Sophie and Rowan in Canada

This morning we went with our host to Hall’s Harbour. The drive was beautiful – today was a fresh, sunny day and all the colours were bright: everything had been washed by yesterday’s heavy rain. This part of NS is so beautiful – woods everywhere except for the clearings every now and then where someone has built a house or a farm. So lovely to see so many trees – especially in Autumn with the maples just turning.

Hall’s Harbour is tiny but very picturesque: a few houses, a couple of shops and the small harbour. We had a look round the lobster shop and restaurant, and went and bought some dulse which is dried purple seaweed and a local delicacy. It’s very strong tasting and salty as you might expect. Rowan liked it (apparently it’s very good with apples) but ate too much and it disagreed with him...

In the afternoon Sophie knitted her (hand-carded, hand-dyed, hand-spun) bag while Rowan watched the Simpsons and did a bit of packing.

In the evening we watched some of the lambs were being sheared – they get a professional shearer to come and do it. It was very impressive watching him work: shearing and keeping the sheep under control looks like it should need at least four arms!

It’s been a great two weeks: learning to spin and card, and seeing woollens from sheep to finished article has been fascinating. Plus living in such a beautiful place with a great family – and getting two cooked meals a day and as much sleep as we need – what more could we want?

We may not have the luxury of broadbad internet access for a while, so might not be updating this so much. We're going to be in Halifax for the next two days, then moving on to a place in Cape Breton (www.crownjewelresort.com). Keep checking - we'll blog when we can!

Here's Sophie's bag (her own design), Rowan's hat and some sheep.