Day 111 - 20th April 2012 - Sunrises and the Lake

Temperatures are still pretty good this morning at +4.2. I certainly got my quiet time as I woke up at 4am. It's been a while since I've done that so I can live with it every now and then. Again we have made it to Friday. Where does the week go? Suppose to be another fine day then we will be plagued with the much needed rain for a few days. Just too bad it'll happen on the weekend. So, if that's the case I'll put off the bulk of the inside work until Sunday and do some outside stuff today. Maybe Lexi and I will just have a fun day, who know! Not sure how much weeding I can do today, my right thumb is somewhat swelled and throbbing, and I think it's related to that pulling motion. Why do weeds and grass have such long roots?? I'm not whinning about it, just stating a fact, and not going to let it get the better of me.......suck it up Princess, right?

Yesterday was another fantastic day! Sun came out - a little slow mind you, but the temperature went up to +21 in the afternoon. I read through another chapter of Water Street in the morning, went through my folders of photos, did some dreaded housework, made muffins and before lunch was ready to head out the door to my weed gardens! And I'm making headway with those, I think I've now got room for the bulbs I've ordered from Vessey's which I hope will soon be here. Did I mention that I hauled myself down to the lake through the neighbour's backyard in my pj's at 6:20am and took some photos of the sun rising? Best of all I didn't get caught. I'm considering sending out a bulk email or flyer notifying the neighbours not to call the RCMP, send out their dogs or get out their guns if they see a strange woman lurking around their yards at odd hours of the day/night. After lunch Lexi and I walked over and had tea with Lois on her deck. Lexi of course had a few dog treats, she loves Lois and I don't think it's just for the treats.  It was a beautiful afternoon, quiet and serene sitting in the sun.

Early this morning - Panorma view

The colors in the sky were soft pinks and blues. Sunrises are like classical music you have Swan Lake, pretty tame and soft or starts of quietly and becomes more intense like In the Hall of the Mountain King [one of my favourite pieces, by Edvard Grieg].

The pink  from the sky reflects in the water.

I took quite a few pics this morning, but had to make it worth my while in case I ended up in jail!

Later in the morning........ you can see the rock way from island to island now.

The sky is blue with just a bit of cloud.

I like the way the sun sparkles on the lake, just a little of natures bling!

A little reddish tip on the tulip.

As the afternoon went on, it opened a little bit more.

Lexi enjoys wading in the lake. Something has caught her attention. She's always on the alert.

This was a fun pic, I was laying on the dock and she came over sticking her tongue out at me!  Once I got home of course I picked a tick off me, with the warmer weather comes the bugs.

Day 110 - 19th April 2012 - Old Buildings, Birds and Blooms

Another mild morning, temperature is +5.2. So I got up 45 minutes earlier than the rest of the house just to have my first cup of coffee in peace and a bit of quiet time. Yes I am truly a morning person, but I like a little bit of that on my own. I like getting up early, enjoying watching the sun rise. I'm sure as a teenager I never had to be woken up to go to school or work, and I've rarely used an alarm clock. Larry always sets one, but I don't often hear it ring. That little time in the morning allows me to put my thoughts together, plan out my day and enjoy my coffee.

What a beautiful day yesterday was and where was I - in town! Oh well I did accomplish quite a bit, more in the cleaning and organizing department than anything but needed to be done. And I opened the windows to let a little of the fresh air in. Nothing like it after a stuffy winter. Had my normal lunch at the Bean Dock, and didn't even have to work for it....... yes some days I actually work lunch time when it's busy. It's rather fun since it's not my business! Occasionally it confuses people who have been doing research at my office and then go there for lunch. A couple of years ago someone asked me if I had a twin sister. I just laughed and said yes, but should have replied "do you think we wear matching outfits at our age?" Took a few photos in town this morning.

The blue building is the Masonic Building on Water Street. It's a lovely old building. The Masons use the 2nd floor and the ground floor is normally rented out to other businesses. The Masons are an organization that have been here since the time of the Loyalists in 1783. At that time they didn't have a formal building but still met on a regular basis.  The yellow building was the former Robertson's Home Hardware. Originally built in the early 1900's by Cliff Robertson who was a tinsmith and several of his brothers. Cliff had the tin shop on the second floor, brother Stan [my great grandfather] had a shoe store and Cliff's hardware on the ground floor.  Cliff's son continued the hardware business for many years.

