Sculpture Garden

These places feel like serendipitous gifts, offering the joy of unexpected discoveries. Once again, after unfolding our bicycles, we decided to cycle to Liverpool and explore what it had to offer. As we approached Liverpool, we nearly passed by the Garden Center, a store that didn’t particularly pique our interest at the moment. However, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a peculiar group sculpture depicting people engaging with a raven. Intrigued, we left our bicycles and ventured to explore other sculptures amidst the dried flower pots.

While Garden Centers typically host various garden sculptures, what we encountered here was something entirely different — deeply personal and artistic. We then noticed the entrance to the Sculpture Garden, where a woman was busy clearing away old leaves. Upon inquiry about the creator and the timeline, she informed us that the owner of the center initiated this endeavor 15 years ago and continues to craft these sculptures. Little did we know what awaited us beyond the garden gates.

I won’t attempt to describe the sculptures; instead, I’ll convey my sheer delight and astonishment at what I witnessed. With an abundance of photographs capturing the essence, not everything can be showcased, and the three-dimensionality of the sculptures demands a unique presentation format. I believe I’ve managed to convey the expressionism of the sculptures and the originality of the cement-making technique.

Having strolled through the sculpture garden for over an hour (time seemed to slip away), we returned to the Garden Center, where we unexpectedly encountered the actual creator behind it all, standing behind the cash register. Ivan, Ivan Higgins — he introduced himself. Yes, it all started with garden pots, and then the idea struck: why not create sculptures for the garden? We had a delightful conversation and snapped a few photos together for memory and the blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures, or better yet, consider visiting in person.

Talking with the creator of Sculpture Garden Ivan Higgins
Thank you, Ivan!

Thanks to Lunenburg!

Our forced stay in Lunenburg brings new meetings and discoveries every day. We are glad that our project is supported both by many organizations in the town and in personal contact with town residents and sailors. We are grateful to the corporation Build New Scotia for providing free docking in the Zwicker Wharf Marina, thanks to Marina Operator Ian for taking care of us and for assistance in sponsorship for our project. Thanks to the President of Adams and Knickle Ltd Jane Ritcey for providing Wi-Fi and refreshments, Greg Trowser from Luna Sea Solutions for warm conversations about our project and Walter Flower for finding a diesel heater for us.
Thanks to Mike (Black Dragon) for the pleasant time spent together and interest in our project and thanks to Colin (Fruition) for his keen interest in our project, I hope that he will be able to find for his yacht a CTD measuring system. Thanks to mechanic Louis for his dedication to fixing our engine, I hope we don’t have any more problems. Thanks to Mike from Ironbound Rigging for advice on rigging and donated steel wire. Thanks to Kathleen from Ocean Gear for helping to purchase an exhaust pipe for the diesel heater. Thank you, Lunenburg, for warmly welcoming us these 12 days!

It’s time to leave the Town of Lunenburg – a World Heritage Site
A nice day in Lunenburg
Docking in the Zwicker Wharf
With Ian – operator of Zwickers Wharf Marina
Demonstrating CTD measuring system to Ian
SV “Fruition”
SV “Black Dragon” with Mike at helm
With Louis talking about how to fix the engine
Louis dives into the engine room
CTD cast at Zwicker Wharf
The plot of CTD-cast data shows an almost uniform temperature profile with a sharp halocline at 1m. Oxygen saturation (85-95)%, which is normal, and the concentration of Chlorophyll a (14-24)mg/L is above normal, the transmission of water is good (0.003m-1) and fDOM shows a slight increase in the concentration of organic matter after 2m, which is a possible result of dying increased phytoplankton.
Water reflections in the Lunenburg harbour
Cast off!
Goodbye, Lunenburg!
Leaving the Lunenburg Harbour
Iryna’s fenders tightening work, be ready to sail
Sailing to Liverpool Bay

How Ironworks works

On a chilly, blustery day, we decided it was finally time to follow through on our long-standing plan to visit the local distillery, Ironworks, and embark on a tour. A few days prior, we had casually dropped by, initially searching for a metal workshop, but to our pleasant surprise, we stumbled upon an exceptional distillery boasting an extensive range of spirits. On that occasion, we had purchased a bottle of Bluenose rum and discovered that they offered tours of the distillery. In all honesty, while we had explored our fair share of wineries, distilleries had yet to make their way onto our radar. Well, let’s see how it works!

Ironworks Distillery is located on a historical Lunenburg waterfront in the old Blacksmith shop.
Awards of Ironworks’ spirits and liquors
Inside it preserves the spirit of the old iron workshop with a taste of old rum production
Wooden floor remains traces of melted iron
The Walters Blacksmith Shop ca.1920
Launch of the famous schooner Bluenose in 1921, all ironworks for which were done here
Ironworks products on display
Around the World Rum – aged during the circumnavigation of the tall ship “Picton Castle”
One of the signature products is Pear-eau-de-vie with a pear in the bottle! Guess, how they put a pear into a bottle?
The distillation machine is made in Germany and heated by woodstove.
Our guide Meg explains the distillation process
Her name is Bertruda, is she beautiful?
Boiling of fermented wort
Majic of distillation
Spirit condensation on cooled copper plate with drainage holes
Today it was a whiskey run
Fermentation tanks
The fermentation in progress
Aging barrels cellar
Majority of barrels come after bourbon production in USA
Meg demonstrates the burned surface inside of the barrel’s wood-plank
Ironworks Rum to test
Cheers!
Inspecting fermentation of wheat for production of vodka
Matt – operator of the vodka distillery machine
Her name is Ruby – because of her copper-reddish skin
18 levels of distillation – that is what makes vodka smooth!
Iryna for the first time in her life admitted that vodka is tasty!
Ocean aged Rum!!! Barrels with aging rum stored in a boat, moored in the Lunenburg Harbour – taking all elements of nature!
Rum Boat moored in the Lunenburg harbour
Area for cleaning of bottles and filling them up
Filling of whiskey
Closing bottles with caps
Labeling of whiskey bottles
Each bottle is signed with a batch#
Production storage area – ready to ship!
Thanks, Meg for the fantastic tour and Greg for the presents!