Swimming With Sammy the Seal

Last week was not the best week to be on vacation in Nova Scotia. We had nice weather on Monday, but it all went downhill from there. I stained one of our decks on Tuesday morning and by evening it just poured. My usual routine is to go for a swim every day even if it's not a real "beach day". On Friday  afternoon the sun was shining so I decided to go down for a dip. Just as I was about to get in, I noticed a seal swimming by.

Hmmmm, should I swim or not? Never had this happen before. Anyways, I decided to get in all the while keeping an eye out for Mr. Seal. I kept thinking what do they eat? Where is he? I know he ducked under, is he getting closer? When we were kids my mother would always say, "If you don't get your ducking I'm not bringing you swimming again." Sounds harsh, but  it always worked. (Looking back now I know that my mom would have taken us the next day because she loved to swim more than we did, lol.) So feeling very brave I ducked under to really cool off. Happy ending here! Apparently this grey seal was already full because he never tried to eat me. They eat cod fish and are blamed for depleting the cod stocks both here in Nova Scotia as well as Newfoundland. After I got out of the water I went for a little walk along the beach to look for beach glass. On a busy day there  might be 75 people on our beach but this day there were only 10. One lady said, "You had us all worried when you disappeared under the water!" To learn more about grey seals check out this link where I snagged that cute photo from:

http://www.ypte.org.uk/animal/seal-grey-/167

Every Cottage Must Have a Fire Pit

That title says it all. I love beach campfires, but for us it's a lot less work to just have a campfire in our backyard. Nothing beats sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows or making s'mores. For several years we had an old, metal, dryer tub which I thought worked fine. But then new neighbours moved in and they set up their fire pit using a truck rim from an 18 wheeler. Another neighbour said she was going to switch over to this "new" style and she could get us one too. So, here it is! Our new, low profile (all the better for marshmallow roasting) freebie fire pit. (It actually rests on a 24" patio stone but the rim hides it.)

Not pretty, but it works great! However, if I was designing the backyard of my dreams, I would buy one of these.
http://atwistofiron.com/
Handcrafted from old propane tanks right here in beautiful Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. These truly are works of art!

Betty Visits Spud Island

Caribou Ferry Terminal

I am going to tell you all about last weeks vacation to Prince Edward Island. It's been a couple of years since we had been to "the island", and we had never taken our camper. So last Tuesday we rolled into the terminal lot in Caribou, Nova Scotia at 7am to catch the 8am ferry. It wasn't long before the Holiday Island boat docked and the vehicles started to roll off. I was a little nervous when I saw that there were two levels. My DH assured me we would not be loading on the upper deck but down below with the transport trucks. See that 18 wheeler? These trucks are in fourth gear by the time they ht the parking lot! Although passenger vehicles can make a reservation, we couldn't because of our trailer. But getting on wasn't an issue and it was actually not a busy crossing. As you can see I had no problem finding a bench on the observation deck.

The crossing takes about 75 minutes   so we were on the island by 9:30 and at the campground  shortly after 10am. We chose a wooded site at Seal Cove Campground which gave us lots of privacy. I love wooded sites but the mosquitoes almost drove me crazy! It was so bad  that I didn't even take out my iPad to get a picture of Betty or our set-up. My husband golfed at a different course each day while I poked around the antique and gift shops in Murray River and Charlottetown. On Friday we caught the 11am boat back to Nova Scotia. Here we are in the bowels of the Confederation ferry parked alongside a truck carrying pulpwood to one of the mills in NS. I couldn't wait to get back in our SUV where I felt a lot safer. But overall we had a great time and we might just do it again in August!

The Big Reveal

The big reveal! Yes, I finally finished painting my *free* wicker planter. That would be four cans of spray paint. So far I figure this project has cost me about $35, but you can't put a price tag on vintage! It has a metal liner too, but I haven't quite got that refurbished. It has a few holes, but I say every planter needs a few for drainage :) Until I get the liner in there I am making do with a hanging pot plopped in. Here's an up close view taken last Friday when it was over 30 degrees Celsius. That's above 90 which is pretty much a heat wave in Nova Scotia!

Time For Tea

Glad you popped in for a cup of tea! I love this little teapot. Actually it's a combination set, the pot sits on top of the cup. This was one of those surprise finds at a local discount store. A red polka-dot teapot, what's not to love? My all-time favourite tea is Twinings Earl Grey. Do you have a favourite tea?

The Internet Connection

Don't you love that term, the Internet connection? I guess sometimes it is easier said than done. It has certainly been a challenge here at the cottage. We have tried a few things over the years -  dial-up, then a turbo hub, setting a hot-spot off an iPhone, etc. But this year I knew I needed something more, something consistent that I could count on. We tried one service provider but they couldn't get a strong signal. But thankfully one of their competitors could! We were supposed to be hooked up last Friday but they had to reschedule to yesterday. I think I did the happy dance when the tech said, "fire up that lap-top". So yes, it's all good here on the edge of the Northumberland Strait. And for the first time in six days the sun finally shone. Hallelujah!