Our Message Archive
June 2025
Sunday June 29
The bridge across the Nashwaak River
Ann and I spent this week biking in Fredericton with the Ramblers. We left on Monday morning and arrived at the Fort Nashwaak Motel, on the north side of the river, at about 4pm. After settling in, we joined the rest of the Ramblers for dinner at the motel pub.
The first ride was on Monday but the forecast high was 32°C with a humidex over 40, so a few changes were made in the interest of safety. We started at 9am instead of 10am to try to beat the worst of the heat and we rode a shorter and shadier ride than was originally planned: along the trail up the Nashwaak River to Penniac. On the way back we stopped at The Landing for coffee and treats before returning to the motel. Ann then went off with some friends for a swim in Killarney Lake while I had a nap. That evening we all went to the Delta Hotel for dinner.
On Wednesday, it was considerably cooler but still quite hot. We biked on the trail along the south side of the river to Oromocto where we had a picnic lunch. We then crossed over the Burton Bridge and rode back to the motel on the road stopping to have a look at the big potato at Silver Valley Farms. In the late afternoon, Ann and I went to Picaroons, a pub just down the street from the motel, for a beer before we walked across the river on the pedestrian bridge to join Dave and Manon for dinner at MOCO Downtown, and Italian restaurant.
On Thursday, the plan was to ride along the south side of the river to the Mactaquac dam, cross over the river on the dam, then return along the north side. However, the dam has been undergoing repairs and was not yet open to traffic, so instead we returned on the south side then rode around some of the trails in downtown Fredericton. That evening we all went for a pot-luck dinner at Murray and Bert's who live in Fredericton. Murray is the brother of Dick, one of the regular Ramblers and who was one of the principal organizers of the tour. Murray led all the rides for us.
On Friday, we went on a short ride up the north side of the river toward, but not as far as, Mactaquac. We had lunch at Picaroons before heading for home.
Meanwhile, back at home on Friday morning, a new front door was being installed. David let the workers in for us so it was all done by the time we got back. It is now yellow, not red, and should be a lot more airtight next winter.
Sunday June 22
A farm on the Noel Shore yesterday
I'm happy to report that recent weather has been much more conducive to biking than earlier in the spring. We were out to Lawrencetown Beach with the Railers the last two Mondays and also from Laurie Park to Monte Vista with the Roadents a week ago Wednesday. Last Saturday, we drove to Hantsport to join the Ramblers for a ride to the Bent Ridge Winery. We had a coffee at the Essentially English Bakery before we started and then a very nice lunch at the winery. On the way home, we went in search of Eldridge Falls, a waterfall in the vicinity that I thought might make an interesting diversion on the ride next year. Unfortunately the road into the falls is very poor so it would not be suitable for one of our rides.
Yesterday we drove to Maitland for another Rambler ride along the Noel Shore — the south shore of Cobequid Bay which is at the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy — to Burntcoat Head Park. It was another lovely day but there was a strong wind from the west that made the ride out quite challenging. I was on my regular bike; had I realized how strong the wind was going to be I probably would have taken my e-bike. Of course, the ride back was much easier. Afterwards most of us gathered at Frieze & Roy, a general store in Maitland, for ice cream. On the way home, Ann and I stopped in at the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre. The tidal bore was not due until later in the day but I was on another reconnaissance mission for a possible ride next summer.
A couple of weekends ago, we received urgent messages from our city councillor and from the Halifax Bicycling Coalition to inform us that the mayor had put forth a motion to suspend construction of all bicycle lanes in the city. The vote was to take place the following Tuesday, so a rally was organized for 8am that morning so that we could express our displeasure and try to sway the votes of councillors that may not have made up their minds. Ann and I both sent e-mails to the mayor and all the councillors, and got up early on Tuesday and rode over to the rally to lend our support. We're happy to report that the motion was defeated 12–5. I've since read some analysis that suggested that the mayor never expected the motion to pass but was trying to ingratiate himself with his supporters and his provincial overlords. We don't like him very much.
