I must admit that southern Nova Scotia was a part of the trip that I was looking forward to the most of all. Why? well, because of a cute redhead named Ingrid. We “met” on the blogs (or Flickr?) about a year ago and started to talk pretty regularly. Kris and I decided to go to Nova Scotia and when I realized that she lived there, I thought, “I should ask her for some suggestions of where to go…” One thing lead to another, and then we had two full days planned with her AND her amazing family. And those plans involved a knitted cowl swap, boat trip, and some amazing birds.
Rocking the cowls AND the life vests!
But first, the back story… Ingrid’s father, Ted, is the caretaker/naturalist that oversees some islands off the coast of Pubnico, in southern NS. The islands, known as “The Brothers” are home to the largest community of terns, migratory seabirds, in Canada. This has earned him the very endearing moniker “Tern Man Ted”. Ingrid told Ted about our visit, and our love of nature and photography, and he agreed to take us to the islands to see the terns for ourselves. That morning, we met Ted, Ingrid, and Nigel, her brother, for an amazing day: we assisted Ted by counting the eggs in the nests, looking for signs of predation, and observing the numbers of separate tern species.
[Click for descriptions of photo] || [Kris's blog post on the Birds of NS]
We traveled the waterways around West Pubnico, stopping at two islands – the tern island, mentioned above, and Gooseberry, home to the cormorants, the large black birds in the photos, and the fluffy baby seagulls. Gooseberry also had another group of inhabitants that were particularly adorable:
The “marino” sheep of Gooseberry!
(haha, get it? Ted’s joke is getting a lot of mileage er, kilometerage)
The little male – part of a twinset of lambs in the small flock – came right up to us and let out the most adorable little “baaaa!” you ever heard (stuck his tongue out and all!) He seemed to be a little disoriented with our presence on the island. We may have been the first humans he had seen. The idea of leaving the sheep on the island is a smart one – there is enough for them to eat and graze on, and they are safe from predators. Plus, they look so great with the ocean backdrop, don’t they?
After our waterways tour of Pubnico, we headed back to town, ate at a local diner, and decided to do some land-based touring. We headed down to the wind farm at the end of the peninsula and decided to shoot the breeze ourselves.
Then, Nigel and Kris decided to do some mountain biking, and Ingrid and I took a more leisurely option, heading to the Historic Acadian Village.
[More photos of Le Village here]
(I don’t like to be ignorant, so I sheepishly asked Ingrid about the Acadians – I only knew bits and pieces. Thankfully I am now “in the know”, thanks to her explanation, the info I gathered at Le Village, and a plethora of Wikipedia articles on the subject.)
We said our goodbyes in Pubnico (after seeing Nigel’s amazing ukulele collection) and headed north to Yarmouth with Ingrid. We had a dinner date with her husband, Jesse, and after a day of being out on the water and hiking around, we had worked up quite an appetite. Afterward, we headed back to their house, met “the bastard kitty” Moustache, drank tea and managed to knit a bit (she was working on this while I was there). We laughed a lot.
The next morning, we made plans to meet Annie at the bakery, go to the yarn shop, and see the bustling metropolis of Yarmouth. So, we did.
Hands On Crafts in Yarmouth is a great shop – I don’t think I was ready for how great it actually was! More than yarn, it was a complete resource for so many crafty endeavors. We spent an hour talking with a lantern glass beader, and we saw rug hooking, soap making, and countless needleart supplies. I got some Fleece Artist, and some Briggs & Little wool. Ingrid got a Fleece Artist cardigan kit, and Annie got some roving for thrummed mittens. (Great sidenote: Annie will be moving stateside pretty soon! hoping we can meet again!)
…and just like that, the time was up… the intrepid travelers had to move on, up the shore to the north. Luckily, we had some great memories to take along with us. Many thanks to Ingrid, and all of her family, for their hospitality and generosity. It just makes me happy to think about you all!
We had so much fun! I love all of your photos and this post just makes my day!
What an opportunity! It’s all so beautiful. And that sounds like one awesome yarn shop!
I have never been a nature person, but you guys make it look so doable. I love your thirst for knowledge, I don’t think any one would accuse you of being ignorant
I love all of you photos too, you and Ingrid look so cute in your cowls and life vests.
Looks like you guys had a fantastic time. I really love your lamb and bird photos!
Amanda
I just wanted to say…that I am enjoying your posts about your vacation so much! It seems like you guys had so much fun!
Wanna know what a small world it is?
I know Ted.
And I bought my first-ever sock yarn at that very shop. The shopkeeper wasn’t a sock knitter, but the other lady on staff was, so the lady on duty sold me a sock pattern leaflet – after she’d scribbled the other lady’s phone number on it, “just in case I had troubles”.
I heart the South Shore.
Oh my gosh! You guys look you had such a fun time!
Wow, what an awesome experience! That truly makes for extraordinary vacation memories!
Wot?!? No pictures of Nigel’s amazing ukulele collection??? Looks like you had a great time, and you always look as though you’re having fun, Lolly! Thanks for the blog!
What fabulous photos and water pics!
Catching up on your last 3 posts – what fun!! You make me want to go and visit a place that I really didn’t think twice of before! Lighthouses – I love lighthouses!
I love your photographs.
Girl you pictures rock… Lovely!
Wow, the scenery looks stunning! And I love the sheep pictures. So cute!
Great post. I’m stealing some of these tips for my trip.
It makes me smile to see you all having so much fun!!
what a wonderful time – seeing the terns up close like that – pretty neat!
Wow! Can I have your life, its so nice to meet new friends. If you ever want to visit Utah I’m here!
is there anyplace I can vote for your website as “Most Beautiful”? It’s so aesthetically pleasing, I just like to come back again and again!
What fun you must be having. I love your pictures,,,its almost like being their myself. Thanks so much….for sharing,
Rowena
Wow, that looks like such a fun time! I love all those photos…so bright and happy, and the blue skies, and the adorable sheep…thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Great purchases, adorable sheep!
Incredible photos!
You are giving me lots of ideas for vacation spots. Thanks!
Your photos bring back a lot of great memories for me of previous trips to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It’s one of my favorite places. Time to go again, I think, this time with kids!
Wow… what a beautiful country…love the scenery…just hope it’s not overrun by those ugly windmills.