Avalon
It is a late, silent evening on the Harbor. The sky is lost in motionless, soft grey clouds, blending into fog that obscures the shore. Farther away all land is lost in grey-white as the reflecting water meets the sky in a perfect match of color. The kayak barely ripples as we paddle through what seems like dream waters from the “Islands of Mist and Memory” or mystic “Avalon”….
Yes, this is what our evening was like as we kayaked on South Harbour in Nova Scotia. I am now sitting on a bench in our cabin. Tim is writing down the expenses for the day and journaling. Jake is sleeping between us on his bed, which we had to put on the bench for a doggy’s peace of mind (and so he would settle down and sleep). We are now on an organic farm on Cape Breton. The owners names are Rejean (pronounced Rayzhohn) and Claudia.
WAIT A MINUTE! You might want me to fill in backround info from Tim’s last entry right?
Here it is.
On Friday, we planted over 300 potted plants (at least gallon size) between the 5 of us (Mike, myself, Tim, Joe, Tim2, another worker from Maine who joined us this week) at Mike and Paul’s new Hotel in Stanhope. It is on the northern shore of Princed Edward Island. We then went back to their place and planted seeds and potatoes. Paul and Mike then took us out for our last supper (no, there wasn’t any religious overtones to the meal) at Dayport, a fancy “lobster shack on steroids” according to a recent write-up in a magazine we heard about. It was very classy.
The next morning we got ready and left for our unknown campsite in Nova Scotia. We rode the ferry over and drove for awhile and finally ended up in Ben Eoin, where a campground that wasn’t open for another week or so let us camp there anyway for a night. It was a windy and rainy night, so we didn’t even set out our cooking stuff outside. We set up the tent. Then we made sandwiches in the car. After eating, we went to sleep. Next day, we went to church at St. Mary’s in East Bay. We just happened to be driving by the Church five minutes before the sign said mass would begin. It was a very bright and nice church. For those who would like to know, the song choices were “quaint” 20 years ago, much less now. No slam on them. They were still nice if a bit “stiff”. We then drove for awhile looking for a breakfast place since the weather was still uncooperative. We eventually found one. Most places are still closed at this time of year here. Or, if they are open, it is only during the evening hours or midday because of the traffic at those times. This place was a Pizzeria and Restaurant that served breakfast all day.
We eventually made it to Claudia and Rejean’s place. It is not a “farm” in the conventional sense with cows and pastures and such. Imagine a place with apple trees in blossom and close wild spaces and gardens that line the yard. Each is tended to by hand. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, aspargus, spinach, potatoes, carrots and more are all planted here. There is a workshed, clothes lines, neatly cut woodpiles, harbor shore front yard. The whole scene reminds me of my grandmothers home in Park Rapids when I was young. There is even a side room off the kitchen very similar to grandma’s house. The door they have here isn’t like the one at grandma’s house. This one has windows. The one in my memory has a screen and I used to slam it on purpose just to hear Grandma yell “DANNY! STOP THAT! DON’T SLAM THE DOOR!” I didn’t try to slam this one. It wouldn’t have been polite…but I did have the itch to do it. 😉
There is a big dog here named Buddy. He doesn’t like Jake in his territory. Buddy is bilingual, understanding both English and French. I’m sure he would be yelling at Jake in both those languages if he could when Jake is sneaking food out of his dish. As it is, he barks A LOT when Jake is near. The work here hasn’t been too strenuous but it does work the muscles we previously were using at the other farm. Tim has mowed the big lawn. I moved logs down from a hill to the wood pile. We both weeded an area with shovel and pitchfork (big weeds) and then raked it flat. Tim has already cooked scones and spinach potatoe pie. Today we balled yarn. This is a lot tougher than it seems. Repetitive motion kills your arms and hands.
We only work about 4-5 hours a day so we have had time to hike. We have been to Tenerife mountain (didn’t go all the way up since it was a cloudy day and clouds blocked the view and the mountain was steep-think White Mountain). We went to White Point today. Absolutely beautiful rocky cliffs with big waves crashing on them lie next to the quintessential fishing village. It was a picture moment, and we took some. There was a 10ish foot cross over an “unknown sailor” graveyard on this point. The gravestones were natural rocks of red and black granite of varying size placed upright with no names on them. It was very cool. We went down next to the crashing waves and collected rocks. Besides the hikes, we have visited many of the towns near here. All are very small. Some you don’t know you have driven through them until the next town’s sign comes up. Most places have limited hours or are closed. We are told when the official tourist season begins, these places will wake up.
Write more later,
Dan
Tags: Cape Breton, U.S. Segment 1
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