kilted Crow

"Thaur waur nae roads in th' highlands tae spick ay until th' industrial revolution. th' few roads 'at existed afair 'en waur th' few military roads constructed by general george wade in th' early 1700s tae connect th' british army’s garrisons. onie travel therefair was by pony ur oan fit. wadin' ben th' damp bracken quickly soaks yer breeks an' withit a regular means ay dryin' yer clase yer health quickly suffers. in th' worst-case scenario, a braw leids tae pneumonia leids tae death. if thes happens afair ye breed th' next generation, it’s called ‘eugenics’ an' academic puff-buttocks write papers abit ye.

"Th' kilt offers a practical alternatife, as th' baur lower leg an' fit quickly dries. th' kilt was therefair a pragmatic solution tae a common problem. th' kilt, however, wisnae worn oan aw occasions. if breeks waur considered mair practical fur a particular activity 'en they waur worn withit hesitation. th' highlanders waur quite content tae “go abit bare-arsed in their shirt-tails” when an' if th' situation permitted!" *

All this and much more did I learn about kilts and Scottish history as Crow sipped a wee dram of an old single malt whisky from the Isles of Islay on a rainy Canada Day. We see a lot of kilts here in Nova Scotia at this time of the year but he was reminiscing about older times than ours. In centuries past he spent a long time in the Highlands with the Glengarry MacDonnell Clan, who still remember him in their crest and motto - The Rock of the Raven. As you well know, Crow still rocks.

It was fascinating to learn that there were no clan tartans as we know them now until the middle and late 1800s. Prior to that they were woven on standing looms of yarns plucked from goats and dyed with whatever natural colors could be found in an area. Only worn by people from the far north of Scotland, who recognized one another by the particulars of weave and color in their tartans, they became popular around the same time that Queen Victoria bought her castle in Balmoral. While her new holiday home was being rebuilt she gifted already rich landowners the crofts and small-holdings of many Highlanders. That's how it happened that so many Scots came to live in North America and the reason why this province has its name.

Anyway, it was too wet the other day to watch a parade so in between fits of laughter at Crow's perfect brogue I started a new picture of him with some friends. With any luck it will eventually become a half decent colored picture. We'll see what develops.

Meanwhile, if I hear this guy is planning a visit to Halifax for next year's parade I will definitely go whether it's raining or not. I think all the pipe bands should have instruments like his:



Happy celebrations wherever you are.
♡

* Thanks to Robert MacDonald, Kiltmaker, Vancouver BC

in the air

There are far too many pictures of snow right now so I thought I'd put up a favorite from warmer times and climes. You'll see why if you keep reading.

Having lived on the west coast of the US for seventeen years we've found it impossible to keep our windows completely closed even during the worst of winter in Nova Scotia. The funny thing is that depending on how wide open that is, and the general wind speed and direction, there's a very interesting mix of sound effects in our apartment. Even when there are no storms bearing down, this is a very windy place year round but especially so in winter. When the temperature is in minus numbers, whether Farenheit or Celcius, we seem to get the best tones with the windows barely cracked. Then they howl, shriek, moan, bellow, wail and clamor in between almost quiet moments when we hear only the tiniest whimpers of noise. Briefly things will be so peaceful you could almost hear a pin drop, or maybe use that respite to fall asleep if you're lucky. Now there's a blizzard blowing in and since it's likely we won't be able to go far tomorrow, we're thinking of an experiment. We'll open and almost close our windows to see if we can make them sing 'In The Good Old Summertime'. If it works out I'll post the song for you.

Meanwhile, I found this amazing movie from 1923. Gladys Ingle, a member of a barnstorming troupe called the 13 Black Cats in the 1920s, was a wing walker. In this film, she shows her fearlessness in classic barnstorming fashion to save an airplane that has lost one of its main wheels. Carrying a replacement wheel on her back she climbs onto the wing of the rescue plane while the soundtrack plays an old song called 'Up She Goes'.

Ingle transfers herself from the rescue plane to the one missing the main landing gear tire. She then expertly works herself down to the undercarriage only a few feet from a spinning propeller and fixes the new wheel in place. I rarely post these kinds of videos but this one was so neat I had to show you. Apparently, she went on to live to be 84 but I'm guessing she gave up this kind of activity when jets were invented.



Stay cozy.
♡

it's a what?

'What the hell was that?' came to both our lips this morning as we walked alongside the Eastern Passage part of our park walk. What we'd both seen was a group of large seabirds diving head first into the deep channel from high in the air. Even to a city girl like me it was obvious they were out there fishing and that these were no ordinary seagulls. Seagulls will skim the waves or sometimes dive like ducks from the surface but you never see them do anything so rash as powering straight down like WWII kamikazes. Although the flock wasn't as large as this one, the birds provided enough entertainment that we sat on a rock and watched them until they flew further out to sea. Once I got home it didn't take much google time to discover they were gannets - white birds with yellow heads, black wing tips, and an eighty inch wingspan. They aren't seen around here very often but they do nest in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Although Halifax really isn't a very big city when compared to places like Toronto, Boston, or London, in these parts it's the biggest urban area to be found for hundreds of miles (or kilometers as many people here describe distance). In the US you can go for long road trips through some pretty desolate reaches but so long as you stay on the main highways you know there'll be one of those food and fuel signs not too far away. That's not at all necessarily true on this side of the border. Canada is huge and only very well populated close to its southern edge. Things can get pretty wild once you venture away from the populous areas.

