Nova Scotia: A Lazy Day Off in Baddeck

I forgot to mention that yesterday we saw puffins at Englishtown Bay. We were riding along and Lorie spotted unusual birds. She asked what they were. I caught them out of the corner of my eye but we were both too frozen to stop but did wonder what kind of birds we'd seen. When we were waiting for the ferry it dawned on us that the birds were puffins, probably the coolest birds ever. Later, when we had cell service we checked to see if there really are puffins in this area and sure enough, they're thick as thieves up here. If we'd been quicker on the uptake we would have stopped.

Puffins. Beautiful. (Needless to say, we didn't shoot this photo (borrowed from the US Fish & Wildlife Dept. (a federal agency...))

A day off was just what we needed, even if it was a rainy Cape Breton day. We wandered around town and visited a coffee shop. And wandered all of the streets. That took an hour or so; this is a small town. It is a very interesting town, however, with a lot of history. We both enjoyed reading about the Scottish settlement of the area, the travails that have occurred over the years and the triumphs as well. The Canadian Parks Services has a site at Mr. Graham Bell's original labs. It isn't open until June, but we wandered around it to read some of the history. Not only did he invent the telephone, but he and a partner built the first plane to fly in Canada.

Good coffee at Bean There

Artwork representing the Silver Dart, the plane build by Graham Bell

Here's a notion that I like: the entire town foregoes mowing lawns for the entire month of May as a tribute to Mabel, a local natural gardener who despised kept gardens and needless laws. So they let the dandelions grow and plant "No Mow May" signs all over town. I may just adopt this at home and take it to its natural extreme, "No Mow Ever!" Ha!

Back at the casa, I did a bit of bike maintenance to keep it rolling on our now south-heading route. Tomorrow we cross back over to the west side of Cape Breton Island and head to the mainland of Nova Scotia.

This bike is a joy to ride

Meanwhile, Lorie checked the bug forecasts (as a friend put it, Nova Scotia in May is like standing in an icy cold river in the wind and snow, trying to tie on a new pattern on while swatting black flies and mosquitoes..."). Actually, it hasn't been too bad given the cold and wind, but it looks like it might get worse in the coming days if it actually does warm up.

Looks like Deer Flies and Black Flies might be vexing in the days to come...

You can also get the daily bug forecast by text. That's pretty serious.

We also wandered down to the local Co-Op grocery and bought some goodies to make dinner. The main course will be fiddleheads; we've never made them before.

Fiddleheads from Ostrich Ferns

Fiddleheads are "in season" for about 2 weeks every year. Right now as a matter of fact. So we watched a YouTube video on how to cook them and cooked them up with some couscous and asparagus. Delicious. And we tried a local wine made from boca noir grapes, a variety that might actually stand a chance in the northwest. It had a fascinating flavor that was really nice.