Went for a walk after supper. I'm getting a little concerned about our power pole and this little feathered friend. When I looked at him the first time all I could see was the tip of his tail sticking out of the hole, the rest of his body was in side and he was drilling away!

Found some ducks in the lake.

And another pair.

The lake was nicer last evening, no grey fog, just lots of shades of blue.

Rather pretty with white petals and a yellow cup. Then my camera batteries died and I headed for home. I can hear the peepers peeping away, the loons were in the lake talking up a storm. Spring has officially arrived in my mind. The days are warm and getting warmer.

I guess it's time to get the day underway, Larry and Lexi are mobile, quiet time is over. Enjoy your day!

Day 109 - 18th April 2012 - A Day of Fog!

The temperature remains mild for early mornings at +7.1. It was one of those mornings that my brain was telling me, just another half hour in bed which is unusual for me, must have been all that work I did yesterday. Of course today is Wednesday and I'm off to town, but the sun is rising in beautiful reddish hues over the lake and I don't have time to go skipping through the neighbour's yards this morning. I guess there won't be much fog today, figures!
It was a foggy day on the lake yesterday. The temperature was up +19 but it remained hazy and dismal. Wonder what happen to the sun that the weather man promised. I made great strides in the work department this morning - four rooms cleaned, some office stuff, lots of laundry and turned the mattress [oh my back!]. Lexi and I went for a walk on the path through the woods. When I got to the lake, I could hear the Loons but they were too far off, no ducks today. But  a Canada Goose flew by, close enough for a photo if I had been on my toes! In the afternoon we spent some time out weeding one of the flower beds. Am making some headway there too. Need to have room for some new bulbs I have coming.

Some of the islands in the lake were suppose to have been used by the Mi'kmaq many years ago. They travelled along the water ways - streams, rivers and lakes. I think they wintered in the woods and summered along the shores of the sea.






Lexi checking out the lake from the dock.

Near shore, we will soon be able to walk to this little piece of rock island.

 

A spot of foam along the beach.

The foam along the lake is alot tamer than that on the ocean. The beach is showing, early this year.

My new tulips will soon be in bloom. This is one of the bulbs I planted last fall and it kept trying to break through most of the winter.

The Solomon's Seal is poking up through the ground, they will be in bloom before you know it!

Sorry but no birds today and not a lot of color. I am getting use to sharing my mornings with the rest of the household, can't say I like it much but oh well, that's life!

Enjoy your day!

Day 108 - 17th April 2012 - Blooms, Blooms and More Blooms

Can't believe the temperature this morning it's +10.1, now that's warm at 5:30am. Today is an adjustment day, I no longer have my quiet time in the morning since Larry is back to work and everyone is up so I'm a bit out of whack to say the least. I rather enjoy that time in the morning when no one else is around. Lexi was out of sorts this morning, as the paper doesn't come quite that early and she looks forward to bringing it in first thing in the morning. It did come around 6am so out she went for it again. It will take us a day or two to get back in to the swing of working days. But that's ok, before you know it all will be smooth running again!

Yesterday was another beautiful day, took a long time for the fog to burn off and get there but by afternoon it was +22.8 with the sun just beating down! I spent most of the morning reading through a couple of chapters of our upcoming Water Street publication before Karen fired me as co-author or editor. I also need to start getting photos put together for this. Photos are my favourite part, love trying to dig out old ones that people either haven't seen or it's been a long time since they've been around the public. It's a lot of work layout out a book, getting things just where you want them - page breaks, photos, etc. but it's the part I like the best. I made a batch of cookies after lunch then did some more weeding in the flower beds - or I tried to figure out what where weeds and what were plants. It's been quite a while since I've found time to really dig in the dirt so they have run a muck! 

I went for a walk before lunch. The path through the woods was really quiet, not a bird singing nothing, the lake was empty of ducks and still a bit foggy.

The Forsythia is pretty, bright yellow like the daffodils and sunshine.

The Lungwort is in full bloom now, even though there's been some odd blooms over the last few months.

