On the Road Again

If you're following my dog blog you know that I'm in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, about 5 hours east of Calgary in the middle of the prairie. We got on the road after my walk through which was the cherry on the top of the shit city Calgary is. They are complaining about the state of the grass in the backyard ... well duh. Maybe I shouldn't complain - they don't know I had 3 cats and 4 dogs plus three litters of puppies in that place when they thought I only had Halo and the one cat.

So we set out and the truck seemed to be handling the load very well except for the wind. Calgary couldn't get rid of me fast enough with a stiff ass northwest wind pushing me along. I turned slightly south and the truck was like WTF? I knew i had to stop in Brooks for gas and could not wait. Between the wind making the expens on the roof hum, the flapping tarp on the trailer and the water bucket handle clattering against the bowl I was going round the bend. We stopped, gassed, peed, secured things and hit the road again.

From then on it was gorgeous driving. Flat smooth incredible roads. The truck hummed along easily and we made great time and it was easy on the gas. Nice. Here's some clicks I took along the way ...

Ominous clouds to the north which fortunately were heading away from us. Clouds like this are is quite common on the horizon on the prairies. You can see them coming and usually a stiff wind precedes it. Gives you time to alter your picnic plans.

The most interesting thing about the prairies is the sky. Constantly changing, rarely the same two days straight and cumulonimbus is very common, incredibly beautiful and is the rainmaker. Quire serious about it sometimes too. Yes, I did just use cumulonimbus in a sentence ... grade 5 science - thank you Mrs. Miller.

I was heading into a heavy shower for quite sometime. It must have been travelling east a little more slowly than me as I caught it up in Medicine Hat. It's the heavy, cold raindrop kind of cloud and sweeps along drenching everything.

If you can believe it this is a buffalo. I think when I was in school they were almost extinct or endangered or something. Maybe they still are. Here's two of them. I think they are making a come back. Ever been near one? Think cow only twice as impressive ... and scary.

Legitimate wildlife. Antelopes or gazelles or whatever. I think this is what Leeloo is crossed with.
Entering Saskatchewan. Goodbye ... riddance ... whatever Alberta. Cedric - my travelling gnome - was also unmoved by the Alberta exit. I'm not sure what 'Saskatchewan, Naturally' means unless no one shaves or uses personal hygiene products. Could be they are environmentally inclined. I hope it's the second one.

I won't bore too much with Saskatchewan countryside. This is pretty much it. Not all the landscape has a train in it but if it doesn't have a train or something else of note it can get kind of monotonous. Don't believe me? This is sans train. Yawn. Okay - it's a little pretty. These are the Cypress Hills. Impressed?

And this is the direction we're headed. Hard to believe at the end of that road is the ocean and my new home.

Hills of Green

If you've ever been to Nova Scotia, or met anyone who has, the answer to the question "What is the landscape like?" will always be "Trees". It's hard to get an idea of just how many trees there are unless you get to the top of a hill that has been partially cleared.

Such a hill exists in Pictou County and happily enough it's called Greenhill. It offered a 360 degree view of most of the County. And the county, in the fall, is spectacular.
It's interesting to see that the trees are solid up to the point where the land has been forcably cleared and I imagine it is an ongoing battle with saplings to keep the farm fields tree free. I'm not sure what they grow but I hope it's worth it!

Trenton Park in the Fall

Everyone, and I mean everyone, who has ever seen fall colors on the east coast just raves about them. Seeing pictures of the Autumn does not do it justice but I can try.

Canada's national symbol is the maple leaf. Admittedly I never understood the significance of using the maple leaf to represent the entire country because the maple does not grow in the prairies. I understand that the prairies is quite a bit younger than the founding provinces which are overrun with maple so I can forgive this little oversight. For anyone who does not live in the prairies and doesn't know ... the fall colors are a flash of mostly yellow and gone before you know it. On the east coast the colors turn slowly and and make a big damn deal about it. That allows for some pretty cool leaf patterns depending on the kind of tree and how cold it's gotten at night.

The tips change first because that's the part that gets colds first, the inner leaves remain green for some time into the fall while the outside of the tree is all red like so ...

There are different kinds of maples, at least one of them gives up maple syrup - I think that's called a sugar maple but I don't know what it specifically looks like. Maybe it's this one:

Some of the trees seem to be put on a deliberate display of color in an attempt to out-perform their neighbour.

When I arrive the trees will be just leafing up and everything will be a brilliant green. It will be a different perspective of the foliage there but I'll leave you now to drool over this ...

Beaches

There's a sandy stretch of coastline called Melmerby Beach about 20 minutes from my house that is apparently very popular in the summer. My hosts last October, Bill & Donna, looked at me skeptically when I said I was going to the beach to take some photos because it was sort of raining a bit. I didn't realize what their skepticism meant until I got there.

