Standing Into Danger: August 2019

Friday, August 30, 2019

A Bolt from the Black!

Do you ever think that the Universe is trying to get your attention?
A little over a week ago, I certainly did!

The Milky Way

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I was sitting at our kitchen counter one evening working on our budget,
when out of nowhere, a gigantic thunderbolt boomed overhead.

A Bolt from the Black!

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Pixabay.com

Startled, I shot straight up out of the high chair I was sitting in,
simultaneously backing away from the open door to our deck.
I fell backwards, well over the arm of my chair, and my legs followed.

I dropped at least three feet straight down,
landing in a V on my tailbone, my right hand partially breaking the fall.

Terry, who was standing on the other side of the counter by the fridge,
yelled "Louise" and ran for me.
He thought I had been struck by lightning.

He found me sitting on the floor stunned by what had happened.

As soon as he determined I had broken nothing,
he pulled me up off the floor and helped me to a soft, comfortable armchair.

A violent thunderstorm rolled over us following the initial thunderbolt,
and it seemed to last forever.

Every time lightning struck around us,
I covered my ears and cowered in the armchair.

Thunderstorm

Image by Felix Mittermeier from Pixabay

Pixabay.com

It took me a while to recover from the shock of my fall
and regain my usual composure during a thunderstorm.

The next day everyone was talking about what a storm it had been.
For the next two days I was nursing a swollen and painful wrist
sandwiched between two ice packs. And sitting very carefully!

This might seem like nothing more than a ridiculous fall,
but I saw it as something different:
a message from the Universe telling me to get off my rear end
and get busy with something I've been putting off.

So I'm frantically working on it against an impending deadline.
Wish me luck!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Me, on Donnie and Martin's Deck

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Friday, August 23, 2019

Family Is the Best!!!

One weekend in my annual calendar is permanently booked.
It's booked in a lot of calendars among my extended family members.
That special weekend is the first one in August.

Wherever we live, if we possibly can, my extended family heads
for Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, to join other family members who live there.
We may come for three or four days, tens days, or several weeks,
but however long our trips, we make sure they overlap that first weekend in August.

First Sight of Home!
Bear Island and Digby Gut
from the Bear River Bridge

Nova Scotia, Canada

July 2019

Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, grandparents,
grandchildren, husbands, wives, and significant others,
we all get together and cram everything we can into the time we have.
It seems like one big, extended party with ever-changing activities.

A definite highlight among all the highlights is the lobster-scallop feast
my sister Donnie and her husband Martin host every year
for the descendants of our parents Don and Sara MacBeath
and all the significant others, relatives, and friends this event brings together.

My Sister Donnie
Smith's Cove

Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Martin on Scallop Duty

August 7, 2019

What we do doesn't matter.

What matters is that we are together.

The MacBeath, Mundry, Heembrock, and Barbour Branch

of Our Extended Family

Front: Left to Right
Sara, Susan, Barb, Louise (Me), Bertie, Natalie, Donnie
Back: Left to Right
Gavin, Roy, Terry, Peter, Martin, Krista
Photographer: Olivia

August 7, 2019

Olivia, Honorary Sister, Daughter, Cousin, Niece

with Donnie, Pete, Sue, Roy, Terry, and Bertie

August 7, 2019

We all chip in for the lobsters and scallops and drinks,

and a number of us prepare special hors d'oeuvres or a side dish.

My claim to fame is my homemade guacamole.

Bertie's Claim to Fame: The Salad

with Martin and Terry

August 7, 2019

Guaranteed the evening will include ferocious card games,

noisy yard and parlor games, a huge bonfire in the fire ring,

a fabulous playlist of music put together by Martin,

and way too much to eat and drink.

And of course, photographs.

We Five, my brother, my sisters, and I, always must get a photo of us.

The First We Five Photo
Donnie, Barbie, Me with Bertie, and Roy with Gretchen
Margaretsville

Nova Scotia, Canada

April, 1959

The Latest We Five Photo
Barb, Bertie, Roy, Me, and Donnie
Smith's Cove

Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Some of the NexGen

Gavin, Sara, Krista, Natalie,

and Olivia
August 7, 2019

OurGen

Front: Left to Right

Susan, Barb, Louise (Me), Bertie, Donnie

Back: Left to Right

Roy, Terry, Peter, and Martin

August 7, 2019

Here are some more photos from this highlight of my year.

Bertie, Krista, and Terry

August 7, 2019

Barb

August 7, 2019

Sara (standing) and Olivia

August 7, 2019

Gavin and Krista
Donnie and Martin's "Children"

August 7, 2019

Peter shows his daughter Sara how to prepare a lobster.

August 7, 2019

Sara ~ I've got this!!!

