Crescent Beach, Nova Scotia

Crescent Beach is a popular summer destination, near Lunenburg, but we prefer to walk the beach in the winter. The quickest route there, is to go by the LaHave Ferry.

Here is a link to the Google map of the beach and the Islands.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=200026895431815569914.0004b6fbf01d28134dc2f&msa=0

The sand bar connects some of LaHave Islands to the mainland.

A large post fence was build in the 1930’s to protect the sand dunes, but after damage to the road in 2007, huge rocks were placed behind the fence.

 

Looking over to Green Bay.

The beach slopes gently and is a safe place to swim.

This bright footwear  made me smile.

This boat house sits on bush Island. You can see the bridge behind it which takes you onto Jenkins and Bell Islands.

We watched this lobster boat picking up its traps as we sat and had our picnic. The sail seemed to be to keep it steady while the lobsterman lifted the creels.

Looking through to another cove.

I always think this looks like a Scottish castle sitting on the rocks, but I think it is just a group of trees on the Thrum Caps.

It must be pretty idylic to spend the summer in one of these cottages on Bell Island. I’m not sure about the winter though.

A New Life for the Old Windmill

I wrote last March of a beautiful old windmill we passed on our trips to Green Bay and Broad Cove.

 

https://queensincanada.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/old-buildings-of-nova-scotia-windmills/

I wondered then, if it had been used to pump water to the farm, but the son of the builder commented and informed me it was used to produce electricity.

Another comment was from Lester Robinson, with the news that the windmill had been bought by the Hamachi Group, and would be moving to Beaver River, near Yarmouth, in Nova Scotia. There it would be restored and become an information centre for the wind farm and eco centre.

When I travelled the Petite-Riviere road in the summer, I saw that the blades and top part of the windmill had gone.

And the old windmill didn’t look quite so grand.

Lester has sent me some recent photos of the windmill, showing its removal from the original site.

Its exciting journey down the highway.

And the start of its reconstruction at Beaver river.

I’m sure everything will be done to restore this lovely old building and give it a useful life once more.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to write more, with photos of the restored windmill and the wind farm.

Hurricane Earl

We followed Hurricane Earl on its way up the East Coast of America and prepared in case it should hit Nova Scotia.

After a week of temperatures in the 30’s we headed to Hirtle’s beach on Friday to see if the storm was making its presence known. Lots of people had come out to enjoy the surf and the air was cooler at the coast.

I was happy that the storm did not hit us until Saturday morning. The weather stations tracked it as it made landfall at Lunenburg. The winds bent the trees and the rain battered every window. We lost our power about 11am, along with 200,000 customers around the Maritimes. As the storm subsided and the sky lightened, I took this photo from the house.

The sea was rough, but nothing like the surf we had last year after Tropical Storm Bill.

Then, there were huge waves.

You can compare Earl with Bill –

https://queensincanada.wordpress.com/2009/08/

We had a few dead pine trees that we intended to cut down soon, but Earl did that for us.

Unfortunately, they were right across our driveway.

Sunday, was spent clearing up and then we headed to Green Bay for a walk.

This barn did not manage to stand up to the storm, but then it only needed a last push as the roof had fallen in some time ago.

The only signs of the storm at the beach were the rafts of kelp, ripped up and dumped on the sand.

The lobsters hadn’t fared too well. There were lots of parts tangled in the weed.

But the cormorants were enjoying the day and as the weather man had said -‘What Hurricane?’

For more news of the storm around the Province go to

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=hurricane_earl__the_afterma_050910?ref=twitternews

Old Buildings of Nova Scotia – Windmills

We don’t have many ancient buildings here in Nova Scotia. No castles or palaces, and most of the oldest buildings date back to the 1800’s. (Actually, the oldest Church in Halifax was built in 1750.)

So, when we’re out and about, I like to take photos of some of the oldest buildings I see.  We pass this old windmill frequently, on our way to Green Bay and Broad cove.

These photos were taken just a few weeks ago, as I couldn’t find the ones I took last year.

I can’t find any information about this old windmill. It is no longer in operation and I wonder if it was used to pump water to a tank.

Perhaps someone reading this knows the answer.

I have just found my old photos saved on Photobox, so I will add those to show the windmill minus the snow.

These views were taken from the opposite side. 

Up close you can see how the building is needing some repairs.