September 7, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Pond Man.

He is a charachter but I always enjoy talking to him. In front of his house and place of business is a large pond that stretched th full width of his lot. From the road you see bushes and trees to protect the pond from prying eyes. His only sign is on the side of a shed where he keeps supplies for the buying public. Over the years, Ken and I have bought fountains, lillies, fish food and fish. And we have talked to him. He is a gold mine of useful information about fish. Today Anna and I drove to Shelburne to meet Allan and see his ponds. And we wanted to walk the waterfront and eat lunch in Shelburne. When we arrived, his wife came from their house to help. We bought fish food for the winter so Walt could feed the fish. When Alan arrived, Anna asked if ht wa true that he had a pond. His whole place is a bit messy and she could not see a pond. He just laughed. And we followed him to the pond which was in plain view but hidden. Then it was our turn to laugh. We spent the next hour watching all those fish...and picking his brain about fish. When he throws the scoopful of feed into the water you observe a feeding frenzy. The fish come to eat. And we watch them. He has fish over two feet long and he has fish two inches. And everything in between. He has had to keep screeing all around the pond to stop the herons from eating the fish. And he has place rope across the top of the pond too. Yesterday they had a gull try to land on the pond. You could never belive that pond unless you were told about it. In addition he has a plastic covered frame, his greenhouse, where he grows and sells his fish. He sells his large fish for several hudred dollars. We ran out of time. But we enjoyed every minute. And by the way, fish do not stay the winter buried in the mud at the bottom of the pond. At 48 degrees, their metabolish slows way down and they stay all winter in the slushy water below the ice. Only eels bury themselves in mud, he told us. Set me straight. I have been telling folks that our fish survive the winter by getting to the bottom of the pond in the mud. I was wrong. Anna and I had a great time with Allan the pond man.

September 6, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Light House Road.

On Saturday, while driving along the French Shore, David spotted a little light house, jutting out from the shore. We kept looking for a road off to the right. Eventually we came upon a sign, saying Light House Road. As we were driving quite close to the water, we knew we were driving down a peninsula to find the light house. Right beside us was the Bay of Fundy with the tide half way out. Even though the tide was not fully out, we still saw mud flads loaded with water birds. The birds were busily making their living digging for food. We stopped many times on the way to the light house to see the magnificent mud flats. And of course we watched the shore birds of every type. We saw hundreds and hundreds of gulls and sandpipers of every size. The light house is small but has an area to park and walk around. A couple of other cars full of people were also enjoying the place, taking pictures and looking out to the water. It was a lovely little spot. On the way back up, we spotted a row of boats right along the shore stuck on the mud waiting for the tide to come in so they could once again float. It was a great picture. When you fish on the Bay of Fundy, you must pay close attention to the tides or you could get stuck way away from home and then wait for the tide to turn so you to get home. The long road to the light house was worth the whole day of driving. Seeing the mud flats again was special and watching all those birds eating away was also impressive. The Light House Road was worth the price of admission.

September 5, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Smith Cove.

Smith Cove is across the bay from Digby. From the beach you can see the whole town and the ferry, which when we watched was getting ready to leave for St. John. I had never seen Smith Cove until yesterday. David spotted the sign on highway 1, and down we went, doing what we always do which was to go down every obscure road. On the right hand side of the road was a tourist vacility with several rows of units available for rent. Evidently, at one point it was a motel but now the place is fixed up for rentals. No cars were at the units until we reached the lowest row when we saw three cars. One charming brick home was close to the water but it was mostly covered by trees. From every row of the units could be seen the view of the water because the road drops quickly. On the left side could be seen houses, all with wonderful views. At the bottom of the road was a lovely home just a bit higher than the beach. It was too close to the water for me but I could not see evidence of flooding so I guess they were OK. The house had a huge picture window overlooking the sea with a deck across the front of the house. Talk about a house with the view!!. David was off taking pictures and collecting sand glass while I admired the houses. I almost wanted to knock on their door to ask if I could see the inside. Up the road was another lovely home with yet another lovely view but this home with no danger of flooding. And there was yet another home, each one larger than the others. The slope of the hill allowed each home the same view, just a bit higher up the road. The road was gravel and undistinguished in any way. But it was a beautiful part of the world. Nova Scotia has a lot of these beautiful places and I have seen a lot of them during my excursions with David, this one on Saturday. We take the roads less travelled just to see what we can find. Yesterday we found Smith Cove.

September 4, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Bear River.

