The Blue Heron is back

First thing this morning, before my first coffee, I walk down to the road to pick up my newspaper and as I pull the paper out of the box, I spotted the large Blue Heron, back from its winter vacation. He looks as if he's trying to keep warm, with its neck all tucked in, looking as if he's thrown a big blanket over his shoulders or should I say his wings. It's not an easy task to capture an Blue Heron on camera. As I got a little closer, in a blink of an eye, he was up in the air flying away. Lucky for me, he just made a loop around and landed a few feet away from his first spot in the pond. Glad to see them back, another sign of spring. 

Photo of the Week

This week's photo on Cape Breton Living's Photo of the Week  is of a colourful spring shot of the St Peter's Canal which is a National Historic Site of Canada. The St Peter's Canal links the Atlantic Ocean with the Bras d'Or Lakes. You can find some interesting reading at this Parks Canada Website http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ns/stpeters/index.aspx

Sunny Sunday

The weather always seem to be a good topic here on Cape Breton Island. We've been getting some nice days lately, with temperatures just above the zero mark, but today, it was just like a summer day. Perfect for this Easter Sunday with family.  Even the the breeze was warm, making it just right for a walk along the shore after our big dinner.  Heard the peepers for the first time last evening. They must have known we were going to get this beautiful sunny day today. Spring is really here....

Internet is down

Since early this morning, March 20th, the internet connection has been down. Because of this, the webcam on the Cape Breton Living website hasn't been updating every 5 seconds like it is scheduled to do. I was able to connect through dial-up and managed to occasionally send an image of the webcam throughout the day. Hopefully the internet connection will be restored soon. I'm just realizing how painfully slow working with dial-up connection really is!

Trip around the Cabot Trail

Took a trip around the Cabot Trail yesterday. Although spring is not officially here yet, it was beautiful mild day with temperatures of 5-6c. We left from Sydney, where only patches of snow was showing here and there on lawns and parking lots. Spring was definitely in the air! We started the trip via Seal Island Bridge, Kelly's Mountain then St Ann's Bay, Cape Smokey, Ingonish and up around Big Intervale,  through Cheticamp and the Margarees and back on the Trans Canada to Sydney. You can say we did the trail counter-clockwise.  The photos up above are taken on the northern tip of the Cabot Trail in the Highlands.  The snow banks on North Mountain had to be at least ten feet high. This time of the year, I don't usually look for snow, but I was in total awe with the the beautiful snow covered scenery around us. Since we didn't get much snow all winter around home, this was a pleasant change. Now I am looking forward to spring and summer...

Friday morning

Early friday morning, just before 6:45am, these beautiful creatures were taking a stroll along the shore road, heading for the field and forest further up, away from the seashore.   In the shot you can see five deer, but I believe there was another one ahead in the front. This shot was "Photo of the Week" on the Cape Breton Living website this friday. 

The eagle is back

A sure sign that the winter is almost over and that spring is just around the corner. This morning, just another cloudy, drizzly and windy day, I spotted the magnificent bald eagle, back again after the long winter months to do some fishing in the pond. The ice is breaking up, giving the eagle a great opportunity to pluck an eel from the water in the pond.