What's on This Weekend?

I don't the details with me, but I know that this Saturday is the Dayspring Fireman's breakfast....If you ever wanted to see a grannie dressed up as the devil, now's your chance! Usual time, usual menu (7-11, eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc..). Sorry for the lack of details but I can only scrape so much free content online!

Other than that, the Conquerall Mills luncheons are always great, and Sunday looks like a Corned Beef and Cabbage festival in several parts of the county, enjoy!

Breakfasts

October 31,
Royal Canadian Legion #23, Lunenburg,
7:30-11:30 a.m.
Adults $6; ages 5-12, $3.
Takeout available for pick-up $6.50. 634-4215

Teas/Luncheons

Saturday, October 31,
Delicious all you can eat Halloween soup and sandwich luncheon and sale.
Conquerall Mills Community Hall,
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Adults $7, 6-12 $3, 5 and under free.
For Lutheran Ladies Aid.

Suppers

Sunday November 1,
St. Andrew's Anglican Annual Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner,
12 pm to 2 p.m.
West Northfield Community Centre.
Adults $10, under 12 $2.

Sunday November 1st
Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner
Chelsea & District community centre
4-6 p.m.
Pumpkin pie or apple pie for dessert
Adults $10, children 5 - 12 $5, under 5 free.
All proceeds for the Fire Department.

Remains of the hole in the sky

Remember that hole in the sky last week?

Here's another shot from that night, I captured some neat reflections on the sand:

Last of the Grimm Rd. burns....

for now....

Further down the Grimm Road....

...I spotted this little strip:

Grimm Rd. burn

I went on a drive on my lunch hour to snap some brake burn pics for ya'll.

More Grimm Rd. burnage to come this week:

What's on This Weekend?

Wow...LOTS going on this weekend, even on Sunday...take your pick! The Cherry Hill breakfast, Petite Riviere Harvest Tea and Mahone Bay Roast Beef suppers are all safe bets, though I am intrigued by that Kohl Canon Supper...

Breakfasts

October 24,
Royal Canadian Legion Bridgewater Branch #24
Halloween Breakfast,
7:30- 11:30 a.m.
Everyone welcome.
Adults $6, children 5- 12 $4, under 5 years free.
Proceeds to Veterans' Benevolent Fund or other groups that may need financial assistance. Please come out in support of the Veterans.

October 24,
7:30-10:30
Newfie Breakfast,
Chester Basin Legion.
Various menu selections.
Take-outs available.

October 24,
Firemen's Breakfast and Yard Sale,
United Communities Fire Hall, Cherry Hill,
8-11 a.m.
Adults $6; 5-12 years $3.25; under 5 free.

Teas/Luncheons

October 24.
Harvest Tea and Sale,
Wesley United Church, Petite Riviere,
2 - 4 p.m.
Adults $7, children $3, under 5 free.
Sandwiches and pie with ice cream, bake and white elephant tables, petite boutique.
Sponsored by U.C.W.

Suppers

October 24,
Kohl Canon Supper,
ham, baked beans, brown bread and rolls, pies for dessert.
Basement of St. John's Anglican Church, Chester Basin.
4:30-6:30 p.m.
Adults $10; children 5-12 $3; under 5 free.

October 24,
Roast Beef Supper.
4:30- 6:30 p.m.
St. James Anglican Parish Hall, Mahone Bay.
Adults $10, children 5- 12 $5, under 5 free.
Takeouts available.

October 25,
St. James Lutheran Church Annual Soup, Chowder and Chili Supper.
4- 6 p.m.
Branch LaHave community hall.
Apple crisp with ice cream for dessert.
Adults $7, 5- 12 years $2, under 5 free

October 25.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Supper,
Hebbs Cross fire hall, Desserts, strawberry shortcakes and apple and lemon pie.
Adults $9; 5-12 years, $4.50; under 5 years free

Guest Post: Wind and Light

Here's another guest post from Jeff Doran, enjoy!

What are whirligigs without wind? There was no shortage of either at the 10th annual Whirligig and Weathervane Festival in Shelburne, NS, September 19. In fact, the exhibits had to be moved into the lee on Dock Street so they wouldn't take off.






I may have contributed to the gusts since I had come from breakfast at the Sandy Point Lighthouse Community Centre. It was also the 10th annual Lighthouse Festival.

I've always said September is the best part of summer.

I started at Sandy Point light just down the coast from Shelburne.
There were whitecaps in the harbour. The community centre has monthly
meals and a view which would cost you twice as much at a restaurant.
Rain showers cleared to a rainbow in the direction I was headed.
Baccaro light is stuck out at the end of a point of land past Port La Tour, next to the giant volleyball of the coastal radar station. It was windy and lonely out there. I saw one car leaving as I arrived and one car arriving as I left. The location blew us away.



Inland at Barrington, Seal Island light has been partially relocated and partially replicated. In 1979 the lantern was removed by helicopter from the island off the coast of Clark's Harbour. The lighthouse was recreated by the Cape Sable Historical Society and has been open as a museum since 1985. You can climb five stories to the Fresnel lens made in Paris.





