L'Archeveque Harbour Working Buildings

© Aug '12    photo by smck

The two weathered-gray buildings on the rise of land behind the harbour are the remnants of some number of such buildings from another era of fishing. In the days of yore, transportation from home to the shore was not as easy as it is today - roads were unpaved, narrow and winding and transportation was by horse and cart - so the men came to the shore for the week, living in these 'home away-from-home' buildings and returned to their families on the weekends. Like all early days on the Island fishing was a rugged way of life that we can only imagine in our pampered environment of today - electricity, indoor plumbing, modern furnaces, paved roads, automobiles and pick-up trucks, etc. 

(however in the buildings today there is electricity, but perhaps no plumbing)

One of My Favorite Places

© Auf '12    photo by smck

Rankin Night at Granville Green

© Jul '12    photo by smck

Granville Green (Pt. Hawkesbury, Cape Breton), live outdoor music to set your feet a tapping - and  FREE!  I try to get to Granville Green at least twice a summer and often make it more than that.  What a great evening, bring your own chair (there are a few benches but they're taken early), buy a reasonably priced snack at one of the several vendors, and sit back and hear great sounds for the whole evening.  Usually there is an opening performance by newer groups getting needed exposure and then the main event of well known Canadian singers or bands.  This night it was Jimmy Rankin (a well known music family name) and his back-up players holding the crowd enthralled though to the end.  For the life of me I can't remember his first name - so help me out and send it in to me.  

Thanks and a tip of the hat to 'Shamik' for bringing my memory deck up to date on Jimmy's name!

Fall Fun Guy - Updated

© Sept '12    photo by smck

© Sept '12    photo by smck

© Sept '12    photo by smck

I took these photos the other day - haven't quite identified the type of mushroom yet - will ride my bicycle over this morning and see if I can give a name to them.   they are growing over an old tree stump and spreading out across the surrounding area.

Well, I now am reasonably certain (disclaimer:  I am a rank amateur on mushrooms) that these are Jack O'Lanterns - i.e. Omphalotus olearius  - also called False Chanterelle.  The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms description reads: "Orange to yellowish- orange mushroom with sharp-edged gills descending stalk; in clusters on wood or buried wood."  These guys were definitely growing in clusters on an old tree wood stump.  I picked one of the mushrooms and examined the underside gills and they match the gill description well.  I often gather Chanterelles in Cape Breton for scrumptious meals so I am familiar with that type of gill look.  (although to be sure that is the only similarity in look to the Jack O'Lantern).  Three different photographs in the field guide also corresponded quite well with what I show here.  And finally the size description fits perfectly - "Cap: 3 to 8 inches (7.5 - 20 cm)"


  ☹ It is rated as poisonous "typically causing gastric upset for a few hours to 2 days".  

Also "when this species is gathered fresh and taken into a dark room, the gills give off an eerie  glow".  

I plan on checking out the 'Eerie Glow'.   

Please note: - if you decide to pick wild mushrooms to eat and are not already well-versed in their identification you should always use a good field guide AND before eating spend some time doing a spore identification - this is one of the best, final descriptors of  various mushrooms.  No matter how delicious wild mushrooms may be, some  can also be deadly poisonous - and usually in a very horrible way.   Himself!

 

Blue Sky and Water, Gray Sand and Rock

© Aug '12    photo by smck

- with a dash of white spray