Not always happy endings ...

Some time ago I waxed poetic about the courtesy of the Nova Scotia drivers.

If you're standing on a corner just "thinking" of crossing a road they stop.  Since then, I've learned that they do that because the law says you must stop for people on a corner.

There are few stop signs but frequent cross walks.  This keeps the traffic flowing but still makes it easy for us to cross the road.  Cross walks on the busier roads have amber lights which flash when the pedestrian presses a button.

Sometimes there are just signs and markings on pavement.

Very nice.  Very civilized.

But driving around town I occassionally see signs that something went wrong with this wonderful system.

Someone stepped out without looking.  An inattentive driver failed to stop.

I'd seen a couple of these memorials around town and upon closer examination was touched by the photos, nic nacs, flowers and momentos placed there.  This was someone who as the result of a split second of carelessnes lost their life.

Kinda makes you think.

And look twice before stepping out.

Art in interesting places ...

I've been quite interested for quite a while in the way that power boxes and traffic light boxes are decorated about town.

Ones that are not painted are just green.  But those that are painted have a range of  unique designs from sunflowers to townscapes.

I set out today to find a selection of these boxes to show you what I'm talking about. 

BACKFRONT

A Pleasant Day ...

The Halifax area is blessed with a number of wonderful parks.  Unlike my old home in Peterborough which is positively "anti-dog"*, Halifax is quite dog-friendly.

This morning I took Wendy for a walk to Point Pleasant Park.  I'd just dropped Kait off a dog groomers where she is going to learn the grooming business and it was early morning.  It was only my second visit to the park.  In an earlier Blog I mentioned the many and wonderful off leash trails and the devastating legacy of Hurricaine Juan in 2003.

Today I discovered something more.

The southern tip of the park which faces McNabs Island and the ocean beyond, is off limits to dogs (either on or off leash) after 10 am. 

But before 10 ... Well that's another matter.

After a delightful walk on the trails, Wendy and I stumbled across a HUGE group of dogs and their owners just hanging around in the open grassy area by the shore.  There must have been 20 dogs at least.  There were: three or four Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (a very popular dog here),  a whippit, a lab or two, a German Shepherd, Jack Russells, a couple of Valley Bulldogs (a local breed that looks like a cross between a Bulldog and a Boxer) and some others I've forgotten.  They were running back and forth.  Some were playing with each other.  Others were chasing frisbees or balls.

Wendy was not happy with me because I had not brought her ball.  So she'd run off and find other dog folk to play with.

With all these dogs mixed together there was not one single incident of growling or scrapping. 

This is a wonderful opporunity for Sooki to learn to socialize with other dogs.  This group gets together at 9 am every day and I'm going to take Sooki next time so she can hve a good play and engage in lots of bum sniffing ! 

For one hour the group just stood about and chatted while the dogs romped around.

Just before 10 am we all went our separate ways. 



* There is no where in Peterborough outside your own backyard where you may have your dog off leash.  NO WHERE.   And then don't forget the BSL (Breed Specifical Legistation) in Ontario, which bans any pit bull type dog.  That would be a dog that LOOKS like a pit bull can be seized and destroyed.  The onus is on the owner to prove that there isn't one drop of pit bull blood in its lineage.

Hurry. Hurry hard !

Monday evening I went to the Brier.

The Brier is our national, men's curling championship competition running for 9 days at the Metro Centre in Halifax.  It is in a different major city each year.  Not to brag, but the Brier has the best curling in the world.   There are three draws a day with four sheets of ice being played on for each draw.

I wasn't sure which games to go see so I contacted my ex (Russ) who in his day was a curling rock star.  He advised me that the teams to watch were Ontario, Newfoundland and Alberta, so I bought tickets on an evening when those three teams were playing.

True to his assessment, they each won their respective game.

The crowds are almost as entertaining as the the action on the ice.  A Nova Scotia contingent in one section were all wearing shiney yellow sou'westers. A keen gent from Saskatchewan ran back and forth on the walkway with a huge provincial flag and yelling "Sas--catch--eeee-waaaan".  There seemed to be a good number rooting on Newfoundland and British Columbia and waving their respective flags.  I'm not sure who the older man down near the ice was rooting for, but he was covered in a huge collection of Brier pins.  It's amazing that he could get up and walk under the weight of all that metal !  Up at one end of the stadium was a group who held up signs with the  letters: S O C I A B L E.  And when they held the signs up high we could see that on their T-shirts was another message with one letter on each: C A N A D I A N.  Not sure if I get the reference but I definitely liked their enthusiasm.

