Another Day of Grace

Might be Away for a While but Hopefully not too Long......

2012-01-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Well things are starting to happen and that means things just got a whole busier around here! I finally got a moving truck to pick up my things in St. John's and they should be arriving first thing in the morning if the ferry manages to dock in this storm. I remember there being a lot of things but after a year, I forgot just how much stuff I have. The person who was holding them reminded me yesterday that there is quite a bit. An entire living room...stacked to the ceiling! So this evening I am rushing around trying to make room for it all. Than once it is here, I have the tedious task of having to sort through it all and figure out what to do with it. I figure since I have been here for a year without it and got along fine, I don't really need it. Of course, I will keep my photo albums, a few of my favorite books and maybe some items of clothing but I am thinking of maybe selling or giving away anything else I don't need. I beginning to see how much of a burden it is to have too much stuff. A harsh lesson learned after accumulating a decade worth of things and realizing how difficult it is to get back and forth over long distances. And, truth be told, I don't foresee me staying in one place for too long anytime soon! I'm young, I'm single, I'm adventurous, I have nothing tying me down and I can go anywhere I want so why stay in one place? But it is hard to move around when you have to lug so many things with you.

Other than that, not much else has been happening. Still waiting for some snow so I can test out those snowshoes. Hopefully the snow that is falling now sticks around for a while. Still trying to figure out where I might take a trip this spring with those air miles and still working on getting Captain Jack back here. Progress is being made....slowly but surely!

This Video is a Must See for All!!! Please Read and Spread the Message!

2012-01-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

The video, "Killing us Softly 4", I am sharing in this post has been around for some time but I only came across it today so maybe everyone has already seen it. But if you haven't, please watch it and share it. The message is clear and although it targets marketing directed at women, all men should watch it too. It talks about how the media is dehumanizing women and how that dehumanization causes men to see us in a negative or positive light depending on how we look and how perfect we are. Define perfect? Well, as you will see in the video, perfection does not exist and what we see in magazines and in the media is not real. Photoshop is a great tool when trying to portray an image of perfection that does not exist.

Women need to grasp the concepts in these videos in order to understand that that image of perfection they are trying to achieve in the mirror every morning is simply not healthy and men need to understand this as well. They need to understand that the women in their lives have an impossible "role model" to live up to that is causing them to go to unhealthy lengths in order to achieve this impossible perfection and it is partially their duty to become aware of what the media is doing to the women in their lives so that they can help them realize that they are already as perfect as they can be and that is perfectly fine!

The second video "Fotoshop by Adobe" I am sharing is shorter than the first but with a similar, more comical approach to the whole message.

"Killing us Softly 4"
http://youtu.be/1ujySz-_NFQ

"Fotoshop by Adobe"

http://youtu.be/1ujySz-_NFQ

The New Year is off to a Fairly Good Start so Far

2012-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

Well, we are a week into 2012 and so far, things are going pretty smoothly for once. Still a few things up in the air but moving slowly forward at least! All that snow we had for Christmas here in Cape Breton melted but than a new fresh batch fell in a surprise storm that hit the area a few days ago. I was hoping it would stay around longer because for the first time since I was a kid, I'm looking forward to lots and lots of snow so I can test out my snowshoes I got for Christmas and go sleighing on the orchard! There has not been enough snow to test them out yet but even though I didn't like shoveling the stuff, I did manage to get out and do some wintery activities. I got out for some walks and took some pictures and even made a snow man! Well, actually it is more like a snow man-caterpillar-cigar-smoking-cowboy or something like that! You can be the judge of what you think it is from the pictures below!

A New Year....Another New Start....I Seem to be Starting Over a lot but Hopefully This New Start is a Good One!

2012-01-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

New Year's has come and gone again and with it comes more promises to myself and more resolutions to fulfill. The thing with resolutions is I don't really have any this year except to do the things I already do better. For example, I already eat pretty healthy, exercise daily, meet my daily freelancing goals, take lots of pictures and frequently participate in the things I love doing so I guess I will just be thriving to do those things better in 2012. I suppose when I think about it, there are a few things I could change and try to stick to in the coming year. I have a habit of turning down social engagements in order to catch up on work and than I regret not going. I think it might be beneficial if I accept more of these invitations and get out more! I also love to travel and have done so quite a bit in the past but I have not traveled nearly as much as I would like. I keep putting it off because of money and debt and other excuses but I'm starting to see that I am not getting any younger and there are only so many tomorrows left so now is a better time than any! I also have another "trait" that I would like to improve on for good and unfortunately, it is something that I had always hoped I would never have to worry about; being careful about who I trust and screening who I bring into my life. I know, I know.....it sounds bad but after what has happened in the last few months, it has become a necessity for me to not automatically trust the people who come into my life. I have a habit of assuming that no one has a reason to hurt me or set me back and have learned that sometimes, some people do not need a reason to mislead and mistreat. By now on, anyone who comes into my life will have to earn my trust before I let my guard down and believe that they are not in my life for their own good while ignoring my needs. By now on, the people who come into my life will have just as much to offer me as I do them instead of them taking up my valuable time and filling me up with lies to benefit their own agenda! I'm going to learn from my experiences and be more careful so that I don't make these same mistakes again!

This time last year, I was not in all that good of a place. I was days away from boarding the ferry back to Nova Scotia except it was not for my yearly vacation, it was for good. At that time, I had a love-hate relationship with St. John's. I loved some of the people, I loved the scenery, I loved the somewhat laid-back feel of the city, I loved my apartment. However, I was jobless after the company I was working for went under and I was feeling defeated and like I was not living up to my potential. By that time, I was spending my days doing the same things all the time and not really going anywhere, kinda like a hamster on a hamster wheel! I see now that loosing my job and being thrown into having to make some very hard and fast decision was a blessing in disguise because, although I am still a long ways from being where I want to be, at least I am now seeing results and I am, at least, slowly moving forward.

