Internet is down

Since early this morning, March 20th, the internet connection has been down. Because of this, the webcam on the Cape Breton Living website hasn't been updating every 5 seconds like it is scheduled to do. I was able to connect through dial-up and managed to occasionally send an image of the webcam throughout the day. Hopefully the internet connection will be restored soon. I'm just realizing how painfully slow working with dial-up connection really is!

Trip around the Cabot Trail

Took a trip around the Cabot Trail yesterday. Although spring is not officially here yet, it was beautiful mild day with temperatures of 5-6c. We left from Sydney, where only patches of snow was showing here and there on lawns and parking lots. Spring was definitely in the air! We started the trip via Seal Island Bridge, Kelly's Mountain then St Ann's Bay, Cape Smokey, Ingonish and up around Big Intervale,  through Cheticamp and the Margarees and back on the Trans Canada to Sydney. You can say we did the trail counter-clockwise.  The photos up above are taken on the northern tip of the Cabot Trail in the Highlands.  The snow banks on North Mountain had to be at least ten feet high. This time of the year, I don't usually look for snow, but I was in total awe with the the beautiful snow covered scenery around us. Since we didn't get much snow all winter around home, this was a pleasant change. Now I am looking forward to spring and summer...

Friday morning

Early friday morning, just before 6:45am, these beautiful creatures were taking a stroll along the shore road, heading for the field and forest further up, away from the seashore.   In the shot you can see five deer, but I believe there was another one ahead in the front. This shot was "Photo of the Week" on the Cape Breton Living website this friday. 

The eagle is back

A sure sign that the winter is almost over and that spring is just around the corner. This morning, just another cloudy, drizzly and windy day, I spotted the magnificent bald eagle, back again after the long winter months to do some fishing in the pond. The ice is breaking up, giving the eagle a great opportunity to pluck an eel from the water in the pond.

News on the webcams

On friday, the trusted computer running the Cape Breton Living Webcams eventually went on the blink. Hopefully it's not something too complex, that it can be repaired and that I won't need to replace the whole system. I have temporarily fixed a new webcam shot from a different location and because of this change, I was only able to setup one camera instead of two cameras. The camera for now is pointing east and will be the only one showing on the website. Maybe later on, the west view camera will be back up and running for those who liked to check the sights of the beach and ocean. So keep coming back, there's always something new and always kept up to date!

Skating on the pond

Another great day for skating on the pond. The temperature is minus 8.6c and a bit of a breeze, which makes this a typical Canadian winter day... only without the 2 or 3 feet of snow we usually have on the ground by now. Well at least there's no need to do any shovelling before enjoying the ice!

Today's Photo of the Week

Today's Photo of the Week on the Cape Breton Living website is of a beautiful, serene scene view across a small pond in L'Ardoise. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago after a light snow covered the ground and everything else that sits above it. Today the pond is frozen and a great spot for the young ones (and mature ones too) to skate, in the open air. I was happy to see 3 or 4 kids out skating on the ice shooting a puck in a net they dragged onto the ice on the pond. They played until dark and came back again the next few days while the weather permits them to enjoy the ice and the great outdoors. Only a few days before, a few guys were out there on the ice, spearing for eels. Another great winter event for sure. The only problem with this, was the way they left most of the smooth clean ice surface with guck and black branches and wood that was raked from the bottom of the pond making it look like a war zone. Not only did it deface what might as well be our front yard, but the chance to do any skating there on that section of the pond a very difficult thing to do. I'm not sure if it was their plan to leave a corner of the pond for those who might want to enjoy a bit of skating, but I was glad to see the kids able to do so after all.