Now I know ....

For ten years now I have been regular wanderer on Rissers Beach. On most of those outings, I have always wondered about the remnants of what appears to have been a wooden structure at the west end of the beach.

In the hope of learning more, I placed posting on a local community Facebook page, and received back some good responses.

It seems in days of old the nearby community of Petite Rivière had some thriving businesses that depended upon transportation links via the sea. With reference to the satellite image below ~ Often those links were impeded by a sand bank that blocked off the entrance at Mad Brook ~ on the image I have shown (yellow highlight circle) the sand bar as it is now.

At times when the sand bar was in place, created by certain high tides and wind directions, the ships that required access to Petite Rivière had to anchor off shore, and then rely upon smaller vessels to transport goods back and forth.

To solve this ongoing problem, in 1906 at a cost of $10,000, a breakwater was constructed, which kept thirty local men employed for a few months. The position of the breakwater is shown in the satellite image by the straight yellow line

The following image is an extract taken from the Bridgewater Bulletin dated 17 July 1906, which explains the issue, together with the proposed solution by the construction of the breakwater.

 

Below are two photos which shows the 1750' long breakwater in place, the first is from the 1950’s, and the other not long after its completion, around 1906/07 ~ I would like to thank locals Paul Harmon and Kevin Baker for the information and old photos.

Photo taken at the end of the breakwater looking towards Rissers Beach

In addition to looking into all that, this afternoon I thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful outing at Rissers in glorious sunshine ...

It’s been 25 days …

 …… since I last did a beach wander, which is astonishing. Usually I am out pounding the sand and climbing rocks at least twice a week. Not since the peak of Covid have I had such a long absence. The reason for this, it has, and I have, been too damn cold.

This winter has been a little challenging, with far more snow than we would normally see here in the South Shore, then when it has not been snowing, it rains. I don’t think the temperatures have been any lower than normal, but with the sun giving way to lots of grey overcast days, the cold has been damp, reminding me a lot of Scottish winters.

But irrespective of the mentioned environmental aspects, I find as I get older, I am colder and have a much less tolerance for it, hence the absence from the beach, which has led to more local walks.

I decided to google why this change of a lower tolerance for the cold is happening to me, and found some reasons ~

The “hypothalamus” ~ the area of the brain that serves as a natural thermostat. It monitors sensory inputs and triggers the appropriate responses, such as sweating to cool the body and shivering to generate warmth. Apparently as we age this part of the brain becomes less sensitive, and therefore adjusts more slowly to external temperature changes.

“Metabolism” ~ the ability of the body to convert food into energy to create heat. As we age, this slows down creating less overall chemical activity within the body, and a decrease of internal heat production.

The loss of “natural insulation” ~ our skin is made up of three layers, the Outer, Middle and Deepest, as we age the Outer and Deepest layers get thinner resulting in less insulation and a feeling of more cold.

“Circulation” ~ when it's cold outside, the body must work to maintain its core temperature. To achieve this blood vessels constrict (narrow) to reduce the amount of blood flowing to the fingers and toes, with the goal of decreasing heat loss by directing blood flow and warmth to the vital organs. This process is why the fingers and toes are typically the first body parts to feel cold. But as we age it all becomes less efficient, the process of blood vessel constriction occurs more often, with the result of less blood traveling to your extremities, thus making them colder.

None of this is encouraging. In a couple of months, I will be heading to a Nordic country located within the Arctic region, for this I may have look into a body transplant or perhaps just toughen up a little.

Today’s beach wander in bright sunshine was chilled by a rather nasty and strong north-west wind, which I think is a rare wind direction for Crescent Beach. Fortunately when I reached the rocks at the far end, I was sheltered in one of my suntraps, which was really great, and prepared me well for the 4km return journey.

This afternoon’s pics …

I suspect these guys don't feel the cold ...

A snowy wander in the forest …

With only the smallest remnants of winter’s previous snowfalls languishing in well-hidden shadows, yesterday we had an extremely unwelcome 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff. Fortunately with the expected warmer temperatures, the snows life span will be very short. So, before it disappears I took a snowy afternoon wander into the forest at the back of the house.

With lots of water on the many natural trails, I am delighted to have chosen wellies over my hiking boots. With that, it turned out to be a very pleasant dry time, in the company of bright sunshine and temperatures in the 10°C to 12°C range ….