Awesome Sky Over The Bay

Went for my beach walk this evening along the shore and the clouds were awesome!

Sun Starting To Set Over The Bay of Fundy

This was the sun as it was starting to set last evening , the beauty in a sunset .

Ghosts Island of Nova Scotia [article in Kentville Advertiser]

Tiny pieces of land tell fascinating stories

Topics :

Acadia University , Berwick Register ,Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canadian Studies , Isle Haute , Bon Portage Island, Nova Scotia

By Wendy Elliott

Kings County Advertiser/Register

Nova Scotia has roughly 3,800 islands along its 4,700 miles of coastline.

Ghost Islands of Nova Scotia remembers how many of the province’s islands were once inhabited by light keepers, fisherman and their families. Beginning about a century ago the fisher folk moved to the mainland. The book’s author Mike Parker details the people who once endured a rigorous lifestyle on the islands.

The book is fascinating because of the depth of Parker’s research and the wealth of photographs he uncovered. Over 300 images are included in this fascinating tome.

The stories are intriguing.

There was George Burton of Bell Island, who had once stowed about a ship from the West Indies. He married a woman from the La Have Islands and managed store near Crooked Channel.

Winnie Crowell Hamilton grew up on Seal Island and followed her father as lighthouse keeper, serving from 1924 to 1942.

McNabs Island was a pasture for showman Bill Lynch's ponies during the carnival season. His father had been a light keeper.

Ben Henneberry, born in 1863, lived on bleak Devil's Island most of his life. He was a fisherman, but his name lives on as the contributor of hundreds of folksongs to Helen Creighton's collection. She visited the island in 1931 to give him a copy of her first book.

Sambro Island is one of the few with a bona fide ghost. Long ago, when the Royal Artillery were stationed on Sambro, a Scot named Alexander Alexander went ashore to buy supplies and instead set out on a two-week drinking binge. He committed suicide rather than face charges and haunts the island still.

Evelyn Richardson, whose family kept the light on Bon Portage Island, magnificently detailed life on the South Shore island. The Governor General's Award winner saw the self-sufficient values of island dwellers disappearing before her death in 1976. Her daughter, Anne, said her mother "was afraid too much of the human condition would be swept away."

Parker felt it would be sacrilege in a book about Nova Scotia islands not to pay tribute to Richardson. The Richardson family passed Bon Portage onto Acadia University for safe stewardship.

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Not all islands have been abandoned. The La Have Islands and the Tusket Islands, for example, had sizable populations a hundred years ago. There are stories about their inhabitants’ island schooling and making a living doing difficult work. The 1901 census lists 418 people living on the La Have Islands. Today there are approximately 60 fulltime residents and a few summer homes.

Isle Haute is the only island in this region Parker has included in his book. A wedding on the island in the upper Bay of Fundy is featured on the cover. A hunk of basalt rock with cliffs 300 feet high, Isle Haute was once part of the North Mountain. Lighthouse keepers and their families have been its sole inhabitants.

Parker located tales of light keeper Percy Morris who spent 28 years without a sick day on the rock. He raised black foxes and was also busy farming. Morris kept 12 head of cattle, 70 sheep, six goats and 20 chickens during the 1920s and 30s.

According to a 1931 Berwick Register reporter, "most remarkable of all, perhaps, is the utter absence of any manifestation of business depression and unemployment, with which other parts of the continent are so seriously affected at the present time."

Parker has written 14 books. His latest completes a trilogy that focused on gold rush town and sawmill towns. Now retired, he is a research associate affiliated with the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canadian Studies at St. Mary's University in Halifax.

Published by Pottersfield Press, Ghost Islands of Nova Scotia sells for $24.95.

Book signing

Mike Parker will be at The Inside Story, Greenwood, April 28 at 1 p.m.

welliott@kingscountynews.ca

Evening Vistitor Pileated Woodpecker

Wow what a day started with a beach walk at Baxter's Harbour and Paddy's Beach then sat down just before supper and was surprised again at the site of a pileated woodpecker at the birdhouse and birdfeeder.What an amazing bird because of its size and how eye-catching the colors were.

Mother Nature provides us with such wonderful treasures !!!!!

Strange Rock Formation

I found these strange rock marking today on my beach walk and I thought they were cool !

Swallow at the Birdhouse

We have had gloomy, dark, foggy weather for the last couple of days but it is still warm . Wow what a surprise when I just happened to glimpse out the window this morning and seen this swallow sitting at the birdhouse . What vivid color this bird displays , I will be watching tomorrow morning to see if maybe they might nest in the birdhouse , I hope they do !!!!

The Wildflower Trillium

These are photos of the wildflower the trillium , what a burst of color after the winter season and what a treat to watch the forest floor come alive once again . What a joy it was today to discover these on my walk ,as the walk on the beach was foggy and damp.

Rain Moving In

These images are from the Nova Scotia webcam at Hall's Harbour this evening and as you can see the rain clouds are moving in , which is a good thing because the weather had been very warm for this time of year !!!!

Max My Corgi on the Weather Network

Warmth spills into Atlantic Canada - The Weather Network
www.theweathernetwork

Just click on the top link to read the article and see Max's picture !!!!!!

I was on the weather network this morning and discovered that they used Max's picture on the beach for the header on their article on the warm weather we have been have . I can't help it he is so cute !!!!!

After Glow of a Sunset

The after glow was gorgeous with the long stream of clouds this evening at sunset , another warm day !

Max and Stanley Enjoing The Warm Weather

Took the dogs to the beach this morning and they loved it , the sun was so warm for April , it actually felt more like June !!!!

Jasper

Wow, had such great luck rockhunting today when I came across these pieces of Jasper .

At Baxter's Harbour for Low Tide

I was down at the harbour today at low tide , the sun had just came out and what a time to explore the beach as you can wak right up to the waterfall .

High Tide At Hall's Harbour [webcam]

Cool Crazy Clouds

Went to the beach today and it was great weather blue skies but clouds were rolling in , yesterday the ground was covered with snow and the wind was howling and cold . What a difference a day makes the sun was out and warm until later this afternoon these clouds rolled in , then the skies opened as the rain came down . I will post tomorrow the beach pic but these I thought were very cool cloud formations

Sun Glistening In The Harbour

I was down to Baxter's Harbour just when the sun was starting to set last evening , the sun glistening on the Bay is so peacefully and gorgeous .

Stanley Wacthing the Waves of the Fundy

Yesterday was cold and dark at the beach but Stanley loves the water and the waves no matter how cold the water is . In this video Stanley is trying to figure out those crashing waves but I love just listening to the sound of the waves crashing as they come unto the shore !!!!! A sound that I love  to hear !!!!!

Treasures of the Bay

These are some of the treasures my daughter and I found today on a very long beach walk !!!!

Trail of Clouds Over The Bay

This is a video I took at the  beach of the clouds , there was a trail of clouds from cliff to cliff !!!!

push button at the side on the bottom to make the video full screen to watch the clouds !!!!!

                                                                                                                                                            

Clouds of Flames Over The Bay

                                                                                                                                                                                              

 What a wonderful hike along the shores of the Fundy but it was the clouds that got my attention. I just could not stop watching them as they floated over the Bay . Thank you Mother Nature for such an awesome display !