Our unexpected sight of gannets made me think again just how neat it would be to visit Newfoundland and Labrador. Up to now we haven't made any trips out of town that didn't allow us time enough to get home by the end of the day. Once we've moved (in just about a month) and settled in, perhaps we'll plan that trip for next summer. Apparently it takes 5 hours to drive from here to North Sydney on Cape Breton Island. Goodness knows it would be tempting enough to stay there for a while but the plan would be to go to Newfoundland - a six hour ferry ride to Argentia on the eastern shore. From there I haven't yet begun to imagine - never mind plan but thousands of gannets and kiitiwakes nest at a place called Cape St. Mary. Viewing the birds requires standing at the edge of a cliff (the local rule is to beware of fog and slippery grass) where you can watch them flying back and forth from their 300 foot tall nesting rock.

It sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? Yet on a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to hiking and camping, we'd be at level minus 1. Walking is good - hiking requires much extra effort. At least we know that much. Then there's that ferry:



If you're interested in seeing a 10 minute video I found made by someone who spent two weeks traveling in Newfoundland you can see it here (it picks up after the first 90 sec). Ever since I read the book 'Shipping News' by E. Annie Proulx I've wanted to see the place myself. The movie got worse reviews than it deserved but watching it is still a pleasant way to spend a few hours.

When we go I hope Crow will be here to accompany us. He'd love cliff diving. Me, not so much.

Are there any places you dream of seeing?
♡

a better summer beach

Summer days are long and the computer box gets very warm in my lap - a condition I'm sure is no good for either of us. My preferred pool is about 30 miles away at a place called Crystal Crescent Provincial Park where we wandered to one Sunday morning quite recently. The funny thing is that we drove and drove going from one small road to another through charming unspoiled landscapes and seaside villages only to find ourselves on a narrow winding track that was paved by gravel. Sure that we'd found a secret getaway, since there'd been nobody in front of or behind us for miles, we were startled to find about a thousand cars in the first big parking lot with more stopped by the ditches. We traveled onwards and found a second lot a few hundred yards further along where the road simply ended. We got out and started walking to see sights like these. I'd decided not to take my camera because I wanted to play in the water but was sorry not to have it once we arrived so I 'borrowed' these. Scale is hard to show without references but there's more white sand than you can see here and the granite bedrock is colossal. If CR, Marja-Leena, or Randal reads this please note the area is in serious need of good photographers.

Happily we'd already passed the busiest beach so walking through the surf was pretty much as you'd imagine. The water may have been icy but it felt delicious and the sand was only littered by more sand and a few deceased crustaceans. I should mention the seagulls were some of the biggest and most contented looking I've seen.

We climbed the gorse covered slopes and along the granite outcrops that overlook the sea and sat for a while just watching and listening. I loved it but next time we go it will not be on a bright and sunny weekend day. Strangely enough, every little beach we've seen around here has lifeguards on duty but Crystal Crescent has none. Perhaps it's because the water is too cold for swimming 11.5 months of the year. The park is huge, much larger than expected, so next time we go we'll be prepared for a long hike around the perimeter.

One thing I didn't mention is there's a nudist beach further along the shore that we didn't hike to but I did see their list of rules:
'No walking to and from your car without clothing'
'No taking of photographs'
'Keep a respectful distance from other naturists'

Still being occasionally infantile, despite our advanced age, we couldn't help but make up more rules on the way back to the car. Every time I fell over laughing I found a few wild raspberries. Life is good.

Meanwhile, here at home a few days ago I went off looking for one thing and found something even better. Overtime is an amazing piece of work that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I did. All I know about it is that Oury Atlan is a French CGI specialist who currently lives and works in LA. I have a feeling Jim Henson would be touched by this film.


Overtime from ouryatlan on Vimeo.


I hope your favorite beach is closer.



♡

a sunny day at the beach

It's mid-summer for those of us who live in northern latitudes but we always have a tendency to imagine or anticipate the opposite. This magnificent picture I found is what it looks like around here on a typical day six months from now. I know I'm supposed to be enjoying what I have and considering we experienced five very warm days followed by three wet, cold and rainy ones that other season is bound to prey on the back of my mind.

Last winter was cold and the wind knows how to blow hard in my new Maritime province. I like to walk so worst of all was having a bad coat - a raincoat with a light lining I wore in Portland suited me well there and was roomy enough to cover one of my office ready jackets. That turned out to be a lucky thing because by December last year I was wearing an undershirt, a turtleneck, a sweater, and an old fleece warmer under the coat to keep me cozy in sub-zero blasts on the nastiest days. I'm talking layers on layers. To add insult to injury that coat has lapels that would blow up and flap my cheeks as I walked so I was forced to hold them down. Now I know why northerners have rosy cheeks - it's because they constantly get slapped by flying bits of their clothing.

