More Sunshine and Tacitus

Tags

fishing, Germany, lobster, North Rustico, PEI, Restaurants, Rome, Tacitus

The next 3 days are forecasted to be sunny, we are now in September. New Season on the social calendar. The tourists have left and now its cruise ship season in Charlottetown, many tourists places will start to close for the Season and by Thanksgiving in early October most of it will be closed until May 2023.

Here at the Cottage I have returned to reading Tacitus who wrote some 2000 years ago about Rome and its Empire and the various people who populated it and its rulers. Tacitus did a lot of Ethnographic writing to explain to Romans what other people living outside the borders of the Empire or within it were like in terms of their culture, society, beliefs and food. How they dressed or not, Germans would go to war naked and paint their bodies as a talisman against injury of death. Feasting and hospitality was an important cultural value. Entertainment was dancing naked young men with swords drawn which required a lot of skill. Hunting and just lying about most of the time was common. Agriculture was not valued. People lived in forests and their gods in groves attended by Priests who also dispensed justice. Overall generosity and hospitality were the chief values. Tacitus wrote for the educated and powerful roman society, he himself came from a very well to do family and received the best of education. His father-in-Law was Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a commander of the roman Legions in Britain and then Governor of Roman Britain. Tacitus also occupied important functions in Rome and sat on the Imperial Council and knew Emperors like Vespasian, Trajan, Titus. His understanding of context and events have come to us and it is a great source of knowledge to understand how Rome was at the time, no Hollywood version here with Christian martyrs, Rome was a very cosmopolitan and complex society.

Life at the cottage is very quiet and pleasant, we enjoy it, with good food and good friends who are visiting us.

Another beautiful sunrise on the sea.

Making choke cherry jelly in our kitchen, our friend J. has great skills at this sort of thing.

Gladiolas in Season now, brought by a friend.

A restaurant we love to go to on the South West River near us.

North Rustico bay and the boardwalk, a nice quiet little town which dates back to 1740.

Lobster boat taking some visitors out to sea for a spin. North Rustico is mostly seafood restaurants like Blue Mussels and a fishing village famous for its lobster fleet.

The sunsets have dramatic display of clouds and golden colours.

The weather

Tags

covid, lobster, PEI, vacation, Vaccinations

We are in preparation for our vacation to the beach. The weather currently is cold about 14C which is not normal for this time of the year at all. It also has been foggy and somewhat drizzling rain on and off. So looking ahead we have to plan accordingly.

Now Will got his second shot of Moderna and I a got mine (Pfizer). So we will be fully vaccinated and we are both happy about it. More tourists have been arriving from other Atlantic Provinces but I have seen also an influx of Ontario plates which means these are people who have family here and are vaccinated so they can cross the bridge from the mainland. However the Prime Minister did say categorically that tourists, Americans and others cannot enter Canada if they have not been vaccinated. So the message is clear, if you want to come here, get your 2 shots.

The Bar-B-Q at the Club went very well, I was manning the 6 burner barbi and cooked up a storm. Was very happy with the results and my fellow members loved the burgers and bratwurst. The cake was also very good and we got the Mayor who is our Club Patron to cut the cake.

I did not have to pay for my drinks last night, several people bought me drinks, which was nice. It was great fun.

Nicky is doing much better, I am relieved because I worry about him. The Vet was very nice, she was fully booked but told me to come any way and she would examine him. He poisoned himself by eating a begonia, a flower which is dangerous for dogs. He would not eat at all and could not keep food down. However years ago I was told by the Vet that it was important for a dog to stay hydrated and he had access to a lot of water and slivers of ice. We also gave him chicken broth which he loves. It was so funny when I went to pick him up at the Vet, he ran to the car and jumped in as if to say, now let’s get out of here quick. Got home and all he wanted was to snuggle and sleep.

The Lobster fishing season has come to an end and now for July it’s Lobster Fest with many restaurants presenting their version of the Lobster roll. The trick is to know where the best lobster roll is and with the most lobster in it. Usually it’s 4 oz of lobster per roll, but some restaurants will add a bit more and some claw meat. The bread also is important, freshly baked and crusty is very good, the old hot dog buns just don’t cut it. Terry at the Wheelhouse restaurant in Georgetown has a pretty good lobster roll, the best I think.

Because it is this time of the Year

Tags

Canada, lobster, Newfoudland, PEI, salad, Season

This is a great recipe and Lobster right now is in Season and this is so easy and we can get lobster everywhere.