Bear River began as a home for hippies ecaping from the Vietnahm war in the 60s. You can still see several odd homes, built by people who were not expert builders. It had always been a place for the artists and the misfits. It had always been a bit funky. The location is lovely, at the base of a high granite cliff and a rushing water. It reminded me a bit of being in the Smokies. Starting about ten years ago, artisans and artisans started moving in the town and the surrounding areas. And it became trendy, so in adition of the children and grandchildren from the former hippies, you have the ccomplished artists and craftsmen working at Bear River and selling their wares. A perfect example is Susan Lane. She sold Lanes Privateer Inn in Liverpool and has moved to Bear River with her boyfriend where they are renovating a big old house which will become a B&B. The hit of our drive around Bear River was the drive up River Road, which runs right beside the river. We followed to the top, stopping along the way so David could take pictures. It was a beautiful drive with the steep granite walls on the opposite side and us and the road on the other. We saw multiple water falls and deep pools. And the sound of the rushing river was loud. Bear River is near to the Bay of Fundy, in fact not far along from Bear River the river flattens out and the Bay of Fundy tides take over. You can see where the river rushing to the sea hits the color of the Bay water. David scrambled down the bank several times to take pictures while I sat at the top watching the rushing water. This drive up the river was definately a hit on our Saturday excursion today.

September 3, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Our Neighbors the Hermits.

A blue house sits across the street from me and a bit up the hill. Rochelle and Brad have lived there since 1996. I met them when I invited them to a dinner party in 1999. They came for the cocktail but had told me they would not stay for dinner. When they were leaving, Rochelle said to me,"Please do not invite us to other parties because we do not do social". Belive it or not, I have never seen them since even though they live just across the steet. Brad and Rocllle were writers. Rochelle is physically handicapped with a large hump on her back and hips not ligned up. Mobility is difficult. They were happy closed up in their house. I never saw them on their deck or outside the back. Two weeks ago I eceived a call from Rochelle. A box was delivered to her by mistake. I arranged to have Anna pick up the box the following Friday. During our conversation she told me that Brad had died in March suddenly at 74 from a heart attach. Now Rochelle is living by herself with no help and her cook Brad no longer cooking. Anna and I invited her for coffee which she accepted and came the next week. Our visit was pleasant and she seemed to enjoy the visit. Part of me is sympathetic to her plight but part of me realizes that she has reaped what she sowed. She shut out the world and now her world contains only herself. Sad but true. Anna and I will invite her over again before I leave and I will give her the numer of Earth Angels. But I can not do much else. When she came over last week for coffee I would not have recognized her. But I only met her once in 1999 and I had never seen either of them again. Hard to fathom for sure.

September 2, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia, The Remnants of Ida.

This was a perfect storm for Western Head. Lots of rain, wind and surf but no damage and no power outage. I awoke to hear the rain pounding on the french door. It was noisy. Then I listened to the loud wind. I knew storm Ida had arrived. This bedroom is a perfect place in a storm because of the sounds. The two dormers seem to accntuate the wind because it shrieks and moans. All morning I puttered around the bedroom, listening all the while to the rain and the wind. Finally at 11:30 I went downstairs. I needed my tea and avacado toast. The living room was different. But what I lost with the sounds I gained with the view of the angry seas. I can see the ocean from the bedroom but not as well as from the living room. The waves were pouring into the shore and the white caps were large as far as you could see. The ocean was too dangerous to surf today but perhaps tommow the surfers could catch a wave or two.All day the wind roared. The rains came and went from mid afternoon. Evidently Digby got a huge amount of rain, as did New York and New Jersey. Here we got a lot of rain but no flooding. But the sights and sounds made for a perfect storm. All day I enjoyed my front row seat of the angry ocean. Once again, we dodged the bullet. And once again, I was grateful to be living in Western Head.

September 1, 2021. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Founders House.

Last Sunday, Mary, Walt and I drove to Annapolis Royal for brunch. The weather was perfect and Walt was willing to take an excursion. Larry and Jan told me about the restaurant so off we went. Highway 8 is marked on the map as a scenic highway but it is only pretty during the late Fall when the leaves have turned their glorious color. But on Sunday it is merely a highway through woods. We used the GPS to find the Founders House, which turned out to be on the golf course just out of town. Talk about bad timing. The restaurant has been open for three years which means they have been locked down a good bit of the time. But they were open on Sunday and they seem to be doing well. Certainly our food was delicious. Rumor has it that the chef has come from Toronto. My meal certainly was unusual and tasty. I ordered waffles and fried chicken. What I eceived was a single waffle covering the plate. On top of it was a small amount of maple syrup. On top were two poached eggs and on the other side three small pieces of fried chicken. It was delicious and I ate the whole thing. Walt ate quiche while Mary enjoyed her egs benedict. We were all pleased with our meal. After driving through Annapolis Royal, which seemed to be busy, we headed home. We will visit The Founders House again.