May 2015
Monday May 25
Durham, NS
Here is another picture from our bike trip in Pictou last weekend. This is the West River at a small community called Durham about 12 kms south of Pictou.
As the school year starts winding down, there is the usual series of concerts: the last ones that we will see after a run of about 15 years. The All-City Senior Concert Band played at the Port Wallis United Church on Thursday. The trombone section was featured in one fast-paced number called Whirligig. There were supposed to be three of them but one couldn't make it leaving just James and Alex. They did a very good job. The rest of the concert was well played too and the enthusiastic crowd got the band to play Night on Bald Mountain for an encore.
On Saturday morning Ann went for another ride with the Nova Scotia Ramblers, this one just around Dartmouth. The weather was quite bizarre with sunshine, rain, clouds and hail following in quick succession. I stayed home and tried to do some gardening but had to keep scurrying back inside to avoid getting wet. Ann was not so lucky and arived home looking somewhat bedraggled and spent about half an hour in front of the gas fireplace getting thawed out.
Yesterday afternoon the three of us went to Ingrid and Mike's to celebrate a significant birthday for Ingrid. It was very pleasant with a big turnout and nice weather for being out in their yard or on their deck. And there was plenty of good food and drink.
Monday May 18
Near Toney River
Ann and I have spent the long weekend on a cycling trip with the Nova Scotia Ramblers. We left on Friday evening after work and drove to Pictou. The Ramblers assembled at 11 AM Saturday morning by the wharf downtown. There were about 40 of us in all including Ingrid and Mike, Kim and Glen, and Kim's sister Dawn and brother-in-law Ben. Our ride that day was to River John along the River John Road, then back again via Highway 6, a little over 60 kms in all. It was a gorgeous day: bright, sunny and warm but not hot; perfect! The trip out was quite sheltered and the terrain was flat, though the road was not in very good shape, but the scenery was a bit dull. It was nicer on the way back but we had a bit of a head wind; we were quite tired (and had sore bums) by the time we got back. Ingrid, Mike, Kim, Glen, Dawn, Ben, Ann and I had a very nice dinner at Pictou Lodge before getting rested up for the next day.
On Sunday we rode to the Caribou ferry in time for the 11:15 AM crossing to PEI. From Wood Island we rode along the south shore to Murray River where we stopped for lunch before riding back again to catch the 4:30 ferry back to Nova Scotia. That was about 50 kms in all with sore legs and sore bums (again). The weather was not quite as nice as it had been on Saturday — overcast and a bit cooler — bit still pleasant enough. We ate in a fish restaurant on the waterfront.
Today was another gorgeous day. We cycled along two of the estuaries that converge between Pictou and Pictou Landing, via Lyons Brook, Durham, Loch Broom, Alma and Granton. The portion between Durham and Loch Broom was especially nice: very picturesque with a nice tail wind. Some of the harder core cyclists continued on to New Glasgow for lunch but we took the shorter route back to Pictou then drove to New Glasgow to meet them in a nice Italian restaurant before driving home again.
Sunday May 10
A farm overlooking the Bay of Fundy
James left early on Wednesday morning on a trip to the Toronto Festival of Music with the All City concert and jazz bands. They did not play any concerts themselves but there were numerous other musical and extra-curricular activities scheduled including visits to the Ontario Science Centre and Canada's Wonderland and a performance of the musical Once at Mirvish's Theatre. He arrived back just after 9 PM this evening looking a bit the worse for wear after a long bus ride back. They were supposed to be here by 5:30 but got rerouted by road construction and came via Rimouski and Bathurst, a long detour. He has to be up early tomorrow morning for his AP Music exam.
Ann left early on Friday morning to visit her mum for a few days, stopping off to see Martha and my mum along the way. She will be coming back on Wednesday evening.
That has left Louie and myself to co-exist at home. He rapidly figured out that I was the new source of feline nourishment and has been nagging me persistently ever since. Yesterday, with no other demands on my time, I went on a photographic expedition along the Chignecto peninsula. The weather was predicted to be partly sunny and, when I got up early to try to take advantage of the morning lighting, it was perfectly clear. However, by the time I arrived where I was hoping to take pictures it was overcast and the lighting was very flat: disappointing. I did take a few shots but nothing that I'm particularly happy with.
Sunday May 3
Crocuses among the aconites
I'm happy to report that the snow is now just about gone. Today I went for a ride down our portion of the Trans-Canada Trail. It is easily passable all the way but there are four places where a bit of snow needs to be crossed. I tried last week too but there was so much snow that I had to turn back. With the temperatures forecast for the next few days it should be completely gone by my ride next week.
Our crocuses sprang out from under the snow as soon as they were able so both the front garden and the rock garden in the back are a splash of colour. I was happy to see that the latter was a hive of activity (almost literally) this afternoon with dozens of bees happily gorging themselves on crocus and aconite pollen.
Ann and I were at the theatre the past two weekends. We saw The Addams Family at Neptune mainstage the weekend before last. It was quite a lot of fun but a bit saccharine, oddly enough. Then this Friday we saw Trudeau Stories, an interesting reminiscence of Trudeau the elder by a woman who knew him for the last twenty years of his life. We came away with a much better understanding of what he was like as a person.
James was busy again musically this week, this time with the high band. They were in a music festival at Mount Saint Vincent where the jazz band won gold (the awards are based on an absolute scale, not relative to the performances of the other bands) and the Grade 11/12 band won silver. This weekend he has been preparing for the AP Chemistry exam tomorrow. This is an extra course that is the equivalent of a university credit if he passes. He will also have an exam for the AP Music Theory course next week.