Springtime is great for wildlife. All critters great and small are in the mood for love and show it to the world. Walking with a long lens like a 500mm or longer is then a must. As the season moves on, things get quieter. Awfully quiet.

The birds are nesting in the most remote places they can find, out of sight, out of mind. The trees are fully covered in leaves and everything is quiet. You only see the odd bird out, looking for some food.

At first, it looks like so many other houses in Nova Scotia. I must have driven past it a few times without even noticing it. After all, many houses here are wooden and may or may not be fairly old.

I live in a house that is 120 years old by now. But this is the North Queens Heritage House and it hides much more than simple household items.

When you live close to the sea, ocean or lake, chances are that thoughts come into your mind about going out on that vast expanse of water, just to find out what is on the other side or in the middle of it.

The ancient Vikings must have had that urge. Now, going to the other side of a lake is usually a child’s dream, for a sea or an ocean, things are a little more complicated.

The past weekend has been in the light of privateers. Pirates, if you like, but pirates with a legal status of… pirates. Liverpool has traditionally been the port of the privateers in Canada. The descendants of many of them still live here, although their methods will have changed over the centuries.

So what’s the difference between privateers and pirates?