On the shore

About the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, with focus on the South Shore region where I reside. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-37896438-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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End of this photo blog

Had a lovely year in Nova Scotia, but have moved north to the Yukon, so I will be unable to post to this anymore. Thanks for all the wonderful memories Nova Scotia!

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The Brady E. Himmelman is a 14-car cable ferry that crosses the LaHave River from LaHave to East LaHave. The trip lasts five minutes and costs $5,50 per car. A cable ferry has operated in LaHave since 1832.

This $3.5-million boat, launched July 29, 2010, was named to honour long-term ferry operator Brady Himmelman who was in charge of the ferry from 1948 until 1983.  The ferry is one of four cable ferries in Nova Scotia, and is operated by Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. 

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This young raccoon became trapped in a neighbour's compost bin, and was weak and dehydrated upon release. But after drinking many dishes of water, the racoon recovered and went on its way.  Racoons are adept climbers. This one scaled nearby recycling bags to get into the bin, but could not climb the smooth sides to get back out again.

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Wine and dessert tasting at Petite Riviere Vineyards, a picturesque French-designed winery located minutes away from both Rissers Beach and Green Bay. My favourite pairing for the evening: sweet cheesecake with a tart wine, Lulu.

Petite Riviere Vineyards relies on the unique terroir of one of the oldest grape growing regions in North America to make distinctive wines, and is noted for the quality of its reds.

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Pirates roamed the streets during the 2013 Mahone Bay Pirate Festival and Regatta, August 2 to 5.

The festival celebrates the region's historic relationship with the sea, and features classic boats, buccaneers, music, and sailing competitions.

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Eastern American Toads have dry skin with glands that contain a white sticky substance to deter predators from biting.

These toads are common throughout Nova Scotia because of their flexible habitat requirements - farms, suburbs, gravel pits and clear cuts. Toads eat ants, beetles, slugs, spiders, mosquitoes, and mites and can be beneficial for your backyard.

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An osprey brings a fish to its chicks at its nesting platform behind Petite Riviere Elementary School, July 18, 2013. Ospreys fledge as early as late July, and this brood looked almost ready to fly.

In many parts of North America osprey have been in decline due to increased concentrations of pesticides in the fish it eats. This decline was less apparent in Nova Scotia, and with the elimination of some pesticides, the osprey population has been increasing.

It is estimated that there are more than 250 active nests in Nova Scotia. 

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A truck stops while an Eastern Painted Turtle crosses Conquerall Road. The man in the truck who stopped to let the turtle cross thanked us for stopping, and said that most motorists don't stop for the turtles. 

Conquerall Road is a popular spot for nesting turtles. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped while a snapping turtle crossed the road. The snapping turtle is a protected Species at Risk in Nova Scotia.

Painted turtles are common in southwestern Nova Scotia. Females migrate to sand or gravel beaches, road banks, or cultivated fields during the afternoon from June to early July to nest. They lay between six and 11 eggs, which hatch between late September and the end of October.

View Turtle Road in a larger map

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The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, with a wingspan of 6.7-8 cm, is one of Nova Scotia's largest and most recognizable butterflies. Swallowtails are seen in N.S. from late May to early July, with peak numbers appearing mid-June.

The larvae feed on various shrubs and trees, such as willow, birch, aspen, black cherry, popular and ash. Swallowtail butterflies can be seen in large numbers feeding on the flowers of lilac trees, or gathering in mud puddles. 

The larvae have a creatively disgusting way to appear inedible to predators. Because they arrive in spring before leaves are on the plants, their camouflage is a black and white bird-dropping look. Once the foilage returns, the caterpillars turn green to blend with the leaves. 

If you love butterflies and have a yard, check out this article on creating a butterfly-friendly space.

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Actors in the parade at Privateer Days, in Liverpool, N.S. June 22, 2013.  A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateers were part of naval warfare from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Redcoats is the term given to British non-commissioned men who served during the American Revolution, between 1775 and 1783. Many redcoats were former convicts. Redcoats defended present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from attacks by American Revolutionaries. 

Liverpool was one of North America's leading privateer ports, and is still called the Port of Privateers. 

See more photos from the festival in my Flickr set.

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This osprey managed to elude greedy seagulls trying to rob it after it dove into the Atlantic Ocean and grabbed this large fish at Rissers Beach, June 16, 2013. Ospreys are unique among North American raptors for their diet of live fish and their ability to dive into water to catch them.

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Almost hit a snapping turtle crossing Conquerall Road. Snappers are aggressive as they cannot draw fully into their shells when threatened, and are slow and awkward on land. Females leave the water to lay their eggs in June, perhaps that's what this turtle was up to.

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Blue Beach tetrapods are the oldest animals with backbones ever discovered, creatures that crawled from the sea and began the evolution of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals  The fossils on the beach are 350 million years old, from the early Carboniferous period.

The Blue Beach Fossil Museum lies at the beginning of the pathway to the beach, and is a must see for visitors. In the museum you can see the world's oldest collection of fossil footprints, and get help identifying the many fossil finds that litter the beach. Common finds include wave ripples, worm tubes (above), fish scales, and dung. 

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Photo taken on HTC One camera phone (so bit jaggy). An osprey takes flight on May 6, 2013 from its nest by the LaHave River (behind Empire 7 Studio) in Bridgewater. One bird sat in the nest while its mate brought back branches for nest construction.

Osprey nests are built of sticks and lined with bark, sod, grasses, vines, algae, or flotsam and jetsam. The male usually fetches most of the nesting material — sometimes breaking dead sticks off nearby trees as he flies past — and the female arranges it. Nests on artificial platforms, especially in a pair’s first season, are relatively small — less than 2.5 feet in diameter and  6 inches deep. After generations of adding to the nest year after year, Ospreys can end up with nests 10–13 feet deep and 3–6 feet in diameter — easily big enough for a human to sit in. 

Because of the popularity of power poles as a nest site (about 200 nests are located on power structures), Nova Scotia Power has worked with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources to provide alternate nesting platforms for the birds. This keeps the birds safe from electrocution, and also prevents power outages caused by nest debris.

Ospreys lay 1-4 eggs, which hatch in June. Young ospreys leave the nest as early as late July.

The osprey is Nova Scotia's provincial bird.

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Crescent Beach is 2 km of white sand near LaHave. The beach is famous for being one of the few in N.S. to allow vehicle traffic. Sand dunes, a fence, and a road separate the beach from the tidal flats of Dublin Bay.  Beware of driving on the beach at high tide as the sand becomes soft and it's easy to sink, and the exit may be cut off by the rising water. I may know something about this first hand, but it all worked out in the end, phew.

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Theodore Too pulls away from Cable Warf near the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry. It runs sightseeing tours of the harbour from June to September. This imitation tugboat, based on children's television character, Theodore Tugboat, was built in Dayspring, N.S. in 2000. 

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Sleigh ride at Ross Farm Museum. New Ross, March 24, 2013.  The museum is a working farm museum that is still being farmed with oxen the way it was in the late 1800s. It depicts 150 years of agriculture in Nova Scotia.