False Holly Jackpot!

False holly grows in wet, swampy areas of Nova Scotia. That's what makes it so challenging to harvest. Confession here, I almost got a "soaker", LOL. But I persevered and cut some of the best holly that I have ever seen! Check it out...

Yes, that's a big bird's nest right in the middle of the branch. Surely that should bring some Christmas luck :).  I can hardly wait to get this in my urns with some fir boughs around it. Here's a close-up...

When I got back to the cottage to take these pictures I heard two gunshots! Good thing I had on my husband's red ski jacket and my hunter orange toque! Accidents do happen so you have to be pro-active. Who knew harvesting holly could be so dangerous?

NS Artist "Shout Out"

When I wrote my blog profile I asked myself the question, "what will I blog about?" I think this post falls under the "a little bit of everything" category. Recently I discovered the works of a local artist, Susan Sweet.  Susan has a studio in Maitland, NS, less than an hour's drive from where I live. She works mostly in acrylics, but I see from her blog that she also uses other mediums such as pastels. Many people commission Susan to paint their  four-legged friends. Scrolling through her blog you will find lots of horses and dog portraits. Tons of cows too...

Here's "Pink Hereford". Just look at those eyes!

But I think my favourite pieces are those depicting Cobequid Bay, part of the famous Bay of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world! 

Check out Susan's blog if you would like to see more of her wonderful work. 

http://susannsweetartist.blogspot.ca/

The Three Bears

Once upon a time there was a young girl who loved the story of The Three Bears. When she discovered a hooked rug pattern depicting the bears she asked her aunt to make it for her. Auntie Gwen agreed and the mat was started. She worked on it in Nova Scotia in the summer months,  and then took it to Florida to continue the hooking throughout the fall and winter. But somehow the mat never got finished...
Four years ago my aunt was admitted to a nursing home with a special ward for Alzheimer's patients. As my cousin and I readied her house to put it on the market, we discovered the half finished Three Bears mat. Well finally, after four years in my closet, I found someone who could finish Gwen's mat. (Thank you Lynn for taking on this little project with such enthusiasm.) When I last visited with my aunt I took the finished mat with me. I truly believe her eyes brightened up a tiny bit when I showed her those Three Bears and their bowls of porridge :)

Overlooking the Ocean

On Sunday, my husband and I spent the afternoon attending the River John Country Village Christmas Tour. Since the home tours didn't start until 2pm, we also shopped at the Lismore Sheep Farm Christmas Market, checked in on our cottage, and took a little jaunt over to Pictou. I don't have any photos of the first two homes we toured, but here's one shot of the Robinson Retreat, our third and final stop.

Isn't it lovely? Believe me, it was just as nice on the inside. (Please excuse the quality of the photo, my husband snapped it with his phone.) The Robinson property was settled in the mid 1800s with a traditional Nova Scotia 1 1/2 story home with barns and outbuildings. I had passed by this house on my way to the beach at Cape John this summer, but I had no idea it was being so extensively renovated. The current owners have removed the outbuildings, but they have utilized some unique pieces from the barn in their house. For example, they used huge arch-shaped pieces to define the dining area. They also used a beam from the barn as a mantel for their fireplace. The Robinson Retreat will be available to rent this summer. If  you are looking for a huge farmhouse to host a family reunion, this is the spot!

Girl Camp Canada - NS Rally

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Girl Camp Canada rally at Caribou-Munroes Island Provincial Park. This was the first rally for GCC women from Nova Scotia. Definitely one of those events where we arrived as strangers, enjoyed ourselves, and left as friends! There were six trailers, eight women and three fur kids (dogs). Here is my trailer nestled in a lovely wooded site.

This caravan belonged to Stacey from Sydney. She calls it Bea! Did you notice the little Dutch door? Be still my heart...

                           

You would not believe the size of the window at the hitch end of this English cutie. It's the size of a picture window in some living-rooms!
If you would like more info about this beautiful park along the shores of the Northumberland Strait, here's a link to the park brochure.

http://www.novascotiaparks.ca/brochures/Caribou-munroe.pdf

Swimming With Sammy the Seal

Last week was not the best week to be on vacation in Nova Scotia. We had nice weather on Monday, but it all went downhill from there. I stained one of our decks on Tuesday morning and by evening it just poured. My usual routine is to go for a swim every day even if it's not a real "beach day". On Friday  afternoon the sun was shining so I decided to go down for a dip. Just as I was about to get in, I noticed a seal swimming by.

