It’s Lupine Time in Nova Scotia

Spires of deep purple, brilliant white, and various shades of pink line the roadways and cascade down steep banks, their vivid colours heightened by a backdrop of lush foliage.

Each year, from mid-June to early July, these hardy plants put on a colourful show many associate with the Maritimes. In fact, lupines are originally from western North America, but their ability to colonize poor, disturbed soil and their reproduction through prolific seed dispersal have ensured their success here in Nova Scotia.

If you haven’t had a chance to experience the sight of wild lupines in bloom en masse, you’re missing out on one of the finest early-summer botanical events. We are lucky here at Second Paradise: our 4 Nova Scotia vacation homes for rent sit amidst fields and gardens of lupines and other flowers, so we get to enjoy a floral show from early spring to fall.

Over the next weeks and months, we’ll be watching the lupines as their showy spires of colour fade and the fuzzy, seed-bearing pods replace the blossoms – a reminder that these plants are members of the pea family. If you collect the dry pods and scatter the pea-like seeds on disturbed soil in the fall, you’ll be rewarded with a lupine meadow of your own in years to come.

A special hint from Katharina: bring a bouquet of lupines into the house, put them in a vase of water, and wait a couple of hours. The lupines will release a fresh, sweet, lemony smell that tells you summer is here.

Springtime in the “Big Gym”

With warmer spring weather here and thoughts of future beach days running through their minds, many people are heading to the gym to get themselves into bathing-suit shape. Here at Second Paradise Retreat, the onset of spring means that we, too, head to the gym, but it’s a gym – and a workout – of a different sort that keeps us in shape.

Our gymnasium is a large one — 27 acres, to be exact. And throughout the year, wood gathering, splitting, stacking and carrying provide regular exercise, and painting, renovating and cleaning keep many muscles toned. But in the springtime, the gardening and grounds-keeping season begins, and with a full complement of guests in our Nova Scotia vacation rentals, it’s also laundry and housekeeping season.

Many people can easily understand how grounds-keeping activities keep us busy and in shape. But few people consider the muscle-building qualities of the laundry and housekeeping duties that await us. Who needs a weight room or exercise class when you’ve got mountains of laundry to handle?

In the high season (mid-June to mid-September), Katharina does 22 loads of laundry per week. Since we dry all of our laundry on clotheslines, this means that each week Katharina lugs 22 mounds of wet laundry down to the clothesline, stretches up 2 meters to hang all the sheets, towels, rugs and duvet covers, and then stretches up again to remove the dry laundry and bring it back up to the office for folding, sorting and storing. Each load of wet laundry weighs about 13.5 kg, and each load of line-dried laundry weighs about 8.5 kg.

So during those 13 weeks of the high season, Katharina lugs about 297 kg (653 lbs) of wet laundry per week down to the clothesline, and 187 kg (411 lbs) of dry laundry back up to the office. That’s more than a half ton of laundry being carried each week or 6.5 tons over the course of the summer season.

Right now, in the shoulder season, we’re just in spring training, handling a little less than half that amount of laundry per week. By mid-June, those laundry-toting muscles should be fully toned and ready to handle all the sheets and towels our guests use during their Nova Scotia family vacations.

So when people ask what gym we go to and how we stay so fit, we point to the woods, the gardens, and — yes — the clothesline and say, “There’s our gym.”

From Ship to Shore

Driving through Lunenburg the other day, we couldn’t help but notice that some of the tourists seem to be back in town. They’re easy to spot: cameras slung around their necks, open maps in hand, and looks of confusion or distraction on their faces as they pause on the street corners and in the crosswalks (where they are often surprised to find that cars actually give pedestrians the right of way).

It may seem to some that this is an odd time to visit the Maritimes, when cool winds still blow off the Atlantic and spring snowstorms still occasionally pay unwelcome visits. But the town of Lunenburg is interesting year-round, especially for those with an eye for beautiful architecture, and on these early spring days, when the sun is shining warmly but it’s too cool for a walk on the beach, a walking tour of Lunenburg is the perfect way to spend a day or two of your Nova Scotia family vacation.

The history of Lunenburg and its architecture is well documented, but in brief, the same master skills that built large sea-going wooden vessels were used onshore to build grand, solid, eye-catching homes that still exist today. As a matter of fact, two-thirds of the buildings that currently remain in Old Town Lunenburg date from the nineteenth century. A handful (about 8) date back to the eighteenth century.

There are lots of outstanding architectural features to notice on these buildings, but the detail that literally stands out on many of the homes is the Lunenburg Bump, a modification of the Scottish five-sided dormer. Master builders of the nineteenth century, many of whom were also master shipwrights, incorporated innovative versions of this architectural feature to add grandeur and space to new and remodeled homes. As a matter of fact, there seems to have been some competition involved to see who could design and build the grandest and finest Lunenburg Bump.

Today, many of these fine homes are being renovated, and the same care and craftsmanship that was used in their original construction is on display today. And not coincidentally, the last names of many of the modern ship builders and house builders are the same as those in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries - skills and surnames have been passed down from generation to generation.

