Peggy’s Cove Rogues

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Lighthouses

 

 

One of the problems with Peggy’s Cove is the crowds. They are everywhere all the time. And they are relentless. They never disappear. Even when its dark! I waited nearly an hour waiting for the sunset and the crowds to disappear. They never did.

 

Unfortunately, at Peggy’s Cove some good views of the lighthouse have recently been ruined in an effort to make it safer.  While that bugged me, I have to admit safety is important. In fact, it’s more important than getting a good image. People have died here trying to get the best viewpoint for a good shot. Those waves can be dangerous and can pull careless people into very rough water.

 

There are more than 160 lighthouses in Nova Scotia and they can be found everywhere. Some of those lighthouses are world famous. Peggy’s Cove is the most famous of them all. It might be the most photographed lighthouse in Canada.

But Peggy’s Cove is more than a pretty lighthouse. It is also a lovely fishing village.  Though it is a working fishing village, I am convinced that some of the boats in the harbour have been strategically placed there to lure photographers and tourists. I can’t prove that, but I am sure of it. This day we got there too late to really look at both.  And the light was pretty dark already so I had to concentrate on the lighthouse.

You gotta make choices and then live by them. Life is hard and then you die.

Hopefully, before that happens you have seen Peggy’s Cove.

A couple of days later, after our visit to Peggy’s Cover, we returned in the hopes of finding better light. But instead, it was worse. It was raining and blustery by the time we got to town. The air was filled with sleet. Yuck.  I really didn’t want to get out of the car. So, we didn’t stay and went to our temporary home instead. I know I am a pretty wussy photographer. I was convinced there was a conspiracy of the Gods.

Peggy’s Cove is famous for rogue waves. They are dangerous. So are the slippery rocks. If you go there, be careful. Your life is more important than your photograph.

 

 

 

The Charm of Peggy’s Cove

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Lighthouses

 

The village of Peggy’s Cove is quaint, at least when not over run by tourists, which is most of the time. This day I had to hurry through the village because we got there too late.

 

One years we stayed for nearly a week at a B& B with a wonderful view of the entire village. Some day I must show those photos.

We stayed at the house painted p9ale yellow on the far right of the line of houses at the top of the house. We loved sitting on the deck sipping a beverage or two. We could then go down when there were a minimum of tourists to block our view.

Who ever thought a fishing village would be so beautiful?

 

 

I had to stand over this little puddle of water for a long waiting for a reflection of the lighthouse in the water and when it arrived it was basically a dud.

 

Peggy’s Cove is one of my favourite places in my favorite province, Nova Scotia. We have been there many times. Frankly, in 2024 we visited it twice and both times the weather was uncomfortable and the light not great for photography. For this blog, I considered pulling out photos to show from other trips, but thought better of it. You gotta dance with the girl you brung and should not look over her shoulder at some girl you feel might be more attractive. There is beauty everywhere. If you don’t see it, you are not looking hard enough.

 

On our first visit this year, we arrived late afternoon. It was cool and the light not very exciting. I was hoping for a great sunset. After all, I am an unofficial inspector of sunsets. That may be true, but I like everyone else, am at the mercy of the gods and today the gods were not pleased with me. While not surprised, I was not sure what I did wrong. Like the time in Grade 2 when my principal, Miss Kornelson, pulled me out of the lineup before we tried to get in to school, and gave me a ‘lickin’ as we called it in those days. She never told me what I had done wrong and I never figured it would even after consulting my friends who were never shy about pointing out my failings.  I was not a perfect boy by any means, but I certainly, learned no lessons from that whupping.

It was a strange sunset.  One big cloud hid a large part of the sky.  As anyone who inspects a lot of sunsets knows, when it comes to sunsets, the clouds are all. They can hide the sun completely or not at all. Neither is good for sunset images. You need clouds but not too many.  Like Goldilocks, they have to be just right.  And frankly you never know what it will be like until it arrives. Anything can happen.

 

In fact, the best sunsets are after the sun has gone down. And you don’t need the sunset in the photo because the camera really can’t handle the sun. It is too bright.

