News on the webcams

On friday, the trusted computer running the Cape Breton Living Webcams eventually went on the blink. Hopefully it's not something too complex, that it can be repaired and that I won't need to replace the whole system. I have temporarily fixed a new webcam shot from a different location and because of this change, I was only able to setup one camera instead of two cameras. The camera for now is pointing east and will be the only one showing on the website. Maybe later on, the west view camera will be back up and running for those who liked to check the sights of the beach and ocean. So keep coming back, there's always something new and always kept up to date!

Skating on the pond

Another great day for skating on the pond. The temperature is minus 8.6c and a bit of a breeze, which makes this a typical Canadian winter day... only without the 2 or 3 feet of snow we usually have on the ground by now. Well at least there's no need to do any shovelling before enjoying the ice!

Today's Photo of the Week

Today's Photo of the Week on the Cape Breton Living website is of a beautiful, serene scene view across a small pond in L'Ardoise. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago after a light snow covered the ground and everything else that sits above it. Today the pond is frozen and a great spot for the young ones (and mature ones too) to skate, in the open air. I was happy to see 3 or 4 kids out skating on the ice shooting a puck in a net they dragged onto the ice on the pond. They played until dark and came back again the next few days while the weather permits them to enjoy the ice and the great outdoors. Only a few days before, a few guys were out there on the ice, spearing for eels. Another great winter event for sure. The only problem with this, was the way they left most of the smooth clean ice surface with guck and black branches and wood that was raked from the bottom of the pond making it look like a war zone. Not only did it deface what might as well be our front yard, but the chance to do any skating there on that section of the pond a very difficult thing to do. I'm not sure if it was their plan to leave a corner of the pond for those who might want to enjoy a bit of skating, but I was glad to see the kids able to do so after all.

A walk to the shore

It's Friday morning, 4 celcius, sunny sky and no wind. As we finish our second cup of coffee, we set out for a walk to take in some fresh air and a stress free way to start the day. This time, instead of walking the road, we take the path that leads to the shore. Usually, after getting a few days of rain, the path floods around the edges of the ponds and makes it impossible to get through to the shore. The past few days have been beautifully warm and dry, so getting to the shore was achievable.

At the end of the path we get to a brook that runs into the ocean. It's too nice of a day to turn around, so we make our way down the beach. The tide is low, which makes it easy walking.

We walk the beach for about 5-10 minutes then head back. Once in a while, beach glass can be found in the sand and rocks. In this particular area, the beach glass is scarce, but lucky me, I did find two small brown pieces.

As we get back to the path, we have another 10 minutes or so of walking until we get back to the house.

Cape Breton paintings

A couple of commissioned paintings I have done in the last couple of months. The top one is of Little Harbour and the other one is of a sou'wester in Margaree Harbour.