In February of 2019, we had an ice storm that blew through overnight. Check out our video of the aftermath:
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We did a few winter science experiments during the coldest months in Canada. Here is one we did in February. When the dead of winter sets in and temperatures are constantly staying below freezing, it is a perfect time to create some beautiful outdoor art to decorate your property. We also found that the tops of our globes have a divot the perfect size to hold seeds for the birds. Material needed: *balloons *water *food coloring *consistent freezing temperatures Instructions: Fill each of the balloons with water from the tap, put 5-10 drops of food coloring in the balloon, tie it closed and play outside for about 24 hours. Although these globes make a beautiful addition to the yard, they also create many open-ended science-based questions. Here are a few that were discussed in our household...
I felt as though this needed its own post for many reasons. When we decided to make the leap and start a new life out here in eastern Canada one thing that we wondered was how easily we would make friends. Dylan started school just a few days before Christmas holiday, so she really had not met many kids before the school Christmas party. It was at the Christmas party that a sweet woman came up and introduced herself to us, helped us figure out how the party was to work and then introduced us to a couple of other families at that party. About 2 weeks later, it was one of the women's birthdays and they invited me to join them for a trivia night at the local Brewery. From that effortless beginning, friendships began that I could not be more grateful for. To be able to have a group of women who I can be myself with, bounce ideas off of, share excitement with and spend quality time with is invaluable. For Easter, one of the "gang", Nina, offered to host a mom and kids breakfast at her home. She is so incredibly creative and has expressed how much she enjoys having people over and feeding them. Well, for this party, she went above and beyond. First of all, she planned and prepared an incredible meal for 13 kids aging in range from 2 months - 8 years-old and their six moms. On top of that, she went all out with the decorations and the activities to keep the kids entertained. On the day of the party it was raining off and on the entire morning. Although a little wet, we did have the egg hunt outdoors while the rain slowed slightly and the kids had a BLAST. The day could not have been more lovely. The kids all got along so well, and truly enjoyed each other's company and all of the special extras of the morning. And the moms all got to sit to a meal, around a table, and share smiles and stories. I can't express how blessed I feel to have found this incredible group of women to spend time with and support each other in this crazy road of motherhood and life.
Our first Easter at the Little Yellow House on the Hill!
For well over a decade, the Bollder family tradition on Easter has been for all of us to spend it in the desert. The Easter bunny leaves the kids a basket full of treasures outside their tents and then the adults (usually Auntie Rachel and occasionally other chosen family) hide plastic eggs, filled with treats among the red rocks. So, what will be our new Easter tradition here in Nova Scotia? I don't know that we figured that out this year, but we did have a fantastic Easter here at the Little Yellow House on the Hill. In the days leading up to Easter we.... 1. Dyed eggs with natural food dyes (see a separate post for instructions) 2. Went to an Easter celebration at one of our meet up groups 3. Made felt eggs to stuff and hide to avoid having to buy loads of plastic (see separate post for instructions) 4. Visited the bakery to get all of their Easter treat bake goods 5. Attended the town Easter egg hunt 6. Spent a very lovely morning with friends for a lovely mom and kids breakfast at Nina's house 7. Had a visit from an Easter bunny at school 8. Woke to Dylan's Easter basket full, followed by an egg hunt around the property 9. Bunny pancakes for breakfast 10. Helped friends move on Easter Sunday and received a lovely Easter gift from friends. When, for the past 19 years you have lived thousands of miles from your family, and you now only live 2 hours apart, you take every opportunity to spend time together. Sugar Moon Farms is a commercial maple syrup farm that is about 15 minutes north of Truro, which is just over an hour from Laurie in Halifax and us in Parrsboro, the perfect halfway spot. Plus, they offer a fantastic pancake breakfast topped off with delicious maple treat coffees. The farm backs onto some beautiful hiking trails, so we were able to combine breakfast with a short nature walk. Sugar Moon Farm is a very popular restaurant in the spring so we arrived as it was opening. The farm is located at the end of a gravel road, lined in blueberry fields and consists of the restaurant, shop that sells a large variety of maple products, a sugar shack that offers maple candy, and a full boil house where the syrup is made. They offer a guided tour of the production facility so that "city folk" can experience how syrup is made. We were seated at a family style farm table in front of a large fireplace and of course Dylan chose to be sandwiched between Aunt Laurie and Uncle Spike. After enjoying a fantastic breakfast we decided to take advantage of the hiking trails on the property. Unfortunately, we didn't make it far as the trail was still covered in snow and ice but it was lovely to get out, even for just a half of a mile. Spring in Nova Scotia has brought some lovely experiences, and this one will be one of the most memorable for a very long time. Photos for the day are presented by the one and only mini photographer who got a hold of the camera and went wild. After spending a good month and a half getting the house, and ourselves prepared for the winter season we decided it was time to do some exploring in our area. On a very cold, but sunny, January day we packed up Reddy the Van and drove the coastline to explore the beaches, lighthouse, and communities between Parrsboro and Advocate Harbour. Many of the establishments were closed for the winter but the sheer natural beauty of the area was mind-blowing. We spent time in Spencer's Island walking the beach and poking around the river. And then on to Advocate, stopping at the only store open to talk to some of the locals. It was a lovely day to poke around and look at the properties and things that are offered in that area.