As for the near future, I am currently trying to get a moving company to move my things from Newfoundland to Cape Breton and than I will be working on trying to find a way to get Captain Jack safely back with me. I miss that little bugger! It has been almost nine months since I last saw him and I'm afraid he won't know who I am! At some point in the next year, I assume I will be moving, either forcibly when this house sells or on my own free will due to my feet getting itchier by the day and the need for a change of scenery. Not sure where I will end up. Could be out west or just to Sydney or elsewhere in the province. Just taking it day by day right now. I do know that moving back to St. John's is not in the cards, at least for now. Who knows...if you believe the hype surrounding the 2012 apocalypse, than maybe it is a good idea that we all live the next year to the fullest! I'm not sure what to believe and I am not taking it too seriously. I do know one thing and that is December 21st, 2012 and the days leading up to it are going to be quite interesting.

Anyway, so it's 2012 and since I didn't leave the house last year to ring in 2011, I thought it would be a good idea to get out and do something this year. Nothing to extravagant but an entertaining night indeed. Some drinks, some music and some dancing all in good company! The festivities ended with dad and I watching some, in my opinion, crazy people take a dip in the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean for the 4th Annual Lawrence Desrosiers Memorial Polar Bear Dip at Lingan Beach.

I leave you now with some pictures of the night in question and some motivational quotes to bring you into 2012.

Happy New Year!

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things". ~John Burroughs

"May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions". ~Joey Adams

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us". - Hal Borland

"Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go". - Brooks Atkinson

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow". Einstein

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right". Oprah Winfrey

"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people". Confucius

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year". Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

It might still be considered "the holidays" for most people but the busiest and most hectic part of it all if over; Christmas. For the most part, it was pretty quiet except for the bit of last minute shopping I had to do. The only day my sister had off work was the day before Christmas Eve so I took that opportunity to take her out for dinner and a movie as part of her Christmas gift. I spent Christmas Eve watching Christmas movies on TV and eating junk food with a friend and few friends and family members stopped by for a visit on Christmas Day. I was actually surprised by the lack of Christmas movies that played this year. On Christmas Eve, the only holiday movies on were It's a Wonderful Life and Home Alone in French. Movies like Jaws and The Green Mile were on multiple times but I didn't get to watch A Christmas Story or Christmas Vacation at all this year. I resorted to watching Home Alone on DVD.

The rest of my time around the holidays was spent around the house or taking pictures around the neighborhood. I did manage to get out once with Dad and managed to get a picture of that Bald Eagle I often see actually sitting in the giant nest that I suspected belonged to him. I took part in a photo shoot with a giant snowman in my neighbor's yard and went for a walk into town one cold but calm night for hot chocolate and pizza. Nothing fancy or extravagant, just a laid back few days with friends and family.

Tomorrow evening may be a different story, it being New Year's Eve and all. I will be spending it close to home at the Lingan Community Hall. Now I just have to figure out what I will wear and hopefully my formal wear still fits after all the junk food I have been eating this past week!

My Travelogue has been Published

2011-12-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

So, I received word a few days that the travel article I had been working on for a few weeks may be published and today, I found it that it has in fact been accepted and is posted online at http://www.cheaphotels.org/travelogues/ for the whole world to see! If you like, you can check out my story at the above site and also read some of the other interesting travelogues written by various writers from around the world.

Christmas Eve is here Again.....Already.....What a Year!

2011-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas Eve has arrived and another year is almost gone. It is hard to believe that a year has passed already. This time last year, I was spending my last Christmas in Newfoundland and getting closer to the day I had to leave to move back to Nova Scotia. I was in a much different place this time last year. Sad to be closing one chapter of my life and extremely happy about the chapter that had just opened. That chapter has since closed and now I am nowhere where I thought I would be by this time. The complete opposite actually; I thought I would only be here for a short time getting my life together and returning to Newfoundland this past fall but things didn’t pan out the way I thought they would and now I have made the decision to try and pick up the pieces yet again and stay away from St. John’s for a while and maybe test out some new waters elsewhere. After all, nothing seemed to be working out over there anyway so maybe it is all for the best that I try somewhere different.

With the exception of last Christmas, which was probably one of the best Christmases in recent memory, I find it feels less and less like Christmas every year. Maybe it is because there are no children around or maybe it is just simply because I am getting too old. I do know one thing and that is that I am not the only one sharing this sentiment; all anyone has to do around the holidays these past few years is look at the grouchy faces of shoppers and the sadness and pain of so many this time of year to see that it is not the happy time I remember waiting for all year as a child. Back than, Christmas was Christmas and the spirit was alive. The commercialization of the holiday season that was meant to be about the birth of Jesus Christ has become known as a time for selfish hoarding of material things and spending money we don’t have to show others how much we love them. By the way, when did giving gifts become a way of showing someone you love them? So basically, the bigger the gift, the more I love you? I’m not sure I make the connection. Forget showing your loved ones you love them all year long in other ways, just buy them a bunch of really expensive gifts every year and that should do it.

