Amazing & Interesting Beachcombing Treasures With Mike On Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia!

Fun Facts about me:
~ I’ve never owned a vehicle (Or Drivers license)
~ Smartphone either
~ Born & raised Anglophone in Montreal, I speak French & learned enough Spanish, Croatian & Arabic growing up to get myself into conversations which are well over my head but good fun!
~In 1998 I left Montreal with only a suitcase and headed west on an amazing-summer long cross country adventure that landed me in Calgary, Alberta where I took a job washing dishes, shortly after I was the pub manager, a job I loved and had to learn on the fly!
~In 2008 I sold my home in Calgary & moved over 5000 kilometers to a place I’d never been in search of a more meaningful existence & have been making things up ever since, living free and on my own terms connected to nature. (I'd never seen or heard of sea glass before moving to a road which turns to dirt, then falls into the sea, however its discovery was inevitable as its everywhere!)
~ My first 2 summers on Cape Breton were spent working on a farm, living in a tent next to a cornfield. We had to walk a kilometer to the farmhouse & back everyday for water, showering when it rains or the closest body of water (side note, I learned quickly soap won’t lather with saltwater!).🙃
Those experiences further enhanced my appreciation for life’s simplicities & the importance of living on ones own terms…1000 generations have led to these moments (Long days spent on my knees harvesting are probably why I’m such a good picker!)
~ After the farm didn't pan out, I went bankrupt & found myself in need of social assistance (welfare) for a short period, which is how I became a "Professional Beachcomber" by turning my passion into a career many years ago. Side note, I wouldn't recommend what I do to anyone!
~ I'm Left handed (Teaching myself music upside-down!)
~ I spend under $100 on clothing a year. Which you might of noticed
~ I spend $0.00 on takeout food a year however do appreciate (and miss) the tastes of each and every restaurant chain.
~ Everyday I walk my doggies (off leash by the sea or through the woods) a minimum of 10 kilometers a day. Since moving to Cape Breton we’ve walked the equivalent of earths circumference multiple times together without leaving the island! 🌎
~ My 19th Century built (one bedroom) home doesn’t have a dryer, bathtub, or foundation. During the coldest winter chill I’ve gone weeks without running water. It’s “cottage living” year round.
~ A small brook runs behind my home, it’s an ancient trail once used by indigenous people and early settlers, despite urbanization any animal imaginable can follow the stream past my window to my amazement! (Growing up in Montreal the largest undomesticated animal I’d ever encountered was a squirrel!).
~ In my youth I wanted to be John Lennon or George Bailey (It’s a wonderful life) when I grew up.
~ That being said, I live my life like a Beatles song & do my best to “Radiate Everything I Am” without fear & be the change I want to see In the world .
~ I don’t eat meat with the exception of when kind neighbors leave a food basket on my front step, then I won’t waste it.
~ In person my excitement level is greatly amplified, no matter the activity.
~ Music-wise, I'm probably listening to the 90’s (The sounds of my youth) although the years which surround it are awesome as well!
~ Mostly, If you think I’m passionate about sea glass, I wish you could see me with my children & the special relationship we have. They are life’s greatest gift and all I need.
~ If you've made it this far theirs's one more thing I wanted you to know however its not easy for me to say:
Every moment I struggle with the Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome, which might help with understanding why I'm so passionate, have a great memory, a terrible grip & live the secluded life of a sea hermit, safe for my children. Also why I always have music on as it helps keep me "out" of my head.
I've such a deep rooted empathetic connection to the world. Each and every one of you mean so very much to me, I cant thank you enough for your love and positive support!