January's Photos



From the Cape Breton Living website

As some of you might already know, every Friday a new scenic photo of our beautiful island is posted on the site. If you’re wondering and would like to check this out, you can find them on the Photo of the Week page of the Cape Breton Living website. This January 2014, we ended up with an extra Friday, which means instead of 4 photos for the month, we ended up with a bonus one making it five scenic photos for January.

The first photo below is of the first sunrise taken on January 1^st, 2014. Thankfully we were blessed with a clear wintry sky and only a few fluffy white clouds. The next four week’s photos, we seem to have a theme consisting of snow covered roof tops…

 

January 3, 2014

L'Ardoise - First sunrise of 2014

Where my Father Was Standing

Photo of the Week September 27, 2013

The Cape Breton Living Photo of the Week for September 27, 2013 is of where my father might have been standing when he was in Cape Breton back in 1942-43 during WW2. All I know is that he came over from Mulgrave on the ferry to Port Hawkesbury for a visit and that the photo was taken nearby where the ferry came in with the automobiles. As the years went by and with the opening of the Canso Causeway, the area has changed, like the background and along the railroad tracks. Looking at the photo (Photo of the Week photo), I’m thinking that the old photo might have been taken further south along the train tracks with maybe Point Tupper in the background? The next photo is where I think might be the right place.

Another photo from the same visit is of him posing in front of a large sign saying “PORT HAWKESBURY WELCOMES YOU TO CAPE BRETON ISLAND”.  This sign was set in front of the Baptist Church on Granville Street for the tourists arriving on the island by the automobile ferries until the opening of the Canso Causeway on May 20th, 1955.  

Soon after this day visit, my father returned home to Aylmer Quebec to later get married and raise a family in Ottawa. Looking back, I know my father never knew that decades later he would come back to this lovely island to visit a daughter of his who met and married a Cape Bretoner and later made this island her home…

Road Trip - Cabot Trail

Every summer, usually sometime in August, there is one thing that’s on my to-do list and that is to go on a road trip around the Cabot Trail. The past 4-5 years we would rent a van so that the whole family could make the trek together, all of us in one vehicle. This year however, we had less people tagging along, so our trusting Nissan Sentra was able to take the four of us around the Trail. Before heading out, we checked the weather updates, got ourselves ready, packed a lunch and with our cameras fully charged we managed to leave the house by 8:00am. First stop was The Country Kitchen Restaurant in Port Hastings for a hearty breakfast to keep us going until lunch.  Leaving the restaurant, we got on the Trans-Canada Highway 105 and stopped in at The Red Barn Gift Shop then onto the Cabot Trail through the Margarees. Along the way we stopped every so often to stretch our legs and admire the beauty that was surrounding us. The wind was crazy that day and the waves were crashing on the shores with a loud roar sounding like thunder. It felt very refreshing (without actually having to go in)! I couldn’t pass through Chéticamp without stopping at Le Petit Chady Convenience store to say hello and meet in person a fellow Instagrammer.  It was such a pleasure to meet her, I could have spent all morning chatting.  Carl, Julie and Maeghan were back at the car ready to continue on, so Denise’s daughter took a quick snapshot of the two of us before I ran off back to the car. Soon after leaving Chéticamp, we enter the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and drove along the coastline to the MacIntosh Brook Park for lunch. We spent a little over half an hour in the picnic area where we found and set up a picnic table to eat our lunch and then spent a few minutes down by the brook before getting back in the car to head for the Beulach Ban Falls then Meat Cove and Bay St Lawrence.  By the time we arrived at the Englishtown Ferry it was 7pm. There we only had a couple of minutes wait time before getting on the ferry and it takes a couple of minutes to cross St Anns Bay. Coming off the ferry we headed for Sydney where we had a bite to eat then onto the old Highway 4 to home. So here we are at the end of another great day spent with wonderful people and being so thankful for living in such a beautiful place… 

A Day of Yard Sales

Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast and a few cups of coffee, I suggested to everyone that we all go visit some of the local yard sales. I didn’t expect much of a  reaction, since everyone was still in a laid-back and relaxed mode in their lounging clothes and sipping on their second or third cup of coffee. So to my amazement, they all thought it was a great idea and in no time, we were out the door with a list of yard sales from St Peter’s to River Bourgeois to Arichat.  It was a perfect day for doing just that, the weather forecast called for sun and cloud with temperatures of around 20 Celsius. By the end of the day (or late afternoon), we did find a couple of interesting things, like some old records, a glass vase, a book, a couple of photo frames, cereal bowls , a 1970’s syrup pitcher and free magazines.  We managed to see most of the yard sales on our list except for one, which either didn’t set-up for the day or we were just too late. By that time, we were ready to head back home anyway.  On the way back we stopped at the Cottage Bakery and picked up some fresh rolls then for an ice cream at Jiggs Take-out  in St Peter’s. A delightful way to end the day!  

