Nova Scotia – Page 16 – Just An East Coast Girl

“LIVE” in Lunenburg

Canada Am is LIVE in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia this morning!

This letter was sent out by Tourism Nova Scotia

How cool is that?

Jeff Hutcheson, sports and weather anchor for the CTV morning show for the past 18 years announced his retirement earlier this month. Known as the “king of the remote broadcast “, Hutcheson is hitting the road for his final cross-Canada tour and has chosen Lunenburg for his last stop.

So, I debated …”Do I go, or do I stay?” Go in to Lunenburg? It’s only 20 minutes from my home. It would be so much fun to see this broadcast LIVE. OR…do I stay at home and watch it with my favourite coffee in hand like I do every morning. Canada Am is actually part of my morning routine. Hmm?

I actually decided to stay home, just because I knew it would be a cool broadcast and I didn’t want to miss it. You know how watching something live works? You go just for the fun and experience of it all but you don’t actually really see the show.

So…Here are a few pics from home lol

Cool…I see Colin in the crowd!

Talking with the Captain of the Bluenose II

East coast music live in Lunenburg:

As much as I would LOVE to be in Lunenburg for this, I know I am seeing more at home in front of my TV. Excuse the fuzzy pics!!! Better if I was there in person. 😛

Premier McNeil presents Jeff with a Bluenose II Crew jacket as an honorary member of the crew 😀

Hey, it’s our friend Adam Bower from The Grand Banker and one of the Banker chef’s cooking up “The Lunenburger” ( I actually saw Adam’s Mom Marlene and wife Cristina in the crowd too) So cool!!

It was such a great broadcast!! A perfect job promoting touristy Lunenburg and area.

Jeff Hutcheson from Canada AM with Lunenburg Mayor Rachel Bailey

Thank you Jeff for choosing Lunenburg as your last remote broadcast before you retire!

And that’s a wrap for the Month of May! 😀

I still remember …

A friend posted a picture on her Facebook page last night and immediately it took me back a few years… maybe 40 years …

…back to when I was a kid and would spent hours walking in the woods with my Dad or help him cut wood and keep his land trimmed from all the undergrowth. That was back in the day when my younger sister and I would spend many weekends with him on his acres of woodland while Mom worked. I didn’t do too much work, I was too little, but I had fun making Barbie doll houses out of moss ( yes I took my Barbies everywhere) and picking mayflowers and trilliums and lady slippers. I actually closed my eyes and could remember the woods road and trails, and which path went to what place and the places we got stuck or that were really mossy…even the places we made little forts. That was so long ago! Dad sold his woodland a few years back. He had only girls, and girls wouldn’t want woodland…lol

So when my friend posted this picture of the Lady Slippers growing in her wooded area garden…I remembered these special moments in time!

And a few more pictures of Lady Slippers in her garden. Aren’t they just perfect!

I guess that’s why I love orchids so much and they are one of my favs.

Thanks Peggy for the inspiration!

It’s Peak

My flowering crab apple tree is at it’s peak and so here are a few pictures because by this time next week it will be done and the trees will be green.

I LOVE LOVE weekends that are warm and we can enjoy eating outside ❤

🌸🌸🌸 Apple Blossom Weekend 🌸🌸🌸

That was quite a thunder and lightning storm we had in the wee hours this morning. It was one of those crash, bang, light up the whole sky storms, and it woke me up with a start. We don’t tend to have those kinda storms in these parts of the country so it was cool and… I guess I must have fell back to sleep.

This weekend is Apple Blossom Weekend in Nova Scotia, especially in the Annapolis Valley. Lots of events and activities and the Annual Apple Blossom Parade. While I really wanted to go, I also wanted to stay home and just do a couple things in my back yard. It’s getting just the way I want it so it’s fun to spend time there. I did manage to get to an Apple Orchard though, one more local, and walk down the path and smell that wonderful smell of the blossoms. There’s nothing like it!! I also picked up some rhubarb and apples so I could make a tasty treat to enjoy when we are relaxing tonight.

It was a fun day!

Chaga

What in the world is Chaga? lol

James brought some Chaga home for me to try. His friend (boss) has been collecting it when he’s out on his hikes and introduced James to this interesting…mushroom? I had to google it.

