50 years ago ....

Out again for a morning walk on both Crescent and Rissers Beaches. Unusually, during my past three wanders on Crescent there has been little or no wind, which I have found has taken the enjoyment to an elevated level.

As always while on Crescent Beach, I stopped for my normal sit down on “My Rock”. While there my thoughts went back exactly 50 years ago (OMG "50", did I say that out loud ..?), to the last two weeks of July 1971. It was then I adopted a rock in the West Highlands of Scotland, about 2648 miles away from Nova Scotia at Big Sands, near Gairloch in Wester Ross.

I recall at the time as a 10-year-old, being overwhelmed and captivated by the scenic splendour from “My Rock”, the stunning beauty of the morning sun rises and the spectacular nightly sunsets, something I have never seen equaled anywhere.

Back in April 2017, I made reference to my Nova Scotia and Scottish rocks in the blog ~ “When is it not perfect ...?” at ~

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2017/04/when-is-it-not-perfect.html

Within that blog, I said this about My Rock in Scotland ~

“I believe everyone should have a special place in their life, a place you recall with fondness, warmth and where you never once felt fear. A place from your past or even now in the present, which provides safety and comfort. A location whose surroundings render an environment to develop your hopes, formulate your ambitions and think about your dreams. A place perhaps like mine that only requires the company of the sea, the mountains and the warm wind to make it perfect.” ~ That location in Scotland is an extremely special place for me.

During the 1970’s and 80’s, I made frequent visits to that stunning little corner of Scotland and often could be found happily perched on My Rock for hours at a time. Since immigrating to Canada on April Fool's Day 1988, I have made only three visits to that perfect location in Scotland, the last being September 2019, see ~ “Scotland 2019 part 1 ~ A Highland Journey” at ~

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2019/09/scotland-2019-part-1-highland-journey.html 

Below are photos taken this morning at my Nova Scotia rock, then after those I have included a few of my Scottish Rock taken during different seasons, all kindly provided by some of locals who live nearby ~ I think you will like them …

My Rock in Nova Scotia ~

My Rock in Scotland ~ 

Morning freshness …

A walk on a beach always does me good, I love the smells, the waves, the wind and the incredible peace that it brings to my thoughts ~ there is certainly magic about a beach and the sea.

With the tide receding from its peak, I went out this morning for a wander on Rissers. The wind was light and warm, the waves big and loud ~ absolutely perfect.

It is now almost exactly five years since we moved to the South Shore, I have no idea how I survived the 28 years before that in Southern Ontario without the ocean ~ truly amazing ………

A Kitesurfing Convention …?

During my Crescent Beach wander this afternoon, I was entertained by lots of Kite Surfers, far more than I have ever before seen in the one place.

At any one time there was up to a dozen surfers in what was a relatively small area, I was amazed and impressed that they avoided getting tangled up with each other.

The photos below show some of the action in cloudy and overcast conditions, but that was only over the water and the beach, everywhere else was bright sunshine.