The Whirligig Festival was a frenzy of twirling, jigging, cranking and clattering works of art. Anyone interested in wind energy should consider the possibility of using whirligigs to saw dowels and churn shotglasses of butter. In addition to the usual miniature industrial applications, there were complicated cog and wheel inventions which spun dancers and circuses. Traditional rural life was represented by blacksmithing, wood chopping, milking, ox driving, hunting and fishing, not without modern humour. An angler baited a humpbacked whale. A brace of ducks took aim with shotguns at a hunter distracted by a bathing beauty removing her top. Domestic violence was represented by husbands getting thwacked and pummeled. Folk art seems to bring underlying feelings to the surface, perhaps a result of extended solitary hours in the workshop.

When I left, rigging was slapping a tattoo on masts in the marina. I had planned to stop at three more lighthouses on the way home, but I ended up pulling into the parking lot at Summerville Beach for a nap.

Must have been the big breakfast.

No waves, but a nice hole in the sky....

Even when there aren't waves to ride, it's worth a trip to the beach to take shots like this:

Midville Branch Burns

I guess brake burns are like leaves, they start to fade in the Fall....spotted this small strip in Midville Branch last night:

Birds gotta eat too..

The back side of Crescent Beach at low tide is a great place to do some bird watching:

What's on This Weekend?

Mmmm, that harvest luncheon has me hungry for chili.....

Breakfasts

Saturday, October 17,
Fireman's breakfast.
Petite Riviere Fire Hall,
8 -11 a.m.
Full menu, adults $6, under 12 $3, under 5 free.
Information call 688-1174

Teas/Luncheons

October 18, Sunday,
Harvest Luncheon,
Italy Cross, Middlewood and District fire hall,
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Menu: soups, chowders, chili, cakes and pies.
Adults $6; children (5-12) $3.
Proceeds for ladies auxiliary

Suppers

Saturday, October 17.
Cod Fish Supper,
4:30- 6 p.m.
Adults $12, youth 512 $6, under 5 free.
District #1 Community Centre, Blandford

Red sky in morning....

I was lucky to witness the amazing sunrise this morning, these colours didn't last very long

Guest Post: Fall Colours

Thanks to Jeff Doran for his guest post and photos...enjoy!

I took the round-about way to the Oktoberfest turkey dinner at the Forties community centre, but it was worth the wait and worth the drive.

I loaded my old VW van with camping gear and set out in search of fall colours inland, following the La Have River to New Germany, continuing on Rt. 10 with a stop at the Shannon River Canoe Access Park. The highway was in rough shape the rest of the way to Middleton and I made a mental note to return by a different route.

The forecast was clear but cold, so I planned to enjoy the luxuries of a serviced site at one of the many campgrounds in the Annapolis Valley where I could run my electric heater and even connect my laptop by wireless Internet for on-location Skyping. The only problem was that campgrounds advertising those amenities also offered karaoke, putt-putt and Greco pizza, not exactly suiting my peaceful and meditative mood.

The weather was so good I decided to venture to the Fundy Coast in hopes of finding a secluded spot in which to tuck the van for the night. I had two sleeping bags for warmth and a hand-crank rechargeable flashlight for entertainment.

At this point my directions must remain veiled in secrecy because I discovered the perfect spot and I want it to stay that way. Suffice it to say I landed on a dead-end road right at the water's edge. The wind was stiff and waves were spraying onto the road, but it was snug inside the van. I made chili watching sunset through the windshield.

Fundy Coast

Red sun at night... who made up that nonsense? I fell asleep to the sound of surf and woke to the howling of a gale through the weatherstripping. Wind was rocking the van like a street mob. The windshield was scummy with salt. I was pretty sure there was no hurricane in the forecast so I settled back to be rocked to sleep. A burst of light through the side curtains woke me this time. At first I thought my hide-away had been spotted by the authorities. Then I heard the thunder. By my count the lightning storm was far away. I fell asleep counting.

Then the rain hit. It came with the sound of a jet take-off. Pellets drilled the fibreglass roof. Maybe it was hail, I don't know. I didn't go out to check. I told myself some people like the sound of rain on a roof when they are sleeping.

I slept fitfully. I thought about surrendering and seeking shelter inland, but that would mean crossing North Mountain. I resigned myself to a long, sleepless night.

Sometime after 3:30 a.m. (the last time I checked my watch) the storm must have passed, because the next thing I knew it was 7:00 and I was awake and cold. I had looked forward to morning sun warming up the cab while I had a leisurely coffee. I had forgotten I was in the shadow of the mountain, so even though the sky was clear, I huddled in the dark, warming my hands around the butane stove, watching the shadow diminish with maddening slowness across the Bay of Fundy. It was high tide and the waves were higher than ever. Big flakes of scud blew like an explosion in a laundromat. When the sun did come up, though, it came right in my back window and warmed the back of my neck as I had my second cup of coffee.

I had a light breakfast because I was saving myself for Thanksgiving dinner which began at 11:00 a.m. When I left the shore, some locals were coming down to look at the waves. They must have wondered how I got there first.