Bonita lives in Newfoundland but this is a typical Atlantic Canada recipe. Bon Appétit!

reflections

Tags

life, Livia, lobster, PEI, Rome

I think sometimes it is important to reflect on life and the past. What may appear to us today as a terrible moment, like everything in life is just a passing moment.

Today is Mother’s Day a modern invention by the business world to make us consumers buy stuff and pretend that motherhood is something it is not, full of false fabricated sentiment. If Mother’s Day is suppose to be a day of thanks for what our mothers do, I think that you can show it every day by kindness and appreciation towards your Mom.

This weekend is also Victory in Europe day 8 May 1945 and the end of the Nazi nightmare, only to see another nightmare emerge that of a divided world between East and West and the horrors of Stalinist politics and the Cold War.

Today we live with this Pandemic and the constant churning of bad news by the Media in general who are happy to distort news in order to get us to panic and fear what is coming. However much of it is lazy reporting and to satisfy instant gratification by clicking on an news item the media make money through advertisement. So yes we are manipulated.

So in other news how are things going with the Lobster fishing, well yesterday the weather was terrible, the wind was howling and the sea was agitated. One fisher I know called the Fiddling Fisher because he belongs to a musical family, posted on Istagram what was going on aboard his lobster boat. It was chaotic but he is experienced, however it did show that it is a very difficult job and a dangerous one. You do not want to fall over board.

The price of lobster has gone up per example at M.R. Seafood which is the best place to buy fresh off the boat seafood in Charlottetown, 1 lbs of lobster meat which is claws and tails, cost $48. It has to be explained that in order to get one pound of lobster meat you need 4 one pounders. The lobster is weighed live and once it is cooked and the shell is removed you have about one quarter meat left. Many people do not understand that, having no experience with the lobster fishing industry. The fisher gets about $8.50 for his lobster. Some stores will sell them at $9.50 because its Mother’s Day weekend. I think the pricing will stabilize in the days to come and maybe even lower. One thing for sure whatever the price we are not paying a lot if compared to cities far from the sea. Mussels and Clams are selling around $5 for a pound and you can easily make a meal out of that given how rich it is.

I am happy that I am over my childhood seafood allergies, imagine living here by the sea and having allergies, it would be a curse.

Today the restaurants are busy with take-out orders for live or cooked lobsters. There is some dining but not very much. The wind has died down and the sun is coming out.

Only in Rome, for Mother’s day a new statue has been unveiled, that of Livia Drusilla, wife of the first Emperor of Rome Augustus. She was the mother of Emperor Tiberius and grandmother of Emperor Caligula. She died of old age in retirement at her palace in Capena at Prima Porta just outside of Rome under the reign of her grandson. She will be made divine after her death by another grandson Emperor Claudius. She is the first women Empress to figure on Via Dei Fori Imperiali . She richly deserves her monument, she was influential and had enormous powers and was feared, though she probably was not as pictured in the novels of Robert Graves.

Lobster cost per pound

Tags

Canada, coat of arms, lobster, Napoleon, PEI, Seafood, Season

Here are some pictures of the Lobster boats leaving yesterday morning to set their lobster traps, it was a beautiful day, really nice weather and low winds. Returning home with the first catch of the new year. Now the price today at the start of the Season is $8.50 per pound for 2021 and I read that restaurants charge $35 per pound for a lobster dinner which can include mussels and or a chowder, usually by the end of the Season the price tends to be lower. Of course you can always buy direct from the fishers at the dock and you will get a good deal. This means you will cook them at home which requires a big pot of boiling Sea Water, NOT tap water.

Personally I prefer the broiling or bar-b-q method in terms of flavour. By the way, the wood cages stacked on the boats are heavy and the fisher has to haul them overboard and then haul them out, this is really hard work and on a moving boat can be tricky.

Love this photo, at North Rustico, a Silver Fox is sniffing around for lobster. The smell of the catch will bring them out. They are friendly and not dangerous at all and quite beautiful to look at.

Wishing the fishers, a happy harvest and stay safe at sea.

I got this message from the Royal Canadian Mint, which makes the Canadian Currency we use everyday, for those who still use cash. All coins and paper money is made in Canada under the authority of the Crown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Mint also makes commemorative coins and medals.

They have a shop and you can buy special coins minted for an Anniversary, like the Queen’s Jubilee or a National Anniversary or Commemoration.

