CapeBreton-NorvellHimself-SingleMalt: October 2012

What's It All About, eh?

Cape Breton evokes deep memories and strong emotions for me as well as a deep appreciation for the beauty of my adopted island. My hopes are that you too might find the photos evocative - maybe a view you've not enjoyed before, or an 'Oh I've been there', or if from away that you may be encouraged to visit this fair isle so that you might come to love and breathe Cape Breton as I do. One word about place names that I use - some are completely local usage while others are from maps of Cape Breton that I've purchased over the years. I frequently post travel and other photos that are of interest to me - and hopefully you.

On the right hand side bar find my take on Single Malt whiskey - from how to best enjoy this noble drink to reviews (in a most non-professional manner) of ones that I have tried and liked - or not. Also musings, mine and others, on life in general.

Photographs are roughly 98%+ my own and copy-righted. For the occasional photo that is borrowed, credit is given where possible - recently I have started posting unusual net photographs that seem unique. Feel free to borrow any of my photos for non-commercial use, otherwise contact me. Starting late in 2013 I have tried to be consistent in identifying my photographs using ©smck on all out of camera photos I personally captured - (I often do minor computer changes such as 'crop' or 'shadow' etc but usually nothing major), and using ©norvellhimself on all photos that I have played around with in case it might not be obvious. Lately I have dropped the ©smck and have watermarked them with the blog name.

COMMENTS are appreciated as feedback is the driving energy of blogging - And if you like this site please pass it along to a friend. Thanks!

NOTE: TO ENLARGE PHOTO, CLICK ON SAME - If using Firefox also click f11 - photos will fill the screen ...... ----------------------------------- ......TRANSLATION BUTTON AT TOP OF LEFT COLUMN!

Through The Wind Screen Into NFL

Following the trans-Canada north toward Corner Brook after leaving St. Teresa on our first full day in Newfoundland we were constantly awed my the mountains on either side

Welcome Thailand and Malaysia - and note on Hurricane Sandy

Welcome to Malaysia and Thailand this week - thanks for giving us a look at and here's hoping that you return again. Himself!

- here in Maryland we're lucky that we were to the south of the eye of Hurricane Sandy that came ashore in New Jersey. Sandy was being touted as the largest storm to ever plague the U.S. Even though the eye of the storm literally passed over our head in the night, we were saved from the horrendous tidal surges that devastated New Jersey and New York and the accompanying heavy winds and rain of the counter-clockwise movement of the storm. Most, though not all, homes in our area - north eastern part of Maryland - are powered up once again today and tonight (but sorry to say not here at Black Hills - no electricity or water, but cars are gassed up if needed, very little to none structural damage to house and property and the knowledge that we are on the waiting list for restoration of power).

Atumnal Turtles

I see at least two turtles in this interesting shadow and reflection photo

- and here you can see mom raising her head and thinking hmmm! wonder where those two kids went to?

North East By The River

My little town of North East by the North East River in late October taken from the marshes on the opposing shore.

Grand Tree In North Carolina

$94,000 !!

photo from Globe and Mail

This is not my usual review from my own tasting of a particular single malt.

A note here - 26 Oct '12 - from the Globe and Mail 'Life & Arts' section of Wednesday 17 Oct '12;

"A (very) wee dram of liquid gold" by Beppi Crosariol, wine & spirits writer wine@globeandmail.com

I normally only get to see the Globe and Mail newspaper when I am in Cape Breton for the summer but tonight, there in my local mail was a letter from a long time friend (who evidently subscribes to the Globe and Mail when he is back home in Hartford, Ct) from my Nova Scotia days with the above article inside.

A bottle of 55 year old Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts (a granddaughter of distillery founder William Grant - and until her death last April at 110 years of age, Scotland's oldest living person) Reserve went at auction in March for $94,000.00 U.S. - that is $3,600 an ounce, not quite double the cost of gold. AND when Beppi Crosariol got to sip a 5 milli-litre sample (he had actually got a 10 milli-litre sample direct from a cask maturing in a Scottish warehouse but he shared it with John Maxwell, restaurant owner in Toronto, a friend and astute whisky aficionado) he was greatly pleased to find that in this case the maturation age had really done its' duty; "It tasted of malted barley, praise be, with ripe pear, hay and heather, nuances of Glenfiddich's younger bottlings" and there were farther complimentary comments, "spicy nutmeg, fresh and delicate, a faint whiff akin - odd as it may sound - to cured meat".