We had to make a run into Halifax for the night to drop off our fur nephew and run a couple of errands so we took the opportunity to check out the Discovery Centre on the waterfront of Halifax. This amazing 40,000 square foot, hands-on, interactive STEAM science centre opened its door in February of 2017 It houses 4 permanent galleries and a 6000 square foot roving exhibit hall which housed a Ripley's Believe it or Not display while we were there. The centre also houses a cafe on the children's floor which allows you to grab a cup of coffee while you allow the kids to run amok.
Each floor as a myriad of hands-on, interactive exhibits that create an environment of exploration for all ages. My sister Laurie, Will, and I found ourselves trying out just as many of the exhibits as Dylan. A few of the favourites that stick out were the wall of visual illusions, the amazing interactive wall depicting the water cycle, and the flight simulator which allowed you to fly over the Halifax region. The centre seemed like a compilation of a traditional children's museum and science centre as it really had something for everyone. We decided to take advantage of their rural membership (an offering I have never seen offered elsewhere) and we can now visit as much as we would like for a whole year. From February 14th-18th, 2019 the Fundy Shore came alive with the first annual Fundy Shore Winter Carnival. It was 4 solid days packed with activities designed to get everyone in the community out and enjoying all that our Canadian winters have to offer. Each day had something to offer - community breakfasts and lunches, kids' activities, snow people building, sledding, igloo construction, snowshoe hikes, craft/bake sale, pick-up hockey, sledge hockey, bingo, shuffle board, and public skating. We got out each day and participated in as much as we could. One of our families biggest commitments was to help with the glow in the dark ice igloo construction. Check out our separate blog post for the full description. We had freezing rain on top of snow right before the carnival - which turned the town into a sheet of ice. That didn't stop the festivities....the snow people creations ended up as snow block sculptures or designed with buttons on the ice, tug of war ended up on concrete so they didn't slip on the ice, sledding was extra fast as the hill had a coat of ice and we were able to play games like toboggan whiplash. It was a fantastic way to get the community excited about this cold winter weather.
As the temperatures stay well below freezing, and the penetrating winds create a wind chill that will freeze your nose hair within minutes, our family accepts the challenge to join a few dozen community members to build an epic ice igloo in the center of town for the upcoming Winter Carnival. The huge project was spearheaded by our friend Crystal who saw the idea from another town in Nova Scotia and knew that our little town of Parrsboro would appreciate this addition to our town square. Her perseverance and dedication to the project amazed us and we wanted to help alleviate some of the burden as it was a huge undertaking. To start with, about 700 two litre juice and milk jugs were collected from all around the community, including the 400 we acquired from the recycling depot an hour away and stuffed into Reddy (our little red travel van). Next step was to fill all those jugs with water and food coloring. To accomplish this task, the scouts, guides, and school kids were enlisted throughout the week to help out. The week leading up to the carnival had fluctuating temperatures so it would have been hard for the water to freeze solid outside. Luckily, Crystal's family owns a huge walk-in freezer that they use during the fishing season that had room for all the jugs. In the mean time, Crystal's husband kindly built a wooden frame to be used when constructing the igloo with the ice blocks. On February 11th, construction began. When we arrived downtown the task of opening all of the ice blocks had started. It was a frigged morning, so even with gloves on, opening the boxes was quite difficult. Soon the frame arrived and construction commenced. Because the days leading up to the construction brought freezing rain there wasn't much snow to work with, so we made a few runs to the arena to get buckets of snow that had come off the ice by the Zamboni. After experimenting with the best way to create the snow mortar (water, slush, snow) a method was found. The construction of the dome ended up taking 11.5 hours, two days, about a dozen people, 450 ice blocks and many frozen bodies. :) This was on top of the over 13 hours of prep time. Two flood lights were placed in the center and the dome was sealed (because it is unmanned it was thought to be safer to seal it so that kids don't play inside and possibly get hurt). The evening of the second day of work we all met back up for the official lighting. It was beautiful. AND - It was done and lit! Final work on the door was done as part of the Carnival itself - members of the town brought down the blocks they have frozen at home and helped finish the construction of the igloo.
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April 2019
AuthorCarolyn and Will Bollwerk share their adventures with their 5 year-old daughter, Dylan. |