The Bounty

The last time I saw the Bounty sail out of Lunenburg Harbour I was sailing (superman style) down the pier hoping for a great picture. It was my favourite ship to dock in the harbour this summer. And even though you could go on board for a small fee, I somehow didn't manage it. Instead, Brad and I opted to get up at 5:30 in the morning to watch it leave. There is nothing as beautiful as a tall ship in full sails on the backdrop of a glowing sunrise. The weather had other ideas. We got up early for rain, fog, grey skies and no sails. We hopped from pier to pier trying to stay as close as possible for as long as possible. As it usually happens in a small town, it's hard to get very far, even in the wee hours, without running into someone you know. We ended up talking for a little while and by the time we made it down to the last pier the ship was receding at an alarming rate. With my camera in hand, poised to shoot, I sprinted down the length of it. It was the mysterious piece of unmarked wood nailed to the decking that tripped me up. I remember flying for a really long time and then landing for a really long time. Thank goodness I had my camera out front to break my fall but I think that was probably the final straw for the auto focus on my lens. It hasn't worked since. I'm so grateful that the piece of wood wasn't closer to the end of the pier or I would have flown straight into the great Atlantic Ocean. I got up as quick as I could which resembled more of a slow-motion replay than a sprinter's race and hobbled to the end of the pier to snap that one last pathetic photograph. And then it was gone.

The H.M.S. Bounty sank yesterday in the rough waters of Hurricane Sandy. More than the ship, the crew lost one of its members and the captain is still missing. This ship was a replica of the original H.M.S. Bounty of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. It was built here in Lunenburg in the 1960s for the Marlon Brando movie Mutiny on the Bounty. It seems that everyone in town has a story about that ship. Some more ridiculous than others (please see above) but a story just the same. It will be greatly missed.

Tall and Beautiful

The tall ships should be listed as one of the man-made marvels of the world. The amount of time and skill that goes into creating one is mind boggling so I won't even attempt to consider the amount of time and skill involved in creating the seven that were here this summer. My favourite parts, by far, are the ropes and the knots. They make me believe in the fusion of beauty, function and organization.

Lots of Swimming

It seemed like we went swimming every day even though I know we didn't.

There were sandy beaches, rocky beaches, rivers, an island in the ocean and the local swimming pool (we were there a lot). With summer being only two months long it's hard to believe we weren't swimming every day.

The Big Ex

The end of school marks the beginning of 4H madness in our house. There were a lot of projects to complete this year. And once they were done we headed to The Big Exhibition in search of big prizes otherwise known as shiny ribbons. The girls did amazingly well. I love seeing how hard they work, the awesome projects they complete all on their own and then the great big smile when they proudly show off their placing. They've already signed up for this year's projects. There are more than ever before (poultry, cake decorating, crafts, photography, sewing, vet science, scrapbooking, rabbit and light horse). I'm a little concerned about how we're going to fit it all in but I can't wait to see what they come up with. It will totally be worth it.

p.s. Isn't that last picture hilarious. They need to make a muppet after that guy.

Lazy Days of Summer

The lazy, hazy, and sometimes rainy days of summer are over and if you were to ask me what we did I would probably say that we were busy doing nothing. And by nothing, I just mean that we had no real plans. We experienced two full months without any sort of schedule or agenda. I am a firm believer that summers full of nothing can make for some of the best summers on record. I've spent the last couple of weeks sorting through the photographic evidence. I'm going to devote the next few blog entries to our summer of nothing.