September 7, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The New Restaurant.

 I am delighted to have a new restaurant in town.  We need more variety.  But I am not feeling confident that the new place will stay solvent.  I hate to be negative but is a Japanese restaurant.  It is on the main street.  And it has no parking.  But I wish them well for sure.

The new owners have run a coffee shop right across the street where they serve coffee and croissants, which are delicious.  But it is too small so they are moving the coffee shop across the street at the front section of the restaurant.  The new place opened last week but so far I have not gone there for lunch.  Perhaps Anna and I will check it out tomorrow.  Or perhaps Pat and Mal will check it out.

When we first dined at the German restaurant just down the street I felt sure it would not survive.  But I was wrong.  There ae many Germans living here so perhaps they have supported the place.  But there are no Japanese people living here.  But I am delighted to have a new place in town.  Soon I will investigate it  my self.  

September 6, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Dogs.

 Dogs do not outlive their owners.  The best of dogs die long before their owners are ready.  Wendy knows that better than anyone I know but even then, when a beloved dog dies, the owners grieve.  Tomorrow is the fateful day for friends Wendy and Clausen.

Kitty Hawk is a beautiful beast, friendly and well behaved.  She is a white greyhound, rescued from her successful track career.  She has enjoyed a comfortable retirement with friends Wendy and Clausen.  But for the past week, Kitty Hark was not eating.  I knew that Kitty Hawk was ailing because Wendy never brought her over to visit.  Today they were told by the vet that Kitty Hawk has pancreatic cancer which is untreatable.  Tomorrow, Kitty Hawk will go the doggie heaven.

We have always enjoyed the Ely's dogs.  We especially have enjoyed all the greyhounds.  Kitty Hawk was special right from the start.  And we will miss her visits.  She was the Queen.  But she is 12 which is old for a large dog.  She was special right from the begging.  Never easy to lose a dog.  But that is what dogs do.  We will all miss her.

September 5, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Surprise Waves.

There was not a whisper of a breeze early this morning so I got a big surprise when looking out the windows from my bedroom.  The waves were high and Gull Bay was full of surfers.  Actually there were 9 surfers in the Bay and three others at the point.  But the surf was high the the surfers were getting long rides.  All morning the waves were high but there was no breeze so the ocean was quiet.  But the waves were high and the surfers were happy.

The the wind began to blow during the afternoon which meant the waves were still high but eventually, the sea became choppy and the surfing ceased.  By late this afternoon there was not a surfer in sight.  By then, they must have been very tired.  And eventually the wind died down along with the waves.  I never did figure out where those big waves were coming from.  Was there a storm out at sea?  Those big waves were certainly a surprise to me.  But not to the surfers.They were here before I got up.  

These local surfers have a good system for checking the height of the waves.  They take turns measuring and sending out the information. to all the others.  Certainly they appear quickly when the surd is up.  Fun for me to watch  

September 4, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. My Friends.

This morning, just after 9:00, friend David N. came to check my glucose level.  He knew that Anna would not be working on Labour Day so he came to check up on me.  After checking my level which was 117, he brought me breakfast up to my bedroom: tea, toast and peanut butter, berries and walnuts.  And he joined me with a cup of coffee for himself.  And we chatted until just after 11:00.  

Next in my day was a visit from  friend Gill.  At noon she walked over to talk books.  She was hoping I had copies of the Gerald Durrell books which she wanted to reread.  But I long ago lost control of my library.  She looked but could not find.  So she ordered a set from Amazon.  And we talked books for over an hour.  I told her that all the Canadian authors are on the shelves in the dining room.  But she found a Robertson Davies book upstairs in the hall.  So what do I know.

Then just after 4:00, friends  Mary and Walt drove out bringing  two loaves of freshly baked banana nut bread.  As it was still warm, Walt and I ate a piece, which was delicious.  Mary does not really enjoy banana nut bread but she keeps me well supplied.  And Walt likes it too.  And we talked for almost an hour before they headed home.

So I did not really do anything today.  But my good friends enriched my day and I enjoyed a very happy Labour Day celebration.

September 3, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Sailing.

 My friend Mary M. came to see me on Friday afternoon.  She was feeling sad because she just sold her sail boat.  She signed over the title and received the money.  She no longer owns her own sail boat.  She knows it is time to stop sailing a she is 80 now.  And they are going to stop driving here so she needs the garage for storing a car over the winter.  But she was feeling sad.

On the other hand, now she does not need to clean the boat before storing it for the winter.  And she does not need to pull the boat from the water to store for the winter.  And she knows that the time has come.

Mary bought the boat 15 years ago and she has loved it.  The boat is small at 16 feet so is easy to handle She sailed a lot many years ago but before she bought the boat both Mary and Clif took a refresher course at the Annapolis Sailing School.  And then she honed her skill by using the boat.  Of recent years, Cliffie no longer sails but Gill sails with Mary.  And friend Frances will go out at any time.  Yesterday Mary and Gill took their last sail before Mary turns over the key.  The sailing experience with Mary has officially ended.

September 2, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. September.

 No question about it.  September is a beautiful month.  This is especially so here in Nova Scotia.  The weather is still great with lots of sun.  And very few days of rain.  Daytimes are warm but the nights begin to get chilly.  But then I begin to see the summer will soon be over and then I get nostalgia.

One thing I miss about the Fall is the colors of the leaves.  I miss them totally.  I really miss  the leaves in Ontario and Maryland and of course the farm in Pennsylvania.  For that I must return to my memory bank in my brain.  I leave Nova Scotia before the leaves turn colors.  And the colors in Mississippi are muted.  My Mississippi friends often comment on the beauty of the turning leaves in Mississippi.  But I am merely polite.  I really want to see the yellows, oranges and reds of the leaves in Maryland and Ontario.

Perhaps the whole month of September is an exercise of nostalgia.  Schools beginning.  Leaves turning.  The end of summer.  But I do love September And to celebrate I am going for brunch at Lanes with my friends.  It is a perfect excuse.

September 1, 2023. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Sound of the Sea.

 The sight of the Ocean is endlessly interesting.  Every day is different.  But the sound of the sea is also different.  What I sound from my bedroom is not the same every evening.  I had not thought much about it until the last few evening.    Right now, I can hear the motion of the sea although in the pitch black evening I can not see the bay.  If I listen carefully, I can hear the waves lapping onto the shore.  

But Wednesday  evening at the same time told me a different story.  The waves were crashing into the shore and I wondered if the rock wall would survive.  The noise was ferocious and I knew that the surfers would arrive.  And they did and surfed all day.

Then last evening I could still hear the waves breaking on the shore.  But there was not much wind so I knew the ocean would be calmer today, which it did.  The waves were still pouring in but only half as high.  And not nearly as noisy.  Today, 4 surfers were back having a go at the surf but it was not nearly as exciting.    The noise will also decrease once again.  The sound of the sea is infinitely different and equally beautiful.  The sound of the sea is one of the charms of living by the sea.