Back on the Evangeline Trail I stopped at a farm market for Honey Crisp, Old Fashioned Cortland, Gravenstein, Jona Gold, Red Cortland and pears at a third of the price in Bridgewater. I kept a litre of sweet apple cider at hand to swig on my drive down the Dalhousie Road.

Lahave River

The colours had me saying "Wow!" and "Whoa!" at every turn. These were not the garish reds of calendar art. These were burnished golds and bronzes against a backdrop of evergreen. One hillside had me searching my memory for a Crayola box of names for yellow. The pavement went from good to bad to worse, but the worst of it was better than the best of Rt. 10.

At the turn to the Forties I started keeping a sharp eye out for the community hall. Still, I almost missed it because I mistook the crowd of cars in front of an abandoned convenience store for a used car lot.

The hall was hidden in back. I saw people coming out with sated expressions. It was noon. I worried I was too late for white meat.

But there was plenty of everything for $10. The room was barely half full, decorated in harvest colours. I had the works plus pecan pie.

I've had my share of Thanksgiving dinners at a variety of homes on both Thanksgivings in North America, and the Forties dinner put them to the test. My table-mates complained of the lack of squash, but then, they agreed, it was hard to make for a large crowd.

I left with no plan except to avoid Rt. 10 and find a warm place in the sun to lie down and digest. I took Rt. 12 and the Lighthouse Route to Mahone Bay where I parked facing the water with the sun over my shoulder, cracked open the cider, fired up the laptop on a whim, found three wireless sites within range (thanks, unsecured site -- you know who you are), Skyped my brother in Pennsylvania and used up all of my two-hours of battery power. He was planning his fall colour trip.

Then I went home and lay down. I heard on the news it had snowed in Antigonish.

Havin' a time..

This windsurfer was catching some nice wind on the back side of Crescent Beach yesterday while I was buggying on the beach, what a weekend!

What's on This Weekend?

Hard to pass up that dinner in the Forties, they had me at "pickles"...

Breakfasts

October 10,
Hebbs' Cross fire hall,
7-11 a.m.
Adults $6; children $3; under 5 years free

Suppers

October 12,
Oktoberfest Thanksgiving dinner and supper,
Forties Community Centre,
11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
turkey with all the trimmings, $10.
Harvest sale - All the pickles and preserves made by hard-working volunteers will be available for sale, 15 varieties of jams, jellies, many kinds of pickles and vegetables for sale. Sponsored by Canadian Heritage.

Another buggy shot

Shot by my buddy, Dennis Evans....one of these days his site will go live, then I can pimp out for him!

Powered by the wind...

I had some fun rides traction kiting on my dirtboard last night at Crescent Beach.

Here's the beast :


But my new toy is a kite buggy, so much fun!:

Photo by Dennis Evans

Roadside graveyard

...I finally took some shots of this tiny, roadside graveyard on rt. 8:

Last of the Broad Cove burns....for now...

I'm sure this brake burning posse won't stay idle for long...

What's on This Weekend? TURKEY!!!!

Wow, tough call this weekend...TONS of suppers!!

The turkey supper in Canaan is great, as is the turkey supper at St. Luke's in Rhodes Corner..
The variety supper in First South is usually great, but expect a loooong wait.
I am drawn to the hamburg and macaroni casserole in West Northfield...

Sorry, no 'picks' this weekend, too many good ones to choose just one!

Breakfasts

October 3,
7:30-10:30 a.m.,
Chester Basin Fire Hall.
Various menu selections.

October 3, Saturday,
7-11 a.m.
Italy Cross, Middlewood and District fire hall,
Everyone welcome

Saturday, October 3,
7-11.
Pinehurst Hall,
Proceeds for hall.

Sunday, October 4,
7-10:30 a.m.
Chelsea community centre
Adults $6, children 12 and under $3, under 5 free.
All proceeds for the fire department.

Suppers

Hot Turkey Supper,
Saturday, October 3,
Little Red School, Canaan,
3:30-6:30 p.m.
Adults $9; 5-12 years $4.50; under 5 free.
Bake table available.
Proceeds three local churches.

Saturday, October 3,
4-6 p.m.
Bean & Salad Supper with hamburg and macaroni casserole, pies and sweets,
West Northfield Community Centre.
Adults $8; under 12 $2; under 5 free.
Proceeds: New Germany Anglican Parish.

Saturday, October 3,
Pleasantville & district fire dept.,
4-6 p.m.
Beans, ham, potato salad, brown bread and pie.
Adults $8; children $3; under 5 free.

Saturday, October 3,
Turkey Supper, all home-made food,
4:30-7 p.m.
Caledonia United Church.
Adults $10; children $5; under 5 free.

Saturday, October 3,
Turkey Supper with cakes for dessert,
4-6:30 p.m.
St. Luke's church hall, Rhodes Corner, Hwy 3.
Adults $10; 5-12 years $5; under 5 free.

Sunday, October 4,
Variety Supper.
Grace Lutheran Church, First South,
4- 6 p.m.
Adults $9, children $4.50, under 5 free

More Broad Cove burnage...

The quiet beauty of Broad Cove, momentarily disrupted by the squeal of tires on pavement...

All's right with the world....