August 7, 2019

Martin relaxes for a bit.

August 7, 2019

Louise (me) and Sue

August 7, 2019

Barb and Sara

August 7, 2019

Natalie
Bertie and Peter's Youngest

August 7, 2019

Roy and Terry

My Brother and Husband

August 7, 2019

Sara, Olivia, and Natalie
Three "Sisters"

August 7, 2019

Playing with a Lobster
Natalie and Sara

August 7, 2019

Lobsters to Eat

August 7, 2019

Sue

August 7, 2019

Digging In

Clockwise:
Natalie, Krista (hidden), Peter, Gavin, Sara, and Olivia

August 7, 2019

Did I really eat all this?
Yes, this and more!

August 7, 2019

Don't Even Ask!

August 7, 2019

I am so missing everyone, those I was lucky enough to be with this summer

and those who couldn't make it to Nova Scotia this year.

I am keenly aware of the passing of time and how fleeting and sweet life is.

Most of all, I treasure the love of those who love me for exactly who I am: my family!

Family is the best!

Roy and Me

August 7, 2019

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Me, on Donnie and Martin's Deck

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 7, 2019

Personal Note: Sorry, but I'm still catching up. I had a spectacular fall earlier this week,
but I'm almost back to normal now.

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Nova Scotia

Wikimedia

Location of the Annapolis Basin

Google Maps 2019

Location of Smith's Cove and Digby

Google Maps 2019

Friday, August 16, 2019

Tackling a Scallywag!

Finally, I tackled a scallywag I've wanted to take on for years!

It took me one hour and fifty-one minutes to slog through
5.26 miles (8.48 kilometers) of sand, water, mud, and rocks
but I did it!
And I can't wait to do it again next year!
Tides permitting.

What scallywag?
Only The Scallywag,
the Smith's Cove Fire Department's Annual Scallywag 8K.
It's a fun run and walk from the fire station to the beach,
across the sand bar, around Bear Island, and back to the fire station.

My sister Donnie and our sister Bertie's daughter Sara went for it,
while the rest of our extended family and friends cheered us on.

Sara, Yours Truly, and Donnie

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 2, 2019

Scallywag Route

Google Maps

Imagery: Maxar Technologies ~ 2019

Yes, the Scallywag is an 8K event,

but for those of us who don't like slogging through icky mudflats,

the route is a little longer if we want to avoid the worst of the mud.

I do not like icky mudflats, so I walked 8.48 kilometers.

And, by the way, that mud sticks to your shoes,

and clumps on in a heavier and heavier sodden mass

until you can hardly lift your feet.

My sister Donnie says you can use a skate-skiing motion

of your feet to glide across the mud faster, but I just sink.

You can only walk to Bear Island during low tide

when the sand bar is exposed and joins the island to the mainland.

Bear Island at High Tide

from Donnie and Martin's deck

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Bear Island at Low Tide

from Donnie and Martin's deck

August 3, 2019

Bear Island is one of two islands in the lovely and historic Annapolis Basin,

a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy.

Annapolis Basin is 15 miles (24 kilometers) long in a northeast-southwest direction,

and 3.7 miles or (6 kilometers) at its widest point from northwest to southeast.

Wikipedia

The Bay of Fundy is one of the greatest national wonders in the world,

because it has the largest tides in the world.

In the Minas Basin at the head of the Bay of Fundy,

the difference in water depth between high tide and low tide

is 53 feet (16.15 meters).

The Annapolis Basin is more sheltered and shallower than the Bay of Fundy,

but its water depth changes 22.9 to 29.5 feet (7 to 9 meters)

between low tide and high tide, as measured in the town of Digby.

tide-forecast

Digby's Busy Wharf Scene

Note the dark brown poles.

As the tide rises the dock floats up,

held in position by the poles.

August 1, 2019

From the time I was a small child roaming the beach in Smith's Cove,
I was warned of the dangers of that tempting sand bar going out to Bear Island.
When the tide rises, it comes in fast, the water is cold, and there are treacherous currents.

My father threatened to skin my siblings and me alive if he caught us on the sand bar,
but it was the story of our mother's near drowning when she was nine or ten
that kept us on the shore and away from the beckoning bar.

Were it not for the quick action of her Uncle Donald,
who was tending his fishing weir not far from the sand bar, she would have drowned.
She was up to her neck in water when he reached her and dragged her into his dory.

A Deceiving Lure

from Donnie and Martin's deck

August 3, 2019

I was very excited to participate in the Scallywag,
because it was an opportunity to explore Bear Island's shoreline
in the safety of a large group
and under the watchful eyes of Smith Cove's Fire Department.