This year 2021 marks the Centennial of the Canadian Coat of Arms given to Canada by the King Emperor George V, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II. This coat of Arms appears on all Official documents and Federal Government Buildings.

So the mint is making 3000 coins, which is a low mintage for this anniversary. This solid gold coin sells for $500. CDN. The Coat of Arms was modified again about 30 years ago by adding another Motto reflecting the beliefs of the Order of Canada. So we have the one Motto that appears on this coin A Mari usque ad Mare, the other motto which is not shown here is desiderantes meliorem patriam.

And Cinco de Mayo, which is the Birthday of the invention of Mayonnaise in Mexico, I really don’t know why they made it into a holiday. Ok I am kidding.

It is also the bicentennial anniversary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte who died on this day in 1821 on the Island of St-Helena. The Bonaparte Family and the Bourbon Family with the President of France and the Head of the French Army were present at the tomb of the Emperor and the Requiem Mass at the Invalides in Paris. It’s a big deal in France but in our Woke World, Napoleon’s stock has taken a big hit and he is seen more now as a tyrant, misogynist, he overturned the 1794 decree abolishing slavery in French colonies, but don’t tell the French.

Napoleon’s red porphyry sarcophagus in the chapel of Les Invalides in Paris on May 5, 2021 during the commemoration ceremonies.

Setting Day, Monday

Tags

Canada, life, lobster, PEI, Travel

Setting day in PEI is the day the lobster traps are set in the water for the opening of the Lobster season. Unfortunately due to poor weather and high winds, the opening day was set back from last Thursday to this coming Monday 3 May. This means that restaurants cannot offer Lobster until Monday night. It is a point of honour that though you could import lobsters from Nova Scotia which is just one hour away from us on the mainland, no self-respecting Islander would do that. Clients will automatically ask where did you get that lobster? For one, the taste is different, PEI lobsters come from the Gulf of St-Lawrence on our North Coast, whereas Nova Scotia lobsters come from either the Strait of Northumberland or the Atlantic ocean. Nova Scotia being a peninsula.

Last night Saturday, we did go to the opening night at the Water Prince restaurant, I had their seafood chowder and a pound of mussels, the mussels are fat at this time of the year and very good.

Later end of June we will have Strawberry Season, same story, people wait for PEI strawberries, though we get strawberries from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia about 3 weeks before PEI strawberries are on the market, people prefer to wait.

Strawberries in PEI are very fragrant and have that beautiful perfume.

Well last week got my shot and never felt nor had any after effect to the Pfizer shot. In a month I should get my next shot, the Health Dept will call to schedule my appointment.

Can’t believe we are already in May, how time flies. However I also know that we have another 6 Months of Pandemic to go, given the set backs in other Canadian Provinces. Our Neighbour Nova Scotia is in a desperate situation with a small population and limited hospital care. The Police is still fining people who have big house parties, how can people be this selfish? Here in PEI we remain quiet and almost normal situation.

Our cleaning lady this week came to help with Spring Cleaning of the house, she told me that as a little girl, she lived on a farm on PEI. She only left the island for the first time when she was 21. Growing up she had no idea that beyond the water there was another world. Her known world was the Island. She is not alone with that experience, many Islanders had a very similar experience and even today despite the fact that travel is much more easy, people tend to cling to the Island and find leaving a daunting proposal.

End of Season

Tags

Charlottetown, Friends, life, lobster, PEI, Seafood, Water Prince

Well one of our favourite restaurants in town closed last night. Usually it stays open until mid-december but this year with the lack of tourists and the pandemic, the owner Shane C. decided to close a month early. He will be back in mid-April. Hopefully 2021 will be a better year tourism wise on PEI. Another quiet year like 2020 will spell bankruptcy for many in that sector.

We always make a point of going on the last night to close the restaurant with a dinner amongst friends. This year we went twice before closing, once on Tuesday night and again on Thursday night. The Water Price Corner Shop is an institution. Regis Philbin who died recently loved the place, in fact he is one of the many celebrities who love this place and drop in during the Summer, a small restaurant with that Maritime souvenir decor with a solid quality seafood and Lobster, no pretensions.

Thank you to the staff, Maureen, Fiona, Theresa, Doug, Coady and Shane for many good meals and looking forward to seeing you again in April 2021.

We had a great dinner of Oysters on the half-shelf, beautiful fishcakes, grilled Halibut, boiled 1 pounder Lobster and Lobster roll. All excellent, great service and fun people.

