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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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!

The Old Marina Old House - from the west - (slowly being swallowe by Gaia)


The Old Marina with Great Blue Heron - and I can remember when it was spanking new


This was a 'zoomed' photograph which greatly fore-shortens the mile or so of river between the remains of the old dock and the present day Charlestown Marina of the far shore

Another Day of Poster Clouds


This photograph is taken from almost the exact spot where in about 1947 or so when this was the 'Woods' - no houses, no power lines, just thousands of acres of woods with an occasional old home scattered a mile or two apart - that myself and a few of my young friends had built our underground dug-outs, roofed with small (4 to 5 inch diameter) lengths of trees and covered with earth from the diggings.  Our small open port-hole looked out over the valley below - and no pond there then.  We named our lookout Camp Hill and came almost everyday that summer to play cowboys and indians, and to pick berries, and eat peanut butter sandwiches and carve our names in the Beech Tree to the northern side of the present day Golf Club House.  Some years back (from the present) when I returned by automobile to this property that had once belonged to my grandfather (Whistling Willie, so my father said he was called and I still think of how I miss never knowing any of my grandparents all long gone before I was born) which he called Rosy Fields and plowed for corn and hay.  I stopped the car and walked about the completely unfamiliar terrain to me now but quickly enough found the old Beech, and our names, and 'Camp Hill' still visible in the scarred bark even after those thirty some odd years. Some years passed as we moved into the electronic age, and eventually I got a digital camera and started this blog.  And eventually I thought I would once again drive in and photograph that old bit of memorabilia.  But not to be - for in the matter of tidiness, etc the Golf Club had had that bit of old trees cleared away and now only the organic cells of my brain retain any data of that long ago time when I claimed Camp Hill as my own.