Our Feathered Friends

The winter landscape here in Nova Scotia can seem a bit lifeless: the deciduous trees are bare, the gardens look barren and forlorn, and the main spot of continuous colour is the deep green of the native spruce trees. As we walk around our property, between our house and our four Nova Scotia vacation rentals, we see tracks indicating activity — deer, squirrel, rabbit, fox — but the creatures making the tracks are, for the most part, out of sight.

The exception to this stillness and lifelessness is the hub of activity that surrounds the bird feeders outside our kitchen windows. Here is the stage for an intricate play with many characters.

The gold finches and blue jays are the flashy stars, with colourful costumes that catch the eye. The gold finches cluster around the Niger seed feeder, cloaking the feeder with the dull yellow of the female and the brilliant, almost-neon yellow of the male. The blue jays are more drawn to the sunflower seeds, greedily gulping down multiple seeds at a single visit, all while strutting around bossily, making the most of their size and seeming to flaunt their handsome coats. Blue is a rarity in nature, and the jays really stand out in this winter scene – a welcome and startling flash of colour.

Starlings are like a huge supporting cast of villains and urchins in a Dickens play, sweeping on stage and pushing the other actors to the periphery while they hold forth. They descend on the feeders in huge noisy flocks, scattering the other birds. These European introductions have a reputation for being pests because of the large flocks they travel in and because of the way they dominate the scene when they’re present, but if you can get past their annoying traits, there’s a lot to admire in these characters. When the sun catches their feathers just right, the iridescence of their plumage is breath taking. And the range of vocalizations that starlings make is very impressive. They whistle, make watery gurgling sounds, and imitate a wide range of other birds in a show of mimicry that even the most accomplished impersonator would admire.

But the king of the drama at our feeders, the true diva that upstages all other characters, is the northern flicker. When this large, oddly costumed bird is on the scene, all of the other birds stay away, allowing this member of the woodpecker family to do its solo. For those of you who have never seen a northern flicker, with its swooping roller-coaster flight pattern, bright red neck patch and strongly spotted body, you’re in for a treat. Flickers are considered uncommon winter visitors here in Nova Scotia (though they’re quite common during the summer breeding season) so we consider ourselves lucky to have them with us during these late-winter months. They’re welcome on our stage anytime.

And if you’re looking into Nova Scotia Eco-Tourism, consider a stay with us in our vacation homes. We’ll happily share the pageantry that nature provides year-round here at Second Paradise Retreat.

Winter Hibernation

There are days in the winter – this being one of them – when we and the guests in our Nova Scotia vacation rental cottages look out at the blowing snow and decide that the best thing to do on a day like today is to not do much of anything.We take a page out of nature’s book and let the winter tell us to slow down, hole up, and hibernate a bit. look out at the blowing snow and decide that the best thing to do on a day like today is to not do much of anything.

So today we and our guests will be sitting by our kachelofens reading, drinking tea, listening to CBC radio, and otherwise lying low while this winter snow storm blows over the province. It’s cozy, beautiful, and relaxing.

People unfamiliar with this area might think that this is how we spend much of the winter. It is, indeed, the “quiet season” for many Nova Scotians, particularly those involved in the tourist industry. But that doesn’t mean that we go indoors for 4 months (or away to warmer climates), only to emerge again in the spring. We, and lots of other year-round residents, love this time of year and find it anything but quiet in terms of activity.

Besides all of the business tasks that get taken care of in the winter (confirming rentals for the year, figuring out the work schedules and budget, filing taxes, working on the wood supply, painting and renovating), we take time to enjoy our property, the local area, and our province. Just a week or so ago, we took a few days and visited the Antigonish area, exploring the beautiful St. Georges Bay peninsula.

But normally we stay closer to home, where there’s more than enough to keep us entertained. The snow that we’re getting now will only improve the good skiing conditions we had on Sunday, when we took our short cross-country skis for a jaunt across the fields of Second Peninsula. Before this latest round of snow, friends and neighbours were out skating on some of the incredible lakes, ponds, and sheltered harbours in the area. Last Saturday was sunny, mild, and windless, so people were out walking on the roads and beaches, enjoying the sun and fresh air of a perfect mid-winter day.

When the conditions aren’t right for outdoor skiing, skating or walking, there are still ways to get lots of exercise indoors in the company of like-minded folks. There’s a great indoor pool at EmOcean in Lunenburg where swimmers can take part in Aquafit classes or just swim laps. There’s skating at the indoor arena, a weight room at the Community Center, a very active curling club, and lots of opportunity to join dance, yoga, and tai chi classes – all right in the local communities of Lunenburg and Mahone Bay.

On the cultural side of things, there are musical concerts (including performances at the Pearl Theatre and shows through Lunenburg Sessions), films (at both the Pearl Theatre and through Lunenburg County Film Series), and all sorts of other community events.

There’s so much going, in fact, that we savour these days of forced hibernation. So if Shubenacadie Sam, the Nova Scotian weather-forecasting woodchuck, is right and we have 6 more weeks of winter to look forward to, we’ll be fine. There’s plenty to do here in the winter, and on the days when the weather dictates it, we’re happy to give in to the storms and enjoy a fine winter’s day by the fire. If you feel like getting away from wherever it is you’re hibernating this winter, give us a call. We’ll save a place for you by the kachelofen in one of our Nova Scotia vacation homes. Then you, too, can enjoy all that this area has to offer during the “quiet season.”