“Rather than soft like a mushroom, chaga is hard, almost as hard as wood. It is unique, nothing like common mushrooms.” In fact, the Siberians call it the “Gift from God” and the “Mushroom of Immortality,” this vibrant growth has been used by humans to support health for thousands of years. The Japanese call it “The Diamond of the Forest,” while the Chinese deem it “King of Plants.” For the Chinese that is saying a lot, since they have an immense history with countless plants.”

Now, you can get the great powerful secret of the Orient in your very own backyard…kinda…if you know what to look for.

Inonotus obliquus, commonly known as chaga mushroom , is actually a fungus, parasitic on birch trees and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal. Weird… The name Chaga comes from the Russian word for mushroom.

Chaga is traditionally grated into a fine powder and used to brew a beverage resembling coffee or tea. But you can also leave it in chunks and brew a “chunk” in a pot of water and keep reusing it until all the goodness is out of it. James brought some ground chaga home and then yesterday his friend gave him a bag of chaga chunks. Of course, I HAD to try it!!

It has a mild flavour and really isn’t too bad. It’s mellow.

Guess I better go for a walk and find some Chaga!

Watch Out for Motorcycles 🚲

It’s the kick off to summer! May long weekend and a gorgeous Saturday!

May is also Motorcycle Awareness Month! I am sure there will be a lot of bikes on the road this weekend. I know my sweetie plans to work a bit today and then get out on his!!

Great day to eat outside

A new kind of fun

Anyone who has been reading my blog for any time knows I love adventure and I love to explore. Unfortunately time & money these days doesn’t allow as much travel as I like so I have been looking at new ways to incorporate some extra fun in our walks and hikes around here.

GEOCACHING

Have you heard of it? What is it?

I have heard about geocaching for a long time and wanted to give it a try. My youngest son had his first go at it 3 weeks ago and since then I have really been wanting to get out and do it. So last night we did. I had my first introduction to geocaching.

…so what is Geocaching? Here is the definition from Wikipedia.

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, anywhere in the world.

A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook (with a pen or pencil). The geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking, trigpointing, orienteering, treasure-hunting, letterboxing, and waymarking.

Sounds like fun, right? That’s what I thought and so this summer I want to do more of it as we are out and about.

Last night we loaded the app on our phone and set up a user name. The app shows caches in your aerator wherever. I just have the basic version for now until I learn more. The basic version gives you quite a few spots but also shows the premium ones in grey ( A LOT MORE) You click on the one you want to find, it gives you basic clues and then you walk or hike to find it. We did some easy ones in our neighbourhood last night just to see how it worked. You log in and when you find it, you can add comments and/or a picture and it sets a marker that you found it. Pretty cool!

Here are a few pics from last night. We are really hoping to get out and do some more geocaching really soon.

Geocaching…I think it’s the perfect activity to get you out exploring!!

Prayers for Fort McMurray

Spring and Summer season can bring wild fires in the West Coast of Canada. And unfortunately it has started this year with a devastating fire in Fort McMurray

The only bright spot in the wildfire that has caused the entire Alberta community to evacuate is that no injuries or fatalities have been reported so far. The fire raging in the Fort McMurray area forced officials to evacuate 60,000 inhabitants.

Many Maritimers have called Fort McMurray home ( or second home) for a number of years as many have gone there to work in the oil sands. There are many friends and family from Nova Scotia that are dealing with this devastation… PLEASE PRAY!!!!

What is up with this white?

Ok, so I was NOT expecting this!! Freak weather today.

I peeked out my window this afternoon after David texted on his way home that it was…SNOWING!!!!!!

What?

Nope NOT expecting this!!!!

Wear your Plaid Proudly, It’s Tartan Day!

Tartan Day in Canada has become an annual event. The concept of “Tartan Day” began at a meeting of the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia on March 9, 1986. Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage on April 6th each year, the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. In Canada, on Tartan Day, Canadians are encouraged to wear tartan in commemoration of the contributions of Scots and their descendants to the fabric of our society.

(Picture below from the Government of Nova Scotia)

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And it’s so funny to me…unbeknown that it was Tartan Day today, I was at my parents last night and Mom gave me the Tartan shirt that she bought for my Dad so many years ago in 1961. It doesn’t fit him anymore and she knows how much I love the Nova Scotia tartan. I washed and ironed it, and tried it on this morning and it fit me!! A beautiful keepsake that I will always cherish.

Wear your plaid proudly!

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