Saturday 9/25

We began last Sunday morning with Team Cattle Penning.  The weather was cool and crystal clear. Brodie Trenholm and his family annually host a number of penning competitions at Creek View Farm on the Mud Creek Road just outside Northport (NS), less than three miles from Coldspring. This was the last day of their 2021 season which had been interrupted several times by Covid shutdowns.  

Competitors run the gamut, men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes. Entry fees are $35 or $40 per person and the prizes can be substantial. The road and barnyard were lined with cars, trucks and a number of large horse trailers with living quarters attached. We've seen similar rigs used by Bar-B-Que competition teams or race car teams - obviously big investments - hauling  grills and smokers or cars. I took a lot of photos; it being the first time in several years that I've used a real camera, i.e. not a cell phone, the results were not outstanding. 

We stayed for around ninety minutes; people were very helpful, explaining to us the competition which was exciting to watch. In each group of thirty young steers were three numbered 0, three numbered 1, and so on up to three numbered 9. The steer milled around while three cowboys/girls waited for their start signal. At the start a number was announced; the riders then had to cut out of the herd and coral the three steer with the number they had been given, all within 90 seconds.

One very strange thing happened during the competition - at one point I clearly saw the ghost of a competitor's grandfather riding close beside her as she drove a young steer toward the corral.

We came home for a late breakfast followed by several hours of yard work - I did some more mowing while Melanie trimmed weeds and long grass from around currant bushes at the edge of our garden. All followed by naps and reading and dinner and editing photos,....

As you may know, Monday was election day here in Nova Scotia, and all across Canada. Melanie had no exercise class because the Tidnish Hall is used as a polling place so we drove in town to do some shopping. Fall is in the air. along the road were occasional splotches of red maple leaves, golden aspen, and pinkish dogwood, all signs that cooler weather is ahead. Back home I took time for more yard work and mowing while Melanie followed a Zoom exercise class lead by a friend from Green Valley who is currently in Wisconsin - talk about global reach. 

And, while the stock market took a heavy hit on Monday, it looks like the US may be reopening its borders in early November to the fully vaccinated who have had a negative PCR test within 72 hours - very similar to Canadian regulations we followed in August. I think the US should institute something like the ArriveCAN app, an ArriveUSA app, but who am I to say.

Tuesday morning dawned clear and cool, simply beautiful. We took a walk around Cold Spring Head. Many cottages have been put to sleep for the winter but we met and chatted with several neighbors along the way, took a photo of Amy's cottage, then walked the

eastern perimeter of our property. Along the way we ran into neighbor, Peter Steele, out mowing a path along the woods at the edge of his hay field. We had a nice talk about storms, the fine summer, school bus driving, and Brodie using our land for crops. Back home we had breakfast and I undertook the making of an apple pie - much harder, more time consuming, than I expected - the next one will be easier but preparing wormy apples takes some time as does learning how to make a decent pie crust - I need to get a pastry cutter/blender.. 

We shared the pie for desert after a lovely dinner at the Thurstons' - with Bud and Nancy. The pie was actually pretty good, as was the entire evening. Lots of conversation, a Portuguese white wine and cataplana in a real cataplana pan that Cathy and Harry had brought back from Portugal. Home around 11, another slice of apple pie, and to bed; a little wiser, certainly heavier, and very well fed.

Wednesday - just another bright sunny day at Amherst Shore - with Melanie off to fitness at 8 AM and me off for a walk; went down along the beach east of here at half tide so I could get out on the bars to walk down toward Northport - boots would be helpful if I wanted to go all the way to Pipes Beach. Chores today include: a bit more mowing of the lawn, taking some photos of our wine making carboys, corker, bottles, etc. and of Unc's (Uncle Bob's) old Harley three wheeled golf cart - a first step in downsizing possessions which promises to be a long and arduous task - I'll begin emailing friends and posting ads on Kijiji and local Facebook sites. Anybody want a 'collectable' golf cart and trailer?

Today I tried to post my pics of the wine making equipment on Facebook but they figured my ad was not acceptable - I don't know why - I'll change a few things to see if I can get it posted somehow. Also did a bit more mowing which seems to have become a daily occurrence - short sessions of a half hour or so rather than a three hour stint. Also did some computer work, my monitor appears to have died or the internal workings of my laptop have given up feeding it. Melanie had an appointment for a haircut at 3:30 so we went into Amherst, did some grocery shopping and I found a pastry blender at Wal*Mart - stand by for more pies, or at least pie crusts. In the evening Don & Clare Roy came over for dinner - we had planned to go to Le Chat Bleu but they suddenly, temporarily, closed because of Covid - a nice evening as always. The Roys are really very good to us, looking after the house when we're away, picking up our occasional mail, notifying us if something looks important, and generally keeping an eye on things - what dear friends.

Friday Al Baldock came by around 8:30 and we were off to play the nine hole Wallace River Golf Course. I'd heard a lot about it. It's a lovely little course with an honour system for greens fees paid at the "pro shop" and "restaurant." To top off the morning, on the way home we stopped in Wallace for two cones of Scotsburn ice cream, mine a Caramel Pecan.  Back at the house Al delivered several boxes of mason jars in assorted sizes, with lids. Had a relaxing afternoon and in the evening we watched the first episode of "Poldark," a PBS MasterPiece Theatre production, before catching the PBS Newshour which we can usually get after 7:30. PBS seems to upload the show on a flexible schedule - some time between 7 and 8 pm. 

Saturday dawned cloudy and it looks like more of the same is in the forecast for most of the coming week. Fortunately I like cloudy weather,  don't mind the rain either - good reading weather. We decided not to go to the Pugwash Market which was closed last week because of Covid cases among the Mennonite community; they have some stalls at the market. Staying around the house Melanie did some more work outdoors and then set up a clay studio on the dining room table - making pots with some of the red clay we'd brought from Arizona, looks like we'll be doing a bisque firing next week. Since the coming week is forecast to be cool and cloudy I may get out in the shed and throw a few bowls to add to our firing.

At 5:30 we went to dinner at Craig & Andrea's cottage down the lane behind our place at Coldspring Head, currently occupied by Carol and Al, at least for Saturday night. Al prepared baked mackerel, salmon, squash and potatoes while Carol made a delicious Bavarian Apple Torte - she's going to send me the recipe. We shared a bottle of Avondale Sky produced by vintner Ben Swetnam, Joan Reeves' nephew, that Carol & Al had picked up when they visited the winery in Newport Landing (NS). And of course there was lots of conversation about family and friends, Covid and politics, books and movies - another evening of fine dining at Amherst Shore. And so to bed.