A walk along Lunenburg’s waterfront will show that there’s still a strong ship to shore connection in this community. A heritage carpentry shop is located right on the waterfront, boats are still being built in a number of businesses, and high school and college students are still being given a chance to learn the crafts that will serve them well at sea, on shore, and in life.

So this spring we invite you to use our Nova Scotia vacation rentals as a base camp while you explore the town of Lunenburg, its famous Bumps, and its active waterfront.

From Bog to Biscotti

It’s been a long winter, here in Nova Scotia, with lots of cold weather, enough snow to make it a real winter, and enough ice and freezing rain to drive us indoors for days on end. And now March is here with its rollercoaster ride of temperature changes: there are warm days that let us know that spring is on the way, and frigid days with changing precipitation that let us know that spring isn’t officially here for another few weeks.

On the days when bad weather pins us down in our home, that’s the time for domestic activities, and that’s when Katharina starts baking. We’re lucky enough to live near a commercial cranberry bog, run by an energetic young couple making a real go of their agricultural enterprise in tough economic times. They produce a wide range of cranberry products, from raw fresh cranberries, to frozen and dried cranberries, to juices and spreads. And while we could pick our own wild cranberries on the nearby barrens and in local bogs and dry them in our kachelofen, it’s a lot easier to start a baking project with berries from Terra Beata cranberry farm.

Here’s a recipe from Katharina’s kitchen — a great fusion of traditional Italian baking with a special Nova Scotia ingredient. If you come join us on your Nova Scotia family vacation, you can kayak across the bay for your own tour of the Terra Beata cranberry farm. But until then, here’s a taste of the Maritimes that you can create in your kitchen, no matter where you are:

Traditional Italian–Nova Scotian biscotti

1 cup (145 grams) dried cranberries
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and extracts together. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until blended (about 30 seconds). Gradually add the egg mixture, and beat until a dough forms, adding cranberries about halfway through. With floured hands, divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough into a log about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Transfer logs to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the logs about 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until firm to the touch (logs will spread during baking). Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Transfer logs to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut the logs into slices 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick on the diagonal. Arrange evenly on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 40 biscotti.

Enjoy with hot tea.

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.”

Llama Look-Alikes

Regular visitors to our Nova Scotia oceanfront vacation rentals at Second Paradise are used to the sight of the 5 llamas that arrived a little over a year ago to take over the pasture management on our seaside property. But recently, people have been doing a double take as they look out over our fields. The llamas seem to have duplicated themselves, but in miniature.

Is this a new generation of llamas on site? Or have the recent South Shore rains shrunk some of the older llamas, like wool sweaters in a hot-water load of laundry?

Actually, neither of the above explanations tells the story.

We are fortunate to have been joined in the past few weeks by 6 new female alpacas, four adults and two babies that were born earlier this year. Like many of our guests who come for a Nova Scotia family vacation, the multi-generation alpacas are looking for a place to just hang out and relax.

A local alpaca breeder who is going out of business was looking for a retirement place for the older females. These females are still healthy with years of good living ahead of them, but they are no longer fit for breeding, nor are they show animals still in their prime. So these retired dames have come to us, with two of their young, to spend their days in leisure, keeping our fields tidy and producing both manure and desirable fiber for our use.

Introducing new animals to an established herd can sometimes be tricky, but the alpacas have settled in nicely. They are pastured together with Bella, our one female llama, and Mänu, who is her (slightly crazy) male companion. Alpacas and llamas tend to get along well and can even interbreed as long as one follows the rules for mixed alpaca and llama social groups: never more than one intact male in the proximity of a female. So, since Mänu is the only boy in with the female alpacas and the one female llama, it’s all working out just fine.

Like the llamas, the alpacas are curious by nature but a bit shy at first. As we get to know them better, we’re finding them to be gentle, very pleasant animals. And an added bonus to the alpacas is that they are much easier to handle because of their considerably smaller size.

Compared to the llamas, the adult alpacas' heads reach about the height of an adult llama's back. For a change, we’re stronger than the animals we’re trying to manage, which is a real bonus. With their smaller size, though, it’s nice to know that the alpacas have the big llamas nearby to act as the main protectors against predators.

So now we’re all settling in for the winter ahead. There’s plenty of pasture for all of the llamas and alpacas on nice days, and we’ve got two barns available for times when the animals need shelter. The larger barn, which can be completely closed, is for all the females plus Mänu. (The little alpacas and their lactating mothers need more warmth.) Then there is a three-sided boys' shelter for the 3 male llamas, which is on a different strip of land, completely out of sight of the other barn. All the animals are still out on the pasture every day, but now they get their supplemental share of hay in the barn as well.

With plenty of company, the barns for shelter, and their magnificent coats of insulating hair, the alpacas should have a warm and cozy winter here at Second Paradise’s Nova Scotia vacation rental cottages – a place of rest and relaxation for people and camelids.