So, it is important not to give up on it too soon. You must wait at least 10 minutes after the sun has left to ensure whether it is a dud or not.

It is very sad when the sun disappoints. But that is life. This day for most of the day I thought the sunset would be a complete dud.  Then for a brief while I thought it would be great.  It was never either one. Closer to a dud than great.

Chester: Captain Canada

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn

 

Chester Nova Scotia is a lovely little village on the southeast coast of Nova Scotia. We have been there many times and never tire of it.

The original inhabitants were of course the Mi’kmaq First Nation.  After that came the French, particularly the Acadian, who of course were expelled by the British. On the south shore where we were there were only a few Acadian settlements.

After British took over from the French after they left the English decided they needed to repopulate the area. It would not do to just have Indigenous People of course. So, they offered land grants, naturally without consulting the Mi’kmaq, to English colonists from New England.

During the American war of Independence Nova Scotia was invaded many times by American revolutionary forces including what were called privateers. Chester was raided by these forces in 1782.

However, after the American revolution, many of those were not loyal to the British. Maybe the English should have kept the Acadians?

Nonetheless it is a lovely region with lovely homes and even some nature where autumn sparkles.

Peter Gzowski, my favorite CBC radio broadcaster of all time, though not without his faults, lived in Chester for part of many summers. He was very popular and came to be called Captain Canada. He had a deep love for Canada and rarely travelled anywhere out of the country. He hosted an annual golf tournament for literacy in the area. Every time I go there I think of him.

 

Stonehurst Nova Scotia: another gem of small Nova Scotia town

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn

 

Stonehurst is one more lovely tiny community in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia just a few miles from the town of Lunenburg Municipal District.

It’s known as a quiet little village that some have called “far from city life and off the beaten path.”

Yet it is notable for one strange thing which I discovered one day while watching a TV series starring Tom Selleck as a former police officer from Boston now a sheriff in a small town called, interestingly, Paradise.

What I noticed was that in the series the police officer called Jesse Stone lived in the red house at the end of the bridge in the photograph above.  I had photographed without knowing that fact. I had been struck by the quiet beauty of the house. That’s why I photographed it.

 

The series is based on a series of detective novels written by Robert Parker.  He wrote another detective series where the detective was called Spenser. Another TV series was made of that series of novels too.

I loved the little brightly coloured outhouse in the above photos.  It reminded me of a series of outhouses in a book filled with photographs of outhouses by a Nova Scotia photographer called Sherman Hines.

 

In the Jessie Stone series of films, the detective was a recovering alcoholic with a dog that looked disappointingly at Stone when he slipped off the wagon.

Stonehurst in one sense does not seem very hospitable.  Rightly or wrongly, I got the impressiosn that outsiders were not wanted here.  Not sure why I felt that way, but I did.  Maybe it just me.

 

The TV series was filmed mainly in the town of Lunenburg. I remember seeing photos of Selleck on the wall of our favorite restaurant in the town. I guess he ate there as well.

To tell you the truth, in previous vists to the small town I concentrated more on the view of the village from the other side of the only road leading into town. This day I noticed that this side was pretty nice too.

 

But  I must admit in any direction particularly in autumn it looked good to me.

All in all, time spent in Stonehurst is time well spent.

Blue Rocks: A lot of Beauty in a tiny Village

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, photography

 

 

 

Just a few miles from Lunenburg, Blue Rocks is a tiny little fishing village that has been occupied by artists for a number of years. It is usually calm and always gorgeous.  This day the view at the central fishing shack was less than stellar. The skies were dull and so was the light. But as, I always say, you gotta dance with the girl you brung. So, I did the best I could, which was not very good at all.

Christiane and I invariably visit Blue Rocks because it is one of the lovelier fishing villages of Nova Scotia.

This day however the light was dull.  But as I always say, you gotta dance with the girl you brung.

 

The area is named after the blue slate rocks that line the edge of the ocean. These Cambrian-Ordovician rocks (once sedimentary) have been compressed into metamorphic rocks by the movement of tectonic plates.

