Happy Harvest Blog
My first Blanding's Turtle
Blanding's are an endangered species in Nova Scotia, with only three small areas with known populations. We just happen to live almost on top of one of those three areas.
It's practically a bird hospital around here.
So there I was, a bird in the hand, scorching hot day, heavy bicycle, a kilometer from home. What to do?I rode home one handed, with the bird in the other hand. I sort of displayed her in front of me, somehow hoping that a passing driver would stop and offer assistance. Is that a bird? Can I help?
Jailbird
On Saturday I was shocked awake by a bird smashing into a window with the force of a snowball. I ran outside and found the bird gasping and quivering on its back, scooped it up, and took it in, holding it for several minutes, with my whole hand wrapped in a towel for dark, soothing.
Is your sap running? You'd better go catch it.
We tapped six trees, just using little 1-2 gal food grade buckets. We don't intend to boil down the sap to syrup, because we don't have an outdoor cooking facility, so we'll have to use it fresh. We'll just drink it, cook with it, drink it....There's nothing more divine than cold fresh maple sap.
First Day of Spring in Nova Scotia!
Officially 4 feet deep. The snow is over the top of our garden fence. Indoors, however, the first seeds of the year hatched today:) Yay, green! Sunflowers germinate so fast!
Post hurricane cleanup
IMGP7100H.W. climbed the big snag that fell in the storm, and cut it free. By hand.
Mosquito mayhem
The sound of a mob of insects literally out for your blood is disturbing. Out of nowhere, mosquitoes came to besiege us in the night in numbers we haven’t seen here before. Clouds of them covered the screened windows and speckled the outside of the camper.
Tropical storm Arthur
For all we knew, this was routine wind for Nova Scotia. Only when we went out to “town” that we found the power was off everywhere, trees were hanging on power lines and the roads all over, and the storm was a big enough deal to have a name: Arthur.
Early observations of Nova Scotia.
We’ve been soaking up our new province as we drive around (so far our opinions of the culture are mostly based on the view from the road). I’m in love with it. Everyone has gardens. Everyone has clotheslines. Nova Scotia’s waste management system is the envy of the world.
Instagram.
I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.
