Long Lake

As the leaves had changed colour and were threatening to fall, mainland Nova Scotia was gifted with an unseasonally warm September weekend. We decided to use it to our advantage and headed to Long Lake, spending the day on the maze of hiking trails that circles the lake and explores the surrounding woods.

It was nothing short of stunning.

 

We circled around to the lake itself at the perfect time of day.

 

We were also just in time to catch this guy in all his shiny doggy glory.

 

And we made some new friends! Or at least my camera did. What a time!

 

 

 Much love to Sophie, Rosie, Arya, Fletcher, and Rhama for being so stunningly photogenic, and for ending my day with an hour of laughs before we headed back to the car, still smiling from ear to ear.

Oaklawn Farm Zoo, Aylesford, NS

Colloquially known as simply 'Aylesford Zoo', the Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford provides some up close and personal encounters with wildlife you'd most certainly never find anywhere else in Nova Scotia. Having temporary access to a vehicle inspired me to make the hour and a half drive for the first time on a gorgeous Saturday in September.

Lions and tigers and... this guy? OH MY!

Donatello? Raphael? Is that you?

 

 

My favourites going in were the monkeys. There were tiny tamarins...

 

and one ridiculously sad white-handed gibbon who, in my eyes, immediately became known as "Sad Monkey".

 

 

As we moved through the zoo, I realized there was a lot more to it than I had originally thought. There was a zebra/donkey cross, llamas, a panther and a mountain lion and...

cue: more big cats!

 

And tiny goats.

 

There were camels that were so darn ugly, they were cute...

and a wide array of birds, including one that would talk back if you said hello, and a number of fat little owls that were almost too adorable for words.

Pretty as a peacock? Or as exotic as a black swan?

 

How about as majestic as an eagle?

 

Whatever your age or taste in wildlife, Aylesford Zoo makes for an excellent day trip, well worth the cover charge, and highly recommended for seeing long before you've been in mainland Nova Scotia for fourteen years.

 

 

 

Sunset on Halifax

By the end of September, I was bound and determined to get out somewhere and do some shooting before winter set in. I decided to rent a car and find somewhere relatively close where I could spend an evening shooting a sunset. It doesn't get much closer than Halifax harbour.

The Halifax skyline is quite beautiful and after taking a poll as to where might be the best angle to shoot from, I settled myself in near the Alderney ferry terminal in Dartmouth and watched Mother Nature paint the sky and, with it, the harbour, in a beautiful rainbow of colour.

As the sun went to bed, the stars came out to play.

 

 

With a 90 degree turn to my left, gorgeous downtown Halifax:

 

It was a great night, and I was able to capture exactly what I had been hoping for. Not to mention, thanks to modern 'stitching' technology, I was able to get it all in (what looks like) one outstanding shot!