Another lovely sunny day but still very cold, it got up to 3 degrees this afternoon.
Off to my friendly neighborhood laundry early this morning and then back up to check out the Friday Flower Market. Very colourful and I took the opportunity to act on a suggestion from Pat and Marc, previous guests in this apartment. When I said yesterday that I had to keep the screen down because the lady next door closes here shutters if I raise it, they said their solution to the problem was to put a large bouquet of sunflowers in the wind and just think of her as the friendly neighborhood watch. So I have thrown caution to the wind raised the screen and since sunflowers are not in season I bought a large bunch of Mimosa and a pot of Daffodils.(Not in bloom yet)
Of course I have to make my daily stop at the the bakery which is just steps from my front door.
After lunch I decided to take the train to Narbonne which is only one train stop away. Once again the weather is causing train delays. When I bought my ticket the agent said the train is delayed 40 minutes as soon as I got out in the lobby of the station the board changed to say that it is now delayed one hour. I decided to call Pru for a chat and while I was talking to her the board changed again it was now delayed one hour and a half. Having lots of time to spare I bought a newspaper and went to sit in the lounge. I just got comfortable when I noticed the board had changed again now the train is once again only delayed an hour so now I have a matter if minutes to get to the right platform and jump on board.
It was cold in Beziers but no wind, in Narbonne it was three degrees but lots of wind which made it much worse.Not cold enough that old men of the town would interrupt their game of Boules, I watched them for quite a while and in my opinion they were very good, making some incredible shots. They kept a close eye on me so I had to do my filming secretly, don't blame them I wouldn't want some tourist filming me either.
Narbonne has a beautiful Cathedral but it looks a bit strange, it was never finished. It is one of the tallest in France but they only built the choir and never went any further so from the inside it is almost as long as it is tall.
In the middle of a plaza near the Cathedral they have preserved a bit of the old Roman Road that used to pass through the area. Yes that's my shadow........
Not to be out done the train back home in the late afternoon was delayed at least an hour and for an added attraction they changed the platform after everyone was out on the platform waiting for the train .
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday Flower Market - Beziers
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Blizzard in Beziers LOL
A special welcome to all of my Maritime Camino Friends who started following the blog today.
Blizzard of course is a joke but is it ever cold here today and as you can see there was even a light snow flurry early this morning. I get the local weather forecast for back home emailed to me every morning and I think it was warmer on Campobello by a few degrees than it was here. There were icy spots on sidewalks earlier and people were rushing to cover them with grit. I spent most of the day out around the city and feeling sorry for the local people they look like they were frozen.
I absolutely hate my little camera it has been giving me grief ever since I've owned it. Yesterday after I got all the way out to the Etang de Montady it refused to work altogether, fortunately I had my flip camcorder with me.(Camino friendly only weighs 3.3 ounces) The battery was recently charged but the camera says it has a low battery and shuts down. So all of this to tell you that I did a long walk through the city today out to the outskirts where the new modern mall is to find a camera shop and have the battery checked. I had charged it again last night it tested fine and the camera worked all day, yesterday I was tempted to throw it in the canal.
On the way to the mall you walk by the new arena. Beziers has Bull Fighting in the summer, fortunately not this time of year. But then I have been there got the t-shirt and will never do it again. It was my birthday gift to myself a few years ago in Portugal, where they tell you they don't kill the Bull, which is true they don't kill it in the arena they just torture it to within an inch of it's life. Then they take it out back and kill it.
Looks to me like they hung the little red elf, but people tell me he is climbing up the rope to get in the apartment. I have seen these all over the city, wish I could find them in a shop I would ship one back home.
My traveling buddy Bernie has been having fun today. He comes from a large family of sock people who are all over the place.
Bernie wants to ride the Carousel
Bernie is looking for a job. Click on the photo then select all sizes from my flickr account so you can see what job Bernie is considering.
My window with the screen down on the left and the view from my window on the right. This is the view from my kitchen window and I have to keep the screen down because when ever I'm working at the kitchen counter, which is just behind the window, the old lady across the street rushes around and closes all of her shutters. It's a very narrow street.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
A walk along the Canal du Midi from Beziers to L'Etang de Montady February 10, 2010
A walk along the Canal du Midi from Beziers to L'Etang de Montady February 10, 2010, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.
