In May 2011, after four years of life on McNutt's Island, we moved to Montreal. This blog remains, though, as a (sort of) daily record of our time on the island, and a winding path for anyone who would like to meander about among its magical places. For additional perspectives and insights I recommend Greg's book, Island Year: Finding Nova Scotia (2010), and my Bowl of Light (2012). I'll continue to post once in a while. If you do want to read this blog, one option would be to begin at the beginning of it (which is, as we all know, in blog-world, at the end), and read forward, concluding with the most recent entry. It's a journal, really, so it does makes more sense if you read it that way. But, you know, read it any way you like.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

chickadee in oak tree

One sunny day last week I watched a dozen little birds -- mostly warblers and chickadees, as far as I could tell -- catapult from the woods near the shore to the bog to the oak tree: boing boing boing like a bunch of ping-pong balls. These birds hardly pause to allow for pictures. They've got another agenda entirely - bugs!So I was glad to catch this chickadee in rapt contemplation.

Monday, December 6, 2010

no lobstering today

It's a wild morning with serious winds, high tide and a storm surge. The water has come above the dock, a couple of posts have come away from the structure, and we think Chopper is hanging by one line, though we can't tell for sure. We'll need to wait until the water and wind subside a bit before we can safely investigate.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

living in the moment

The sheep are at rest in the lower orchard this morning.It's a pastoral scene if ever there was one.
Eventually they will get up and begin to graze again, or decide to amble on down the shore toward some other place where, perhaps, the grass is greener.
For now, though, they are content.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

supper time

We were at the lighthouse today, and saw many boats far out on the horizon. Once in a while one would come close enough to have her picture taken as she rounded Cape Roseway on her way up the eastern channel.The gulls are delighted that lobster season has begun, and follow the boats hoping for odds and ends of leftover bait that might be tossed overboard. Supper for gulls.

And supper for us, too. No, not leftover bait. We were stacking wood for winter of 2012 when we spied the H. Sinclair coming toward the cove. Greg grabbed a yellow plastic pail and walked down to meet Radar and Skipper while I followed with frosted applesauce cake.
They tied up at the dock long enough to give us three lobsters and eat cake.
After a bit of a chat, they were on their way. They would have lots more to do before their day was finished and they could have their own supper.