No sign of Peggy, but ….

………. we did see far too many tourists.

After what is now six years of living permanently in Nova Scotia, I seem to have developed an attitude about to many visitors tramping all over it …!!

Normally a summer visit to Peggy’s Cove has to be avoided, but this morning after dropping off a car load of donations at Hammonds Plain, which will be sent over to Ukraine, I thought we would go and see the newly built viewing platform.

Even with two full carparks of visitors, you will see from the photos, we still managed to find quiet spots to enjoy the natural and some man-made beauty.

Below are links to previous Peggy’s Cove visits during much quieter times ~

Gee, there must be a pandemic or something …

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2020/07/dau-ooot.html

Peggy's Cove in sepia

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2017/01/sepia.html

Who is Peggy ...?

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2017/01/who-is-peggy.html

Out and about ....

On this dry, overcast but sometimes sunny day, I went for a drive on the other side of the LaHave River.

First stop after the ferry crossing was to Hirtles Beach, followed by a wander around Lunenburg and then final stop at Blue Rocks before the lovely drive along the east side of the LaHave River and home.

Sunset wander …

At the end of a beautiful day and with not much else on the agenda, I decided to go and see the sunset from Crescent Beach and the LaHave Islands.

While I was there, the tide peaked at possibly the highest level I have seen on the beach at 1.90m. In addition to that, there also were a lot of deer and foxes running around the island, more than I have ever seen before ~ but no photos of them.

Not just sea, sand and sunshine …

On this beautiful bright and warm day, I went out for a morning stroll on Crescent Beach. As is often the case, I was the only one on the beach ~ I have been tempted, when others are on Crescent with me, to mention with some authority that they are trespassing …!!!

With the tide receding from its high and after my customary sit on the rocks, I started to make my way back along the vacant beach, when suddenly a military aircraft flew over me. With much haste and an enormous amount of fumbling around, I managed to take a couple of really terrible photos of what I believe was a CP-140 Aurora out of RCAF Greenwood (14 Wing Greenwood).

As I watched the aircraft fly south west towards Green Bay, the pilot dipped his wings a couple of times on both sides ~ I thought perhaps a signal …?

He then flew on a complete circle around the bay and back towards me on Crescent Beach. This time with a little less fumbling, I got a couple of reasonable but not perfect photos. He then turned north west towards Greenwood.

Here are a couple of blog links to my past experiences with RCAF Greenwood ~

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth ..

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2020/06/oh-i-have-slipped-surly-bonds-of-earth.html

and ..

The Lost Voices of WWII RAF/RCAF Greenwood

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-lost-voices-of-rafrcaf-greenwood_29.html

Below are photos of the morning beach and the CP-140 Aurora …

 

Sunny here and misty there …

With nothing much else to do, I went out late afternoon for a beach wander. As is occasionally the case, when I left the house it was warm, bright and sunny, but just a few minutes down the road it got attractively cool and misty.

I say “attractively”, because for me it is the absolute best the beach, the surrounding rocks and inlets can be. I suppose there are many out there who would never go near a beach, unless they could lie there and fry under the blistering sun, but for me a mist or light rain and complete stillness is all that is required.

As I came back along the road again, I reentered the bright warm sunshine which is fine ~ at home ….

Pics from the misty wander …

The Sound of Silence ...

Today I was reminded of a moment from July 1971 …

As a 10-year-old along with my parents, I was thoroughly enjoying my first visit to the North West Highlands of Scotland, a beautiful location which over the following years created many great and lasting memories for me.

The “moment” which surfaced this afternoon while out locally for a wander, it was a memory of our first drive from the highland village of Gairloch to Poolewe in Wester Ross. While driving over the brow of a hill, we were suddenly met by the magnificent and stunning view of Loch Maree. I remember my dad pulling over and stopping the car, then both of us getting out to admire the picture-perfect vista in front of us. While standing there, he said to me ~ “listen” ~ after a brief bewildered instant I said ~ “listen to what, I can’t hear anything” ~ he replied ~ “yes you can, it's called the sound of silence …” At that moment perhaps for the first time in my life, I heard the total and absolute sound of silence which was beautiful, unique and special.

Late this afternoon, I decided to go for a wander to the slightly overcast LaHave Islands. With an extremely low tide and a light mist, the beautiful sound of complete tranquil silence, instantly reminded me of that special moment shared with my dad from far too many years ago ~ I know that he would have loved it today.

Below are two photos of Loch Maree, the first one was taken by me during September 2019. The second photo in black and white was probably from the early to mid-1940’s. I found this one in my dad’s Army Photo Album, which he compiled during his service in Malaya. The handwritten caption for the photo says, “Ginger’s home in Gairloch”.

The photos below are from today’s visit to the Lahave Islands, can you hear ~ The Sound of Silence …?