Anyway, I'd been keeping my eye out for a coat. I hate shopping and rarely buy anything other than replacements for what I prefer wearing but I'd been dreading another winter wearing that one. We walked past a shop downtown that had coats that looked just right and the sign in the window said 50% off. Naturally, that was a lie unless I was in the market for sundresses and t-shirts. The coat was expensive. It was also beautiful and guaranteed to be warm and weatherproof. It's the same kind of coat worn by the RCMP and the postal carriers. It has a coyote fur trim around the hood and even though I was assured the coyote was pleased to donate his pelt I was glad to see I can remove it so no one will ever know I participated in the fur market - even if it is the Canadian fur market and all the money goes to needy First Nations people. That's what Native Americans are called here.

So now I'm hoping all goes well with the immigration news because it appears I've made a commitment. I'm pretty sure I'd have little use for a Canada Goose Kensington coat in southern California, Virginia or the West Indies - my other choices for a nice place to spend winter.

Now let's get back to enjoying summer while it lasts.
♡

the studio 2011

I've been tempted several times in the past few days to show you the current Crow portrait through it's drawing and inking stages but I'd rather save showing it until it's finished. Likely as that is to be a few more days I thought I'd show you this year's version of my workspace. Tiny, isn't it?

With the exception of a block of standing shelves to the left and slightly behind where the scanner, more paints, inks, and other supplies wait close to hand my studio occupies a corner of our living room on the wall furthest from the west facing windows. It's not ideal but there's a natural light artist's lamp that lights the work well enough throughout our frequent overcast days. There's another lamp I can use as required but no space to leave it permanently. My portfolios are under the left side of the table leaning against the wall and behind my saddle stool are the sketchbooks, two boxes filled with silk painting supplies I'm loathe to unpack, and a tall but narrow chest of drawers that holds peripherals.

Stretcher frames, sewing machine, boxes filled with silk and fancy fabrics live down the back hall where we luckily have some enormous closets. The framed artworks we brought with us are also still in their professional moving cartons in one of those closets. After eight months in Halifax we continue to wait for news from the Canadian government that my husband will be welcome to stay. Immigration allows itself almost a year to complete its review and in the meanwhile we'll remain where we are. Why add confusion to a complicated process?

I still feel like an ex-pat American far from home. Nova Scotia is a quirky place but the world is full of them and it's friends who make a place comfortable. You all help a lot with that.

My paper should be dry again now and Crow is calling.

♡

more walking in Halifax

Yesterday, the last of May, we awoke to clear skies, green grass, trees in new leaf, flowers, and little zephyrs of warm breeze all conspiring to coax us into the great outdoors. Of all our favorite places to walk in Halifax the best by far is the semi-wild and lovely Point Pleasant Park. Here are some highlights from that two hour stroll.

The main entrance is right next to the port so the first thing seen is a wall of huge containers which may or may not be empty. Although it would be fun to cut some windows and doors and move in, the idea of finding ourselves on the back end of a train heading to Medicine Hat is too much of a risk. Winters are already cold enough in the maritimes without venturing to northern Alberta.

As we walked up the first long path I turned around and photographed the previous hundred yards. I don't know why the tree was cut down during the winter but I can tell you the stump carved into a chair is best not sat upon as it's quite juicy with sticky pine sap.

Speaking of pines, this next picture is typical of the very tall ones that grace the hilltop. What seems to happen is the taller they grow the more savaged they are by the winter storms that blow in. There are many completely stripped of boughs and bark that stand silvering in the sun.

These are some of the paths where I planted the sunflowers last month. There wasn't much growing at the time but I have a feeling now my project may have been in vain. Tall flowers, small flowers, flowering bushes, young trees, old trees, all interspersed with happy beach grass means the suns may have a problem. Still, they're pretty strong too so some may survive.

Along paths similar we eventually arrived at the waterside that overlooks the south shore. I have to mention this park is doggie heaven as most of it is leash optional. Over to the left of us when I took this picture a spaniel was out in the water trying to catch an otter while his owners laughed. The photo I took just showed a tiny dot that was the dog's head and an invisible otter. All the rest was water..

This is just to show you how much water. It's a bit like looking over the edge of the world.

There's a huge grassy area where people fly kites, picnic, lie in the sun or sit on benches watching the sea. The WWII gun post is decomposing fast so can't be approached unless you feel like going out for a wade to get a closer look.

Here's one of our seaside home possibilities.

Lastly, I couldn't resist this shot of a grandfather and his grandson watching the crane boats preparing to unload a big ship that was on its way in.

I hope I haven't bored you too much with this one. I promise next time I'll take pictures of the shopping malls the local government keeps far from the view of tourists arriving to explore historic Halifax.

Hope you're enjoying sunny days and your favorite beverages.
☀