I don't watch much hockey these days but I did tune in to the Stanley Cup Finals between Edmonton and Florida. Most of the games were pretty exciting but, of course, the end result was not much to our liking.
I have a new project in the back garden. When the red maple was still standing, nothing much would grow directly beneath it, so we covered a large semi-circular area with gravel. Now that the tree is gone, I'm converting it back so that things can be grown there again. That means removing the gravel, which will go to a new path between the patio and the fire pit circle, digging out a lot of the smaller roots and sifting the larger stones from the soil. So far about half of it has been dug up, but the most time-consuming part is washing the dirt out of the gravel so that weeds don't immediately appear in the new path.
Ann has been spending a lot of time at the Cottage Café recently. We usually stop there after the ride to Lawrencetown Beach on Mondays to build up our strength for the ascent of the last hill up to our place. She also been meeting Cindy, Vicki and Cathy there on Fridays.
Nancy's daughter Lauren arrived today for a quick stay prior to going to Eskasoni, one of the First Nations reserves in Cape Breton, to finish work on her Masters thesis in International Relations. Ann went to the airport to pick her up after church and, a bit later, took her to our local Enterprise office to pick up a rental car.
Sunday June 8
The Musquodoboit River on the Rambler ride a few of weeks ago.
A week ago Thursday was Ann's birthday so I made her the breakfast of her choice: steak and eggs in lieu of our usual Eggs Benedict. The two of us then went for a ride with the Railers along the BLT and Saint Margaret's Bay Trails to the Bike & Bean where we stopped for a coffee before returning. It was a lovely day so it was a very enjoyable ride.
That evening, while I watched the hockey game, Ann went to a choir practice to prepare for two performances of Gardens: A Sacred Oratorio with two other church choirs, an organist and a soprano soloist. The first was in Truro the following Saturday and the second the day after at Grace United. Ann was not very enthused about the music at first but she warmed up to it. Both concerts went well.
While Ann was singing in Truro, I went to a music party at my friend and band mate James'. He explicitly asked me to bring my banjo so I thought that I would clean it up a bit that afternoon. I removed the resonator removed a fair amount of dust, then found that a couple of the clips providing tension to the head were loose, so I tightened them up causing the head to split. I tried to get one at our local Long & McQuade but it seems that, of the hundreds of their stores across Canada, only one had a banjo head in stock and it was neither the one in Dartmouth nor in Halifax. However, the Folklore Centre in Halifax did have one so I rushed over to get it then spent the rest of the afternoon taking my banjo apart, installing the head, and putting it back together again — a lengthy process since there are 24 clips holding the head on and they each have to be tightened just a little bit at a time so that the tension is applied evenly. I managed to get it done in time for the party, which was fun with all of the Dave Brothers Band there as well as a couple of James' other musical friends.
I have spent a fair bit of time in the garden over the last couple of weeks. Everything has now sprouted (I was almost losing hope for a while; the cold weather delayed the cucumbers and squash) and there is lettuce and dill to be harvested.
It has not been a good spring for the Ramblers bike rides. For the last three weeks it has rained on the weekends and the ride has had to be cancelled. Before that, the weather was cold and the rides were not very well attended. So far the weather is looking good for next week but a lot can happen in six days. During the week, the weather has been much nicer so we have done the usual rides to Lawrencetown Beach and from Laurie Park to Monte Vista. Yesterday we rode over to Kim and Glen's and then around a loop through downtown Halifax with Kim's brother Greg and her son Will.
On Tuesday, Ann went over to Halifax for a belated birthday celebration with Ingrid, Marg and Kim at one of the cafés on the waterfront, whose name escapes her.
On Wednesday evening, Ann noticed a leak under the kitchen sink. Further investigation revealed that a widget holding the drainpipe together had broken. We called the plumber on Thursday morning and were put on a waiting list, but they didn't arrive until Friday lunchtime. The fix took all of five minutes.
On Thursday evening, we went to ViewPoint Gallery to see an exhibition of paired photos by gallery members and their invited guests. There were some really nice shots.