A cool day but no rain so I decided today was a good time to walk along the Canal du Midi from Beziers to L'Etang de Montady which is about 12 KM out of Beziers. I made it there and back in around seven hours, without a back pack and I am one hurting unit tonight. Obviously I need to do more walking to get ready for Le voie du Puy the first of march.
As I said it was cool but for walking it was quite comfortable and there was lots of things to look at along the Canal . I will have to remember to take bread for the ducks next time. Quack a few times and these little fellows come racing across the water to see if you have something for them.
When I started the walk this morning I walked past the nine locks just east of Beziers. I guess it must be too early in the season I didn't get to see a boat going through the locks, as a matter of fact I didn't see a single boat moving on the canal all day.
My destination was the L'Etang de Montady which is an incredible piece of medieval engineering which still works today. In the middle ages a bishop designed a method of draining the Etang (Swamp, marsh or pond) by digging drainage ditches which drained the water to the center where an underground tunnel carried the water away. Thus the pie shaped land so all of the ditches could drain to the center. These are a couple of videos that I took from two different locations above the L'Etang: (Hope you don't get sea sick these were taken with my flip camcorder and I don't have the steadiest hand)
This is a short clip that I took along the Canal Du Midi nears Colombiers:
And last but not least this is a view looking back at Beziers from the banks of the Canal du Midi
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Picnic lunch at Saint Guilihem le Desert
Well I had another try at uploading photos and I'm glad to say it must have been a poor connection the other night because today it was every bit as fast as it is at home if not faster. So there are a few more photos and a video clip on my flickr site if you want to have a look. you can get there by clicking on this photo.
This is a shot of one of the picnic feast that Pru and I had on the road. This one at Saint Guilihem le Desert. We had a lot of fun shopping at markets for our lunch.
All good things must come to an end and Pru had to return home yesterday. When we got to the train station yesterday morning most of the trains coming down from up north were on average four hours late. Due to some problem with the electricity . Pru was going north so this wasn't a problem her train departed on time. I talked to here later in the afternoon though and the train had slowed down and was going to be at least two hours late getting into Pairs.
Today has been cool and we had some rain this morning. I'm waiting for a good day to do a walk along the Canal Du Midi to L'Etang de Montady, Google that or better yet have a look at it on Google Earth. It's and amazing piece of medieval engineering that is still in use today. Only about 10 KM out of Beziers so a nice day trip. So far tomorrow is looking better weather wise so perhaps I will be off in the morning.
The Nuns were having their noontime service as we entered the abbey at Saint Guilihem le Desert:
I had seen pictures of the Masons marks, at Beziers Cathedral, posted by my flickr friend Marlis so I went looking for them yesterday. Each mason had his own mark and was paid according to the amount of work he did:
I should have taken a picture of the structure that hold the frame for you to take your picture through. They were all around Collioure framing various views:
Sunday, February 7, 2010
LA CITÉ DE CARCASSONNE
Yesterday morning we drove to the medieval city of Carcassonne and explored the town, very much a tourist attraction and even fairly busy this time of year, of course it was a Saturday so I suppose it could have been a lot of local families out for a day trip. The site is a restoration so it doesn't have the same atmosphere as the other ruins have. It's more like being there shortly after the construction finished , everything is in such good condition.
After another great picnic lunch we drove back down to the sea, this time to Collioures close to the Spanish border.
Another beautiful little seaside village maybe a bit more touristy than Sete which seemed to be more of a working town with lots of large fishing boats and a commercial shipping dock.
We were sitting at a sea side cafe having coffee in the sunshine when a band struck up and I turned around to see a donkey cart carrying a very tall and large red faced figure which was covered in little bags of sweets. This was being followed by the band all in crazy costumes and a large group of children all in costume as if it were Halloween. Some sort of childrens festival, I'm not sure what perhaps a pre-lent celebration.