Across the arena I saw someone waving a large flag I did not recognize.  I now know what it is, but I didn't then.  How about you ?

I've always enjoyed watching curling on TV, and during my marriage played often.   It's an exciting, highly strategic game, requiring real skill and experience.  What could be more exciting that going to the Brier ?  Well.  Ummmmm.   Errrrrrr.  Watching it at home actually.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoyed the excitement of the crowd and the thrill of being so close to some real stars of curling, BUT, it was so hard to focus on just one game with four games going on simultaneously in front of me.  The crowd would cheer or gasp and I'd be frantically looking from sheet to sheet to see what I'd missed. 

The picture below is of skip Glenn Howard of Ontario holding the broom as his teammates sweep a rock to get it into the house.  Ontario is unbeaten after 8 games.  Sadly they thumped the heck out of the young Nova Scotia team and the game ended early.

Our seats were good.  We were in the third row back on the middle of the side.  Unfortunately nothing beats the view presented by the overhead cameras above each house. (The house is the target area with concentric circles that is found at each end of the sheet.)  So there I am.   At the Brier.  In person.  And I keep looking up at the jumbotron above me to see the position of the rocks in the house.  I was basically resorting to watching TV to get a clearer view of what was happening right in front of me.  I had been told that curling was one of those sports that was better watched on TV than in person.  Now I understand why folk say that.

Nevertheless, I'm glad I had the experience and would do it again.

Hurry hard.  All the way.  Don't stop.  WHOA !

Those heady first spring-like days ...

I know it's not spring.  Not really spring.  But after a long winter of mittens, long coats and boots, that first warm, sunny day is magical. 

Sunday usually finds me heading out for Sunday Brunch with the gang.  I love Sunday Brunch.  Always a nice time.  But it was too nice out in the yard so I opted to stay home and rake the lawn and pick up poop.  

In the afternoon I went to Point Pleasant Park in Halifax with the kids (Kait, her bf and Sarah) and the FOUR dogs.  I'd never been to Point Pleasant Park before.  It's a huge wonderful, heavily forested park at the southern end of Halifax, juttiing out into the harbour.  The park is criss-crossed with numerous off-leash dog trails.  We all had a terrific time and being the first warm Sunday in months it brought out dog-people in droves. 

Back in 2003, Halifax was hit by hurricane Juan.  The eye of the hurricane struck the park directly. Did I say the park was heavily forested ?  The park HAD been heavily forested.  Many of those marvellous tall trees that once blocked out the sun are gone.  Their skeletal trunks lie broken across the forest floor or stand as stark reminders of  what used to be. 

The park is still a beautiful place and I know I will be going back again, and again.

That Monday was a copy of Sunday was a bonus. Kait was back at work so I took three of the dogs to the beach where they chased the ball while I searched the beach for interesting shells.

A sunny day spent outside is such a wonderful tonic.  When the day ends you feel tired but it's such a nice tired.  It's lovely to lie down at the end of such a day and have a nice sleep...with friends. 

... assuming you can find a spot.

Looking for sea glass.

Before I moved to the east coast I thought that wherever I went in Nova Scotia, I'd smell that wonderful salty air.  But that's not the way it is.  I've stood right at the sea side and not smelled a whiff of salty air. 

The only time I've had my senses overwhelmed with that marvellous scent has been after a storm surge or if it's a misty "close" day.

I just got back from a walk around MacCormack's Beach boardwalk and the smell of salty air, mixed vaguely with the pong of seaweed greeted my nose.  I inhaled deeply.  Ahhhhhhh.  Love it !

I've been down to the boardwalk a couple of times this week, to saunter along the beach at low tide looking for sea glass or as some call it, "Mermaid's Tears". 

Sea glass is just pieces of discarded glass that have been worn smooth by the action of waves.  It comes in different colours with clear and green being the most common.  I found a teeny piece of blue today and have added it to my collection which I'm going to start putting in a glass container for easy display.

I love browsing along looking for interesting shells, glass or stones that catch my eye.  But I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to bundle against the driving cold wind, while I do my searching.

Here are shots of my two days haul.

 

Below is a shot of my interesting beach stuff collection.  Note the polka dot rock sitting in the shell.