Introduction

But then, maybe it was just me, I have been very busy this month. It is not going to look like it to you though, as I did not get any new pages up or changed yet on my web site last month. But that does not mean I have not been working on it. Quite the contrary, but I will discuss that farther down.

One event I really do enjoy during the winter is the Annual Eagle Watch held in Sheffield Mills. This was my second year going and again I was not disappointed. My sister, who usually goes to these things with me, is away visiting her daughter, but Mary, a friend of mine wanted to go with me and my brother John came down from Dartmouth and met us there. The weather cooperated; it wasn't snowing and it was actually in the plus temperatures. There did not seem to be as many eagles on the day we went, but we got some great pictures and John took some great videos for me.

On the way home we stopped at the Driftwood Restaurant in Berwick for lunch. Now if you are looking for a great place to eat in the valley, I strongly recommend this place. My uncle and aunt, who have been going there regularly for years, had told me about it and even took me there, and I just had to go back. They have a great menu; listing among the regular dishes, several real Nova Scotian dishes you do not find at other restaurants. The prices are very reasonable, you get lots of food and the food is fantastic! If you are in the area I suggest you give this restaurant a try.

But enough chit chat, on to what is happening in the area.

Upcoming Events

• Month of February - Annual Acadia Art Show being held in Wolfville

• Until February 20 - Gallery Athena Valentine Show, Wolfville

• Month of February - - Sheffield Mills Eagle Watch - I know these dates have gone by, but I wanted to leave the event up because you can still go any morning and still see the eagles until about the end of February.

• February 3-8, 2009 - If you like curling then drop into Berwick for the Senior Women's Curling Championships in Berwick. It will be going on all week.

• February 13 - 16 - Annapolis Royal Heritage Days - This year there is a great lineup of things for the whole family going on throughout the town.

• February 18 - 21 - Winter Carnival Celebrations being held in New Minas - A large list of great events going on for everybody in the family.

• February 20-22 - This is the time to be in Bridgetown for their Bridgetown Lions Winterfest. Lots of fun winter activities are planned for this annual event.

These are just a small part of what is coming up in the Annapolis Valley. Please check my events page; your local papers or the AVR radio station to find out about other events.

News From The Valley

• Annapolis Royal is making plans to extend their wharf another 23 meters so it will reach out into deeper water and invite more boat activity. There has been much interest in the area from boating traffic lately but the concern is that the wharf is only accessible during high tides. The existing 95 meter long wharf was built by the government in 1980 reducing the previous one by 30 meters.

• Last month I mentioned that Annapolis Royal was in financial difficulties due to a reassessment of Nova Scotia Power property which would see the town loose 28% of it's annual budget, or $580,000. The new assessment removed the machines and equipment from the formula and made allowances for depreciation.

  Update - it has been decided that the amount will be frozen for this year and then phased in gradually over the next 3 years. This is good news for several municipalities, especially for Annapolis Royal which will now have some time to make adjustments to cover this loss. The town does still plan to appeal this new assessment.

• Middleton will be hosting the opening Ceremonies for the Annual Apple Blossom Festival this year. This is great news for Middleton who is also celebrating it's centennial this year.

That is just a little of what has been happening in the Annapolis Valley this past month. I will keep you updated on these issues.

Updates & Changes to Annapolis-Valley-Vacation.com

As I mentioned I did not get any new pages added, or amendments made to existing ones. Not any amendments you can see yet. What I have been working on is all behind the scenes work that will show up later.

• I mentioned above that my brother John came to the eagle watch with me and took lots of great video. I am working on editing this video and making a short video clip that I can add to my Sheffield Mills Eagle Watch Page. I have joined up with YouTube and I am learning how to upload my own videos and then use them on my site. Once I get this video up and running it will be easier for me to add more of my own videos to my site.

• As I mentioned last month I joined up with Google Adsense and I have been busy adding this to most of my site. I know some of you would rather not see my site full of ads, same here, but I do need to pay the bills somehow. I like Google because they blend in so nice and there are no flashy banners etc. taking over the site.

• The main project I have been working on is to set up affiliates with a lot of the local accommodations. What this means for you; the visitors to the area; is that you will be able to make reservations right from my site! If you find a place that interests you, then there will be a form you may fill out to apply for a reservation. This will make it so much easier and more convenient for everyone. But this is a major project and will take me a long time to get set up; there are a lot of places to stay here in the Annapolis Valley. It also means that I have to completely redo my accommodation pages, so do not expect this to happen too fast, but I will hopefully have it finished by the main tourist season.

• I have also been going through and cataloging all my pictures of the valley. This will be important a little later when I start making my own videos for my site. This is another major job as anyone who knows me knows I have a lot of pictures.

• I also just bought myself a new laptop and have to get everything transferred over and set up on it.

So you see it has been a busy month for me, I just do not have a lot to show you right now.

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I hope you have found something interesting or informative in this issue of Annapolis Valley Updates. If you have any comments, Ideas, or other feedback I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this Ezine and tell me what you think!

Until next month, have fun, live good and love hard!