More Odds and Sods

I've been out exploring a little more this week. Sunday found the Wookie and I going to check out the surf again just after Tropical Storm or Depression or whatever it was, Danny. It dumped almost 4 inches of rain on halifax and the winds and rainfall wreaked more havoc than the hurricane the weekend before. The waves were great the day after, and it gave us a chance to see Cow Bay and the giant moose that was made 50 years ago. It is only slightly larger than life size:



The waves at cow Bay last Sunday:



I have noticed a distinct lack of woolly bear caterpillars right now. In years past, I've noticed them in droves by the middle of August, but so far, I've only spotted a few, and they're quite small. Not sure if I'm just in the wrong places looking for them or if they were a little late this year because of all the rainy weather we had this summer.

Last April I posted some pictures of some land clearing that's going on for construction of access to one of the main highways in the area. I hiked up to the area again last weekend to observe the progress. All I can say is wow. I went into the offices of the Department of Transportation yesterday to take a look at the plans for the construction and was absolutely delighted with the reception I received from the chief engineer on the project and someone from the communications department. At first I thought they were there to escort me from the building, but they took me into a little boardroom and showed me the plans. Specifically I was interested in the infilling of the many little ponds and I was given details on which ones will be infilled and which ones will be left alone. And I discovered a new compensation policy put in place to help maintain green spaces and watersheds. Basically, for every acre of land disturbed by construction of roads by the DOT, they have to protect 3 acres. So for this particular project they will be giving assistance to the Sackville Rivers Association in a conservation area deemed by the SRA to be in need of protection or restoration. I paid a call to the SRA to find out what's going to be selected. They've been given up to 50 grand to develop a proposal for a project that may be worth up to 3 quarters of a million dollars. And they've selected a stretch of the Sackville river that runs behind a Department of National Defense rifle range in Bedford. Because it's on DND property it is seldom accessed and is probably in pretty rough shape. We'll be examining the area up close very soon to see what needs to be done.

In the meantime I joined a couple of the guys at the fish ladder where we removed two salmon from the trap and loaded them onto a Department of fisheries truck that was taking them to a hatchery:



I am seldom lucky enough to observe bats as by the time you realize what just went flying by, it's long gone. But the other evening while making my rounds, I came across a moth flitting around the back door of the building. I was waiting for it to land so I could get a closer look when something came from behind me and chased it off. The bat whizzed over me and attempted to catch the moth, but the moth zigged, the bat zagged, and the two of them flew by me a foot away from my head. I ended up standing there like a fool with a big grin on my face. The bat was close enough for me to get a good look and I found that exhilarating (I know, I need a life).

Which reminds me, one of my neighbours, Kathy, told me last night she's really enjoying reading the blog, laughing out loud at work, and living vicariously through me (?!?). Kathy, any time you want, you're welcome to join me on my hunting expeditions; I'll supply the net and the baggies for our specimens, you just have to show up and not go "Ewww".

S.