A Lost Hawk

From the Chronicle Herald
Hunting hawk goes astray
Bedford man asks public to keep eye out for missing feathered friend
By CLARE MELLOR Staff Reporter
Wed. Jan 27 - 4:53 AM


Cree, a northern goshawk, has escaped from her pen in Bedford. Owner John Conohan is asking people to keep an eye out for the bird of prey.





A Bedford man is asking the public to keep an eye out for his valuable hawk, which is missing.

John Conohan had just arrived in Clearwater, Fla., on Tuesday afternoon when he got a call from his neighbour in Bedford saying that the hawk, named Cree, was no longer in her outdoor chamber.

"He opened the door and she was gone," said Mr. Conohan, who is catching a flight back to Halifax today to look for Cree, a five-year-old northern goshawk.

Cree lives in a windowed chamber that is a little more than two metres high and two metres wide. It’s underneath the balcony of Mr. Coonan’s home on the Bedford waterfront.

When neighbour Bob Payn went to Mr. Conohan’s home to feed Cree on Tuesday afternoon, he dropped the food through a special shoot that goes directly into the chamber but he didn’t hear the bird retrieve it. Cree wears a bell that jingles when she moves.

Mr. Payn noticed that one of the bars on the window of her chamber had come loose.

"I’m assuming maybe the wind blew (one of the bars) loose. I’m hoping that no one tampered with it," Mr. Conohan said from Florida on Tuesday night.

Mr. Conohan is a professional falconer and has owned the hawk, which he uses for hunting, for about a year. He estimates the bird is worth about $3,000.

"She is a prize falconry bird," he said. "She is very well-trained. It is pretty distressing."

Northern goshawks are indigenous to Nova Scotia, which means they can withstand the cold weather.

Mr. Conohan was busy Tuesday evening contacting media outlets to get the word out about the missing bird. He also sent an email to the provincial Natural Resources Department.

"She is about the size of a large crow," he said.

"She has orange eyes. She has a black and white barred chest, black and brown wings, and a grey and black barred tail with white tips on the tail."

Cree also has small leather straps called jesses attached to her feet.

Mr. Conohan believes the bird will stay in the area.

"I don’t think she would have flown out (Monday) night because typically they don’t fly in the nighttime. . . . Normally, they will just sit in a tree until they want to hunt.

"I have a special lure that I use (to) bring her down. She is trained to come to a lure."

Mr. Conohan said Cree poses no threat to humans.

"As far as small dogs or cats, she has never attacked any of them. I don’t think she would. Yet if she is hungry, I really can’t say what she would go after for food."

Owls and even other hawks could attack Cree, Mr. Conohan said. Crows dislike hawks and would cause a big commotion if she got close to them, he said.

Mr. Payn, who has been out searching for Cree, said she is a "gorgeous bird" and he understands Mr. Conohan’s distress.

Anyone who spots the hawk can call Mr. Payn at 835-8233.

( cmellor@herald.ca)

Skating at the Farmer's Market-Annapolis

From the Annapolis Royal Heritage blog:

Annapolis Royal Heritage
Exploring heritage in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Skating at the Farmer's Market

Since yesterday's post was about fire, I figured that today's should head toward the other extreme. I am not sure how much further I can go in the other direction than ice. Over the past few weeks I have been watching the progress of the new outdoor skating rink at the Annapolis Royal Farmer's market. While there have been previous rinks built in this location there has not been one since I have lived here. Since I enjoy skating I was thrilled to see the framework of the rink installed in November. Each day as I drive or walk past the market I have watched the posted sign to see if the rink was ready to accept skaters. So far the weather has not been consistently cold enough. I was quite happy when I saw Grant Potter, the Recreation Director for the Town of Annapolis Royal, walking up the street with a sign featuring a large green skate.

After dinner my five year old and I grabbed our skates and made our way to the Farmer's Market. The ice was as nice as any outdoor ice I have ever skated on. With the exception of a few minor bumps in the corners it was a perfectly smooth sheet. The market stalls even provided some protection from the wind. After an hour or so on the ice, a cup of hot chocolate from the pub (the building in the top image) topped off the evening.

At some point over the next few weeks I will try to make a post about some of the historic skating facilities that we have had in Annapolis Royal. I may also try to make a post about some of the historic uses of the area currently being used as a skating rink.

All for now,
RGS

Annapolis Farm:Hidden Meadow

From their blog

The farm
"Excellence through responsible farming"

Nestled in Nova Scotia's breathtaking Annapolis Valley lies 165 acres of prime agriculture land and home to Hidden Meadow Farm.
Home to rare and heritage livestock, organic veggies, herbs and cut flowers.