I’m not sure I make the connection of excessive drinking and domestic abuse with Christmas either. Both these things are at their highest this time of year. What do drinking yourself into a comma and fighting with all the people you love have anything to do with the birth of Jesus Christ and the spirit of the holiday season? I guess when I analyze it more and think about what Christmas has become, I can see why it has become such a negative time of year for so many people. I mean, look at the state of the world. The economy is falling apart, people are loosing their jobs, going bankrupt and loosing their homes and are still expected to go out and splurge on Christmas gifts when many of them can’t even afford to eat. There are children, even in the developed world, who will go to bed hungry tonight. And that is just what is going on here in Canada and other developed nations. There are people in the world who, tonight, will fall asleep to the sound of gunfire and bombs exploding with no roof over their heads to protect them. There are children who have never even seen a toy in their entire lives and families who will never have a place to call home. Strangely enough, I read an article fairly recently where some of the world’s countries were rated in terms of happiness and The United States didn’t make the list at all and Canada was at the very bottom. Some of the poorest countries in the world rated higher than two of the world’s most developed nations. Shouldn’t that tell us something? I also read that around 60% of the population of Canada is on antidepressants. Hello?? What on earth is going on here? We have everything we want at our disposal, roofs over our heads, food in our bellies and material things coming out of our ears and we are still unhappy…touché……people are just not getting it. Although it is nice to have all these material things at our disposal, it is what we have to sacrifice in order to get those things that makes for all the sadness and unhappiness. Long hours at work in order to afford to buy all these things resulting in less time spent raising children and spending time with loved ones and credit card debt and exhaustion from constantly having to keep up with the Joneses. All these things eventually result in unhappiness and depression which brings about the drug and alcohol abuse and need for happy pills to get through the day. Why are people choosing to live this way? Yes, it would be nice to own my own house some day and a car but I am not going to sacrifice my happiness in order to get it. If I get it, fine. If I don’t, that is fine too. The things that are more important to me in life are the memories, the people, the exciting things I do with my free time and the experiences – not the material things. Things are things but experiences are what make life worthwhile. In the end, will you remember the things in your life or the experiences, memories and people you love? That is why I would rather spend any money I have now on traveling and experiencing as many new things as possible. The prospect of having to work 60 hours a week and give up my life in order to finance material things is just not appealing to me in the least. I would rather be free than cave into this way of life that a lot of people today have become so consumed with – buying, buying and buying – and not living life to the fullest. I find it rather sad and when people question me why I have not settled down yet and why I would rather travel and explore the world around me instead of working 9 to 5 and going home everyday to watch TV and veg on the couch, I just shrug and think how lucky I am that I have ventured away from a conventional way of thinking and I am able to still survive and be happy.

My dream for the near future is to downsize my material possessions as much as possible and reduce myself to just myself and a backpack and travel around the world or as much of it as I can. People think I am crazy….and I think they are either crazy or just jealous that they don’t have the guts to do the same! I have also decided that starting next Christmas, I will not be accepting any more gifts and anyone on my list will have to make do with a donation in their name to their favorite charity. A better world starts with one act of kindness and unselfishness that spreads and maybe if others start seeing the world the way I see it and start getting back to what really matters, there might still be hope in repairing the damage we have done to our society and to humanity as a whole.

Wow….I’m starting to sound a bit depressing….my apologies…. I am a little more down this Christmas than I thought. I guess I kinda miss certain aspects of Christmas on The Rock with my friends and in my own place. I had some traditions there. The decorating with the cats, walking in the freshly fallen snow in Bannerman Park, hot chocolate at Starbucks after a long day of shopping, a glass of wine in front of the television watching Shrek (which for some strange reason became a Christmas tradition in St. John’s when my sister and I were roommates back in the day) and holiday drinks with my friend Eileen.

Of course, I have very fond memories of Christmas at home when I was growing up too and at a time when it was not all about gifts and running around tiring yourself out and racking up your credit cards. To tell you the truth, I can barely remember any gifts I received as a child but I remember all the special memories and traditions. Decorating our twelve-foot tree. Driving around looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. Midnight mass at Mount Carmel with my grandfather and the sound of the beautiful choir. Dinner with family. Sleighing at the orchard and skating at the pond on Christmas Day’s Eve. Piling in front of the TV to watch A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation and Home Alone and other holiday classics. These are the things that I remember about Christmases past. As I write this, I also recall some Christmases in recent times that didn’t go quite as planned and realize that everyone was right – I can now laugh about those misfortunes. Like the Christmas when my sister and I traveled for twelve hours on a bus across Newfoundland only to be told that our ferry across The Gulf would not be able to leave due to a fierce winter storm. The worse thing about that was we were already onboard when the captain made this announcement and no one was allowed to disembark. Every few hours, our captain came over the loudspeaker to announce that we would be leaving soon. Soon turned out to be two days later. We arrived in North Sydney late on Christmas Eve tired, hungry and cranky but thankfully in one piece because it was one hell of a rough crossing! Or what about the year I arrived in Port aux Basques on the DRL bus only to discover that my suitcase full of Christmas presents for the family had been stolen! Well, not really stolen, accidentally taken so I discovered after. I remember standing outside waiting for the luggage to be taken out from under the bus and when mine didn’t appear, tears filled my eyes. Fortunately, the person who had taken it lived in the area and he just made it to the ferry terminal in time to return it to me! He must have had one heck of a surprise when he opened up my suitcase and realized it wasn’t his! I also recall my first Christmas away from home many years ago when I was new to Newfoundland and the kind folks who refused to let me spend it alone without a turkey dinner!

I guess Christmas hasn’t been off to all that bad of a start this year. The best so far was waking up to snow on the ground! All along, a green Christmas had been forecast but it looks like this freshly fallen show will be sticking around for at least the rest of today and into tomorrow. Snow always makes Christmas feel more like Christmas for some reason. I managed to get out for a coffee today with dad and I was astonished by how many people were still running around looking for Christmas gifts! What a sight and not a good one either when they are pushing and shoving and rushing around on slippery roads! I guess these people really do not have that much of the spirit if they are only getting into it at the very last minute! I may end up going for a nice Christmas Eve walk with my friend who lives down the road later on if her schedule allows but I definitely know that I will be partaking in one Christmas tradition that never dies; watching some holiday classics on TV!

Well, that is my yearly Christmas Eve rant. I leave you now with some old photos I came across from Christmases past and some inspiring quotes that really say it all about what the season should be all about!

