Walk Around The Block

Yesterday, the "weatherman" talked about a blizzard 

that we would get here in Southern New Brunswick. 

That didn't happen. 

Must have ended up somewhere else.

We only got a thin layer of fresh snow; 

enough to make everything prettier again.

View from the the second floor this morning.

Not having a wide angle lens, I have to show it this way. 

After lunch I took Molly around the block. 

There was a cold breeze from the Northwest,

but in the sunshine temperatures read +7°C (44°F). 

Not bad at all.

The walk took us from our upper road 

down to the lower one, along the water, and back up again. 

It is a stretch about 1.4 km (0.8 mi). (See red ring on map) 

Just about enough for the old gal.

While walking I took some photos of our surroundings.

Whether I walk southwards or northwards 

depends on the direction from where the wind blows. 

Today I turned northwards.

I like to have the wind from the back later on.

I like the colourful houses, 

especially now in the clear winter light.

 At the next intersection we walk westwards, 

down towards the Bay.

This is a view towards Deer Island. 

The "white speck" in the distance is their campground, 

which is located right on the water. 

This road runs parallel to our road, just a bit lower 

and closer towards the waters edge. 

That's where I love to stop and look over towards Eastpoart, Maine.

From her on we turn South 

and walk all the way until the next intersection. 

 This lovely view, (taken in 2013) towards where our summer ferry landing is located, 

is now blocked by a new building (built 2014/15). See below.

The one who buys this house will have a fantastic view 

over the water from most angles, that's for sure.

 Arriving at the intersection we turn back and northwards, 

ending up on our road again. 

The snow on the old wooden fence 

makes a decorative picture.

An old shed in the neighbourhood. The view is

again drawn towards Eastport, ME.

That was my daily dose of beautiful landscape.

See, I told you - it was enough for my old girl.

Molly, dreaming about the walk 

we had around the block.

______________________________

Auntie's translation

Man hatte uns zwar einen Schneesturm vorausgesagt, aber der ging woanders nieder. Wir haben nur ein bisschen Neuschnee bekommen. Heute Morgen war der Blick vom ersten Stock besonders schön. Ich habe keine Weitwinkellinse und musste das Photo zusammenschustern.

Nach dem Mittag bin ich dann mit Molly einmal um's Viereck gegangen. Ich habe die Stecke auf der Karte mit einem roten Ring markiert. Es sind ungefähr 1.4km, gerade genug für die "alten Knochen". Die Photos zeigen was ich auf dem Spaziergang so sehe. Auf der anderen Seite des Wassers liegt die amerikanische Stadt Eastport im Staat Maine.

An einer Stelle haben sie jetzt die Aussicht verbaut.

Anschliessend musste Molly erst einmal eine Runde schlafen.

January, so far, so good.

 

We reached he second half of January without any winter trouble. Already, the sun is shining a good hour longer than in December, and what a delight is that!

Sure, we had to shovel snow, and we are trying to keep the house warm, 

but all in all, not too bad, we are not complaining.

There is a downside to the strong, constantly blowing north-westerly wind.

It makes one hesitate to go outside for a prolonged period of time.

If Molly would not be there, I probably would have grown roots with all that "sofa sitting" by the fire. She is the one that gets me out and about. 

The cold and snow does not affect her at all. 

Born in the winter, she grew up as an outside dog, 

with temperatures around -40° F (°C). 

It still shows.

What to do all these days?

Daily chores and cooking cannot fill the whole day. 

Reading a good book or cruising online makes time go bye faster.

I confess that I am quite hooked onto a certain web page. 

There one can find "thousand and one" ideas 

about gardening, crafts, decor, recipes etc. 

Once in a while I take my camera and walk from window to window. 

Like today.

Fisher boats and their crews are braving the weather. 

I look at the wind whipped waters of the Passamaquoddy Bay.

Nae, couldn't do that, 

would be feeding the fish all day long! 

Around the house snowdrifts are piling up and 

frozen waves are forming here 

 and there. 

Blue and white - I like the colours.

*

Turning around, 

inside the warm house my wintering plants are doing well. 

In a cool room, half asleep (dormant), they are waiting for warmer days.

Some, in the warm temperatures of the living room, 

seem quite happy about the longer sunshine hours. 

They have started to grow pretty flowers! 

A self-sown impatiens mixed with a basil, 

and some surviving wave petunias. 

