Saturday 30 March 2013

A Doggy Day


A Doggy Day
With beautiful blue skies, brilliant sunlight and temperatures warm enough for light spring jackets it was too nice to be inside today in Melville. We took the day to run and play with the dogs! Above is a rare moment where Tucker, Raven and Ziggy stayed still long enough to get a great picture!


The squishy soft mud in Melville did not stop us from exploring the beach today and with the clear skies, Prince Edward Island was nice and clear across the strait. PEI is known for its famous Dirt Shirts,  which is dyed with the same muddy red soil that lines the shores and banks of Melville. If you get this soil on your white clothing, all the best in getting it out, but the high iron content mud can be unrelenting when it comes to the laundry!


We took turns tossing around the bumpers this morning, an early Easter present that arrived last week!

Tucker sits proudly above, eager for supper and a nap after a hard day of playing!





























Ziggy is not so photogenic, but wishes everyone a Happy Easter anyway!

Thursday 28 March 2013

Sea Ice




Sea Ice
Raven and I set out on our first spring beach walk yesterday and saw a whole different side of Melville, one I have never witnessed before, one with plenty of sea ice! Above Raven is deciding how to navigate the ice covered beach.

Living in Canada and hearing stories of ice bergs off the coast of Newfoundland and the history of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, you assume familiarity with sea ice, ice floats and ice bergs, but unless it is up close, you really cannot appreciate the vastness of this phenomenon! As far as we could tell, the ice extends right over to Prince Edward Island, because I did not see a break in the ice, even once we got up on the road.

The little brook that divides the beach in Melville is the only open water that Raven and I could find. It is so deep at the moment that poor Raven was leaning over the bank to get a look and the bank let go and she and the sand she was standing on slid right into the water with a huge "PLUNK!" Watching Raven navigate her way out was a funny site, thankfully there was a stick close by that I placed halfway in so she could get hold of and climb out. Safe to say, we will be avoiding that part of the beach for the next little while!

Although it may not look it today, the Northumberland Strait is one of the shallowest bodies of ocean in Canada and north of the Carolinas (Wikipedia) and as such, holds the record for the warmest ocean waters in Canada! Temperatures reaching up to 25 degrees C have been recorded in mid-July's!

For now, we will have to wait for the sea ice to clear and enjoy the blue sky and sunny day ahead!



Wednesday 27 March 2013

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend
With Good Friday falling on one of my class days this week, I only had lectures on Monday and Tuesday morning and took the opportunity to find some much needed Melville time and familiar ground for Easter! It was a long drive yesterday afternoon and while I was busy with my focus on the road, Raven took the time to catch up on her zzzzzs!

The drive was not uneventful, just past Earltown on the 326 North, we found an overturned car in the ditch upside down. After calling 911 and being instructed to check the car for people, we luckily found none. Emergency Hospital Services (EHS) was sent on scene anyway just to be sure and to mark the car for future motorists to know that the accident had been called in. The roads were certainly slippery last night with the freezing rain and the overturned car is a reminder to all to adjust your driving, use common sense and take those turns nice and slow!


Once we arrived in Melville, Raven was in absolute Heaven! I have never seen a dog run and frolic so much! She was like a black blur bounding up and down through the snow drifts. At one point she disappeared out on the lawn and returned proudly with the stick she had found on the beach at Christmas! Makes me smile thinking that our four-legged friends that have passed and are looking over our Apple Orchard are having just as much fun here in Melville even though we may not get to see them everyday. 

While the house took it's time warming up last night (brrr was it cold!) I went out to the shed and started a fire to get warm and cozy up with the last few chapters of my book. I am reading Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, if anyone is looking for a good read!