These aren't my photos but I've taken some like this last one. All over the town they have these heavy metal frames on posts with steps going up to the overlooking a nice view. You take your photo through them and it looks like a framed picture.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Bernie just back from shopping.
Bernie and I have settled in nicely and I think our French is improving marginally.
Yesterday was a perfect day and a big surprise because the weather forecast was for rain all day. We drove the the Abbey Village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert in the morning and explored the abbey and the narrow little village that is set in the valley between two mountains. Had a wonderful picnic lunch, more like a feast, from items that we bought in the Les Halles Market in Beziers earlier in the morning.
In the afternoon we drove down to the Mediterranean to the town of Sete where the Canal du Midi finishes it's cross country trek from the Atlantic. A beautiful busy little sea port town a few kilometers out side of town we stopped along the sea to watch the breakers roll in from the open sea. The beach was miles long perfect sand and seashells every where.
If you click on any of these photos it should take you to my flickr account and you can see the other pictures that I uploaded yesterday. I may not do that too often it took an hour and ten minutes in the Cyber Cafe sitting there watching the computer to get them on my account.
I haven't bought any of these yet but I think I will just to see what they are like:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
La Couvertoirade Templar Castle and resorted village.
A cool day with rain this afternoon . We rented a car, a Cleo, for today through Sunday for only 125 Euros which includes 1200 KM mileage. So after breakfast we drove to La Couvertoirade the site of a Templar Castle and stone village. We had it almost to ourselves on this cold foggy morning. Once again this is a borrowed flickr photo, I hope to be able to use some of my own photos soon if I ever slow down long enough to go to an Internet Cafe. I'm anxious to see my photos because I think the fog will make them have a special mysterious feel to them .It is the off season so everything was closed but we were able to walk all around the village. Most of the buildings have been carefully restored and a number of them are being used as shops, cafes and workshops for various artisans.
Something very interesting about the area was these thistles that grow in the area :
Most houses have one on the door, it is the local method of weather forecasting. If the thistle opens up it is predicting rain and if in closes then you will have dry weather.
After leaving there we drove on to Roquefort the town that gives it's name to the cheese. There are seven companies in the town that make the cheese and have the sole rights to use the name. We took a guided tour of one of the company facilities including the Cave where the wheels of cheese are aged. And of course the tour ends in the gift shop where you can buy cheese and other souvenir items. Also got to sample the delicious cheese.
I remember watching an National Geographic documentary on the construction of the Millau Via Duct and it was in the area not far from the other places that we were visiting so we drove up to have a look at it. We were under it but we didn't cross over I guess it has a high toll and we weren't going in that direction , just as well because I don't think I would like the experience. An amazing piece of engineering though.
Tomorrow is supposes to be good weather some cloud and sun and the plan is to go off to St. Guilhem le Desert and perhaps get some hiking in before we come back to Beziers.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
First full day in Beziers
Arrived in Beziers after dark last night almost 23 hours after leaving Moncton. Had a good flight over to Paris, well as good as can be expected with Air Canada my Vegetarian meal in the evening was not eatable and I guess I slept through Breakfast. I do remember hearing them ask somebody if they wanted orange juice. Anyway it was a good flight and seemed really short because I slept most of the way.
Pru and Ivan came to see me at the Airport and we had a nice visit and lunch. Very cold in Paris and the train station area of the airport is mostly open to the outside so it was very cool. There was a fresh covering of snow in Paris and most of the way down south. All the way to Nimes anyway, but after that it was all green fields.
My landlord was waiting at the station with his dog Penny and after I got settled in I was invited down for a very delicious dinner. Which was much appreciated after the long day.
Another good nights sleep last night and this morning I was off to Les Halles the covered market for breakfast and some shopping to get my kitchen stocked. I love the French markets everything so well displayed and so fresh. Lots of wonderful fresh seafood here, being so close to the sea. I bought some salmon already cooked in a cream and red pepper sauce and I just had it warmed up for supper, very good.
Spent most of the day getting my bearings and exploring the town. Sunny and very comfortable in just a light jacket. A lot to see and I just strolled around barely scratching the surface.