Although I had been across the sand bar three times in my life,
I had never ventured more than a few hundred yards on the near shore of the island.
I was too afraid of getting caught by the rising tide.

If you get caught on Bear Island between tides, you face a long, cold, miserable wait,
especially if no one knows you are there and can get a boat over.
The time interval between low tides is about 12 hours and 23 minutes;
and the sand bar is exposed for a couple of hours a day.
This time interval and the amount of sand bar exposed
varies according to the strength of the tide.
Regardless, you're looking at a ten or eleven hour wait, if you get stuck on the island.

A fire department volunteer

patrols the beach making sure everyone is okay.

from the far side of Bear Island

August 2, 2019

The Scallywag was a little late starting,
because everyone had to wait on the best position of the tide.
Last year the event started too early, and the faster runners
were running through water on the unexposed parts of the sand bar.

Waiting On the Tide for the Scallywag to Start

Smith's Cove Fire Department

August 2, 2019

Yours Truly Waiting on the Tide for the Scallywag to Start

Smith's Cove Fire Department

August 2, 2019

The Scallywag is a fundraiser for Smith's Cove Fire Department,

which is staffed by volunteer firefighters.

This year, for the first time, the fire station will be able

to function as an emergency warming center,

should a winter storm take out electricity in the area.

Finally, the observers from the beach radioed that the tide was right,

and we were off, walkers first and then runners, down the paved hill,

along an abandoned rail-bed trail, past Harbourview Inn,

past the graveyard where generations of my family are buried, and onto the beach.

Heading Through Harbourview to the Beach

August 2, 2019

The Beginning of the Beach Section

August 2, 2019

Walking Along Smith's Cove Beach

August 2, 2019

Our family cheers everyone on by waving the Nova Scotian flag,

ringing cowbells, cheering, and clapping.

from Donnie and Martin's yard

August 2, 2019

Through Sand, Water, Mud, and Rocks

Can you spot four runners on the sand bar?

August 2, 2019

Onto the Sand Bar

August 2, 2019

Crossing the Sand Bar

August 2, 2019

My sister Donnie pauses in her run to say, "Hi. ..."

August 2, 2019

... and snaps my photo.

August 2, 2019

We walk together until we reach Bear Island

August 2, 2019

Bear Island

August 2, 2019

I have heard rumors of bears sighted on Bear Island during my lifetime.

Black bears are the only species of bear found in Nova Scotia,
and they are common throughout the province.

However, encountering a black bear on Bear Island is highly unlikely.

Bears are smart and search out easier places to find food.

They are also excellent swimmers, so I won't rule the possibility out.

Donnie's off and running again.

August 2, 2019

The Far Side of Bear Island

with Digby Gut (the entrance to the Bay of Fundy) in the background.

August 2, 2019

Gulls Protesting the Intrusion

The Far Side of Bear Island

August 2, 2019

At the End of Bear Island

August 2, 2019

Looking Back at the Far Side of Bear Island

August 2, 2019

Looking Forward at the Near Side

August 2, 2019

The Locals

August 2, 2019

Not Happy!

August 2, 2019

Black Cormorants and White Seagulls

August 2, 2019

The Rocky Shore of Bear Island

August 2, 2019

A Volunteer Watching Our Progress

August 2, 2019

Returning on the Sand Bar

August 2, 2019

Looking Toward Smith's Cove

August 2, 2019

Mudflats

August 2, 2019

As I approached the Smith's Cove end of the sand bar,

I could hear the cowbells, clapping, and encouraging cheers

of my extended family and friends greeting participants as they passed on the shore.

Nothing lifts your tired feet better than people cheering you on,
calling you out by name, and yelling "You go, Girl! We're proud of you!"

"You go, Girl!"

from Donnie and Martin's yard

August 2, 2019

Last year, one member of my family (who shall not be named)
decided to stop off at one of our cousin's houses
after reaching the shore and have a cold beer or two.

The Unnamed didn't realize the fire department volunteers

were sweeping the island, sand bar, and shore looking for the missing participant.

Finally another family member tracked the Unnamed down and alerted the fire department.

Let's just say no one made that mistake this year.

Counting as the Participants Come off the Beach

near Harbourview Inn

August 2, 2019

Back at the fire station, welcome refreshments waited thanks to the Scallywag's sponsors:

Digby's Subway and the Atlantic Superstore and Smith's Cove's Lazy Bear Brewery.

Some participants went to the Lazy Bear which opened its brewery for them that evening,
but I joined my family at Donnie and Martin's for more cheers, hugs, and hot pizza.

I was so proud when I finished. I wasn't sure I could do it,

especially since I had gone kayaking for the first time that morning.

If time and tides don't work against me, I'll be back for the Scallywag next year.