Hmmmm, should I swim or not? Never had this happen before. Anyways, I decided to get in all the while keeping an eye out for Mr. Seal. I kept thinking what do they eat? Where is he? I know he ducked under, is he getting closer? When we were kids my mother would always say, "If you don't get your ducking I'm not bringing you swimming again." Sounds harsh, but  it always worked. (Looking back now I know that my mom would have taken us the next day because she loved to swim more than we did, lol.) So feeling very brave I ducked under to really cool off. Happy ending here! Apparently this grey seal was already full because he never tried to eat me. They eat cod fish and are blamed for depleting the cod stocks both here in Nova Scotia as well as Newfoundland. After I got out of the water I went for a little walk along the beach to look for beach glass. On a busy day there  might be 75 people on our beach but this day there were only 10. One lady said, "You had us all worried when you disappeared under the water!" To learn more about grey seals check out this link where I snagged that cute photo from:

http://www.ypte.org.uk/animal/seal-grey-/167

Every Cottage Must Have a Fire Pit

That title says it all. I love beach campfires, but for us it's a lot less work to just have a campfire in our backyard. Nothing beats sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows or making s'mores. For several years we had an old, metal, dryer tub which I thought worked fine. But then new neighbours moved in and they set up their fire pit using a truck rim from an 18 wheeler. Another neighbour said she was going to switch over to this "new" style and she could get us one too. So, here it is! Our new, low profile (all the better for marshmallow roasting) freebie fire pit. (It actually rests on a 24" patio stone but the rim hides it.)

Not pretty, but it works great! However, if I was designing the backyard of my dreams, I would buy one of these.
http://atwistofiron.com/
Handcrafted from old propane tanks right here in beautiful Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. These truly are works of art!

Take Yourself There

Take Yourself There. That's the theme of our new Nova Scotian tourism campaign. According to the press, the tourism industry generates about $1.8 billion annually in Nova Scotia, but economic pressures, rising fuel costs and passport requirements have all contributed to what has been a slow decline in tourism countrywide. The volume of annual visitors to the province has fallen about one per cent a year for the past decade.
To help boost visits to our tiny province I decided to design my own poster using pictures of campsites and a vintage cover from an older camping brochure. Come visit Nova Scotia this summer. Ciad Mille Failte. That's Gaelic for "A hundred thousand welcomes."

Clams and Antiques

                                           

This is what I love to do on Mother's Day. For the last few years, my husband and I have taken a drive  to Grannie's Restaurant in Lower Five Islands where we have clams and chips for lunch. On the way home we stop in Great Village where I shop for antiques. There are three stores to go through so it takes a little while. My DH sits in the car and reads golf magazines. I have to say he's pretty patient 'cause antiques aren't really his thing :) Today I was so pleased because I found this Skotch Kooler! It's in near perfect condition--Bakelite handle, only one little dent; smells great too! (Sorry for the poor quality of this picture, but it is pouring rain outside so I had to photograph inside.)

I looked up Skotch Koolers on eBay and this one gallon size is selling for at least $40 (plus shipping and handling). I only paid $20 so I think I got a pretty good deal!  Can't you just see this next to my old Pleasure Chest cooler? Oh yes, Betty is gonna be all glamped up for summer #3! 

Hubbards Beach

This photo was taken on our first outing last June to Hubbards, on Nova Scotia's south shore. It makes me smile every time I look at it. Notice how those other rigs almost dwarf Betty? Most of the campers at Hubbards Beach Campground are 'seasonals' and they only save a few spots for daily rentals. The main reason we went to Hubbards was to meet up with some friends, and take in a dance at the well-known Shore Club. All of our friends stayed in the cottages which are located near the beach. The weather was great, but we had to put up with some unruly young campers on the Saturday night. We are returning again this year to see one of my favourite bands of all time, Minglewood! But this year we have decided to leave Betty at home and stay in the cottages with our friends. We plan to tow Betty and camp in PEI sometime in July. It will be a shorter trip as we will take the ferry both ways. If you have never been to Prince Edward Island, land of Anne, you must visit soon!

Shubenacadie Sam Calls It!

Saw this on my SIL's Facebook page and I had to grab it (thanks Diane). But this year our local groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, called it right. Yesterday when he stuck his nose out he saw his shadow. Folklore dictates that if the groundhog sees his shadow it means six more weeks of winter. So what do we get today? Snow. With freezing rain coming tonight. Thanks Sam. If you want to meet Sam check out his SamCam here...
http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/special/shubenacadie-sam.html