What was most interesting to me is that Mr. Crosariol gave voice to what I personally believe after having read it earlier elsewhere and verified to my own satisfaction with the my own limited samplings, to wit; "Not all spirits get better with each passing year (of maturation) in oak (barrels). Like high-performance athletes and runway models, most peak somewhere between 15 and 30 (years) " and he continues on, but in general that is the best of aging with exceptions on either end - as in the 3 year old McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt I posted earlier, and as he points out very eloquently in his article the 55 year old Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve.

Final observation - there have been much higher prices paid for single malts. For example The Guinness World Book of Records shows that the highest price yet paid for single malt was $460,000 in 2010 for a Macallan 64 year old (with a substantial part of the price due to the custom Lalique crystal decanter) but few, if any, such sales result in public comment as to taste. Thanks to Mr. Crosariol for his sharing of such a wonderful adventure.

If you are interested farther, please go to the website listed at the beginning of my note here to peruse this very interesting article.

Himself!

Fall Day At The Shore

Looking down river toward the bay the haze covers the hills and muscle boats roar silently in the distance - but in close to shore this male Mallard gives me the wary eye - placid on the surface, paddling away below the water.

Farewell To St. Teresa, NFL

Leaves Falling On Waters

Leaving Oceanside B&B - Our Second Day in NFL

Traveling back toward Trans Canada Route 1 on route 403. The morning is gorgeous. and the vista stunning. What an appealing land.

St. Peter's View

Reflecting On My Years

Merci Beaucoup!

I have 15 hits from France today - thank you

(p.s. I actually knew how to say Merci Beaucoup but had to look up how to spell beaucoup - twice)

Ready For Winter in NFL

I included the first photo above which was first posted in my post of 26 Jul '12 (our first night's bed and breakfast in NFL), to give some continuity to this particular post. As we came back from our nice walk along the shore and up the winding gravel road from the fisherman's landing we passed a tidy small house with these several amazing wood piles. They represent a lot of work against the cold winters wind and snow.

Visitors of The Day - 20 Oct '12

Saludos a mi invitado de España - siempre soy feliz ver un nuevo país a bordo - aquí debe a la esperanza usted vuelve otra vez. ¡Él mismo!

China

France

Ireland

Russia

*Spain

United States

Greetings to my visitor from Spain - I always am happy to see a new country aboard - here is to hoping you return again. Himself!

Ducks In Fall

Visitors of The Day - 19 Oct '12

* Failte romhat isteach

Canada
China
France
* Ireland

Russia

United States

Welcome to my blog Ireland - and may you return again

(this information is provided by blogger.com and is often presented in a confusing way - if you are visiting from a country that I do not list as of the date of my day you can let me know by comment or email, thanks)

Duck

Black River United Church, Est 1836

This classic small early church is located near Dundee at Black River (not the offshoot tributary to Grand River that I have pictured various times before).

View From L'Ardoise Shore Road

Changing Season

Meanwhile On The Ferry To NFL

Visitors - 19 Oct 2012

* Failte romhat isteach

Canada
China
France
* Ireland

Russia

United States

Stopping Time

The little creek caught in a single Zeno moment of time.

Creek In Winter

Atlantic Vision - Deck Five

The ferry from North Sydney to Newfoundland, the Atlantic Vision, was bright and cheery inside but tended to roll easily even in the slight swells shown previously. We sat nearer the center of the boat to minimize the effects of the movement.

Visitors of the day - 16 October '12

    China
* Cyprus
   France
   Germany
* Pakistan
Russia
* South Africa

United States

* welcome to my blog
I know that this is a first for Cyprus
but I'm not sure about South Africa as
my mind seems to remember a
previous visit from there.

Natures Unending Patterns

Swallows Looking For Grinding Gravel

I'm guessing here, but after seeing these swallows pecking in the gravel lane of my friends house it seems to me they were looking for small gravels for their gizzard.

Countries Of The Day (15 Oct)

Canada

China

United States

Shore Flowers at L'Archeveque

Water, Water Every Where . . .