QUOTES
Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
Burton Hillis

From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another
The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.
Emily Matthews

Let Christmas not become a thing
Merely of merchant’s trafficking,
Of tinsel, bell and holly wreath
And surface pleasure, but beneath
The childish glamour, let us find
Nourishment for soul and mind.
Let us follow kinder ways
Through our teeming human maze,
And help the age of peace to come
From a Dreamer’s martyrdom.
Madeline Morse

May peace be your gift for this Christmas and the blessing of the Almighty be with you and the world to help us all make this world a better place. To make it a Christmas day everyday of the year.
Kurt Avish

Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.
Ruth Carter Stapleton

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.
Margaret Thatcher

The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.
Henry David Thoreau

Some businessmen are saying this could be the greatest Christmas ever. I always thought that the first one was.
Art Fettig

Yet Another Contest Entered....and More Votes Needed

2011-12-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

So I entered another writing contest and, again, this one relies on votes. Fortunately they also judge winners based on quality too so at least I have still have a chance even I do not get many votes. That being said, votes are appreciated if you would like to take the time to read my entries at http://pixelhose.com/2011/12/20/i-have-been-to-heaven%E2%80%8F-by-andrea-maceachern/ AND http://pixelhose.com/2011/12/22/journey-to-the-framboise-stillwaters-by-andrea-maceachern/

I didn't realize until after I entered that in order for people to vote, they must join the site with a user name and password (which seems a bit odd to me) so if the site does not interest you, I understand!
Thanks!

2011-12-21T17:25:00.001-08:00

A MacEachern Family Tradition

2011-12-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

My family had so many Christmas traditions while I was growing up and some of them are still alive and well even though my sisters and I are all grown up and pretty much on our own. One Christmas tradition that is still alive and well is the annual drive around to look at Christmas lights and I had the opportunity to do just that last night. This year, there were a few really good ones around the Sydney area, one of which I think was pure genius and must have required months of work to put together. Below is a link to some information about some of these great displays and where you can find them so you too can pile the family into the car and go check them out if you live nearby!

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2011-12-15/article-2839003/Homeowners-give-gift-of-light-with-elaborate-Christmas-displays/1

Just some thoughts for your Day

2011-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

Made a New Friend Today and Helped Him Find His Way Back Home!

2011-12-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

So today was quite an interesting day. It started off like any other with me me waking up having breakfast and heading out for my morning walk/jog. I was about 3 kilometers away from my house when I saw a blur through the corner of my eye, running towards me from the woods. Of course, with so many coyotes in the area, I quickly turned towards the blur and froze only to be greeted by a black Labrador mix dog who promptly jumped on me and licked my face. Friendly enough thank heavens! But who did he belong to? I figured he must live in the area and maybe he momentarily slipped away from his owners to greet the lone morning jogger on the street and would turn back when called. But no one came and no one called. I continued to walk hoping he would get sick of following me and go back to his home before I reached the highway where he could be hit with a car. He continued to follow, walking alongside me the whole time and when I reached the highway, he was still with me. By this time, I was quite concerned. Weekdays on this busy highway see a lot of traffic from employees at the Lingan Power Plant and large coal trucks going back and forth from the plant. After trying to coax him back to where he came from, hopefully back into the loving arms of his owners, it began to cross my mind that maybe he didn't even live in the neighborhood and there were no loving arms waiting at the top of that hill. It also crossed my mind that maybe this poor doggy had been abandoned and left to fend for himself in the woods of Lingan.

I had no choice at that point but to walk back along the highway to my house with the dog following close by. This proved to be challenging as he had no collar or leash and I had to keep him from running out into traffic. I soon realized that he must be a house dog and was not used to being outdoors on his own. He continuously ran out in front of moving vehicles as if he didn't even see them. Fortunately, the driver's traveling the busy stretch were patient and understanding while I tried to coax him out from in front of their cars.

So we made it to my house in one piece and for me to get to work trying to find his family if he still had one. But first, I set out to make him as comfortable as possible in his new surroundings. Some ham and water and a blanket to lay on in the warm porch was the best I could do with what I had available but he seemed quite happy....until I walked away.....than the crying began. And this little guy had the sad, puppy dog face mastered! Broke my heart....so I sat with him for a while until he fell asleep and got to work searching. After placing an ad on facebook and Kijiji and communicating with The Nova Scotia Lost Dog Network and Friends of the SPCA, it was discovered that Ben did in fact have a family who reported him missing the night before and missed him dearly! We'll never know what happened in the almost 24 hours that Ben was on the loose but, if I were to guess, he must have made his way through the woods near his house to the opening in the trees where he found me. I do know one thing; that wooded area is thick, there are many coyotes around there and it was quite cold last night so it must have been quite the trying and scary experience for Ben who is, no doubt, used to sleeping in a safe, warm house with his family. No wonder he was so tired once he made it to the warmth and comfort of my front porch!

When the time came for me to drive Ben back to his home, he anxiously jumped into the car as all dogs do when faced with a drive in a car. When I approached his street, I knew that my efforts to help him find his way back paid off because his excitement upon seeing his neighborhood and his house said it all! Its a good thing he didn't turn around and go the other way when I first tried to shoo him back because he may still be out in the cold. I was sad to see him leave but happy to have been the one he chose to rescue him and happy to see him back with his family. Having Ben around the house all day actually made my day. It was nice to have a dog around again since I have not had one in so long. Makes me want to go out and rescue one of my own!

For anyone reading this post who lives in Nova Scotia, a great way to help pet owners in your community find their lost loved ones when they go missing and to help people like me who find lost pets, check out the two Facebook pages I have listed below and join their pages to help spread the word when a pet in your area goes missing.

https://www.facebook.com/NSLDN

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-the-Sydney-SPCA/110172612412969

The Majestic Bald Eagles of Cape Breton Island

2011-12-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Bald Eagles are quite rare in most places and, although quite rare in Nova Scotia with only 200 mating pairs, I still manage to see them quite often! I assume this is because most of the Bald Eagles in Nova Scotia are found in the area of the Bras D'or Lakes on Cape Breton Island which is close to where I live.

