March 16, 2008. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Surfing.

They just do not seem to go together, surfing on a day when everything is covered with snow. I awaoke to find a beautiful winter scene in front of me. The sky was bright blue , the sun was shinging brightly, everything was covered with fresh snow, and when I looked out at sea there were four surfers out catching their rides. Soon more surfers joined in so we watched ten young men and women out playing in the ocean. It made me feel cold just watching them. But they were getting pretty good rides. A new storm heading to Newfoundland was out at sea, which meant the waves would be big, even tho we do not have a storm. These surfers watch the weather channel, then send a person to check the waves. If the waves look promising, their cell phones and e mails take over, and soon we get to watch the surfing right in our front yard. It is a surreal scene to see all this snow and the surfing at the same time. I always think of Hawaii and surfing, or California and surfing, but not Western Head and surfing, not in the winter!!

I also saw the eider ducks this morning. This is the first time this spring so I guess they have returned from the south. Soon the males will be in their bright white plumage, but not yet. Too soon to breed. The ravens are so large this year, almost as big as the vultures. I saw a harrier hawk too. We have a pair close to the shore that we see every year. I always wonder if they are the same pair each year. We see very large gulls, great black backed gulls, and herring gulls. No cormorants this year yet. Since they moved in the area we see fewer gulls. Ken thinks they are not connected.

This was another first for Ken, entertaining our friends for lunch. We decided that as he fades in the evening we would serve lunch. It turned out to be a very nice event. Everyone was happy to see us and each other, and at this time of year the old stuff seems stale. Also lunch is self limiting in time so the short time perion was a hit. We will do it again. We served port and sherry before lunch, and chicken and rice soup for the main course, followed by a most wonderful salad, along with breads. All prepared by our local caterers,Altimento. Dessert was pound cake smothered with fresh fruit. Delicious. My role was to set the three tables and then meet and greet, and of course clean up after everyone went home. We liked the idea of the three separate tables rather than one large one. In the garage we have a very old drop leaf table that is the same width and height of our dining table, so when we have large groups we just bring that table into the dining room and place it at the end of the dining table. But that table was covered with stuff. We store lots of outdoor furniture in the garage and it was too difficult th get at it. Instead I used the table that belongs on the deck. With a table cloth and green wooden chairs it looked great. Instead of seating 20 people at one long table, we used one table for 8 and two tables for 6. It is actually easier for conversation. I will do that again.