Wind Farms on Wetlands

After a long ride down a dirt road

we came across this lovely scene.

Turned out it was not so lovely.

This wind turbine is directly behind the wood duck house.

I originally thought this wind farm, in Port Hawkesbury, NS,

was strategically placed in an industrial park,

and I thought, "Oh well, if you have to have a wind farm,

an industrial park is a good place to put it."

Nova Scotia seems to consider the wetlands to be waste lands.

The Tantramar Marsh, on the border of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,

is a perfect example of this.

The marsh is one of the largest on the Atlantic coast 

of North America,

covering 20,230 hectares.

I have to close my eyes when we pass by it 

because it is now covered in wind turbines.

Since I don't look, I'm not entirely sure, 

but I believe there are more than the 15

stated in the above provided link's article.  

Either that or they are just so big,

it looks like 50!

While researching the wind farm for this post, 

I came across one blogger who stated

that the wind farm will really "spiff up the area and will

draw attention away from the sewage lagoon being dug directly beside the wind farm.".

Interestingly, I found these two photos on a fellow quilter's blog.

I guess you've surmised that I am not a huge fan of wind farms.

A Little Imagery

A Little Bit of Imagery

Close your eyes and imagine this.
No, you'd better not close your eyes,
or you can't read what's next!

Your sitting quietly at the shore,
enjoying a picnic lunch with your children,
when all of a sudden
a dog comes out of nowhere
and he's approaching rather quickly,
teeth bared, the hair on its back raised.
In that one instant,
just how does that make you feel?

Now, try to imagine you are a little bird, instead
Or a doe on the fringe with her young.




Uncontrolled dogs are becoming common along our wild shores.
And people don't seem to understand why it is important
to keep their dogs controlled,
I don't know,
like maybe
leashed?

Forget that it's the law.



 



Old Growth Forest

There are still a few old growth forests in Nova Scotia.

The mighty saw has not destroyed them all.

Yellow Birch

The Dept. of Environment is furtively trying to identify
and protect them

before loggers take them for BIOMASS.

Although most of the sites I've read about biomass

give it a positive twist,

I've seen first hand how destructive this concept has become.

This particular forest was 'mis-identified' and roads

had been cut in to wipe it clean

before DOE got wind of it and stopped the process.

I've learned that not all 'professional foresters'

are created equally.

There are foresters who want to cut down the trees,

and foresters who want to save the trees.

They do not see through the same eyes.

Typically Cape Breton

View from my front deck

taken at the end of a beautiful day,

August, 2010.

The eagle sitting on the spit

to the left of the little gray boat

is a regular visitor.

The little gray boat is used by an older gentleman

to fish for eels during the summer months.

In the fall, after nesting season is over, 

he is often accompanied by his mate,

and even a few juvies.

Not the man, the eagle.

February Daydreams

Right about now,

I'm missing 

this!

An afternoon paddle

around Canso, NS

and onto a deserted Dover, NS beach.

Although this trip

occurred

during the hottest and buggiest it's ever been

during the whole 9 years 

I've been visiting Cape Breton,

I now look back on it with fond memories.

See the little island just below Louisdale
in the upper right hand corner?
That's where my home is!!

No, we did not paddle from there!!
It's about 32 miles across the bay...
just a tad bit too far!
But it's closer than driving!!
Takes about 1.5 hrs. to drive to Canso.

Halifax Public Gardens

Halifax Public Gardens

Halifax, Nova Scotia

T

The goose.  

He was behind a wire enclosure by this waterway.

People were sitting on a bench in front of him, 

walking past and stopping for a quick visit,

talking to him,

and he just sat there.

Big and fat, (notice he only approved the head shots)

old looking,

bored silly.

I happened along with my camera,

and as soon as he saw me aiming it in his direction,

he got right up and posed,

to the left, to the right, looking up, looking down,

'here I am when I want to look demure',

'this is me when I want it to look like I'm paying attention'...

His many admirers were in stitches

by the time our 'photo shoot' concluded.

He was.....

wait for it.....

a silly goose.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax, NS

Founded 1749 by the British Government

Weekend Reflections

Weekend Reflections

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Other Egypt Falls Treasures

The magnificent waterfall wasn't the only treasure

that beautiful fall day.

Along the trail were some little treats

to stop and admire,

and take a breath!

These little moths were flitting around everywhere.

I love mosses and lichens!

An opportunistic fern.

These were lined up like stacked coins
along the entire length of this fallen tree.

Have a great day!

Making Quite a Splash

Egypt Falls

Cape Breton, NS

One crisp, clear fall day,

when I was asked if I would rather sew or go on an adventure,

I'm so glad I chose the adventure!

Although it was a long ride,

we headed off to a mystery destination.

I brought along a book, which I read as we traveled,

looking up and around every few minutes.

Much to my delight, as we passed a farmers field, 

I counted 8 Bald Eagles, so we stopped.,

and counted 48 more!

And as we scanned the trees beyond,

there were even more!  If there weren't 75 Bald Eagles, there wasn't one!

Pictures?  Hmmmm, they were awfully far away.

Too far away for MY camera.

Sorry!

We drove and drove and drove,

until we came to this little path off a dirt road in the Margaree Valley.

The trail was steep, blanketed with wet beech leaves,

and for fear of falling, I hung on to the trees all the way.

Only a half mile trek, it felt like forever...

...until I spotted this through the trees....

As the trail became steeper,

 I was relieved to see that someone had
strategically strung a rope
allowing one  

to hang onto for dear life

in order to descend safely to the bottom.

And OH! My gosh,

The falls feed into this brook.

(I must apologize for the darkened pictures,

as my camera is dying a slow death.

Attempts to lighten them obliterate the deep blue sky

that we enjoyed that day.)

(I wish I knew how to imbed a video.)

If I thought going down was difficult,

you should have seen this old lady on the climb back up!!

But it was worth every moment of discomfort,

believe me!!