kitty kitty fat cat

"Kitty kitty fat cat" is a nickname I have for this beast, our very mild-mannered feline companion. I picked up this basket at a yard sale, and Virgil has been sleeping in it regularly for the past few days (since it's been near the wood stove). Not usually in this position, but doesn't he fill it out nicely?

simple greener cleaners

Once again, I am somewhat famous. I was on Maritime Noon's call in this afternoon, as the subject was green living and I wanted to contribute. This is probably the 4th time I've called in (on different subjects) and in some ways I feel silly, but not really. Anyway, one of the things I shared today is a recipe for:

Natural Spray Disinfectant
2 cups water
2 tbsp dish soap (natural is best - Down East, Nature Clean, etc.)
a few drops tea tree oil

Pour into spray bottle and use on countertops, kid's toys, etc. Tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant, also useful on skin blemishes!

Also, using a shaker bottle with baking soda and a spray bottle of vinegar is the best way I've found to clean sinks and the bathtub. Vinegar is also a wonderful natural cleaner, and it can be used with water to clean floors, full strength on mirrors or bathtub grime, as a laundry additive in the rinse cycle (especially great for new towels.) Happy (and safe!) cleaning!

Sandford

The Anne Isabella, my Dad's lobster boat, as reflected in the waters of the 'boat hole'.The Sandford drawbridge, the world's smallest! Rope in the water.

More whale-y goodness (or gross-ness)

Adam and I were watching 'Junebug' last night while eating supper (we still haven't finished it for reasons to be explained, but it's really good so far) when the phone rang. It was my Dad, telling us that another whale was in Sandford, this time floating in the water just off of the shore. He offered to take us out in his boat to go see it, which we gladly did. This thing is HUGE! It's longer than the Anne Isabella (Dad's boat) which is 45 feet long. We estimated it to be about 50. We think it's a fin whale... it looks sort of like a humpback, but the distinctive fins of the humpback were certainly not the fins on this one. It was floating upside down and was kind of bloat-y, so it was hard to tell. But it was the most beautiful evening imaginable to be on the water. There is nothing at all like that feeling of looking back at land from an entirely different vantage point. I imagine it's similar to flying.

Long Island / Brier Island

Yesterday morning, Adam, Annie, and I set off for a mini road trip to Long Island and Brier Island. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to get to the Long Island ferry (almost 2 hours from Yarmouth), but it was a lovely drive on a sunny day with good company. Despite the sour grimace of the Brier Island ferry staff guy, the ferries were quite efficient and we didn't get swept away with the current. The lighthouse picture was taken from the ferry to Long Island. The whole point of our trip was to see Balancing Rock on Long Island - what a cool thing. It was recently featured in Explore as one of Canada's wonders, and deservedly so. Although I did expect it to be much larger, it was well worth the trip!

stove setup

Here's the stove, set up and lovely, along with the woodbox trunk from a yard sale and a mirror which I picked up on the side of the road and painted accordingly. How cozy! And I'm hiding in the mirror, too.

The Churn

Adam in the churn. At high tide, the 'hole' where Adam is standing is completely filled with water, and HUGE waves are thrown metres up in the air. At low tide, you can climb down in (with a little difficulty) and take pictures! Adam's 6'3", to give you a sense of scale.Looking up and out of the churn.

Three periwinkles racing.
Taking pictures in the churn.
Standing above the churn, looking out along the coast.

Last evening, Adam and I went to 'The Churn', one of the neatest beach places in Yarmouth. It's near Cape Forchu, on your right on the drive out to the lighthouse. We made sure to arrive there at low tide (either low tide or high is lovely, mid-way is still lovely, but not nearly as interesting). So down we climbed (I am no longer a 'churn virgin' - I was the only one of our group of friends who had never been in) and these were some of the pictures I took. Next time we're there at high tide, I'll be sure to post some more pics. It looks like a totally different place!

at last, my love has come along

It's here! This is our brand new, super-duper, EPA-approved and energy efficient Pacific Energy Super 27 wood stove! And our wood box, which is a fabulous pirate-y trunk found at a yard sale for $5.00. (And which, according to insurance regulations, needs to be 5 feet from the stove, so I may have to reposition it accordingly.) We're very excited about this new addition to our home.

In other news, Virgil was very well behaved at the vet yesterday, despite having his privacy invaded by a thermometer. He also received a prescription to remedy his stinky pee troubles, and a vaccination which has made him sluggish and nauseous today. Other than that, he's 13.5 pounds, and fine as kind.

Also in other news, the tomatoes are looking fabulous, and I'm getting very excited for them to ripen. Spiders have come out in droves last week and this, and you can't turn around outside without running into a web. The worst is when it's in your hair and you can still feel it but you can't really extract it. Other than that, things are going along swimmingly. (Are things going swimmingly with you guys, Jen? *Smile, wink*!) I've been immersed in Anna Karenina for the past week or so, which is the reason for the fizzling out of posts. An amazing read so far, comparable even to East of Eden in many ways.

the newest appearance

I didn't purposely plant this poppy, or have an expectation that a poppy would grow in that particular spot, but here it is, and there were no others like it of all the poppies that popped up. It's certainly a welcome guest!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I just spent a little while out in the garden doing my favourite thing for an early August afternoon - picking these beautiful, delicious raspberries that grow on pleasantly thorn-free canes in our yard. I picked almost 2 cups of berries today; there will be many more in a week or so. And when I put them in this bowl, this is exactly how they fell, with the leaf in place and everything. Mmmm.

bloom-y afternoon

Things in the garden certainly seem to be doing very well this year, perhaps despite my anxiety that I'm somehow going to kill everything because I want it to do well so badly. I bought the pink dahlia (above) last year at the end of the summer for less than 1$, and it thanked me with this gorgeous bloom this week. I was sitting in my fabulous hammock chair on Sunday evening, finishing up 'The Heart of the Ancient Wood' by Charles G. D. Roberts, and I looked up to see a hummingbird feeding from it! (Hummingbirds are another thing I'm afraid that I might care too much about. I've had a feeder out since May, and have kept faithfully refilling it, even though I had seen no signs of hummingbirds until this past weekend. I kept telling myself "Well, there are so many flowers in the garden anyway, why would the birds come to the feeder? I'm sure they're around" all the while doubting it. Anyway, since Sunday, Adam and I have seen both the male and female of a pair several times. I can't begin to explain how excited I am about this.) The roses are a climbing variety and are climbing up a cedar tree, which is quite a beautiful thing, and the clematis is covered in blooms, even though the trellis I put up was nowhere close to being big enough for it. Also, the tomatoes are coming right along and are looking great! (I'm still preparing myself for when they suddenly fall off or something.) But for now, I'm so thankful that things grow and thrive despite me!