Taking Time For Mother Nature

Yesterday I woke up and smelled the roses...

We've had what seems like weeks of rain and temperatures that I'd guess are below seasonal for May and through the first week of June. Saturday, albeit cool, was a beautifully sunny day on Prince Edward Island and rather than the usual weekend running around we decided to take a little break to appreciated what we have here. Armed only with my trusty Canon PowerShot S5IS, a few years old but I love it and have no intentions on replacing it any time soon, we hopped in the car and headed towards Cavendish and Mother Nature smiled on us. 

Being a native Northern New Brunswicker, where wildlife grows large and plentiful, I've always loved my chance encounters with animals of all types. Moose, deer, black bear, coyote, porcupine, fox, skunk, rabbit, I've more than one story I could tell you about each. Since moving to Prince Edward Island in '99 I've never really appreciated the local wildlife scene, there are no large wild animals here, and except for the occasional fox, which are rather plentiful, I've not experienced much of the local variety. Yesterday, I slowed down, open my eyes and was rewarded for it. The trip from my house to Cavendish can be done in under a half hour but I'm sure it must have taken 2 to 3 times that yesterday, I wasn't counting. I didn't take the direct route choosing instead to slow down and meander along the coast looking at the great landscapes, some beautiful homes, and was rewarded with a new appreciation for the local inhabitants. While the pictures can't truly express the feeling of seeing these beautiful creatures up close, I hope you'll find some joy in them as well.

Canada's Smallest Province Mostly Without Electricity Today

Luckily for me I work in a technology centre which has backup generation capabilities! Prince Edward Island has been hit with freezing rain for the past couple of days and it is making life difficult for many Islanders. Schools have been canceled for most of the Island's students all week, and while travel has been difficult the power has stayed on for most of us until about noon today when there occurred a near system wide blackout. We have been busy scrounging around for extension cords, as not all of the outlets in the office are supplied by the emergency power system. The floors are a tangle of wires and we are without lights but for the most part we are still up and running. I don't have the luxury of backup electricity at home but the propane fireplace should keep the place heated. Oh, the joys of winter in Canada!

Video game companies coming to Prince Edward Island - job market to double

The CBC is announcing that the number of jobs in Prince Edward Island's fledgling video game industry is about to double to approximately 120 positions. This on the announcement of two new players into P.E.I.'s video game industry. The Province's higher education institutions are seeing the trends and will be pitching in by offering a new video game art and design program at Holland College starting this January. While the University of Prince Edward Island has already begun offering three courses this year, with a full degree in video game programming to be announced in the near future. "If we can do the training for them, then that helps them," said UPEI computer science department chair David LeBlanc. The companies include Longtail an independent game studio with ties to Ubisoft and an unnamed testing and quality assurance company.