I frequently see these beautiful and majestic eagles but usually I only see one at any one time. Yesterday I had the privilege of seeing two together and, as luck would have it, I happened to have my camera with me! I first noticed one in a tree above me and while photographing him, he got a bit spooked and flew to another nearby tree where another one was perched, waiting. And that is when I was able to get rare photographs of two bald eagles at once! I won't say where I saw them to protect there whereabouts from curious viewers who may disturb their nest and hunting grounds but I will share the beautiful photos I captured....

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/bald-eagle/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nsbirds/bns0086.htm

Thinking About that Trip I Plan to Take with my Air Miles Again

2011-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Not much has been happening around here lately. The weather is colder, the bike is put away, the winter clothes are out and there is less sunlight. The skates and snowshoes are out too but we are in an awkward weather stage here where it is too cold to do much outdoors but there is no snow to enjoy the cold weather sports I can't wait to indulge in once we do finally get some snow. Hopefully we at least get a dusting for Christmas!

What has really been on my mind lately is that trip I have been meaning to take for months now. The one I want to take with all those air miles I have been collecting for more than a decade. I figure that since I am unemployed now and have the free time, now would be the best time to go. After all, I will be back full swing into the job search soon and no employer is going to want to give me a week off to go frolicking in the sun somewhere after I have only been working there for a few weeks or months! Once I get the final loose ends tied up in Newfoundland and bring Captain Jack home and get the rest of my belongings out of my friend's storage room, I will be free and careless for a while. The only problem is I can't decide where to go! I have it narrowed down to a few destinations:
Hawaii
California
Montana
South Africa
Costa Rica
one of a number of European countries
Cuba

Today I narrowed it down even more when I outweighed the good against the bad of each potential destination. California and Montana are in the United States and I have already traveled to the states numerous times and would like to see other countries. They are also close to where I am and can be done at another time since the airfare would not be very expensive anyway. I was thinking about camping and hiking around Hawaii but than came to my senses and realized that that is probably not a good trip to take alone and on a strict budget. South Africa and Costa Rica are probably too far to be covered by my frequent flyer miles and, although Europe has many deals when it comes to flights and the miles used to get to certain countries, everything else is too expensive for my current budget. So that leaves me with Cuba. Its another country and another culture but it is still fairly close and can be done cheaply. So it looks like I will be possibly taking a trip to Cuba in the near future. Or I could just keep saving my miles for a few more years and have enough to go somewhere further like Australia or New Zealand and hope in the meantime that my miles do not expire!

I welcome suggestions if you have any idea where I could go on a small budget. Somewhere relatively safe, of course, since I will be on my own!

Winter is Here!

2011-11-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well, that nice weather we had been having here in Cape Breton abruptly came to an end yesterday. While it is normal to get a light dusting of snow this time of year, it is not normal to get a dumping of 40 centimeters of snow in less than 24 hours! This early winter storm came just hours after I managed to get in some final pictures of the autumn leaves and some beautiful sunsets without a backdrop of white.

Besides scurrying around to get those last Fall moments captured on camera and adjusting to the newly fallen massive amount of snow, the week has been pretty uneventful. Well, I did try something new. Sort of.....I bought a used pair of skates on impulse a few weeks ago and decided to give them a try a few days ago. Before that, I had not skated in almost twenty years so I was quite nervous about getting on skates again after so long but I didn't manage to fall once! I was a little wobbly and some of the more seasoned skaters gave me some funny looks but after a few skates around the ice, I was doing much better. Mind you, my legs and ankles are still quite sore! Next up on my list of new things to try: Snowshoeing. I managed to get a free pair on Amazon with a gift certificate I received and actually can't wait to try them out! And if I don't like it, it's not like I paid an arm and a leg for a new pair of snowshoes.

Well that's about all I have been up to this past week or so. Still writing, still sorting out my life, still in Cape Breton trying to decide what to with myself next. The next couple of days are shaping up to be a bit busy. A trip into the sprawling metropolis of Sydney tomorrow to do a bit of Christmas shopping, browse the used bookstore for some inspiration and take some pictures around the park and the boardwalk, weather pending. I hear the temperatures are going back up to the double digits in the nest few days. This could go one of two ways: 1. melt all the snow (yay!!) or 2. cause massive flooding and slushy, muddy conditions!

The Dangers of Feeding Wild Animals

2011-11-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

Most people understand that wild animals can be dangerous and deserve our respect and caution when interacting with them. Unfortunately, there are still many people, albeit good intentioned as they are, who fail to understand this and will not only approach wildlife in an aggressive manner but also feed wild animals. I admit, as a child, I used to sneak into the kitchen and steal slices of salami to feed a fox who used to make an appearance in my backyard every evening around 6. I thought he was my friend and even gave him a name but in reality, he was only using me for the salami and now that I am older and wiser, I realize that I may have been doing more damage than good to that poor fox.

Fast forward life, being given free handouts. First of all, a fed animal becomes a "friendly" animal. If it knows it will be getting food, it will always be around. This presents a danger to yourself because a wild animal hanging around can become a threat to children and pets especially if that food supply suddenly stops. Secondly, it presents danger to the animal. Having a wild animal encroaching too close to civilization can put the animal at risk for harm such as being hit by a vehicle or being trapped by neighbors who are not so thrilled about having a wild coyote, fox or other animal hanging around. But, most importantly, it puts the animal at risk for starvation, malnourishment, deportation by wildlife officials or even death. Animals in the wild learn from birth that they must hunt for their meals. Hunting is hard and tiring and does not always deliver the desired effect but they survive. Accepting handouts from a friendly human is easy - no effort required. The danger in this is an animal who becomes too dependent on these easy handouts loses its instincts to hunt for himself. When you suddenly stop providing this food, the animal is left hungry and may face a long, hard winter without anything to eat. And because animals who are fed are not afraid of humans and have no problem approaching people, wildlife officials see this as a dangerous combination and recipe for disaster and sometimes they have no choice but to either relocate the animal deeper into the wild after having already lost its hunting instincts or to destroy the animal.

