A foggy wander

In addition to a good paced wander on Crescent Beach and a little more exploring of the LaHave Islands I also experienced my first Nova Scotia coastal fog. According to popular belief Nova Scotia gets a lot of fog. If this is in fact true, then as far as I am concerned it the fog is more than welcome any time.

With the tide out I started my beach walk in a steady drizzle. By the time I reached the rocks at the end of the beach which are about 2.5km away, the sun was attempting to break the fogs hold resulting in beautiful diffused light conditions.

On the way back with the tide rapidly coming in, I came across my first Monarch butterfly of the year ~ see the last photo. It happened at the water’s edge while enjoying the warm southern wind and looking out at the rolling waves, that the butterfly fluttered down in front of me. He was absolutely exhausted and looked like he was truly ready to give up. I reckon he had probably just completed the long journey from his winter home in Mexico. Noticing he was completely helpless, I bent down to offer him my hand. With much surprise he climbed on and allowed me to carry him to the safety of some nearby long grass. As I left, he looked very happy ~ perhaps I may see more of him this summer ….



The old and the very old

Out on today’s wander on Bush Island, I came across this nice combination of the old and the very old.

 

We've got ducks ....

A couple ducks have taken up residence in the front yard, it could be quackers around here if there are babies ….

 

A sparkling morning wander



I have observed within this new chapter that everyday seems to be different and also have its own unique beauty.

With overnight freezing rain, it was a delight this morning to see everything outside was sparkling in the bright early sunshine. So with cheerful joy and not too much delay, it was off on a wander down to the tidal LaHave River.

The brilliance of the morning was absolutely awesome, it was like we were walking down corridors and lanes of glistening chandeliers weighing down tree branches into what seemed like awkward and uncomfortable configurations. Due to the slight wind, the silence was disturbed only by the loud cracking of higher elevated ice as it broke from trees and smashed to the ground.
 

 

I often find photographs rarely do justice to many of the panoramic splendours available to us, this is especially true with the selection below ....

 

Freezing rain's natural creations

Some pics taken during a couple of days of freezing rain ….

 



No beach today, but Cheesy Buttermilk Scones ...

With freezing rain on the outside, a rare day was spent on the inside catching up with Gusto food shows. Today those included episodes of Luke Nguyen’s UK, Rachel’s Coastal Cooking, Paul & Nick’s Big Food Trip and Jamie & Jimmy’s Food Fight Trip.

It is only recently that I have taken a genuine interest in such shows, mainly because in addition to recipes and things they also take in the great scenery and the lovely culture of Ireland, Scotland and other great places visited in the British Isles.

After today’s viewing Linda quietly disappeared and produced the most wonderful and truly fantastic scones ~ Cheesy Buttermilk Scones. The recipe is courtesy of Rachel’s Coastal Cooking, as Rachel was travelling around Ireland’s beautiful and dramatic coastline.



 

Parts List ~

450 g (1 lb) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp bread soda (or 1 level kitchen tsp)

75 g (3 oz.) butter

100 g (3½ oz.) Cheddar cheese, grated (Linda actually split the cheese content with White Cheddar and Havarti Cheese)

350 ml (12 fl oz.) buttermilk

 

Production Plan ~

1. Preheat the oven to 220C (420F), Gas mark 7. Dust a baking tray with flour.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne and soda into a bowl and mix with your hands.

3. Rub in the butter, then mix in the grated cheese. Make a well in the centre and add in all the buttermilk (if the buttermilk is quite thick you may need 25 ml/1 fl oz. more). Using your hand outstretched to look like a claw, go around the sides of the bowl to mix the wet and dry ingredients. Stop mixing once it all comes together.

4. Lightly flour the worktop. Tip the dough out onto it, dust more flour over the top and pat the dough into a piece about 2.5 cm (1 in) high. Cut into 14 ‘scones’, each about 7.5 cm (3 in) in diameter. Do be careful not to knead the dough at all, otherwise the scones will be tough and heavy.

5. Place on the prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6 and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the scones are golden and sounding hollow when tapped on the base.