Mack Attack!

I caught my first mackeral of the season on Sunday, and a half dozen pollock on Saturday.

It's Mack Attack time!

Spotted at the Lahave wharf on Saturday, tide was going out:

St. Barnabas Anglican Roast Beef Supper Review

You know those weekends when you don't want to face the kitchen? The whole kitchen; the stove, the fridge, the dirty dishes in the sink? Well, sometimes, the best plan of action is to head to the nearest church hall and let someone else deal with the prepping, serving and clean up.

Most of you will not be shocked to learn that I attended yet another church supper fundraiser this past Saturday. This was a new supper for me, it was fun to have a new supper to discover. Also, I had some new guests in tow, my friend and her daughter joined me on my excursion to Blue Rocks.

I describe Blue Rocks to tourists as "Peggy's Cove, minus the tour buses". A quaint village, with houses perched on rocks, lobster traps in front yards and fishing boats tied up to wharfs.

As expected, this supper was heavily attended, and when we arrived we were faced with what seemed like a loooong wait. But, seasoned pro that I am at these functions, we had timed our arrival just before the second sitting. After we purchased our tickets, we took a stroll down "The Lane" and took a quick peek of the road leading out to "The Point".







As luck would have it, by the time we returned our ticket numbers were being called and we were quickly seated inside.

It was a somewhat cool and damp afternoon, but inside the hall, it was steamy and warm! No doubt from all the bodies, plus hours of steam from all boiled potatoes and carrots in the kitchen.

My little guest was a popular attraction, as we entered the hall she ran in to her school bus driver who joked around with her a bit before we kept moving to our seats. Actually, she knew more people there than I did!

There weren't any other children in the hall that afternoon, so as you can imagine, all eyes were on her. She made many, many grandmothers happy that afternoon. I noticed countless smiles directed in her direction, as she sat at the head of the table, dutifully devouring her plate of food.

Dinner was nice, the menu was as advertised: roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots and canned peas graced our plates. A delicious bowl of chow chow was a nice complement to the meal, though I always crave horseradish when I'm eating roast beef. Rolls, coleslaw and bread and butter pickles completed the assortment of side dishes on the table.





The only bummer of the meal was missing out on the blueberry and rhubarb custard pie for dessert. Oh well, next time we'll have to shoot for the first sitting!

Spotted 'on to' the ferry..

Shiny, happy people....

....spotted at the Lunenburg Farmers' Market this morning:

Word on the street...err...on the shore...

...is that this graffiti is courtesy of the kids from the local Waldorf school....I like it!

I think it's a jelly fish...

Upper Branch Roadness

Shot back at the end of May in Midville Branch, on the Upper Branch Rd..

I can't remember 'why' I took this shot....the shadows, the lines of the road and power lines, the clouds? Maybe it was an unusually sunny day and I got inspired?

One of these days I'll become master of levels and curves...one day...

If you find snapping turtles....

...laying eggs in your driveway....you might be a redneck

This was a surprise Saturday morning! Neat jurassic'y looking creatures...







In honour of this visit, I give you this internet meme classic, I like turtles

What's on This Weekend?

There's more going on this weekend than just this breakfast....but i could only 'scrape' so much from The Bulletin's website (not updated with the other weekend events). Support your local paper and pick up a copy to see what's going on! ^_^

Breakfasts
June 20,
9-11 a.m.,
Father's Day Breakfast,
Blandford Community Centre.
Adults $6; Children 5-12 years, $3; under 5 free

Since this week's listings are light, I'll break my usual Friday pattern and post another lupin picture:

More kiteboarding!

A couple more shots, taken by Dave at Crescent Beach, while Heather was driving.

Be sure to check out her blog, she and Dave have some awesome pictures posted!

Crescent Beach Kiteboarding

Taken almost a month ago (crazy) by my friend Dave. There was barely enough wind to get me rolling, but when has that stopped me?

He and Heather kindly acted as my 'chase car' since the wind was blowing straight down the beach....having a car to drive me back upwind was basically my dream come true. Oh, and they took photos of me too, double dream come true!

Thanks, guys!

Let me take you back, to a windy day in April ....

Local chargers Alladan (Allan and Dan) heading back to the car after a really, REALLY windy day (April 23 2009)

Actually, I always seem to see these guys out in gale force winds, go figger.

Luscious Lupins, Invincible Irises

I've been hunting for a nice patch of lupins to shoot, spotted this one in a fallow field in Baker Settlement:







Later this weekend, I spotted two patches of wild irises (?) in North Brookfield...or is it South Brookfield? I can never keep the two straight...

Shots didn't turn out as I had hoped, too bad I don't have mad curves/levels adjustment skillz...yet! Mostly the ones in the swamped, tried bumping up the contrast a little but...meh.

What's on This Weekend?

No question this weekend, head to Canaan for a kick ass roast beef supper! Though I bet that codfish supper in Riverport will be delectable as well....

Breakfasts

June 13/09,
Hebbs Cross Fire Hall,
7-11 a.m.
Price $6; Child $3.
There will be no breakfast the months of July and August.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported our breakfast all year and hope to see you all back in September.
Again, thank you. President, Margaret Doucette.

Suppers

June 13,
The Pleasantville & District Fire Dept. Supper,
4- 6 p.m.
Ham, baked beans, potato salad and pie.
Price $7.50

June 13,
Hot Turkey Supper,
Little Red School, Canaan,
3:30-6:30 p.m.
Adults $9; 5-12 $4.50; under 5 free.
Bake table.
Proceeds All Saints Church Canaan.