Here in Cape Breton where I live, there is a large number of Coyotes and they are coming into close contact with humans on a daily basis. Even though there have been serious incidents with these animals in the recent past, some people still think that they are friendly and proceed to feed them as if they were pets. Than they wonder why their cats are missing and their garbage is torn to shreds. Coyotes may look and act like friendly dogs but they can be dangerous and they are not afraid of people. They also travel in packs. Foxes on the other hand may not be dangerous to the point that they attack or bite people but they do carry rabies and they do eat small pets. They are also not very afraid of humans and they are quite energetic and playful in nature. I assume this is why so many people have been feeding them at various locations around town; they are easy to approach and have no problem approaching people. They have become so dependent on humans for food that there are accounts of foxes actually making dens out of backyard sheds and church basements! Why would they have dens in the forest when they can have one that is mere feet away from the food source? I hear people complaining every day about how the foxes are taking over but than see the same people feeding them leftover KFC and pizza. Not a very healthy diet for humans let alone a wild animal who is used to eating raw meat. Last I heard, some of these beautiful creatures were going to be relocated or destroyed because they made a den too close to one of the elementary schools.

I actually had the chance to meet one of these local foxes who was being fed by well-meaning locals and was shocked by its reaction to me and its peculiar behavior. Just see for yourself in the pictures below! At the time, it was all in good fun and, although I did not feed him, it was pretty obvious that someone was. I was taking pictures one evening near a graveyard and he approached me. I was weary at first but felt comfortable enough to let my guard down with him to get these pictures and have a bit of fun with him. It was just like having a pet dog with me. He followed me everywhere I went and stood right next to me like a loyal friend as I snapped pictures. He even tried to get into my car at one point and I'm sure he would have tagged along if I let him! Before we parted ways, he decided to start up a little friendly game of hide and seek and, although the pictures are quite cute, they are also shocking. Very rarely is this behavior documented or even experienced by most people but I assure you the pictures are real and make for a great memory. The sad part is I have no idea what the fate of that fox might be and how he will survive the upcoming winter if those precious handouts he has become so dependent on cease. So now I leave you with these pictures to enjoy but also ask that you please think twice before you try to feed a wild animal. I assure you that he is well-trained and able to find his own food. His life may depend on your decision!

http://www.paws.org/feeding-wildlife.html
http://www.centerforwildlifeinformation.org/WildlifeStewardship/DontFeedAnimals/dontfeedanimals.html
http://www.wildlifecareofventura.org/Animal%20Help%20Information%20Pages/Feeding%20Wildlife%20-%20Why%20Not.htm

Halloween is out of the Way.....now Christmas....aaarrrggghhhh

2011-11-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well, Halloween is now out of the way.....but there is still another million things to knock down before I can finally rest! The party at the hall next door was not bad, quite a crowd showed up and almost everyone was dressed in their scary best! Got to see a few people I have not seen in years and had a few drinks and dances followed by a trip to the nearby graveyard to take some spooky pictures. That didn't last long though as it was so cold, I could barely even hold the camera!

Now, I still have to figure out how to get my things in Newfoundland and bring them back here along with Captain Jack. And if you have not noticed, I still have not gotten around to fixing up my blog yet so that is something I have to do in the coming days as well. And there is Christmas. Less than two months away. The thought of it is kind of making me nauseated. The shopping, the spending money I don't have, the cold weather. Anyway, at least for now the weather here is still half decent. It seems everywhere else in Atlantic Canada has already seen their first snowfall and I have yet to see a flurry. I don't think we have even had frost yet! I actually managed to get out today for a bike ride which is something I did not do for a few days because another nor'easter blew through here and dumped a ton of rain on us. These storms seem to be getting more frequent the last few years and more damaging. They say it has something to do with global warming but I have not given it much thought....that's another blog, another day I guess. In the meantime, at least I'm making a conscious effort to post on here and update my readers instead of not posting anything for weeks at a time so I have not broken any promises there! For now, it will be updates until things get more organized around here....trust me, I have so many ideas and so many things to write about, I could be kept busy for eternity so many interesting posts will be coming in the future. Life happens and has to be dealt with and that is where I am now. In the meantime, here are some of those entertaining pictures from that Halloween party the other night.....

Just Another Day.....and Another Update

2011-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

So I think the Indian Summer we were having here in Cape Breton has sadly come to an end. Its been quite chilly the last few days and now we are experiencing rain and high winds which I am told will last for the rest of the week and I'm not getting outdoors as much. I have been trying to get out for walks as much as possible but I think the bike rides will be less frequent here on in till the snow starts falling. Speaking of snow, I heard a really horrible rumor that the weather is calling for flurries Friday. I checked the weather just to be sure that it was in fact a rumor but, unfortunately, its true. Earlier in the week, I did manage to get outdoors and take some pictures around the yard and the neighborhood and I finally got those pictures of the windmills that I had been meaning to get for a while now. Other than that, I have been spending a lot of time in the house on my laptop catching up on all that work I got behind on when the weather was nice.

