, apparently they are quite common there...Needless to say I did not go back in the water.

We finally got to our destination, The Trailsman Motel just outside of Baddeck at around 6pm, all I could think of was jumping in the pool, which I did pretty swiftly. A long day with the sun on my head and face in the convertible had left me somewhat hot and bothered. Before getting in the pool though I took a comedy spill out of the motel doorway, slipped on the steps, crashed down on my bum and finally rolled to a halt on my dodgy knee. All Nancy heard was some kind of weird wailing from inside. She ventured out to see me sprawled all over the place, in pain but laughing so hard at my own stupidity. She couldn't contain herself laughing either. It's one of those falls, that I would have loved to have seen rather than do. (My friend Sylvie would be so proud of me as she always appreciates a good fall).

Anyway after the swim, we quickly got changed and headed down to the water front to photograph the island lighthouse as the sun was setting. Baddeck sure is a pretty place. Rob and I had stayed there on our travels before we moved across, but it's been a good few years since I have seen the place. The only down side is the fact that everywhere closes up really early, so we were too late to get dinner in any of the restaurants, the only place that stays open is Joe's Pizza. They definitely have the right idea...I mean honestly it's Summer, it's a tourist destination and everywhere closes at either 8 pm or 9 pm...Are they crazy? Do they not want to make money? Joe's pizza was excellent by the way, so if you are ever passing through give it a whirl.

Thursday, we took forever to get our act together in the morning, But finally we headed off to Louisbourg for the day. We decided to take the Marconi route...Top tip, don't bother with that route if you are traveling around Cape Breton, it was seriously dull. Louisbourg however, was charming and just as I remembered it from a previous visit. It is a totally reconstructed fortress, constructed originally in 1713 by the French. There are people in character everywhere you turn, we watched a weapons display, a wedding and of course the firing of the canon. The temperature is always cooler there, so a welcome breeze surrounded us the whole time.

After the Fort we headed over to the Louisbourg Lighthouse. Always a favourite of mine and very similar in shape to Peggy's Cove. Finally we headed back to Baddeck...Once more too late for dinner so we enjoyed a second night in Joe's Pizza.

If it was possible we were even worse on Friday getting our act together, but finally we checked out and were on our way to The Highand Village Museum. A real treat, except for the bloody big hill I had to walk up in the blistering heat. Totally a must see if you are ever in this region. The fact that it is on a bloody big hill makes it all the more picturesque. The tour stars at the Black House, and works it's way through the different styles of homes and celtic living throughout the years. We spent hours there.

Finally we headed home and got back at around 8pm on Friday night. I was shattered and pretty sunburned. We didn't have the top up on the car at all the whole time, it was wonderful out on the road and feeling the wind in my fluffy hair.

I am writing this entry up early as tomorrow is my last day of freedom and I fully intend to spend it at the lake. Here are some photos from my week off....There will be more!
                                                                                                                                                                                 

Herring Cove, taken last Sunday on the way back from Sambro

Beach Ballet at Rainbow Haven Beach

My ride for the past few days...Very cool...Not so cool getting

in and out of it :o)

The gorgeous colours of Nova Scotia! We had some amazing

skies whilst away

The Island Lighthouse at Baddeck

One of the many pretty scenes at Louisbourg Fortress

Louisbourg Lighthouse

The Highland Village Museum at Iona Cape Breton

Back Trouble

Well it's been a pretty slow week. After the long weekend, (extra long for me as I took Tuesday off)  I had a hard job getting back into work for 3 days. The weather has remained hot, although we did have a little rain this week. Funny to think everyone was actually looking forward to a bit of rain as we have had hardly any. The lakes are looking pretty low in places. Whilst Anne and I were out last weekend we passed by a well known water tower which usually has the most beautiful and still reflections of the towers in the water, I was shocked to see no water there at all, just rocks.

Robert did something to his back last weekend and was in agony on Monday night, he went to the docs on Tuesday and was signed off for the week with pain killers and physio therapy. I took him for an x-ray on Tuesday at the clinic, this was just a precaution we think, as it is a muscular spasm. He is on the mend now and feeling much better and will be back at work tomorrow.

Ironically whist he goes back to work, I have this week off. There will be swimming at the lake involved for sure, and mid week Nancy and I are going of for a couple for days to Cape Breton. Which I am very much looking forward to. We plan of taking her convertible as the weather looks set to be gorgeous, so we will make the most of the weather, but I will have to pack extra light as there is little or no room in the car.

Tomorrow evening a few of us are headed to the beach for a sunset shoot with a ballerina...Should be interesting.

For those of you who  are interested in my cat Hamish, he has gone deaf. Don't know why, Rob and I have only recently noticed it, but I don't think he can hear anything now. I guess old age is catching up with him. Besides the deafness though, he is pretty healthy and happy, sleeps all the time and yells louder than ever as I don't think he can hear himself!

Twitter update, I am loving it! Tweeting all the time. I am following Big Brother of course on there! I have 13 followers (not many I know) and have been tweeting back and forth with Andy Scott-Lee (brother of Lisa Scott-Lee form Steps). He is a celeb in his own right, and a really nice guy! Rob is also on Twitter now, although he doesn't tweet as much as I do.

Follow @AJNovaScotia

Ross Farm

Happy Canada Day!

Well it's a long weekend for us here in Canada as we celebrate the 145th birthday of the Country. The weather could not be any better, it's been a scorching 30 degrees and the perfect weather for doing very little.

Anne (friend and fellow photo club member) and I got together on Saturday and for an impromptu photo trip to Ross Farm. I think we nearly melted out in the heat but it was a lovely day none the less.
There were some adorable cats and kittens there, all of which I wanted to take home with me, the piglets were so adorable too. On Sunday I was due to go to a Canada Day party but plans changed so instead Anne and I met up again today and headed for the lake, we spent most of the afternoon in the water and catching a few rays in between. (Slightly lobsterish now from the sun).

Rob was working today, so he missed out on the swim, but this evening all three of us headed down to Alderney Landing to enjoy the free concert and the fireworks. Of course music wise there was no topping Steven Page from last year, but my favourite offering would have to be Tim Chaisson & Morning Fold Click on the link and you can hear a couple of tracks from them.

The harbour looked especially pretty tonight with all the boats gathered on the water fpr the evenings events and an almost full moon shimmering on the surface. Great atmosphere. They had a new addition this year as well, a Canadian Flag projected on to and through a wall of sprayed water. Clever and very effective. Sadly I have no photos for you as I decided to enjoy the spectacle this year rather than trying to capture it all through a lens! I wish that some of you in the UK be here now to see and enjoy Nova Scotia in the Summer, it really is tropical right now and everywhere is just so pretty. The only down side to this is that our house is hot as hell and worryingly I have spotted a couple of earwigs in the last couple of days. I hope this isn't the start of yet another Earwig Watch!

We have a bank holiday tommorow and I also have Tuesday off....Hooray! I think that my lawn chair is beckoning :o)

And finally, a quick shout out to my friend Kim, Happy Birthday, hope you had a wonderful day!

Walking back in Time - Ross Farm

House and Barn - Ross Fam

The Cutest Kitten!

Inquisitive Sniffers