I was really hoping to get to more yard sales and flea markets over the summer months. Time passed by so quickly, I must say that I’m glad we all decided to get up and go on such short notice!  Summer is not quite over yet and I think fall is still a good time for flea markets, so there might still be a chance for a bit of  treasure hunting. 

 

From Kazabazua to Nova Scotia

 

Picking blueberries has always been something we did in the summer. My first memories are from when I was a young girl and spending summer vacations at my aunt's cottage in Kazabazua, Quebec.

 

Left photo: Me (bottom row left), my sister (second from the right) with brothers and cousins.

Top right photo: Me with my Dad / Bottom right photo: Me with my brother Guy

 

 

I can't really say that I particularly liked picking blueberries when I was a kid, but looking back now, the memories that I have of those days are some of the most cherished ones. So now, years later and 1,500 kilometers away I  go and pick blueberries in the fields around my home on Cape Breton Island. Every summer, my younger sister Julie (with her awesome kids) spends her vacation here with me where we pick blueberries and we remember when life was simple. Maybe that's why these days, I don't mind the time spent in a field of blueberries... 

 

Today on the Cams

 

 

 

 

After a week-end of snow, freezing rain, rain, high wind and fluctuating temperatures it is nice to see the sun trying to warm up and brighten our day.  Today's forecast from Environment Canada for L'Ardoise calls for a mix of sun and cloud with 60 percent chance of flurries this morning. Becoming clear late this afternoon. Wind west 40 km/h gusting to 70. Temperature steady near minus 9.

 

If you're ever wondering about the weather on Cape Breton Island, check out the Cape Breton Living website where you can view other webcams across  the island. Keep warm and those that need to travel the roads, please practice safe driving!


Shortbread cookies

Yesterday was a day that the wind was cold and the sun was just a dim glow in a dark sky. After a short walk down the road to the ballfield and back, it felt like a good day to do a bit of holiday baking before the kids come home for Christmas. There's still so much to do, but it just wouldn't feel like Christmas without

Look who wants (to come) out of the closet!

Look who wants out of the closet... yes the time has come again, when about half of what fills my upstairs closet comes out and comes back to life in every room of the house. On Sunday December 2, 2012 with the  Christmas Daddies Telethon playing on CTV in the background, will be a good time to start the decorating. So until then (only a couple of weeks away), the magic of the Holiday Season will remain undisturbed in the closet...

Dear Photograph

Dear Photograph,

Back in the days when the lawn didn’t get mowed and time was moving slowly, we would just sit in the tall grass, full of clover enjoying the Nova Scotia breeze. Fifty years later, that same young lad is now mowing the same lawn that once brought him and I so much pleasure, just from sitting there, relaxed and carefree, among all the clover.

My "picture of a picture of the past in the present" was selected on July 8, 2012. You can check it out, among all the other archived pictures on the Dear Photograph website: http://dearphotograph.com/
Love this idea!

There is also Dear Photograph the Book, a visual treat of 256-pages, that would sit nicely on  any coffee table. It's been available since May 2012.

Cape Breton - 33 Highway Photos

I have gathered some of my photos, the ones that were taken from the highways across Cape Breton during summer months where the grass is green and the weather is warm. If you are somewhat familiar with the island, you'll most likely know the location of each photo. If you're not familiar with the island, this is a quick trip around, enough to get a feel of Cape Breton Island while driving through on some of the main highways. Of course it doesn't cover all of the spectacular drives and sights, but another post of Autumn Highway Pics might be in the making. For now I hope you enjoy this drive across Cape Breton Island via The Canso Causeway, Route 19, The

Photo of the Week milestone

A photo a week for 10 years!

It was one Friday in November 2001 when the idea of sharing one photo a week of Cape Breton Island came to mind. Everywhere I went, I always carried my camera and everywhere you look there's a picture perfect occasion to capture a slice of Nova Scotia's Masterpiece, Cape Breton Island.