That being said, this coming week will actually be quite busy even if the weather is bad. I am now officially on a job hunt as the freelance work has dried up a bit and I have some bills I have to catch up on so I will be tweaking my resume and looking for potential employers to pitch it to. The idea of returning to a formal office job or call centre is not in the least bit appealing to me but there is not much else to choose from in Cape Breton right now and if I'm going to stay afloat I have to make do with what is available. One of these days, I will be working from home full time doing what I love! I'm still undecided as to whether I will be going to St. John's for a visit in November, but one thing for sure is I have to somehow get my belongings back here as I'm sure the person whose storage room is overrun with my stuff is getting pretty fed up with, well, not being able to use said storage room. Captain Jack is doing well last I heard but I still wish I had that little bugger here with me! (For those of you who do not know, Captain Jack is my pet Tabby cat) This Friday, I will have access to a car so I am going to spend the day in Sydney doing a bit of Christmas shopping and looking for a new winter coat. Although I won`t be spending Halloween at the George Street Mardi Gras this year, there will be a gathering at the community hall next door. It won`t be as loud and crowded at the Newfoundland festivities that I am used to but I`m sure it will still be a good time. I`m due for an outing so just being around people and having a good time will be good for me no matter where it is! As everyone will likely be wearing costumes, that means I have to put one together too. Yes, that`s right....it is two days before the event and I still have no idea what to wear. I have a lot of Halloweenish items here (masks, hats and funky clothes) but not enough from each theme to put together a recognizable costume. As it stands now, my plan is to just throw a bunch of stuff together and when people ask me what I am supposed to be, I`ll just say "I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me". Over the course of the next week or so, I will also be doing some work to my blog template and layout so you may notice some things out of place but please just bear with me because it will be back to normal ASAP.

Other than that, I am still trying to keep this blog updated and current as much as possible and I still intend to write about all the wonderful new things I did over the summer and fall..with lots of pictures! But here are a few of those pictures I took of those very photogenic windmills I was talking about!

http://www.canwea.ca/featuredWindFarm_e.php?farmId=69

Things are Starting to Slow Down a Bit...a Sure Sign that the Long and Cold Days of Winter are Just Around the Corner

2011-10-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, summer seems to be coming to a close. The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder and things are slowing down. With the last road trip of the year behind me and warm beach days becoming less frequent, I now have more time to focus on my blog and the other things I have left on the back burner while I was out and about and enjoying the good weather while it lasted. This past week was quite eventful. As I mentioned in the last post, I embarked on a fall trip around the Cabot Trail with my mother, sister and a friend. For the last road trip of the year, it turned out to be a great day. The weather was unseasonably warm and the sun stayed out all day. The fall colors were not fully out but the leaves were still beautiful in the mountains. We spent the day exploring under the Seal Island Bridge, taking pictures of the beautiful scenery, having a picnic in Cheticamp and watching the moon come up over Cape Smokey. Wednesday was just as interesting. With Halloween coming up, a couple of us decided that it would be fun to dress up and visit a supposedly haunted graveyard to take some pictures and see if we could see any evidence of this said haunting. Although we did not see any ghosts, we did make a new friend who followed us around for a part of the night; a very friendly and playful fox! When I have more time, I plan to share all these experiences I have had all summer on my blog in more detail but for now, I am just checking in and giving an update. There are a few things coming up during the fall that are going to keep me busy and possibly keep me from blogging to my full potential for a little bit longer. I don't usually do much for Halloween but this year, there seems to be a lot going on so I have to get a costume ready! I'm also still working on solving some pressing issues going on in my personal life and working to get caught up on quite a few projects that have been put aside for too long but I will keep with the updates and posts as much as I can until things calm down some more!

My Week in Review......storms, meteor showers and beaches!

2011-10-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

So I haven't really lived up to that last promise I made to make at least three posts a week but this time I have a good reason; I didn't do anything blog-worthy this week! A strong nor'easter blew through here and caused some nasty weather that kept me indoors most of the week. Yeah, I know.....that is not a very good reason because I still have four-months packed with tons of things I did over the summer behind me and have not blogged about any of it yet. I guess this past week would have been a good time to do that seeing as how I was in the house all week! Seriously though, I was quite busy trying to sort out some things with my life and working on some writing I was behind on and since I knew that today was going to be a warm and sunny day, I tried to get as much of the things I needed to do out of the way so I could get in some beach time while the weather is still nice. I spent the entire afternoon at Dominion Beach walking the boardwalk and looking for interesting shells and rocks. In fact, it turned out to be warmer and sunnier than what was predicted. 25 degrees to be exact. Now, any of you folks reading this who live in more southern climates may balk at that and think 25 degrees (Celsius, that is, for anyone living south of the Canadian border) is not all that hot but, trust me, that is very hot this far north this late in the year. In fact, it was so hot that I was even able to wade knee-deep in the Atlantic Ocean and the water actually felt warm. A bizarre phenomenon indeed considering that in years past, there has been snow on the ground this time of year! Ok, enough with the excuses for not blogging enough.....I managed to get this post written even though it is a beautiful evening with a full moon in the sky with not a breath of wind and I should be having a bonfire on a beach somewhere.

Speaking of beautiful evenings....after the remnants of that storm died off yesterday, it turned out to be a nice evening and it happened to coincide with the Draconid meteor shower. I had heard that it was supposed to be quite a show with 600 to 1000 meteors streaking through the sky each hour so I found myself a dark spot with a clear view of the night sky and watched. And watched and watched and watched. A few hours and a severely sore neck later, I finally caught a glimpse of a fast-moving, dim streak coming from the west! It must have been a meteor....at least that is what I am saying after spending an entire evening looking at the sky. It could very well have just been my eyes playing tricks on me. Disappointment grew upon hearing that the height of the shower was in fact hours earlier in the afternoon Atlantic Standard Time. Darn it! Had I known this, I could have hopped on a plane and planted myself on the other side of the world in the middle of the Australian Outback and caught a glimpse of more than just one measly, faded blur. Luckily, I still have a chance of getting in a good meteor shower this year because there are four more coming up before the year ends! One more this month, two in November and one in December.

