Rural setting


Here's another view of the landscape just outside Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It's a rural area with a mix of forests and clearings along the northern coast, which lies just south of Prince Edward Island. Homes range from small cabins to large houses with barns.

It seems to me that a lot of the residents are involved in lobster fishing. As you drive in this area you see many fishing boats up on blocks, parked in back yards for the winter, and piles of lobster traps arranged near them. With the return of warmer weather, these folks will be busy.

Birch Trees


I like the white bark on birch trees. Seeing these, it reminded me that for hundreds of years these trees were the main source of building materials for canoes built by the natives of the woodlands and by the French voyageurs. According to the encyclopedia, builders needed between eight and ten trees like these to build a single canoe. The bark is very light and waterproof.

These were just outside our room where we stayed in Nova Scotia.

Pomquet Beach boardwalk


This boardwalk connects Pomquet Beach with the forested land and the road back to town. Marshy land lies between the sand dunes (at our back) and the trees beyond. The beach is a quiet place in March, with ice still clogging the mouth of the St. Lawrence and the waterfront. People enjoy walking their dogs here on brisk, sunny days.

Nova Scotia


We recently visited Antigonish, Nova Scotia, to watch some women's hockey. (My daughter's team was playing in a tournament at St. Francis Xavier University.) While there, I had the opportunity to do a few drawings near the town. This was one of the views in Pomquet, an Acadian area about 10 kilometres from Antigonish. It was founded in the 1770s by a group of five families who made the journey from St. Malo, France.

Nova Scotia has many forests, rolling hills and ocean beaches. The coast near Pomquet faces the Northumberland Strait and lies opposite Prince Edward Island.

Chinatown street lamp


Vancouver's Chinatown is graced by these streetlights, featuring a dragon on top and a decorative element underneath. Every street corner has these. I sketched this one at the intersection of Main Street and East Pender.

Cambie Bridge

Done very quickly on my way home. I was trying to get a sense of the sweep of the Cambie Bridge as it crosses over False Creek. This is looking south, with Vancouver City Hall at the top of the next hill.