My one legged Raven

My one legged Raven , originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I'm always so glad when I have the first sighting of my one legged Raven in the late fall or early winter. He and two of his friends have been feeding at my winter feeders for at least a decade now. I'm not sure how he lost his left leg or if he was born deformed but he does quite well for himself and he is always seen with two other ravens . Ravens mate for life so I'm not quite sure how to interpret this trio. Maybe the other two Ravens are his parents and they have stayed with him because he is disabled or they are his siblings at any rate they are very happy together and he is never alone. In the photo he is having a breakfast of leftover oatmeal. There is a pecking order the other two ravens eat first and he stands in the background until they fly over to a tree to wait for him then he eats his fill. I usually have my feeder hanging in an apple tree about 10 meters from the house but this year I have it above a small deck outside my garden door and I wasn't sure if he would come this close to the house because they are very shy and fly away at the slightest noise even-though I've been feeding them for years. Well I guess he just couldn't resist his porridge breakfast.

My First Submissions to Getty Images Artist Picks group

My First Submissions to Getty Images Artist Picks group, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

My First Submissions to Getty Images Artist Picks group

Members can submit 25 photos per month these are my November submissions.

Clicking on the photo will take you to my flickr account and links to each of the individual photos in the collage.

Hybrid Greenhouse Cucumber Carmen

Hybrid Cucumber Carmen, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Hybrid Cucumber Carmen grown under lights in my house. This is the third one that I've picked and there are lots more coming along behind this one. I wondered if this would work and am pleased that it is working. I love these "English Cucumbers" and they go for $2.00 each in the stores around here in the winter. They taste as good as the ones I grow in the greenhouse in the summer but I don't think they are as dark a green.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The saga of the Downy Woodpecker continues. I bought a woodpecker seed, fruit and nut cake and a cake of suet. I still haven't put the suet out because it attracts Raccoons and it hasn't been cold enough for them to hibernate yet. He's enjoying his special fruit, nut and seed woodpecker treat but he is still screaming for suet , it's in the freezer and any day now it is getting colder by the day. Minus 5 this morning.

Herring Cove Park the yellow trail

Herring Cove Park the yellow trail , originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I'm leading the Pathfinders walk this weekend so I went out today to check the trail that I plan to use.

Congratulations to Campobello's first Mayor and Council Elected today. Honneur à notre élu

Mayor: Stephen David Smart
Councillor At Large: Carson R. SAVAGE
Councillor Ward 1 : Kevin E. SAWTELLE
Councillor Ward 2: Terrance Dale PRESTON
Councillor Ward 3: Janice M. WATTERS

They do a lovely thing in France in every little town and village at the home of all elected officials they erect a sign and two flags, the sign says, "Honneur à notre élu". translates to Honour to our elected ones or representatives. So in honour of our representatives I'll post this sign:

Portia Owen Hemery

Portia Owen Hemery, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I've been invited on a trip to the Channel Islands with a group of friends next March so one of the things that I hope to do while there is to spend a day or two on Jersey and see if I can locate the final resting place of Portia Owen, this memorial to Portia is in St. Anne's Church here on the Island.

I've been fascinated at what I have found on the Internet in just the last 24 hours. Portia married into a very prominent Jersey family of wine merchants and her husband Clement was an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria :

Clement Hemery
Baptized 2.10.1811. Married Portia Owen in September 1838 in St. Georges Church Hanover Square London. He was a wine merchant. Colonel of the Town Regiment. Constable of St. Helier 1873 - 1876. A.D.C. to Queen Victoria. Died 16.1.1877.



Testament of Clement Hemery of Plaisance, Jersey. Dated 15/07/1876. Bequeaths to the eldest representative of the family a portrait by Fisher, to Cornelia Robinson Owen a portrait by Fisher. Bequeaths to the Jersey National School £200, to St Mark's and St Luke's Schools £50 each, to Cornelia Robinson Owen £50 for religious purposes at Campobello, New Brunswick.


I found one Jersey Church that has a website and contact information so I just wrote them to see if they could offer any information that might be helpful.