 

Blue Rocks has been called ‘Little Peggy’s Cove’ but without the crowds. Not a bad recommendation. To say it has charm is a sad understatement. It has a lot of charm. But, unlike Peggy’s Cove, there is no lighthouse.

 

It is also considered one of the best places to kayak, though we have never kayaked there. Perhaps it is so good for kayaking because  there are more than 50 islands in the area around Blue Rocks Harbour.  A great place for a great paddle.

Blue Rocks is a working fishing village, but artists are in the process of taking it over by stealth. It will require serious weaponry to get rid of them since it is such a lovely little hamlet.  They have doing that slowly and gradually for a long time. It has fishing shacks, fine homes, but no huge mansions that I can recall.

 

At the end of The Point Road is found the General Store, even smaller than the world famous Boissinot Brothers store of Middlebro Manitoba that used to be operated by the famous Boissinot Brothers. Ok not really that famous. Though once we met a person at Boissinot’s who had come all the way from Colorado to see it. The General Store of Blue Rocks is fine little general store housed in an old fish shack beautifully painted red. Not fire engine red, but a nice red nonetheless.

 

Blue Rocks is made of churches, wooden homes, small community buildings, fishing shacks, and weather-worn artist homes.

 

Every time we go to Nova Scotia we go to Blue Rocks. And we are never disappointed. We usually spend more time there than Halifax. I can hardly wait to go back.

 

 

Lunenburg: Perfect for Squareheads

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada

 

Old Town Lunenburg, where all streets are straight and all corners square, is reputedly the best surviving example of a British colonial policy of creating new settlements by imposing a pre-designed “model town” plan on various trackts of wilderness that the British sovereign chose to “civilize” with settlements.

Apparently, at least 21 North American settlements, including Cornwall and Cornwall and Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario to Savannah, Georgia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were constructed in such a manner. Of all of these Lunenburg is the best preserved. All the ones I have seen are lovely.

The grid pattern is remarkably well preserved. Many of the homes and other buildings date back to the 18th century. The town was founded in 1753 by the British.  After this a permanent settlement was established by Swiss and German-speaking Protestants who found the strict grid systems congenial. They are not called Square heads for nothing.

 

In the Treaty of Paris in 1763in which ended the 7 Years War between Britain and France and through which Britain gained control over much of North America, though much of it not for long. But for at least 100 years before that the Acadians and Mi’kmaq shared occupation of this area.  The Indigenous people harvested clams in the area.

 

I love doors

 

I don’t know what the message is here, but I’m sure it’s profound.

Some good advice.

If you have to cry, a lighthouse is a good place to go.

Lunenburg is a great place to unwind.

 

Always good advice

Classic Lunenburg

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, photography

 

This a classic view of Lunenburg Harbour.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 because it’s considered the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America, retaining its original grid layout and architectural character.

Its distinctive waterfront with colourful buildings has appeared on many photographs and one of them was sued for a $100 bill. The Bluenose schooner, which Christiane and I sailed on during a Canadian Bar Convention in Halifax many years ago, has also grace the Canadian dimes.

 

Christiane and I have enjoyed a number of longer stays of a week or more in this town until the home we enjoyed staying in so often was sold to someone who wanted the home for herself and did not want to share with others.  On this photo you can see the home we stayed in a number of times. It is on the far right now painted red. When we stayed it was pale yellow. They like colour in Lunenburg. Just like me.

This photo is taken of trees on the golf course across the harbour from where I took photographs of the harbour.  Much to my surprise, the golf club welcomed photographers and provided a special place just for us. Imagine that–welcoming golfers.

Conjoined Twins: Dreary and Beauty

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn

 

 

Gray Gables B & B in Mahone Bay area

 

After we arrived in Chester Nova Scotia it rained a lot. I realize people here say they need the rain. Visitors like us disagree, but we concede that the locals have more at stake than we do. Our delightful host Jackie, at Gray Gables B & B ,  in Mahone Bay,  Jackie, said that every day she hears about another well running dry. When Christiane and I hear that, we stop complaining.