Another guard kitty, not sure what he's going to pounce on, guess that squirrel better not mess with him.

This are the tiniest daffodils I've ever seen. Hard to tell from the photo but take my word for it, miniature versions.

The purple and white wood hyacinths are now in full bloom and it looks like the one in the foreground will be pinkish.

I found these little beauties in my yard this morning.  The small flowers always amaze me - all of a sudden they are in bloom and you don't even see buds most of the time. I think they are Scillia.

Wild violets on my front lawn. I'll be glad when some bigger flowers come in bloom, I seem to be spending a lot of time crawling on my stomach over the ground. It's really the only way to get up close and personal with small flowers!

If today turns out anything like yesterday I may have to find a pair of  shorts to wear while I'm out doing my weeding. Might as well take advantage of that sun while it's there!

Enjoy your day!

Day 107 - 16th April 2012 - Squirrel, Cat and a Water Bug

The temperature is way up there this morning at +7.2. It's very foggy/hazy looking so I don't expect brilliant colors over the lake this morning as the sun rises. That fog will disappear soon enough and it will be warm and sunny again I'm sure. But I guess those of you who are back to work this morning don't want to hear that. I'm on my last week at home, so need to finish up some spring cleaning, etc.

You could not have asked for a nicer day than yesterday, in the afternoon the temperature rose to +26.3! It was a quiet day in the country, a walk and some work inside and out. We got knobs and drawer pulls for the kitchen so Larry put those on. The only thing left in the kitchen is the floor and later this summer we will order a new counter top for the rest of the old cupboards. And I want some stools for around the new cupboard. Another room done, I wonder how many more to go....... too many to count! The swallows arrived last week, there were several sightings. They will be busily building nests, black flies and mosquitoes won't be far behind!  So this is what I found around the neighbourhood yesterday -

I think we can say that the pussywillows are official done for the season!

They do look kind of cool as they are going to seed, almost like a pincushion full of stick pins.

A few bubbles on the lake.

A sign of spring - water bug skipping across the water.

The lake is summertime low.

This was one sassy little fellow!

And when we looked down this was the reason. Kitty was guarding the bird feeder and Mr. Squirrel couldn't rob it.

Most of the daffodils in my rose bush are in bloom now, a burst of yellow like sunshine!

Enjoy your day!

Day 106 - 15th April 2012 - A very quick trip around Cape Sable Island

The temperature is really mild this morning at +5.0. The sun rose without me this morning, I must be  getting lazy but it was nice to sleep til 6:30. My brain must be clear of conflict these days and not racing all night. It's a good feeling and has been a long time. It's kind of cloudy this morning but I'm sure that will clear later.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, lots of sunshine! We went to Barrington to do our grocery shopping, what a joy to get everything on my list and not come home with a purse full of rainchecks. Then we took a drive to Cape Sable Island. Should have done this first since I had frozen food, etc so we didn't spend a lot of time, but we did stop at Clam Point and the Hawk Beach. So as usual when I hit the beaches I have way too many photos even if it's a short run, so enjoy:

A Panorama view I took at Clam Point.

They have a great little place to park with a gazebo at Clam Point, where you can enjoy the ocean view.

Love the colors of the ocean, various shades of blue and green.

A Seagull tip toes across the beach.

The Hawk Beach was a great spot and worth exploring again.

The sun was glistening on the rocks and water.

Lots of kelp, shells and stuff along the beach.

Just a blur of water as it splashes up.

I understand that the Hawk area is a great place for bird watchers. The water and sky were beautiful today.

A Panorama View at the Hawk Beach, oh yes that's Larry hiding among the rocks with his camera.

I snuck a shot of Larry while he was shooting something else!

Traps littered the beach rocks.  We headed back to the truck, didn't want to keep Larry out too long, even though the sun was out there was a bit of a chill in the air on the beach.

Stopped in to Clyde River for a couple of fish burgers for the ride home, it was way past lunch time and we were both getting rather hungry. Next time we'll take photos first shop second. There are lots of places to explore and take photos on Cape Sable Island so we will make a return trip in a few weeks. All in all a great day.

Time for that second cup of coffee and get my day going!

Enjoy your day.