 

Sorry, guys it will take another month and a half before 

we can start  thinking of gardening again.

*

Outside, in front of the flowers, 

a lonely squirrel on my lawn.

Looks more like the Arctic

to me.

_____________________________________

Auntie's tanslation

So weit, so gut.

Jetzt sind wir schon gut über die Mitte Januar hinaus. 

Es gab Schnee zu schaufeln, es is kalt, aber wir können nicht klagen. 

Der Wind ist "saukalt", da möchte man garnicht nach draußen. 

Wäre da nicht Molly würde ich auf dem Sofa Wurzeln schlagen.

Sie ist ja im -40 C kalten Winterwetter aufgewachsen.

Es scheint sie nicht zu stören.

Was macht man so den ganzen Tag. Hausarbeit und Kochen

können ja den Tag nicht ausfüllen.

Lesen und auf dem Net surfen aber bringt keine Langeweile auf.

Es gibt eine Menge zu studieren.

Manchmal gehe ich mit der Kamera von Fenster zu Fenster.

Draußen sind Fischerboote unterwegs, auf dem windgepeitschten

Wasser. Da würde ICH nur die Fische füttern!

Um's Haus herum ist der Schnee zu Wellen gefroren. 

Doch drinnen grünt und blüht es! Ein Trost.

Aber es dauert noch eine gute Weile bis ich wieder 

an's Gärtnern denken kann.

Wenn man aus dem Fenster blickt, sieht es

eher arktisch aus.

Aurora? Eye versus Lens

The story goes about how I saw the Northern Lights.

On Saturday night there was a warning out.

We would probably be able to see the aurora borealis

as far as down to Halifax, NS.

I watched this page until about 10:30 PM when the 

strongest part of the aurora seemed to be over Labrador.

Then I walked outside, all bundled up against

the cold, and saw "green shine" in the northern skies, 

growing by the minute.

THAT MUST BE IT!

I thought.

It looked like THIS to my naked eyes.

To my dismay, once inside again, 

it looked like THAT 

once I downloaded the shots!

 I have been able to observe the aurora borealis
many times.
Both in Norway and in Alberta.
I knew: it starts out with 

a green shine which grows, and grows until 

you see the spears and/or curtains waving.

These photos, taken by Arnfinn Malmedal, Norway, 

nicely show how it can evolves.

So, the longer I look at my photos now, the more I am convinced
that it was just a cloud,
lit up from below,
and not a Northern Light at all.

If I compare, the green light is above the clouds and not underneath.

Why did my eyes see it "green" and the camera saw it "orange"? 

It is because my eyes are not capable of seeing the total

amount of colours that a more sensitive 

camera lens is able to "see".

The older the worse, I guess.

I saw this discussed online, like here.

...

...

So, there I am. The "green" was "orange", 

and the aurora borealis 

probably was an illuminated cloud.

BUT - it was a good way to train for the real happening.

I am sure it will come, one day.

I will keep my eyes on this web page 

and monitor the sky.

A strength of "5" is not enough,

It would have to be a "6" or 7" to get a good 

chance. 

 This is what I have to watch out for. 

A STRONG aurora borealis, that reaches

far too the south.

One thing is true: it will NEVER be 

as in the skies of

the Northern Territories. 

We are just too far south.

But something like in "Arnfinn's shots"
 should be possible.

There is always another chance.







Aunties translation
____________________________________________
Da habe ich doch gedacht ich hätte ein Nordlicht geknipst.
Bei längerem  Betrachten jedoch bin ich mir nun sicher das es eine "Ente" war.
Es muß eine von unten beleuchtete Wolke gewesen sein.
Mein Augen sahen "grün" wo die Kamera "orange" sah.
Experten erklären das damit, daß unser Auge
nicht sensitiv genug ist um alle Farben erkennen zu können.
Die Kameralinse ist uns überlegen.
Ausserdem war die Stärke des Nordlichts mit "5" angegeben.
Ich muß wohl Ausschau halten nach Stärke "6 " oder drüber.
Eines ist jedoch sicher, Aufnahmen so wie in
den Northwest Territories oder in
Norwegen werden wir es hier nie sehen.
Dafür sind wir zu weit im Süden gelegen.
Aber es müsste möglich sein
Aufnahmen machen zu können,
ähnlich wie es "Arnfinn Malmedal" zeigt.
Abwarten und Tee trinken, und die Nordlichtwetterseite
im Auge behalten.