June 13,
Codfish and potato supper,
Riverport Community Centre,
4-6 p.m.
Adults $10, children $5.
Sponsored by the Terre Neuve Newfoundlanders and Friends.

Blatant Brake Burns!

Spotted almost a month ago just outside of Lunenburg. Don't worry, these brake burns aren't going anywhere:

Orange Crush

Thanks to my dad for inspiring me to change this post's title, he's quite the wordsmith, after all..

Congrats to Pam Birdsall and the 3 other NDP candidates who SWEPT the South Shore in last night's provincial election!!!!

I have waited all my life to see the NDP win in Lun. West, let alone win provincially!

I think it's incredible that the voters of the South Shore not only elected 4 NDP candidates, but that 3 of those 4 MLA's are women!

Is this the start of a Nova Scotian renaissance? One can only hope...

For a little back story on the "sink the boat man" poster, check out this Chronicle Herald article.



Again, congrats to all NDP candidates and a big thank you for all the voters who took a leap of faith and elected Atlantic Canada's FIRST NDP government!!!

Red sky at night...

...surfers delight!

I didn't do any adjustments to these shots taken in Rose Bay last night, let me know if you think I should...

First!

No, not like those annoying "first!" threads on public forums....first cut of hay!

This farmer in Northwest cut this hay earlier this weekend. From what I've seen around the area, this is the only early hay cutting action. Perfect drying weather, good timing!

What's on This Weekend?

Wow, 6 am start in Italy Cross? Good for you early risers, I guess....I'm tempted to call Elroy about the lobster supper, if only to say the word "Elroy" in a phone conversation.

Breakfasts

June 6,
Country Breakfast.
7:30 - 10:30 a.m.,
Chester Basin Fire Hall.
Various menu selections.

June 6, Saturday.
Italy Cross, Middlewood and District Fire Hall,
6- 11 a.m.
Everyone welcome

Saturday, June 6,
Pinehurst Hall,
7 to 11 a.m.
Proceeds for hall.

Supper

Saturday, June 6.
St. Paul's United Church 5th annual Lobster Supper at church hall, Blue Rocks,
Serving 1 1/4 lb. lobster, potato salad, cabbage salad, roll, pie, tea/coffee.
Take-outs/deliveries starting 3:30.
Eat-in 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30.
Craft table.
Advance tickets only $20.
Audrey, 634-4775; Marion, 634-9208; Judy, 634-8545; Elroy, 634-4817

Saturday, June 6.
Roast Beef Supper,
Blandford Community Centre,
4:30-6 p.m.
Adults $10, children $5, under 5 free.
Proceeds to St. Barnabas Guild

Secret spot burnage

Taken a couple weeks back:

Lunenburg Legion Breakfast Review

A little belated, so I better post it before I forget what happened....

I hadn't attended a Lun. Legion brekkie in a while, but there were few options last weekend. When we got there, it was packed. After a brief change emergency at the door we met up with some new friends and started to scope out the tables.

Before too long, a cute grannie with white, white hair led Kat down the crowded aisle to her seat. Too call her 'touchie feelie' would be an understatement. She had both of her hands on Kat's hips as they made their way conga style to her seat. Every time the same lady came by the table, one hand was always on your shoulder (or both, right Lisa?). Don't get me wrong, it was very sweet, just not the kind of thing that would happen in say.....Toronto, or more than likely anywhere outside of Lunenburg County.

The wait for our food was long, which only heightened the anticipation. A fellow surfer and his son sat down beside me and we chatted about the morning's surf conditions and the previous night's KISS and AC/DC tribute band concert at the Apple Blossom Festival in the valley.

While we were waiting, Lisa and I moved down the table so we could sit closer to Kat and Kristy. Trouble brewing! Every place setting has a number in front of it on the vinyl table cloth. The staff use these numbers when filling out the breakfast orders (they're pretty organized!). The legion breakfast regulars exclaimed:

"Oh, you don't change seats!"
"We know, we know", we said, "we've got our story ready...."

Sure enough, when our plates of grease finally arrived, there were confused looks on the servers' faces as we tried to explain that those were indeed our plates of food.

The Legion breakfast isn't my favourite food per se, frozen hash browns and weak, weak coffee...but the friendly staff, wood panelling, boisterous diners, the smiling Queen Elizabeth poster on the wall all make it a fun event. And hey, no dishes.

My pics all turned out blurry, but I still want to post this one of our cute sugar bowl. Note to self...next time, slow down and be still:

My nose is blue

I finally manged to capture some shots of Lunenburg's waterfront, complete with the Bluenose II, Picton Castle and some fishing boats, enjoy!:


The Chockle Cap is one of the last wooden fishing vessels on the East Coast. Owned and operated by Adams & Knickle Limited of Lunenburg. She is one of the company’s scallop draggers and has been plying the waters of George’s Bank and Southwest Nova Scotia for 22 years. *cue Stan Rogers music*


Bluenose II, golf course in background


Some Bluenose II crew doing some rope splicing on the pier...


As a last resort, use your teeth (mothers everywhere are now shouting at their monitors, "don't use your teeth!")


Short pant legs: check. Deck shoes: check. Rope 'ladder' knot firmly snugged: check.


Bluenose II crew member working on...something.


Time to stretch the 'ole back and mend a sail...




If it weren't for the modern boats in the shot, you could almost imagine this shot was taken a hundred years ago...


I like all the rigging in this shot

Springtime Elmwood Blossoms

My pals in Elmwood put me to shame with their awesome blooms, lasagna compost and ding repair skills. Keep up the good work!

I didn't do any adjustments to the pics, please let me know if you think I should, your opinions matter to me, readers! (^_^)