© Jul '12 photo by smck Roughly two hours out to sea I decided to go out on deck and take a few photos. Even though the ferry had a small roll from side to side the sea was amazingly calm when viewed from the ship. Looking closely at the top photo you can see the small wavelets on the larger running swells but nothing exciting. Even though during the initial hour or so of being underway was mainly clear sky and sun, as the day progressed and the ship got farther from land the sky began to scud with cloud and lowering hint of rain. Almost invariably the only people beside staff that I ran into on deck were victims of nicotine addiction shivering in the cool-ish breeze while gallantly sucking down lung-fulls of their old ciggies acrid and chemically altered smoke

Around The World - First Time Browsers of Blog

Gabon and South Africa

Leaving North Sydney @ 6 A.M


© Jul '12 photo by smck

Bonjour le visitor (s) de la France

Bonjour le visitor (s) de la France - là semble être plusieurs visiteurs en fait - j'aime voir les pays différents qui lisent mon blog attentivement - accueillent de nouveau et regardez s'il vous plaît sans acheter ici de nouveau, Lui-même!

Hello visitor(s) from France - there seems to be several visitors in fact - I love to see the various countries that peruse my blog - again welcome and please browse here again, Himself!

Welcome Indonesia

Good morning Indonesia, I think that you or someone else from Indonesia has visited here before - but a while ago I believe. As always I enjoy seeing what countries around the world are browsing on my blog. Hope you enjoy your visit and return again from time to time. Himself!

Newfoundland Ferry - (repost w/unpdate)

I'm on the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia headed to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland - very calm sea but the almost subliminal vibration of the ship from the huge propellers is making me not quesy but definitely uneasy. My computer battery is dead (with this posting being done on a different computer) so won't be posting any photos today - however if all goes well then I will get a decent picture up tonight. See you later! Himself.

Well finally a couple photos appended here of the morning (about 4 a.m. in photos) of embarkation for Newfoundland. We were up at 2 a.m. on this Monday, the day after leaving Elijah at Dog-Chalets in Grand River, and drove through the early morning night toward Sydney and then North Sydney to the Ferry Terminal. Here we are waiting patiently in multi-lane lines for the 5 O'clock loading time. The original posting of 9 July, in black, is retained above.

Saying Goodbye

Elijah, going on six years of age, has never been kenneled before. We were somewhat apprehensive about leaving him for the seven days while we toured Newfoundland but our visit with Dog Chalets had gone smoothly for us and for Elijah. On our return he was glad to see us - but not overwhelmed, a good sign that the stay had been pleasant.

The owner of Dog-Chalets is Silvia Breunig, who has great dog sense and dog love that is reflected in her
kennel design and operation. For more information go to: http://dog-chalets.ca/index.htm

Welcome Vietnam

Sorry I haven't been able to get this translated in time - but hope to soon. At any rate, I do wish you welcome and hope you browse through and return again another day, many of them, Thank you, Himself!

Xin lỗi tôi đã không thể để có được điều này dịch trong thời gian, nhưng hy vọng sẽ sớm. At any rate, tôi muốn chào đón và hy vọng bạn duyệt qua và trở lại một lần nữa một ngày, nhiều người trong số họ, cảm ơn bạn, mình!


© Jul '12 photo by smck

We took our dog, Elijah down to the dog kennel - Dog Chalets - on Sunday the 8th I believe it was and the kennel lady, Silvia Breunig, led us through her large and amazingly open kennel area. In the top photo Elijah with leash purposely attached is left to his own devices to familiarize himself with the 'free-run' portion of the large kennel area. As you can see the kennels are large - and house like; They are all insulated for colder weather and each has its own private enclosed area for the dog(s) during some of the day. The dogs are not locked away in a cage with an attached run and only taken out twice a day for a boring walk on leash. The dogs only stay in their individual pens for meals and for overnight We were quite happy with the quarters for our dog and in particular with the very demonstrable concern and affection for the dogs in her care. The bottom photo is of the small 'chalet' that was to be Elijah's home for the coming seven days.

http://dog-chalets.ca/index.htm

Fall Ivy - in Ireland

About Time To Turn On The Gas Again

We quit burning wood in the fireplace (actually in a glass doored cast-iron insert into the fireplace opening) some years ago when I became worried about the integrity of the chimney liner - so midwinter last year I bought a great used Vermont Castings gas stove at a great price and had it installed in the fireplace opening. It is a vented system (I really feel safer with the vented system) all the way up the chimney and out through a stainless steel covering on the chimney top. Its spot-on at giving a nice warm ambiance to our usually somewhat chilly living room on the colder days. It is great too on days like today when the outside temperature is down right chilly and damp.