These are some pictures that were taken on a trip to Nova Scotia in the fall of 2011. We were there with very little practical excuse. It was a partial vacation, allowing me to work for a portion of the trip, while letting us spend time with most of Sarah's family.
We had a good time, first hosting our sister-in-law Kendra and niece Emma, with Sarah's brother Adam joining a couple days later. Then we had Sarah's stepfather Ted spend some time with us. That was during the first 2 weeks, which was spent at the Frondeg House farmhouse. Then, on moving day when it poured with rain, we moved to the second farmhouse - Cape House. That was a miserable day, loading the car up to move to the Cape house. We left some stuff behind for me to go back the next day to grab our remains items. Sarah's Nanny spent a week with us there, and all of the previously hosted people came back for Sarah's excellent Thanksgiving dinner. Nanny enjoyed time with the dogs, Danforth especially. She loved that he was always coming over for a little attention from her while she sat in a chair near the woodstove. He would put his head on a pillow on Nanny's lap, and she would attentively scratch and pet his head. She was charmed by the fact that he kept coming back for more. Danforth and Kitty both loved the woodstove at the Cape House. At one point, Sarah drove into Amherst, and in a way that was reminiscent of our first vacation in the Malagash region, she bought a guitar for me to play with while we were there. A month without a guitar is a boring month. Nanny seemed to enjoy my playing too. Even when I was just string a bunch of chords together, she would just sit and listen. On one day, Thanksgiving maybe, Sarah wanted us out of the way, so she booted us out onto the porch. That was quite a beautiful day, and I'm glad that Nanny enjoyed my strumming. The guitar was left behind at the family house in Windsor, waiting for our next such trip.
The dogs had many opportunities to just around. Sometimes at the beaches near both of the houses, or just on the properties. The cows made for some interesting distractions. And the cows were very interested in all of us. I felt terribly guilty one day when we were at the fence hanging out with the cows. Sarah brought the camera out, so there is video evidence of one incident. I was petting a cow, who couldn't get enough of it. Much like Danforth, in fact. But the fence was an electric one, and I kept trying to steer (ha!) it's head away from the wire. Unfortunately, the cow was too strong and persistent, and ended up being zapped. She backed away very quickly, and I had the self-imposed impression that I was now viewed with suspicion. "Why did you lure me in with your comforting hands, only to let me be electrocuted?" I felt pretty bad.
The only dog incidents to Danforth and Kitty were the fact that Danforth cut a paw on a walk while we drove to Nova Scotia. Then he ran through a barb-wire fence. Then he touched the electric fence. Then Kitty touched the electric fence. And Danforth couldn't let himself be out-done, and touched the electric fence again. He's a special dog, that one...