We sell breeding stock and baby chicks, poult's, gosling's and duckling's.

Meat sales as follow's:
Berkshire pork, heritage turkey & chicken, Scottish Highland & Belted Galloway beef, Muscovy duck & African geese.

Veggies & fresh herbs: all grown from certified organic seed,started right here on the farm.
All grown organic with no synthetic fertilizer just a good 'ol heaping of manure, no herbicide's, fungicides or pesticides just allot of hand picking pests!
Cut flowers: starting with tulips ending with kale.Nothing to brighten up your day like a fresh bouquet!

Wool and fleece from our stunning Cotswold sheep, and when available fresh eggs, wild cranberries & blueberries and homemade preserves.

If you are interested please visit our contact info.



Open Farm Day Is Coming, check it out here!
Open Farm Day
Hidden Meadow Farm For Sale Page
http://hiddenmeadowfarmforsalepage.blogspot.com/
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Contact us
You can contact the farm by email:
stacycory@hotmail.com

Does conservation of Rare breed farm animals matter to you?
Great Farming Finds
*Acres USA
*American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
*Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network aka ACORN
*Countryside & Small Stock Journal
*Heritage Harvest Seed
*Hobby Farm Home Magazine
*Hobby Farms magazine
*Hope Seeds
*Johnny's Select Seed
*Polyface Farm
*Rare Breeds Canada
*Seed Saver Exchange
*Seeds of Change
*Small Farmer's Journal
*West Coast Seeds
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Highland calves for sale
Who would of thought,Geese on my farm?
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About Me

farmer
View my complete profile
Monday, January 25, 2010
Local Supper
Tonight we will be enjoying a farm raised young Royal Palm Turkey, mashed blue potatoes,golden beets,sweet potatoes, turnip & carrots with pear and spanakopita for supper.
For dessert a delicious homemade apple crisp with Cortland apples and fresh whip cream.
I love cooking and growing unusual vegetables, their so good, go ahead try something new surprise your taste buds!

I am proud to say what was not from our farm was bought from our neighboring farmers.
Buying local is so important to the life of family farms, and why wouldn't we support our farmers, so fresh and delicious!
Nothing better then knowing where, how and who raised your food.

Hope this makes you think of your food in a different light, try to answer the questions of where? how? and who? before your next purchase.

Cycling in S.W. NOva Scotia

Heading to Canada, ehy?
Posted on January 12, 2010 by cyclinggypsies
Please see this great blog by the same name

Yep, it is finally time to leave Europe and cross the Atlantic for Canada. So long and thanks for all the baguettes…

You will find our new home beyond Heart’s Desire, beyond Crooked Lake, beyond Malignant Cove and beyond Upper Dyke Village. Once you get to Bear River take the quiet road to Grosses Coques and look for our place at the far edge of town where the grickle grass grows. Note: if you end up at Burnt Head you have probably taken a wrong turn at Sissiboo.

As you can probably tell I have spent unhealthy amounts of time on Google Maps, exploring the surrounding regions of our new destination, an area rich in lobster and wacky town names. Where in the world are we talking about? The west coast of Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada. Fear not, if I have lost you already, a Google Map is provided below


View Larger Map

Grosses Coques, literally translating from French to ‘big shell’ (thank you Google Translate), overlooks the Bay of Fundy, a stretch of water known for whales and having the most extreme tides in the world. Because of the unique shape of the bay a funnel effect is created, meaning the difference in water level between high and low tide can be as much as 14 metres. The tides are so extreme in some upper bay rivers the river flow is completely reversed by the rising tide (thank you Wikipedia).

Our winter home will be provided by our friends Colleen and Andre in exchange for some renovations. On the agenda for 2010 is putting in some new oak flooring downstairs, refinishing the pine floor upstairs, redoing the upstairs walls, putting in new windows and a small bathroom upstairs, starting an organic garden, creating a successful bakery, completing triathlons, marathons, becoming fluent in French, brushing up on some ‘dumb newfie’ jokes, becoming a competent sea kayaker, spotting some whale/puffin/caribou/dumb newfies, learning to play the guitar and perhaps the fiddle, and more regular stretching. By the way, happy new years!

In amongst of all of this we hope to save some money for more cycling adventures – starting with a 6,000 km loop around the east of Canada. You can see the basic route idea below, starting in Nova Scotia and heading anti-clockwise through Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Labrador, Quebec, and New Brunswick.

Sandy Cove Vintage Postcard on Ebay

On Ebay


Sandy Cove Digby Neck Nova Scotia Vintage Postcard

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