Love Story

While another storm blew across the island we cozied up in the house. The most giving moments we live and experience in our own home, in our own surroundings.

Dixie plays a major role in my well-being and I savour the moments of interaction.

The photos taken by Bea the other day show just a few of those wonderful moments and words are not necessary.

  

And what you see above is Dixie’s new bed. I made it off 2 headboards I had sitting around in our basement. We are now looking to buy a fitting mattress for it. Until that we filled it with blankets. It took a few days until she accepted it as her new cozy spot.

I recommend to look at what Bea wrote about this. Her captions are extremely entertaining. LOL.  http://gosidewalk.blogspot.com/2018/11/couch-time-is-over.html

Oh So Pretty, But So Much Work!

Dixie is really enjoying the snow, and let me tell you, we got a whole load of it. This morning we woke up to 4inches, spread evenly on the grounds. Luckily we did not get a major wind with it, so no snow drifts. Our vehicles were only white heaps in our driveway and of course, that damn snow plow had created the usual barrier down at the road. Good thing it wasn’t frozen yet.

After shoveling our 80ft of driveway I went down to the wharf and shoveled 600ft of our floats. I needed a break after that and we had lunch.

It is only under the most extreme weather conditions that we will drop the dog walks. And this snow doesn’t qualify. So off we went in the early afternoon. Down to Herring Cove and then up into the campground where we could enjoy the beautiful makings of winter. The tree branches were heavily loaded and many were hanging low across the trail. The going wasn’t so easy for me, heavy boots and all, but Dixie raced ahead and really had a ball.

   

We Got Some Snow And Dixie Loves It

After trying over and over again I found that the Open Live Writer application again works with Windows 10. What a relief, being able to write my blog postings offline. Finally, I can format and place pictures where ever I want, then doing the upload.

Weather has been full of surprises lately. After lots of rain and wind it got colder and rain turned to snow. Yesterday it snowed most all day and with the wind still blowing it was not a day for being on the road. So we stayed put.

Except that Dixie needed her exercise. So I drove over to the Provincial Park and we had a walk in the forest. The fresh snow looked beautiful, but we were both getting wet. However, Dixie was going totally bonkers in the fresh snow. She was racing around like a bullet.

   

Today we woke up to utterly blue skies and after breakfast Dixie and I went back to the forest trail. The sunlight was making this forest into a fairy-land with snow crystals reflecting the light. There is something so incredibly peaceful over a wintry forest.

Thoughts were wandering into early childhood days when winter always was a great time for sledding and playing outside.

Ah, those memories….

Afterwards we went down to the beach and the bright sunshine was so intense that I could feel the warming rays in my face.

Just A Joke

An American had passed away and when standing at the Pearly Gates facing St.Peter he saw thousands of clocks on the walls. "What are all those clocks for over there? he asked. St. Peter replied "Those are lying clocks. Every one has a clock here and when ever a lie is done the hands will move. That clock over there is Mother Theresa's clock. It never moved as she always told the truth, and that one there is George Washington's clock. It moved twice as he lied only twice in his life."
" Where is President Trump's clock? the man asked. 
"It is in Jesus' room. He uses it as a ceiling fan!

November Walk

Temperatures have been dropping fast. Ever since the middle of October we have had very strong winds, and doesn't seem to be letting up. 
But as dog owners we have this obligation to take Dixie out every day. You can imgaine that a young 76-pound dog will start to bounbce off teh walls, developing destructive behavior if it doesn't get enough exercise. So we get a lot of that exercise as well. In fact, I have never been walking so much in my entire life. So much and on a regular basis. But we feel rewarded by Dixie developing into a real quiet and content dog.

On Campobello Island we have miles and miles of hiking trails. They can mostly be found in the two parks, the Roosevelt Campobello International park and the Herring Cove Provincial Park. Together they have in excess of 4000 acres of forested area.

The Provincial Park is closest to our home and not even 2km to drive to. So twice a day we load Dixie into the dog-mobile (aka: former ambulance) and off we go on another hike. Of course, with all that wind, trees are now bare of all leaves. But that is OK, the forest is now less dark and sunlight filters through the trees, converting mossy grounds into a fairy-like landscape. 

It really reminds of my imagination I had when I was a child. I have always been glad in the woods. And now, I feel my batteries being recharged every time. We let Dixie run off-leash. With tourists gone, other hikers are now extremely rare. 

                       Dixie digging out a mouse?

Dixie is a really good girl and mostly stays in sight of us. She is not a hunting dog, but would protect us from any suspicious occurrence along the trail. The other day we were crossing a tiny stream when she saw a ball of foam down below the bridge. It was water foam. See following explanation:

What causes foam to appear on rivers, lakes and streams?

As with most liquids, water molecules are normally attracted to each other. This attraction creates tension at the surface of the water, often referred to as a thin "skin," which allows some insects to glide across it.

When leaves, twigs or other organic substances fall into water and begin decaying, they release compounds known as surfacants.
This interaction breaks the surface tension, which in turn allows air to more easily mix with water and creates bubbles. These bubbles congregate as natural foam.
However, not all foam is natural. Certain man-made products, including detergents, can cause foam that is similar in appearance, but may be harmful to fish and other aquatic life.

Seeing that white foam ball Dixie is jumping from one side of the creek to the other growling at it. It was just too funny to watch.

     

Today's walk led us down a narrow trail where we discovered two old man-made water ponds. An old fence line separating them from the trail. We wondered why they were built and what the purpose might have been, far from any habitation. 

They were too small for being fish ponds. There was no surface water inlet, but we did see an old grown-over outlet.

We do know that ice blocks were produced in some areas on the island. Ice blocks were used in ice-houses which served as fridges over the summer. One of these ice houses still exist in the Roosevelt Park. Could these small ponds have been used for cutting ice? The area is full of history and hidden away secrets.

Today's hike took a little more than one hour. It is satisfying to see Dixie resting afterwards. While she fell asleep we enjoyed a piece of my home-made Black Forest Cake. And that's how we spent Veteran's Day.

The People Have Spoken His Power Is Broken

Congratulations to all our American friends! Democrats just won back the house of representatives. The criminal president has been stripped of most his power. It is a great victory for all minorities, who have been under a huge emotional (and physical) pressure from the vile regime of the GOP. The new house majority will prevent further damage to the democracy and may even reverse some of the crazy decisions inflicted by the president and the GOP.

Up here, just north of the border, our American flag is flying again, signifying our hope that common sense will prevail at the end.

America must overcome its divisions and heal from the last 2 years of illness.

It Was A Tad Windy Last Night

Autumn is the time for strong winds. And we sure got a good taste of it last night. Wind speeds reached over 100km/h in gusts. We slept through the night without any disturbance, yet the ladder shown above was right over our heads. I had put it there to do some repairs on the roof, and since I am planning to sweep the chimney, I left it there until finished task. The damn thing is heavy and not easy to push all the way to the top of the roof. It has a hook which keeps it there and luckily, the hook kept the ladder from sailing to the ground. My brother wrote that it looked like a failed landing attempt of Santa. He was right, I dare say. Getting it back onto the roof wasn't all that hard. I went onto the roof of the addition and pushed the ladder with a long 2x4 until it slid back onto the roof. 

With the ladder back where it should be, we took off for a little sightseeing along our rugged coast. The surf was impressive. Huge waves rolling up from the Gulf of Maine, crashing against the rocks of Liberty Point. And all that was adorned by a beautiful blue sky. The wind direction was now from the southwest and it was still 25-28km/h. Storm watching on Campobello is one of the finest.