Great beach weather

Day spent at Risser's Beach... how glorious.

Great Island preservation

Today, we attended the Volglers Cove Community Centre to celebrate the permanent conservation of Great Island, a 300-acre property off the coast from Cherry Hill. The Nova Scotia Nature Trust (NSNT) announced an agreement with the property owners to conserve the largest island ever protected on the province's mainland. "The agreement ensures the island will remain in its natural state in perpetuity, by eliminating future development, subdivision or other activities that could harm the unique coastal environments of the island. Yet it allows for continued use and enjoyment of the island," said a NSNT spokesperson.


See more about the Nova Scotia Nature Trust at:
http://www.nsnt.ca/


Afterwards, we joined others for a walk on Cherry Hill Beach.

Riding at Keji

Today we travelled inland to Kejimkujik National Park, and spent some of the day cycling some of the many trails. Shaded trails provided some relief from the scolding temperatures, although a swim in lake would have been nice too.

Church Cupcakes

What can I say... not as much as Crystal Ross, who, created these culinary delights. Crystal, and her childhood friend, Kelly Day, are passionate about fine desserts and decadent baked sweets, and have started Gateaux Rose, a business that makes "desserts that are flavourful, rich and memorable; a decadent experience to enhance and complement your special day."

See more at:

Gateaux Rose: The Challenge: Ulgedook Cottage: "I have to say, this has to be one of my favorite requests yet... Turn Ulgedook cottage into a cupcake? You've got it! I decided some research..."

Lovely hosts

We send our sincere thanks to our new friends, Susan and Cathy from Toronto, for their genuine hospitality, a scrumptious dinner, and an evening of engaging conversation, at their century old summer home in Volgers Cove. We met Susan and Cathy only a week earlier, and are happy to meet such pleasant people, but regret that they only visit for a few weeks a year. We look forward to seeing them again next year, and sharing other enjoyable experiences.

You can view and learn more about their gorgeous home at:
http://www.sprucepoint.ca/

Ground cover for the p@#p chamber

We finally caved in and decided that we should do at least a little landscaping this summer, so we bought many (and many) ground cover plants to cover the septic tank. Shown here is Susan hard at work.

Ulgedook pronunciation

Our thanks go to Jill Jill Francis, Community Health Representative of the Acadia First Nation, for helping us with the pronunciation of Ulgedook. She pointed us to an Online Mi'kmaq dictionary with sound recordings, and searched for the word "mushroom," which is ulgedoo (without the "k"). The dictionary came up with the mi'kmaq word as "lgetu" (the spelling is based on a different orthography), but it sounds much as we expected it to. Listen for yourself at:

http://www.mikmaqonline.org/servlet/dictionaryFrameSet.html?arg0=mushroom&method=searchFromEnglish

Click here for a Dictionary of the language of the Micmac Indians (1888).

Click here for A First Book of Reading in the MicMac Language (1875).

Yard Sales & Auctions

Do you ever go to an auction or yard sale and say, "if I only had a cottage, I'd buy that... (such-a-such)." Well... WE DO!! So we can buy old, mismatched items that may enhance the aesthetics of the church, but that we'd never buy for home. The dishes pictured below are a case in point.

Vacationing Visitors

While vacationing in Nova Scotia, my relatives from New Brunswick made a stop to see Ulgedook Cottage. Shown below are my Aunt Joanne and Uncle Norm, and my cousin Tim and wife Cindy. They all liked the church turned cottage, and I hope that they will come again for a longer stay.

Privateer Days

We took in some of the many festivities of Privateer Days this weekend, including the Acadia First Nations Kepabskitk Gathering, a free concert by renowned country performer Carol Baker, and a re-enactment of the "Defense of the Crown" by the King's Orange Rangers. All in all, a great festival commemorating Liverpool's colourful privateer heritage.

May Long Weekend

Our May 2-4 weekend was spent like so many other cottagers; relaxing with drink in hand (a popsicle in my case), and enjoying the fine weather that was bestowed upon us. We hosted the Hats Off to Summer Party on Saturday, and awarded the People's Choice Award to Tim the Hippie for his adornment of attire fitting for the era.

Pictured here is Joel's attempt to be the church jester, and Susan's attempt to cool off.

You're invited

Happy Easter one and all

Many of our family joined us at Ulgedook on Easter Weekend to enjoy a cornucopia of delicious foods served up as a potluck Easter celebration. Guests were also treated to record breaking temperatures, allowing many to sit and relax outside as well as in.

With an early arrival of good weather, Susan and I are sure to be visiting Ulgedook Cottage on a regular basis from now on. Come join us sometime.

Closed for Season

After a very busy year, and now cloaked in snow and freezing temperatures, Ulgedook is closed for the Season. We look forward to less work and more fun in 2010, and invite all to join us at anytime to participate in a relaxing get-away.

A Successful Holiday Homes Tour

The Holiday Homes Tour has come and gone, and was an amazing success. Susan and Andrea worked diligently to create a warm and inviting holiday setting, complete with decorations in every room. The 10 foot Christmas tree was the highlight, but so were the Santa collection in the bedroom, angels in the sanctuary, garland wrapped railings, windows adorned with boughs, and much more.

The event began Friday evening with tour hosts gathering at Ulgedook, before setting off to visit every house on the tour (sort of like a preview night). Participants were impressed with the church, until an area wide power failure left us only in candle light, creating a new ambiance for our place and several other houses along the tour.

The public tour began at 1:00 the next day, and people were gathered at our front door to get a look. This turn-out was surprising to Joel, and the entourage continued through the afternoon till closing at 5:00. An hour and a half later, decorations were down and packed away, the tree out the door, and we were on our way home. In all, we estimate over nearly 200 visitors, with 160 signatures in our guest book.

Hats off to Andrea and Susan for a wonderful job!