A Doggy Day

A Doggy Day
With beautiful blue skies, brilliant sunlight and temperatures warm enough for light spring jackets it was too nice to be inside today in Melville. We took the day to run and play with the dogs! Above is a rare moment where Tucker, Raven and Ziggy stayed still long enough to get a great picture!

The squishy soft mud in Melville did not stop us from exploring the beach today and with the clear skies, Prince Edward Island was nice and clear across the strait. PEI is known for its famous Dirt Shirts,  which is dyed with the same muddy red soil that lines the shores and banks of Melville. If you get this soil on your white clothing, all the best in getting it out, but the high iron content mud can be unrelenting when it comes to the laundry!

We took turns tossing around the bumpers this morning, an early Easter present that arrived last week!

Tucker sits proudly above, eager for supper and a nap after a hard day of playing!

Ziggy is not so photogenic, but wishes everyone a Happy Easter anyway!

Sea Ice

Sea Ice
Raven and I set out on our first spring beach walk yesterday and saw a whole different side of Melville, one I have never witnessed before, one with plenty of sea ice! Above Raven is deciding how to navigate the ice covered beach.

Living in Canada and hearing stories of ice bergs off the coast of Newfoundland and the history of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, you assume familiarity with sea ice, ice floats and ice bergs, but unless it is up close, you really cannot appreciate the vastness of this phenomenon! As far as we could tell, the ice extends right over to Prince Edward Island, because I did not see a break in the ice, even once we got up on the road.

The little brook that divides the beach in Melville is the only open water that Raven and I could find. It is so deep at the moment that poor Raven was leaning over the bank to get a look and the bank let go and she and the sand she was standing on slid right into the water with a huge "PLUNK!" Watching Raven navigate her way out was a funny site, thankfully there was a stick close by that I placed halfway in so she could get hold of and climb out. Safe to say, we will be avoiding that part of the beach for the next little while!

 

Although it may not look it today, the Northumberland Strait is one of the shallowest bodies of ocean in Canada and north of the Carolinas (Wikipedia) and as such, holds the record for the warmest ocean waters in Canada! Temperatures reaching up to 25 degrees C have been recorded in mid-July's!

For now, we will have to wait for the sea ice to clear and enjoy the blue sky and sunny day ahead!

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend
With Good Friday falling on one of my class days this week, I only had lectures on Monday and Tuesday morning and took the opportunity to find some much needed Melville time and familiar ground for Easter! It was a long drive yesterday afternoon and while I was busy with my focus on the road, Raven took the time to catch up on her zzzzzs!

The drive was not uneventful, just past Earltown on the 326 North, we found an overturned car in the ditch upside down. After calling 911 and being instructed to check the car for people, we luckily found none. Emergency Hospital Services (EHS) was sent on scene anyway just to be sure and to mark the car for future motorists to know that the accident had been called in. The roads were certainly slippery last night with the freezing rain and the overturned car is a reminder to all to adjust your driving, use common sense and take those turns nice and slow!

Once we arrived in Melville, Raven was in absolute Heaven! I have never seen a dog run and frolic so much! She was like a black blur bounding up and down through the snow drifts. At one point she disappeared out on the lawn and returned proudly with the stick she had found on the beach at Christmas! Makes me smile thinking that our four-legged friends that have passed and are looking over our Apple Orchard are having just as much fun here in Melville even though we may not get to see them everyday. 

While the house took it's time warming up last night (brrr was it cold!) I went out to the shed and started a fire to get warm and cozy up with the last few chapters of my book. I am reading Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, if anyone is looking for a good read!

The Arrival of Raven

The Arrival of Raven
Finals are over and I arrived in Melville for the Christmas break on Friday, but not alone! This is Raven!

Raven is my new 2 year old black lab that I got from a family member who breeds labs in the valley. Unfortunately Raven couldn't get her hip certified for breeding, but she's a CKC registered purebred and learning a lot! Raven was previously an outdoor dog, with a run and an insulated house, she has been inside for the last couple of weeks, learning the basics from the basement about human life, but here in Melville she is getting used to a whole new routine! She has learned really quickly that TV's are noisy and make all kinds of sounds, coasters are not the best things to put in your mouth and no matter how many times you 'fetch' the TV remote, I will not throw it for you to retrieve it!