I haven't gone to an internet cafe yet, found a nice one next to the market though, to see if I can upload some of my photos to use so in the meantime I stole this one from Marlis a flickr friend. This shows the river Orb, the old Roman Bridge and the Cathedral high on the hill. I walked around the cathedral this afternoon and saw this view looking down from there.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Memramcook land of Ice and Snow
Had a good visit with Christina, Dany and Amelia. Minus 20 degrees this morning. We went out to dinner to a very nice vegetarian restaurant last night. Just a short note so I can post this little video, on my way to the airport in a few minutes.
Friday, January 29, 2010
My Island Home
I took a drive around the Island yesterday morning taking a series of short video clips and then I put some of them together into this short movie. I don't think I'm quite ready for an academy award yet but it gives you an idea of what Campobello is like for those of you who haven't been here.
I'm glad to say that I can now correct something that I said in my last post. Thanks to a YouTube friend , Jihad Acadien (I love his YouTube name), I now know that I will be able to upload video clips at Internet Cafes as I travel around France.
I hope to move on to my nieces in Memramcook today but I'm not sure yet if I will be able to do this, might have to wait until tomorrow, we had snow over night only an inch or so here but it is still snowing in Memramcook so I will wait until afternoon to make a decision. The forecast is for a good weekend though so there shouldn't be a problem getting to the airport on Sunday.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Oh what to do...............
Oh what should I do. I just discovered the Flip Mino HD camcorder. Slips in your pocket, takes up to an hour of HD video, built-in software for uploading to YouTube and other sites like flickr. Supposed to be idiot proof, I might be able to give it a challenge though. The software even allows you to edit clips together into one movie. It would be great to have on my trip I could add clips to my YouTube account and attach them to my blog as I travel. I'm going to be in Fredericton tomorrow and I will go to future shop to have a look at them and I just can't resist this kind of thing so I will likely come home with one.
I love the little Flip and hope to have time tomorrow, before packing for my trip, to run around the island and make a short video to upload to YouTube.
I don't think it will be of much use to me in France though I can't find a way to use it without it installing software on the computer and then rebooting the computer before you can use it. I'm going to be in Beziers for a month so I might be able to convince one of the Internet Cafes to do it for me if I explain I will be coming back frequently to use it. Worth a try anyway.
Check-out this compilation of the first clips that I took with the Flip complete with bloopers:
Monday, January 25, 2010
Happy Burns Night
Address To A Haggis
Robert Burns
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!
The Translation
Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm
The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads
His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight
Warm steaming, rich
Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles
Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner
Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit
But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off
Like the tops of thistles
You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Ten days and counting.
Just an average normal winter storm for this area 10 to 15 centimeters predicted in total, but what a gray day. The photo is a full colour photo but you really need to search to find a bit that isn't gray, black or white. A flickr friend who lives in Beziers just commented on the photo and asked me to leave the snow behind when I come over.
Ten days and counting until I arrive in the south of France I just checked the weather in Beziers and it isn't exactly hot there either but daytime highs are averaging 10 degrees C. and hopefully will continue to warm up as the days go on. This link will take you to the Beziers forecast from the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2094
Some more good news, if you check the Le Puy live web-cam link in my previous post you will see that last weeks snow is almost completely gone. I suspect that is normal for the area they get snow because of the altitude but I don't think the area is know for sustained deep snow like the alps or ski areas. They no doubt will have more snow before the winter is out and I will need to keep an eye on it for my planned March first start from Le Puy.
My friend Pru who is planning to walk with me has had a bit of a setback. She has been having a lot of back pain and being treated for it by her Doctor. Monday her Doctor told her not to carry more than 2.5 Kg., an empty backpack weighs that much. In the true, pilgrim/long distance walker spirit Pru has found a company that will transport her pack to the next etape (stage) allowing her to walk with a light day pack. This of course adds to the cost of the venture but I was surprised that the charge is only 8 Euros per day for a pack up to 12 Kg. Now I will be jealous and tempted to have mine transported too. Seriously it is good to know about this service in case I have a need for it.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Miserable day at the Opera.