 

Ingramport River

One thing is clear peak autumn colours have arrived in Nova Scotia. The colours are sensational. And dreary days seem to bring them out with exuberance. The irrational exuberance of conjoined twins: dreary and beauty!  And I love it.

The lovely Ingramport River strutted her stuff and we paid heed. I could not stop to grab a few images.  Not great photos alas, but great colours.

We don’t get such colours back in Manitoba. Compared to this our colours seem grim.

Ingramport River

I like more than just maple leaves. I like the red oaks leaves too. I particularly like them when the colour green seeps out of the oak leaves leaving reds, oranges and spectacular colours behind. The absolute glory of autumn.

 

Red Oak

In the evening, we enjoyed visiting our new friends at the Gray Gables  B & B for some drinks and lively conversation. They recommended a good place for pizza and said we could order in. That is what we did. That is what we love about such accommodations. It is hard to get anything similar in a hotel or inn. At ordinary inns or hotels there is little opportunity for convivial conversations. And this was one of best B & B’s we ever visited.

After every one left and I stayed a while with my computer at the breakfast table, the power went out. I was stuck. Thank goodness I carried a flashlight in my phone. Some modern technology is pretty darn good.

How is it possible to have so much dreary and so much beauty together? Dreary and Beauty: Conjoined  twins

 

Are tariffs beautiful?

Economics, Trump

 

Donald Trump calls tariffs beautiful. He also  called  April 2, 2025, the day on which many tariffs were imposed,  “Liberation Day”. I am not sure he understands tariffs. I am not sure I understand tariffs either. Many commentators  thought Liberation Day meant people—ordinary people—would be liberated from their hard-earned money. At least much of it.

Historically, countries like the United States, while they were developing, imposed tariffs on foreign goods in order to protect local working men and women and businesses. That was a laudable goal. And often it worked.

The problem is tariffs are very inefficient. They are blunt instruments.

We are told they levy a heavy cost on the country that imposes them. The ordinary people in that country must pay more for the goods they want to buy from foreign companies so locals will buy their goods instead.  That’s why Canadians think Americans are foolish, for tariffs will inevitably drive up the costs of out of country goods allowing local producers to compete. But it results in inefficient producers getting more money than they otherwise would. That is certainly not free enterprise. It is the opposite of free enterprise. I think that is why economists think free trade—trade without tariffs or artificial trade barriers—such as farm production quotas or protectionist policies are not favoured by most economists because they are inefficient.

Added to that, tariffs are extremely subject to arbitrary benefits. That is why Trump loves them so much and thinks they are so beautiful. He is allowed to exercise executive power and grant exceptions to people or businesses he favors whether they deserve them or not. That is corruption, but it is exactly the type of corruption Trump wants, because it gives him so much power.  Anything that gives him power is beautiful.

But that does not make tariffs beautiful. It makes them ugly!

 

The Churches of Mahone Bay

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Churches

 

I like church buildings. I never really liked going to church very much. I guess that tells you too much about me. I don’t know the name of this church I photographed on the way in from Digby Nova Scotia to Mahone Bay.  I just stopped to admire it amid the autumn leaves.

 

The three famous churches are St. James Anglican Church, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trinity United Church.  I have always been puzzled by the appearance though of 4 churches. Can’t you see 4 steeples in my photo. Why does the 4th church get no credit?  It can’t be because it’s a Mennonite Church. Or could it be? I think it might be the Calvary Temple which is not quite on the shoreline. So it does not get included. Churches getting exclusive again?

I really like the area in around Mahone Bay Nova Scotia. It was first settled by Mi’kmaq people since time immemorial. Thousands of years.  The French were the first Europeans to settle here and called the area La Baye de Toutes Iles (The Bay of Many Islands).  The current name derives from the French mahonne, a type of barge After the British took over from the French, in 1754,  they brought in German speakers from Europe to settle the region. At first they brought them to Lunenburg and then Mahone Bay.

This was the first dreary day in a while, but sadly, it was not the last.

I think churches are a little like lighthouses.  Offering a warning? Or better, an illumination?