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.

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Single Malt Review - on the way

Well it's about time for another single malt - so Sunday I'll try one of my several favorites and get a nose on the beginning review.  I will probably do Lagavulin which is about at the top of the amount of money that I want to spend on a bottle of alcohol - I think now its right around $70 for 750ml 'cause I've been nursing my old old bottle along for a good long while since I crazily paid about $60 for it. (and right here would be a good place to point you to my A Meandering Introduction to Single Malt Scotch Whisky - and "Most equate cost with quality which occasionally works but often fails completely".) It has been one of my most pleasing drinks with just the perfect amount of peat and heady flavours.

right now I am sipping a little bit of Caol Ila 12 year old - and no slouch of a good whisky either, hmmm maybe I'll do it next - and it's less expensive too!

Ducks on Log

© 05 Oct '12     photo by smck
A little liberty with the digital imaging - but I like it.
sort of a realistic abstract, eh:?

The Road To Mary Ann's Cove


© Aug '12    photo by smck
© Aug '12    photo by smck

This rough woods road is somewhat like the roads that connected the small communities here in the early 1900s - only instead of the fairly young regrowth forest you see here those early roads were lined mostly with mature forest that would enclose the road even more than you see across the dash of my truck in the above photo.  When I first moved here back in the 70s the 'back' roads from Grand River to Pt. Michaud and to L'Archeveque were still single lane ventures.  The crowding brushy small spruce and alder have taken their toll on the sides of my pick-up that's for sure.

In the top photo you can see a bit of the ocean in the distance - as this woods grows and matures that view will disappear.

Puffball - Order Lycoperdales

© 04 Oct '12     photo by smck

© 04 Oct '12     photo by smck

© 04 Oct '12     photo by smck
I am fairly certain that this is the Purple-spored Puffball, Calvatia cyathiformis (and as always strongly give my disclaimer that this is a tentative definition by a rank amateur).  It fits all the identification characteristics in The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms - except I did not do a spore determination,  Size up to 7 inches wide and 8 inches tall (18 and 20 cm), hemispherical, smooth skin becoming cracked into distinct areas, tannish, spore mass (interior) white, growing in the right geographical area - east and central United States in grassy areas.  And the photos I show here match the guide photos fairly well. This is rated a 'choice' edible mushroom - however I did not do the cinching identification of the spores, and it is growing on a lawn tended by professional companies that think nothing of spraying poisonous weed sprays which can be concentrated by growing vegetation and fungi so I had no desire to actually take it home to eat.