spoke too soon

Well now I feel dumb. I woke up at 5am to the sound of the largest snowplow in the world coming to a grinding halt in front of my van. See, where I’m from when there’s a big snowfall the city’s plows are totally overwhelmed, and if the snow doesn’t immediately melt then it takes a week just to get the streets clear… it never even occurred to me that here they would ever get around to plowing my little boat launch!

The driver was actually really nice, he told me I didn’t have to move since his machine was too big to manoeuvre in the little lot anyway. But the law here is really about obstructing snow removal, so if they plow my parking lot then it follows that the parking ban applies there. My waterfront property isn’t so perfect after all…

Update Sep 24: I found another spot that I used on nights when the plows were out, but found I was in their way there too, so in the end I went back to my perfect spot and just stopped worrying about it. (shrug) What can you do?

Beach House

Beautiful big dump of snow today, yayyyyy!!! But this means I have to shovel my driveway. No really, I have a driveway now. With the overnight parking ban there are only a few places I can go at night, but one of those places is so utterly perfect that I’ve decided to make it my permanent winter home. It’s a little boat launch with a few parking spots right on the water, private and quiet, and as far as I can tell it’s totally legal to park there overnight. I share it with a squadron of ducks, and every so often I hear them squawking at each other. They sound exactly like Daffy Duck, it cracks me up. Anyway my one concern about this place is that there’s a bit of a slope to the entrance that could be tough to navigate when it’s icy, so the other day I bought a snow shovel and some de-icer. So I can take care of the driveway leading to my new waterfront property, ba ha!

Home #125

South Park Street, outside the Old Burial Grounds. This place is amazing! It was in use from about the 1760’s to the 1840’s, and the stones are exquisite. You can tell my favourites are the death-heads… you’ll want to click on the photo to enlarge them, and then click on it again for a really close view.

Some of the stories you can read in the stones are heartbreaking, like the six children of one family, from age 14 days to three and a half years, that they kept losing year after year. The old buildings in Halifax are gorgeous, but being here was the first time I felt really connected to the early Haligonians.

Home #123

Windsor & Welsford. I think this is a pretty typical Halifax house: old, square, and a bit wobbly but with nice details and an all-around adorable feel. Note the driveway up the side; as far as I can tell every house here has one.

Home #122

Henry & Jubilee.

Home #121

The Commons, which is a big green field in the middle of town. It’s walking distance from school, it’s got a psychedelic fountain, and there are almost no parking restrictions! A little bit high-trafficky in the morning, but that actually worked out well; cars rushed by and gently shook me awake at just the right time.

Home #120

Anchor Drive, in the cul-de-sac at the end. Another one of those perfect spots, private and quiet. It even has internet! I think I just might be getting the hang of this place…

Home #119

Quinpool Road.

I have a friend in Halifax, yay! She told me about this spot, a little mini waterfront park where, inexplicably, there aren’t any signs saying no parking overnight. It’s sheltered from the road, with a lovely view, and every so often kids come by to smoke dope and fool around. Perfect!

Home #118

Quinn Street, the day after the storm.

Home #117

Beside the Armdale Yacht Club. This was the night before Hurrican Earl was to arrive, so lots of people were coming and going getting their boats ready for the storm, and boats anchored out in the harbour were lashing together to avoid smashing into each other. I was parked in an old unused driveway leading to where all the boat trailers were stored… perfect spot, fairly private and quiet, and as the first breezes started picking up in the early morning, here’s what it sounded like: boat chimes