A Normal Day in Pictures

Neatly Stacked Traps About to me Moved

The phone rings at, honestly I don't know when. My father, Captain Cyril Fraser, calls to tell me we have to get the traps down to the wharf early because the weather has changed. I walk to work and we start on the traps.

In 1996 Oprah started her book club. She's off the air, but our truck is still running.

Captain Cyril Fraser (my father), Cheryl (my sister), and I work hard repairing the lobster traps and stacking them aboard the old 1996 Chevrolet Silveardo.  Each trap weighs around 60 pounds, is made of wire, coated and lasts a long time. Some of our wire traps are over twenty years old and still fishing.

After a bit of work, we managed to get some traps tiered on the wharf. You can't see Cheryl because she is doing a great job working away and taking all the pictures.

Ray (me) and the traps

I've had that red/black sweater since the formation of the nWo.

For the complete gallery of getting the traps ready in beautiful Bay St. Lawrence, please visit our flickr photo set found here:
Spring Time Trap Stacking

Five High, Four Wide.

I had to stop stacking at lunch because this guy needed to get an infection checked on at the vet:

Check out Rupert on the right hand side of the following page, he is a favourite aboard Oshan Whale Watch 

Sure, it is around three hours one way to the vet, but the views along the way are nice.

This picture is taken just before Cape Breton's Cabot Landing: a scenic, sandy Provincial Park marking the landing site for the world famous explorer John Cabot.

Smokey Mountain (above) is a great cycle to try after you've cycled from Bay St. Lawrence to Meat Cove

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Rupert got a good report from the vet. His infection hasn't gotten worse, but he needs some more antibiotics.  The folks at the Baddeck Veterinary Clinic have always been nice to our pets such as our dogs Rupert and Jake (asleep by the rock above my parents' house), plus Johnny: Northern Cape Breton's Most Famous Horse. After Rupert was settled in the car, I decided to venture south to Yankee Line Road where I discovered this:

Beer? In Nyanza? Organic Beer in Nyanza? Organic Beer with their own garden? Talk about eating local. My, my, my, what a delight.

In fact, "Big Spruce Brewing is Nova Scotia's First, on-farm craft brewery and hop yard." And that my friend comes straight from the back of their bottle. Well, I quickly sampled their wares and liked it so much that on the spot I gave them ten free Oshan Whale Watch passes to give out to their customers.

Good thing I follow road signs.

I forgot, this is supposed to be a pictorial blog. For information on Jeremy White and his wonderful business check out  Big Spruce Brewing's facebook and twitter pages.

I went home with two growlers of delicious Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout. I took special care to secure them in a cooler-bag behind the back seat. The drive home was nice. I've always liked the valley on Bay St. Lawrence Road, pictured below on the left. The valley is a great place to walk and cycle.

The Road to Bay St. Lawrence

Nicer still to see that Cheryl and Dad worked hard while I was gone.

There are more traps to stack tomorrow and there will be more fishing related work after that. The rope and buoys need to come down. The boat needs to be launched. And everything, absolutely everything needs to be tripled checked. Good thing I brought some stuff back from Big Spruce to help relax the muscles after a hard day's work and fun day's drive.

Best Lobster Trap Ever