Up early this morning and on the road for Fredericton, a three hour drive, to attend another of the live in HD Opera performances from the New York Metropolitan Opera. I've been attending them quite regularly for the past two years. The broadcasts are at the large movie theater in Fredericton, one of those places with numerous screens and they always show the opera in theater one which is the largest. I was there last Saturday for Der Rosenkavalier and for the first time I had to sit near the front and at the start of the performance there were not very many empty seats, less than 20. Well today was Carmen, I arrived an hour and a half early and went to the automated ticket machine to get my ticket and the screen said SOLD OUT . How rude. I went over and spoke to one of the ticket sellers to see if there was any point in waiting for performance time to see if there was a seat available, in case some one didn't show up and she said sorry we are not allowed to resell or fill those seats. Bummer. I haven't been buying my tickets in advance because of the possibility of a snow storm this time of year and not being able to get to Fredericton.
Went to Chapters and picked-up a couple more books to read on my trip, backpack is getting heavier every day mostly with books but I can discard those at gites after I read them. Nothing else to do but turn around and come back home. I always listen to CBC Radio 2 while driving and every Saturday at 2 PM is Saturday afternoon at the Opera which sometimes is a live Met performance and other times is a recorded broadcast from some other large opera house. A few minutes before 2 PM the announcer says today's broadcast is Carmen live from the Met, BRAVO !! A few minutes later the same announcer apologizes and says we have lost the feed from the Met but we have Carmen cued up in the CD player and will start it now and return to the live broadcast if we are able to restore the feed. The entire first act was a recording at the end of act one they restored contact and continued on with the live performance. At the intermission after act two I realized this is the same satellite feed that we get in the movie theater the singers are being interviewed back stage and you can hear the stage hands setting up for the next act. Now I wonder if I had been in the theater would I have seen act one or did they loose the transmission too. In which case most people would have left and asked for a refund.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Beziers - Friday Market
I'm arriving in Beziers on a Monday evening so I will need to wait four days before I can shop at this beautiful Friday morning open air market. I have a flickr gallery of 18 photos taken by various photographers at the market:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecalder2003/galleries/72157622303585925/
Plans for my departure are almost all finalized I'm looking forward to visiting with my niece and her family in Memramcook en-route to the airport. They also get the job of babysitting my car while I'm away.
If my flight is on time I will have about four hours at the airport in Paris before the TGV train for Beziers departs the airport station. My friend Pru who lives in Sevre outside Paris is planning to come to airport to welcome me to la belle France . It will be good to see her again, we plan to find a cafe close to the train station for coffee and a lunch.
Other than finding Pru and the train station I need to find an ATM to get some Euros, need to pay my rent when I arrive in Beziers. I know I've looked for an ATM in this airport before and have never been successful. I remember traveling through there once with the walking group The Pathfinders and finding one of the women in the group standing in front of one of the machines where you pay for your parking time in the car park, with her bank card in hand hoping to get cash out of it. . I just checked the airports website and they say there are 25 ATM machines, evidently well hidden.
My landlord in Beziers has made a couple of suggestions for interesting areas to walk in the region and has even offered to provide transport and join me for the day. Pru and Ivan are planning to come down for a five day visit in early February. Lots of family and friends wishing me a good trip and several friends who I know only through flickr are sending good wishes and following my blog.
I'm getting so excited !!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bernie' s Press Badge
My pal Bernie and I are almost ready to travel. Bernie got his new Press Credentials today.
I did a trial run/packing my backpack today and I'm really pleased to say that I have the weight down to 7.7 KG and that includes all of my cloths even the cloths that I will be wearing on the day and with the water bottle filled. On the first day of my last Camino in 2008 my backpack weighed over 12 KG with empty water bottles and the cloths that I was wearing already removed. If I learned anything at all in 2008 it was to make due with the bare essentials and carry as little as possible. So this time I basically have one change of cloths, some toiletries, medications, two pairs of socks and liner socks , light fleece jacket, rain/wind jacket and pants and a change of underwear. This time I'm leaving the poncho home and using the nice Rain Jacket that my Brother and Sister in-law gave me for Christmas. I bought a pair of rain pants to go with it and will use them as my second pair of pants. Since the pants and jacket are wind proof along with water proof they will also help to keep me warm on any cold windy days.