I would like to visit the grave and bring back pictures of the Church and Grave to give to St. Anne's.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker , originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Lots of birds at the feeder today but this Downy Woodpecker was doing the strangest things. He went to two different windows in the living room and looked in at me and screamed then he hung on the screen on the Garden Door and did the same thing. In between these performances he would go to the feeder and pick out some pieces of corn to eat. The feeder has two cages for suet but I don't buy any until the Raccoons have hibernated and I sure it is cold enough that it won't spoil in the sun. I think perhaps he is one of the woodpeckers that feed at the feeder every winter and he is upset that there isn't any suet.

Herring Cove

Herring Cove, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Still having fun with the camera after dark. This time I went out on Herring Cove Beach and stood in the cold for and hour or so just after sunset. There is a new moon in the sky so the sky isn't dark enough to see very many stars. I will do it again some dark moonless night.

The Big Dipper

Stat light star bright

Stat light star bright, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

My first night time photo with the Canon G11. A 15 second exposure taken just outside my door. If you click on the photo that will take you to my flickr account and you can read notes that I placed on the photo you can also select to see a larger version. Not a perfect photo by any means but it was fun and now I want to try some more perhaps in a darker location.

After The Rain

After The Rain, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

A good day to try out some of the features on my new Canon G11 camera, gray and overcast, after almost a week of steady rain the streams are swollen and running fast. First time I've ever tried anything other then fully automatic or macro photos. The little camera still amazes me and there are lots of features that I haven't tried yet. If you would like to see more of theses just click on the photo and that will take you to my flickr account where there are a few more.

My Brother called me shortly after I put the photos up wanting to know if I help the man get out of the stream in this photo. I hadn't even noticed the strange rock until he drew it to my attention.

Last of the fall colour - Acer palmatum ( Bloodgood Japanese Maple )

Last of the fall colour - Acer palmatum ( Bloodgood Japanese Maple ), originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

What a miserable week weather wise it snowed last Sunday and has rained every day since, lots of wind too. Most of the fall colour is on the ground and the trees are bare until next spring. My Japanese Maple Bloodgood is always appreciated at this time of year it keeps it's leaves for a week or two after all the native trees have shed theirs. According to the forecast we might see a bit of sun this Wednesday and Thursday should be a clear sunny day. Adding to all this fun we set the clocks back an hour today so it is dark by late afternoon, I don't understand why we let them do this to us I don't Know anyone who is in favour of it.

Sauerkraut started

Sauerkraut started, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The Sauerkraut is in the picklemiester and the fermentation process is underway. A process which should take four to five weeks, after which it can be put in the refrigerator and kept for months as you use it up.

The last of the harvest

A compilation of several short video clips taken over the last three weeks as I harvested and preserved my garden produce as well as a look at my new little chicken coop all ready for my hens when they arrive next summer and a short clip of my indoor cucumbers.

Wild Cranberry Preserve

I use this as a guideline then measure my cranberries and add sugar and water according to the amount of cranberries. This year I put the cooked berries through a kitchen mill to remove the skins, most years I don't bother.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (625mL) cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup (175mL) sugar
3/4 cup (175mL) water

Get Cooking!

1. Combine cranberries with sugar and water in a large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes until cranberries pop and sauce starts to thicken.
3. Pour sauce into a bowl and chill. Serve cold. Sauce will thicken on cooling.

Wild Blueberry Jam

BLUEBERRY JAM
Printed from COOKS.COM

4 c. prepared fruit (about 1 1/2 qts. ripe berries)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 box powdered fruit pectin
5 c. (2 1/4 lbs.) sugar

First, prepare the fruit. Crush completely about 1 1/2 quarts fully ripe blueberries. Measure 4 cups into a very large saucepan. Add lemon juice.

Then make the jam. Add powdered pectin to fruit in saucepan and mix well. Bring to a hard boil over high heat, stirring constantly. At once stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon. Then alternately stir and skim for 5 minutes to cool slightly and to prevent floating fruit. Ladle quickly into glasses. Cover with paraffin.

Male Cardinal

Male Cardinal, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I don't think I've ever had one of these at my feeders before. We used to get them over on the North Road where I grew up and my Mother had them where she lived in Welshpool, but I think this is a first for me. There are at least two males here at first I thought I was only seeing one bird but I just saw two at the same time one at the feeder and one not far away trying to eat rose hips off one of my rose bushes.