Canada day in the countryside

Tags

Berlioz, crespin, cuisine, Food, Holiday, life, lobster, Music

We had a lovely day at our Friend Pam in Lower Montague at St-Andrew’s point. Will made a beautiful Lobster Quiche, he used a pound of lobster, my God it was so good and so rich, we drank champagne and for dessert he made a Summer Pudding of fresh berries, it was so light and refreshing topped off with freshly made whipped cream and more champagne.

Before the meal I made an appetizer of cucumber, large shrimp, cherry tomatoes and Bocconcini in fine herbs with a nice bottle of Pink Champagne. The weather was overcast but her house is on the water looking out unto the Strait and the Panmure Island.

It was a quiet day today all around, a bit unusual for Canada Day, no festivities and no fireworks because of the pandemic. Friday the Bridge re-opens for the first time in 3 months and people living in the Maritimes can travel only in the Maritimes without self-isolating. However today a bit of a stain on this good news,  it was reported that a passenger coming from Toronto on a flight to Halifax is suspected of having Covid 19. It still has to be confirmed. but if it is true, this may mean that Nova Scotia will be excluded from our Maritime bubble and have to go back into lockdown. No playing around with this matter.

There are also reports that the border with the USA could remain closed for a further year to all but essential travellers. The news from our southern neighbour is disastrous and very difficult to understand.

Today I thought of Hector Berlioz, Les nuits d’été and the first song Villanelle and I wanted a singer who had perfect French diction, so I chose Régine Crespin, (1927-2007) who had a major international career. Les nuits d’été (Summer Nights), is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gauthier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. The cycle was neglected for many years, but during the 20th century it became, and has remained, one of the composer’s most popular works. The full orchestral version is more frequently performed in concert. The cycle was complete in its original version for voice Mezzo-Soprano or Tenor in 1841.

Words are by Théophile Gauthier, Villanelle

Quand viendra la saison nouvelle,
Quand auront disparu les froids,
Tous les deux nous irons, ma belle,
Pour cueillir le muguet aux bois.
Sous nos pieds égrenant les perles,
Que l’on voit au matin trembler,
Nous irons écouter les merles siffler.

Le printemps est venu, ma belle,
C’est le mois des amants béni;
Et l’oiseau, satinant son aile,
Dit des vers au rebord du nid.
Oh! viens donc, sur ce banc de mousse
Pour parler de nos beaux amours,
Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce:
“Toujours!”

Loin, bien loin, égarant nos courses,
Faisant fuir le lapin caché,
Et le daim au miroir des sources
Admirant son grand bois penché,
Puis chez nous, tout heureux, tout aises,
En panier enlaçant nos doigts,
Revenons, rapportant des fraises
Des bois.

Weekend

Tags

life, lobster, mussels, Oysters

The sun is shining and the weather is quite warm, so it is time to go out. Friday afternoon we returned for the first time since February to the Club. Much improvements and changes, new paint job, new light fixtures and redecoration. Exterior work has been done and it all looks better. After drinks in the garden we walked by to our home just down the street and decided to have dinner at the Water Prince restaurant, the owner came to chat and told us that the price of lobster is $6.49 per pound, it has not been that low in 10 years, the main factor being that external markets have disappeared. Currently with the economic war China is waging against Canada over that dreadful communist official Ms Meng of G5 /Huawei, who faces extradition to the USA for espionage and fraud and the hostage diplomacy China has engaged in, China is blocking Canadian exports. There are 183 Canadians at the moment being held in Chinese jails,  one is a Canadian Diplomat and the other a tour operator, the two Michaels. We know they have been tortured and held in solitary confinement for 18 months now. Our Ambassador in the PRC has been visiting them whenever he is allowed to do so.

We had a very nice dinner, I had a pound of Mussels, the food at the Water Prince is very good and it is always nice atmosphere.

Of course we must still follow the rules on health when in public, though given that we have NO cases in PEI now for the last 2 months, many feel it is over, but it is not, we are all bracing for the second wave in the Fall.

Today was another lovely day and we drove to Victoria by the Sea which is a very small settlement going West towards the Confederation Sea Bridge at Borden. Basically 4 streets and a small harbour for fishing boats. Our doctor lives in Victoria by the Sea,  her husband is a fisherman. It is about a 25 minute drive to Charlottetown probably faster if she uses the By-Pass around Cornwall.

