Birchdale

There is a serene, beautiful place in Nova Scotia called Birchdale.

Amazingly not many people know about it or the stories behind it.

But enough people know about this legendary paradise to want to make the very,

very, very long journey in the woods on dirt roads to get to it.

And don't bother with your GPS cause it has no idea how to get you there.

Birchdale is over 100 years old and was built by a prominent man from the

area.  It was built as a hunting and fishing lodge.  Throughout the years many 

people have visited Birchdale some regular people like myself and Dave...

some not so regular...people like 

Teddy Roosevelt,  Babe Ruth, Danny Kaye, Greta Garbo..ya know

normal people.

When I was younger this place was what dreams and stories are made of

because nobody was permitted here.

A group of Carmelite monks bought the property in 1972 and renamed it 

Nova Nada.

If I'm not mistaken, they would open it to the public once a month

on Sundays, but we never went.  

For one thing it was too hard to find and in those days

you didn't travel like you do now.

The property consists of a main lodge and super quaint

cabins.  There are around 14 or so scattered all along the

lake and property. 

In 1997 the monks disbanded and there was nobody in the buildings for 

four years.  While the monks were there though, they built a beautiful 

round library and chapel overlooking the lake. 

Eventually someone bought the property and returned it to its

original name of Birchdale and kept it till last year. 

She then sold it to two lovely ladies from Toronto.

Tracey Erin Smith and Sarah Garton Stanley

They have a Facebook page that you can check out.

Birchdale

It's not open everyday to the public because it is their home.

I mean would you want people barging onto your property unannounced?

But they do have Afternoons at Birchdale.

We've been there 3 time so far this summer.  Twice to visit and

once to interview them since I will be writing an article on them

in the French newspaper very soon. 

But in the meantime here are some photos I took of both times we 

went there.  Once was earlier this summer and the other was 

just yesterday.

One of my favourite little cabins

Snuggling on the porch of the main lodge

My parents with Dave and I

My mom and I...in case you hadn't guessed

Massive pine trees!!

Just swinging along!

Have a Blessed day.

And I hope you'll someday be able to visit Birchdale.

 

Fall Rant.

Don't get me wrong.

I love gardening.

My fingers itch to get all muddy and dirty when spring shows up.

I satisfy my addiction in the winter by babying my house plants.

But by the time September rolls around I want a break from weeding, watering, planting and harvesting.  Usually my last weeding is late September. Then I can relax and start planning for next season. 

Well this year God has some other idea!

We are October 29, 2014. 8:14pm!!! And it's almost 20 degrees Celcius outside!
What's with that!!!??  No I don't want snow right now, but nice cool temps would be nice.

You know, just above freezing.

It's been a hot, hot fall. I think I've had three frosts here. And that's it.

Last week I had to do ANOTHER weeding for pete's sake!

Enough already. 

I also discovered peas growing. They're about a foot tall.

Heaven's to Mergatroid! 

What the heck?

Two days ago, Dave discovered a wood tick on the cat.

I go outside at night and the nightcrawlers and peepers are out.

This is not normal people!

But on the bright side, it is easy on the heating bill.

That's something we can all be thankful about!

I'm just waiting for the bomb to drop.

Wake up one morning with a foot of snow on the ground.

Yup, I can see it happen.

As a matter of fact it's giving snow for Sunday.

Have a Blessed Evening.

Lisa

In the meantime, enjoy some nice fall scenes from my yard.

And another nice view from my yard.

I love fall!!!

It's been a busy week again. I clipped the goat's hooves. Or as I say, I gave them a manicure. It's not their favourite thing to have done to them. But it has to be done.

At church I led worship and told them a little joke. They all cracked up. I've learned my lesson, I try my jokes on my co workers before I try them in front of 100 people. The first time I told a joke in front of the congregation it bombed. Not good. It didn't help I was super nervous either. A friend of mine and a member of the congregation told me to stick to my true life stories, they were funnier. Ack! What does that say about my life!lol. But now my jokes are a lot better.

I made a few jars of salsa last night. It's a far cry from 150 bottles we used to do every fall.

We went apple picking last night also. It's our annual foray to the apple orchard down the road. We're not big apple eaters, but I just love the ambiance. Hmmm is there an ambiance in an apple orchard? I think so.

Fall is my favourite time of the year.

Spring is full of new renewal and promise and blackflies.

Summer is beach time!! And barefeet season, but also the humidity is a killer.

Winter is snow, and our Saviour's birthday! Sledding, skating!! But slush, wind, carrying water to the animals because the automatic waterers are frozen.

But fall....ah yes.. fall. Fall is beautiful colours, no bugs, harvest is over, time to start hibernating, nice, cool temps. Fall is pretty much perfect!!

I thought I'd enclose a few photos of the lake on our property. This is the view the goats have everyday.

Well, it's time to go to bed. It's been a long, long day.

Have a Blessed evening.