The rain in Nova Scotia is not the same as Alberta. When Alberta rain hits your skin it's like little droplets of ice no matter how hot out it may be. It wasn't really windy but the waves were crashing in quite seriously and it was a great day to be out in the weather ...perhaps an umbrella next time.

The bad thing about that mist is that you don't realize how wet you are actually getting. Fortunately I was wearing a leather coat but my pants got absolutely soaked in about 10 minutes. It was an usual sensation to be wet through but not feel like it - although driving was a bit uncomfortable - hope they managed to get the water stains out of the rental car.

I returned the next day and took some more photos in the sunshine. Most of the shore along that northern side of Nova Scotia allows you to see Prince Edward Island on the horizon . It looks really close but is about an hour ferry ride away across the Northumberland Strait. At night you can see the lights on the distant coastline. The waves were much calmer the next day and I was pretty much alone on the beach. October is not really a beach bum month I guess. The rolling waves illicit a sort of internal quiet that is hard to find elsewhere.

Being from the prairies and all I was constantly fascinated by the beach itself. There is plant growth on the east coast I have never seen, or rarely seen, or have only seen in photographs. Just as I take the Rocky Mountains for granted I'm sure many Maritimers take for granted the simple beauty of the sand of the beach or the colors of their fall. That is a post all of it's own ... probably several actually!

Land & Sea

So where is it that I'm moving? What does it look like? How far from the Northumberland Strait(referred to as the 'ocean' by most people) am I? The town of Pictou is located on a gently sloping hill that overlooks Pictou Harbour which empties into the Northumberland Strait. Just beyond the harbour is Prince Edward Island which you can easily see on a clear day.

If I turn right out of my driveway and walk 40 feet and look right again I can see Pictou Harbour. My house is located at the top of the hill so I better have good winter tires! I think I'm about 800 metres from the water proper but the town sits between me and the harbour.

I was in Nova Scotia in the fall of 2008 right at Thanksgiving which is the prime time of the year to visit because of the colors. It was the end of the tourist season and there were lots of tourist shops still open but not bustling.

Some of the buildings were built from the stone ballasts used in the Ship Hector which brought the Scottish settlers to Pictou in the late 1700's. Those buildings still stand. How's THAT for preserving your past? (Calgary? Hmm? Hmm?)

The Ship Hector was rebuilt and now sits at dock at the Hector Quays( pronounced 'keys') Museum where you can go aboard and explore the replica of the ship that made the journey across the ocean over 200 years ago. Hard to believe in this day and age that almost 200 people would have lived on that tiny ship for weeks on end. It's actually not as big as it looks.

The wharf itself is really cute - it's a pity that the view across the Harbour is spoiled by the paper mill - there was talk when I was there that the mill is being shut down much to everyone's joy since the smell of the pulp is pretty potent some days. I didn't mind it too much which I suppose is a blessing.

Some of the town on hill up from the Harbour. The buildings in the foreground are mostly businesses with the homes sitting behind at the top of the hill.

I'll post some pictures of the beaches and the surrounding area next time. The colors ... spectacular and must be seen with your own eyes to believe.

Under One Roof

I have been lazy updating what with the puppies and all. Now that I am no longer employed I have OODLES of time to devote to this blog and various other pursuits such as raising puppies, packing and planning a cross country adventure.

My parents have been checking on the house for me for the last few weeks to make sure it's okay. So far so good.

The most pressing two things when I get there are a fence and the roof re-shingling ... oh and the appliances of which there are absolutely none. The most important of those is a fridge!

Must remember to call the company doing the roof to book a date this summer. I'm going to ask that they install a chimney vent so that I can put the woodstove of my dreams in the livingroom. The roof is in rough shape - it probably needed doing about 5 years ago.

Fortunately it shows little to no damage inside so it's a simple re-shingle. There was a section which had been repaired at some point where newer wood is evident but it was a good patch job and is holding up well.

Also, the back half needs a vent installed to allow the attic to breathe and prevent moisture build up. You can see where the lack of ventilation has caused this piece of wood to rot - it will get replaced and I'll put up fascia instead of painting it.

There is the overhang which I want to extend at some point to the edges of the deck but as it stands right now the wood braces just need replacing and a coat of white paint to match the rest of the trim.

In all the roof will be the most major repair made and I'm told will only take the roofers a couple days to do. A blessing when it comes to home renovations!

Bathroom Diva

This is the bathroom right now. Calm down.

The toilet has been 'sealed' to stop potential buyers from using the toilet since the water is off. Trust me - after working in construction for the last few years you DO have to tape it and seal it to stop people from ignoring the sign.

My big plan is to prime the crap out of that hideous pepto color and paint it a very soft blue. My current bathroom is a rubber ducky theme and I want to carry that through to the new house. I have purchased a large new mirror to go over the medicine cabinet, an over the toilet cabinet and I intend to eventually replace that teeny tiny pedestal sink with something more suitable for the space.

Ultimately the bathroom will be mostly white with soft blue walls and little duckies swimming everywhere. So cute.