Victoria in the last few years has seen the constructions of many new luxury homes, luckily they all blend into the natural scenery. There is one large house going up on a cliff extending out to sea, looking at it from a distance I thought like many, who would want to live there in Winter when a sea storm is coming in with the fierce and howling winds, the owners probably think it is probably romantic. The house is very exposed on 3 sides to the sea with no trees or any natural protection, it is a promontory. How strange.

 

We had lunch in the Sunshine at Richard’s, a very famous take-out place on PEI. Everyone swears by it and there is always a crowd. The specialty is lobsters served in various forms and oysters. This restaurant is the second one, the original Richard’s is in Covehead harbour on the North shore. Both are Seasonal and only open in Mid-May and will close by Mid-September. The lobster roll is wonderful, they use the old style hotdog buns that you can toast and stuff a lobster in the bread with a mix of celery and coleslaw. It is quite a meal and we walked around the village afterwards, again this year despite the fact that all the eateries are open, some shops are not opening and the Orient Hotel which is a pension is closed. This pandemic has played havoc with tourist traffic this year. Many businesses will go under or will be sold off to competitor. Though the Maritime bubble is opening allowing us to travel to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland without the quarantine period. The Government also allows people who own a cottage to come BUT they must ask permission first and give a time and date of arrival plus prove ownership of a cottage on the Island and give a plan of how they will manage their quarantine if they come from other provinces like Ontario. Those people from Quebec can cross by car from the Quebec border with New Brunswick and are allowed to drive all the way to Souris in PEI for the ferry to les Iles de la Madeleine which is a sandbar part of Quebec, the only problem is that they cannot stop anywhere on the way and this is a 12 hour car trip. There is also a requirement that they cross into New Brunswick after 8pm meaning that it is dangerous to drive in the dark, it is moose country and already an accident happened last week when a driver hit a moose which weighs on average one ton. No death this time only serious injuries and the car is totally destroyed.

Canada Day is coming up on Wednesday 1 July, this year it will be a virtual celebration and there are no public display for health reason. The weather says rain that day.

Fields of Lupins reminds me of Monty python.

Delays

Tags

Canada., cuisine, Fishermen, lobster, PEI, Seafood, tourism

Well the good news is that PEI has had NO new infections from COVID19 for the last 6 days and of the 25 people who were sick 23 are now recovered and 2 are at home. The Government of PEI is looking into making even more stringent requirements about anyone coming to PEI and at the moment it is strict, I would say you cannot get to the Island unless you live here permanently and have a home. All others are turned away at the Sea bridge. Our Chief Medical Officer Dr Heather Morisson says this is the only way to beat this thing and everyone must pitch in and observe the rules.

Tomorrow is 15 April and this would have been the day our favourite restaurant for seafood and lobster The Water Prince was to open for the Season. That is not going to happen now. The manager is a good friend of ours and we were talking about the situation.

Of course being a seafood and lobster restaurant, they need the supplies and it will only happen if the Season Opens at the end of the Month. Currently the Province is waiting for the Federal Government and the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans to give the go ahead. Hopefully it will happen, otherwise it will be an economic disaster for all the fishers all around the Island, the industry is worth tens of millions of dollars to our economy but the fear of Covid19 is great.

Last year I posted pictures of Setting Day which opens the lobster fishing season and how much it means to people here. This year 2020 we do not know yet and it is worrisome. Usually the boats leave at dawn to set their cages in designated area.

I never was much of a lobster eater before coming to PEI, but here the fresh product coming right off the boat into your plate and the quality of the Lobster makes all the difference. Then there is also the Oysters harvested from various coves and bays around the Island, PEI Mussels famous in North America and scallops and the Halibut my favourite fish.

The problem with the Lobster boats is that you really cannot have distancing between people. You have 4 to 5 guys working side by side and it is hard and difficult work. So we will have to see how this is worked out. At the moment PEI will loose about 20,000 jobs just in the Hospitality/tourism industry this Summer. Many operators will not survive since the Summer Season was how many made their money. No tourists allowed on the Island, no business, you cannot really count on Islanders alone to support the whole sector.

Gardens are another area affected, will we be able to visit garden centres and buy some flower flats for our garden, will they open this year. Usually you wait until about 10 June to plant and to organize flower boxes and pots.

So yes there are delays and we have to be patient and all good things will eventually come.

Let’s pray to the Goddess Hestia, whose attributes are Patience, keeper of the Hearth and eternal fire of the home for a quick resolution to this pandemic.