Eastern Passage and more ....

Eastern Passage an area historically tied to the fishing industry is located at the entrance to the Halifax Harbour just 20 minutes from downtown Halifax. Its waterfront has several small wharves and piers including the quaint, restored 200 year old fishing village of Fisherman’s Cove.

To get there we first had to pass through Dartmouth, which meant we had to sample what is claimed by Canadian Living magazine and others to be “Canada’s Best Fish and Chips”. The place is very basic, extremely small, and down to earth and is called John's Lunch.

 https://johnslunch.com/

Their speciality is the haddock, but since 1969 John’s also does up incredible plates of deep-fried shrimp, clams, scallops, and calamari. The vibe at John’s is a classic, hole-in-the-wall diner with a choice between swivelling counter stools facing the deep fryers and retro vinyl-upholstered booths to sit at. The highlight for me before the feast was the wonderful and exciting smell of Fish and Chips which welcomes you at the door.

After filling up at John’s we took a wee wander to look over the Halifax Harbour to see Halifax from an unfamiliar side and also the three Holland America Line cruise ships, which are taking an unplanned refuge in the city while Hurricane Florence rages down south.

Finally ......

…..…. after a long but persevering summer of catching nothing more than a few tree branches, too much seaweed, one crab, a couple of planks of wood and a shoe, see ~

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2018/08/went-fishing-again.html

~ I caught some mackerel, in fact probably over two dozen. Of those, only eleven met the 10 ½” keeper rule. The successful event took place last evening just after high tide at the Lahave ferry wharf.

When you hit a shoal of mackerel it can be good fun with the fish almost surrendering to your line which at one point I had five on. As the evening wore on and it got dark, the mackerel were actually jumping out the water, an incredible sight which I had never seen before in all my years of fishing. which started way back when I was a wee laddie in Scotland.

I am told they could be around in our waters for another month, so I will be back soon filled with renewed confidence ….!!!!!

Left home and moved south ....

This week our Hummingbird buddies left Pleasantville and are flying off south for the winter to the warmer climates of Mexico, Caribbean Islands, and Central America.

In early spring we put out two Hummingbird feeders, one out front and the other in the back. As a result it has been fascinating to watch and listen to Hummingbird behaviour. The listening is from the constant humming noise of their wing flaps which can be in excess of 80 per second.

Throughout the summer it has been fun to observe an increased level of confidence and tenacity with our little buddies. This was most noticeable when the feeder got empty, it was only then they would hover close to or over us as an indication that a fill-up was required.

It has been thoroughly very entertaining watching those guys and hopefully they will return next year.