Well, that has been my week in review. This week proves to be just as busy so I am not going to make any promises to post anything for at least a few days. Tomorrow will be spent catching up on some work and, since it is supposed to be a nice day again, spending some time outdoors. On Tuesday, I will be hitting the road for the last road trip of the year. The leaves are changing colors and a trip around the Cabot Trail is in order! After all, the Cabot Trail is one of the top destinations in North America for seeing fall colors and the weather is supposed to be fine so maybe I will get in some more beach time too! As for the rest of the week beyond that? Who knows! The only thing I know is as long as the weather stays like this, I will be not be spending much time on my laptop!

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=maritimes_brace_for_more_sto_041011?ref=ccbox_homepage_category1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draconids
http://www.theskyscrapers.org/meteors/
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide
http://www.celtic-colours.com/
http://www.cabottrail.travel/
http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/ourregions/scenic_travelways/cabot_trail/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabot_Trail

Two Posts Back to Back...Now I am on a Roll!

2011-09-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Not that it was an exceptionally exciting day or anything but a few things are worth mentioning. My morning routine was thrown off course due to rain which is something we have not been getting a lot of these past few weeks with this late summer we are having. I got into the habit of walking and biking every morning but I tossed aside the morning workout today in exchange for catching up on some work I am behind on. It was quite warm this evening and since the rain had stopped by time night fell, I grabbed my coyote stick and some pepper spray and set out for the concrete slabs in the old parking lot by the power plant to wait for the 8:30 whistle.

Now, you may be asking what on earth I am talking about when I ramble on about this 8:30 whistle so I will fill you in on the details. Many years ago, a curfew was put in place and was enforced by sounding off what sounded like an air raid siren every evening at 8:30. To this day, this siren goes off every night at the same time. In the years since it served its original purpose, it has been used to let children know when they had to be home. New Waterford is the only town in North America that sets off an air raid siren every night even though there is no curfew and the town is not at war.

And now you may be wondering why I was sitting in the dark on a concrete slab waiting for this whistle. Funny story actually. One night when I was on my balcony, the whistle sounded and was followed by howling. Yes howling. Coyotes. Lots of coyotes. Apparently, this whistle has an effect on them too but instead of going home like the obedient children in the area, it is their call to prowl. And tonight they were prowling very close to me when the whistle went off! When the howling finally seemed far enough away for me to safely keep walking, I continued on to the beach. It may be October but it was still warm enough to put my feet in the water and walk in the surf before heading home. I reached my driveway and this is where the night got really exciting; halfway up the driveway, I saw something quite large moving in the bushes. It was too dark to make out what it was and even though I first assumed it was a deer, I got my stick ready just in case. As I made my way up the hill, whatever it was hissed and growled at me! Trust me, this was no deer and it was no house cat either. I never ran so fast in my life!

Ok...Lets Try This Again....Starting Tomorrow....Or Maybe the Day After Tomorrow

2011-09-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

So I have discovered that the one blog post a day thing does not work well for me...at least not at this time. I have enough to write about to post 100 posts a day if only I had the time! But I do love my blog and I love sharing it so I'm willing to come to some sort of compromise in order to keep me engaged in my hobby and keep my readers interested. From now on, I will turn over a more manageable three posts a week and more if time allows. Besides maintaining this blog, I have been busy lately with many other things such as a few new writing gigs, moving my things from Newfoundland to Cape Breton and enjoying this wonderful, late summer we have been having. In fact, I spent the day beachcombing at Mira Gut and Port Morien beaches. It was sunny and the temperatures were abnormally high today at 22 degrees which allowed me to even take a little dip in the ocean - something unheard of this time of year around here!

Mystery Skeleton Identified

2011-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

The mystery skeleton I found on the beach the other day has been identified and to my surprise, it has been identified as a previously undiscovered prehistoric sea mammal. Haha, I wish but I am just kidding. It has been identified as none other than a common grey seal by some helpful folks at the Bedford Institute at Dartmouth, NS. Yes, that`s right, one of those cute, blubbery creatures that we often see sunning on rocks, bobbing around in bays and playfully swimming around harbours. So the next time you have an urge to approach, pet or cuddle one of these cute and seemingly friendly creatures, the photos of those teeth should make you think twice!
http://www.bio.gc.ca/index-eng.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_seal

Anyone Have Any Idea What This Might be???

2011-09-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Was at the beach today and came across this skeleton about 5 or 6 feet long. Anyone have any clue what it might be cause I am curious to know! A shark? A seal? Some sort of whale? A dogfish? Sea serpent?

I'm Still Here!

2011-09-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

And still busy.......I know, I know...I'm not doing very well at keeping my promise to post something everyday! I was doing well for a while there, but than things got so busy, I barely had time to think! It's not that I don't have anything to write about because I have seen so many new places around Cape Breton this summer and did so many new things and took so many pictures that I can't wait to share. The problem is, I am so busy doing these things that I do not have time to share! At least not yet. The weather is still fairly nice here and as long as I am still able to get outdoors and enjoy some warm, sunny weather, I will not be sitting at my computer! Cold weather come fall is inevitable in this part of the world and that cold weather will be here before I know it so I have to enjoy the good weather while it is here! Lots of things are tentatively planned for the coming weeks including a road trip with my father and sister this coming Wednesday, a trip to St. John's to visit with my friends back there and check up on my cat who had to stay behind for a while and a possible mini road trip around the Cabot Trail with mom when the leaves start changing color. As if I don't already have enough to blog about this winter! In the meantime, while you are waiting for me to turn over some new blog posts about my travels and adventures, check out this site I recently came across that looks like it might have some potential for people interested in discount travel. Supposedly, it is a lot like Groupon and members get a credit of $1 towards travel for every person they refer to the program. Looks like it could be promising and I am willing to try out anything for a while to see if it does work. If you would like to try it out, you can go to the link below and sign up or just browse the site and see if it something you might be interested in. http://www.tripalertz.com/deals/detail/192