The best part about Melville for any dog is the freedom to run along the beach without a leash, find sticks to play with and birds to chase, maybe even a seal or two to bark with! Above Raven is exploring the beach for the very first time! She was a little timid at first, staying close to my side and not going more than 3 ft. in front of me, but she's starting to get more comfortable with the thrill of running along the water's edge and sneaking up on nonchalant seagulls on the bedrock!

Christmas preparations are beginning, our tree arrived yesterday and we will be putting it up once everyone arrives on the weekend! Mother Nature is also doing her part by bringing in the white stuff making sure that we get a classic White Christmas in Melville!

Nectar Lovers

Nectar Lovers
Labour Day weekend in Melville is typically the weekend when the parties end and cottages get packed up for the winter. I captured these busy bumblebees collecting the last bit of this season's nectar to take back to their hives in preparation for their winter too!

There are over 400 species of bees in the Canada!! (Halifax Garden Network) and while I am terrified of them getting too close (hence the telescopic lens to capture these pictures!) they are crucial to the agriculture found in our backyards and for produce nationwide.

Another nectar lover in Melville are the Hummingbirds that whizz past looking for something sweet to dip into as well! The name of the hummingbird originated from the unique sound they make as they fly or hover nearby, beating their wings 12-80 times per second! (Wikipedia)

Hummingbirds will additionally gather nutrients and proteins from insects close to their nests amongst the trees and conserve their energy for flying by reducing their metabolic rates down to 1/15th of normal rate during rest and sleep periods!

To send your summer off, I will leave you with a relaxing shot of the crisp waters of the North Cumberland Strait!

Labour Day Weekend!

Labour Day Weekend!
I arrived in Melville on Tuesday after spending a fantastic, exciting and absolutely eye-opening summer in Calgary! School starts next week, but not before enjoying a few well deserved vacation days in Melville at the beach!

All these photos are credited to my mother, who captured above Mr. Tucker, receiving a very satisfying back rub from my brother!

We took a long walk down the beach and found this guy standing at the end of someone's beach staircase, advising of a 'daily event' that is sure to draw some attention!

As we rounded the point we received an announcing presence and captured these seals lounging away the afternoon! Quite a few pups were born this summer and were very curious as we approached with the dogs, leaving the rocks and coming over to where we were walking! This is a great time of year for the seals, as the fishing boats are out catching herring and the seals trail along looking for an easy summer dinner ;)

Just as we started to head up to the house, we found the killdeer chicks, which have done some growing up over the summer! All four have made it and are thriving well, hunting and working together to scale the bedrocks along the beach!

We're off to have some dinner and kick-off this labour day weekend! Enjoy yours and send off summer with a bang!

Canada Day Long Weekend!

Canada Day Long Weekend!

Happy Canada Day everyone! Looking at theweathernetwork it looks as if the whole country is in for some warm weather this long weekend and a chance to get out an enjoy some sunshine! The forecast for Melville this weekend is predicted to reach a high of 23 deg C and sunny skies! 

It must be July in Melville as the seaweed has started piling up on the shore! While a nuisance to beach goers, seaweed has played an important role in the food industry for many centuries in a variety of coastal countries (Wikipedia). When you think of eating seaweed, sushi likely comes to mind and the Nori that it is wrapped in however, there are over 10,000 species of seaweed world wide! (Types of Seaweed). Because of it's gelatinous abilities, dairy producers have used seaweed in tasty products such as ice-cream too!

During mom's walk the other day, she found more signs of a wild summer in Melville! Above a single daisy (another flower with over 22,000 variations!) and below a wild rose making it's debut!

Mom has such an eye for fossils while beach combing in Melville and found a few more pictured above and below! Going to have to check in with her on the one above, but the one below distinctly looks like a few leaves.

Finally, mom caught up with the killdeer chicks and captured this one exploring it's way through the ditch in Melville!