Counting down the days.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Camino Badges
The badges and flag are all sewn on my backpack and fleece jacket so I'm at lease
that much closer to being ready. I have lists for everything, even lists. So much to do before I leave and making sure I don't forget to take something that I will need either in Beziers in February or while walking La Voie du Puy.
Minus 10C here this morning and Paris is forecast to be minus 7C tomorrow, why is it I'm doing this, again. It's even chilly down south in Beziers hopefully everything will warm up a bit by February. I found a great web-cam live from Le Puy-en-Velay and I've been watching it snow there all week.
http://www.ot-lepuyenvelay.fr/webcam.php
Fortunately I don't go to Le Puy until the first of March so I hope to use the web-cam to watch the snow melt.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Yup looks like it is going to snow....... again!!
Todays weather forecast for this area:
.WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST SUNDAY...
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST SUNDAY.
SNOW WILL EXPAND FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST ACROSS THE REGION
TODAY...BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW...HEAVY AT
TIMES...WILL THEN CONTINUE TONIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TODAY
THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 18 INCHES ACROSS THE
REGION. THE SNOW COULD MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES LATER TONIGHT ALONG
THE DOWNEAST COAST...POSSIBLY LIMITING ACCUMULATIONS THERE. NORTH
WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY...REACHING SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 20 TO 30
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH BY THIS EVENING. SIMILAR WINDS WILL
CONTINUE TONIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW AND NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES WITH VERY DIFFICULT AND
HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS EXPECTED FROM LATER TODAY THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING.
RESIDENTS OF THE AREA ALONG WITH HOLIDAY TRAVELERS SHOULD KEEP A
CLOSE WATCH ON THIS SYSTEM AND THE FORECAST FOR THE POSSIBILITY
OF AN UPGRADE TO A BLIZZARD WARNING. SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO
TRAVEL ARE EXPECTED.
.COASTAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING
TO 2 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON...
...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING
THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...
A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING
TO 2 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON. A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN
EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
AN INTENSE STORM MOVING NORTHWEST TOWARD COASTAL DOWNEAST MAINE
FROM THE OPEN ATLANTIC WILL BRING A STORM SURGE OF AT LEAST 1 TO
2 FEET ON TOP OF VERY HIGH ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDES DURING THE
MIDDAY TODAY.
HIGH TIDE AT BAR HARBOR IS EXPECTED SHORTLY AFTER 11AM EST AND
AROUND NOON EST AT EASTPORT. MAXIMUM ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE IS
13 FT AT BAR HARBOR AND 23 FT AT EASTPORT. TOTAL STORM TIDES AT
THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE MIDDAY SATURDAY WILL BE 14 TO 15 FT AT BAR
HARBOR AND AROUND 24 FT AT EASTPORT.
STRONG WINDS AND STORM SURGES WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED FOR
POSSIBLE COASTAL FLOODING OVER THE NEXT TWO HIGH TIDE CYCLES
LATE THIS EVENING AND EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON RESPECTIVELY.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR
IMMINENT AROUND THE TIME OF THE REFERENCED HIGH TIDES. COASTAL
RESIDENTS IN THE WARNED AREA ESPECIALLY IN MACHIAS AND THE
CAUSEWAY TO DEER ISLE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RISING WATER...AND TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.
A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR
FLOODING ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP. COASTAL RESIDENTS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS...AND TAKE ACTION TO
PROTECT PROPERTY.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Guess what it is. ????
I've discovered what it is we make in Canada. Surprised that this isn't coming in from China with everything else. I'm taking one to Europe for my use and one as a gift for my friend Pru. The Toonie next to it isn't a clue it's just to give you an idea of the size. You can have the Toonie if you can guess what it is.
Leave a comment. make a guess.
It's been guessed, a Green, "Green Bag".
