Saturday, August 23, 2014

There and back again ...

After our Whale watching trip, Sandy and I drove about 3 km to the tip of Brier Island, where we parked near the lighthouse and went for a walk to Seal Cove.


It was a lovely, easy hike.  I never tire of looking at the pillars of Basalt, the waving hills of grass, and the amazing vista of the Bay of Fundy.


When we came over a low hill, a faint, odd sound, like a cross between a hoot and a howl, reached our straining ears.  

In the photo below you can see Sandy scanning the sea with binoculars, looking for the source of the sound.



Then we found it.  There.  On that rock off shore.  Noisy sun-bathing Seals.


Lots of noisy, sun-bathing Seals. 

See the baby Seal on the bottom left of the photo ?
We lost count at 60 Seals !


The scenery was just stunning !


After leaving Brier Island (reluctantly) we travelled back up Digby Neck with the goal of seeing the famous "Balancing Rock": a pillar of Basalt precariously perched next to the Bay.

Leading to the Rock is a lovely hiking trail, peppered with informative signs about the plants we are passing by.

Notice the wet footprints ?  That stinky dog went in the bog.  

And there were stairs.  Lots of stairs.  I'm OK going DOWN the stairs.  Coming back up ... well I'll think about that later ...



Balancing Rock (9 m or 29 ft high)

The sign when you leave the trail.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves stopping once more, this time to check out an old, abandoned homestead.


Older wringer washer and child's stuffed toy.

There is such a poignancy to items like this. 
Looking in the front door!
The living room floor has fallen into the basement.  Such a shame.
After we got back on the road (again), we had to stop to check out Sandy Cove.

Sandy and Sandy Cove.  Together at last !
Sadly the tide was in.  Apparently there is a massive sand bar and the beach is MUCH wider at low tide.
And of course we had to check out the toppled building that we spied over the hill.



And then we drove home.

The very, very End.



12 comments:

  1. there is something very sad about abandoned buildings.
    sounds like a great trip!

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  2. OMG, I love this post. Starting with the seals,(ya gotta love em) and all the way past the shoe to the crumbling house. My kind of outing.

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    1. Thanks so much Linda. It was a great (but tiring) adventure.

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  3. How wonderful to come across so many seals in their natural setting! I hope the mother found her baby. The stairs look like a breathtaking path - the balancing rock is amazing. How is it possible that it stays there??? Looks like it was fun exploring the abandoned homestead - I hope I can see some of these things in 2016...

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    1. I suspect mom seal was with the group on the next rock. You used to be able to go to the Balancing Rock but there are always jerks who think it would be great to use a pry bar and ...

      So glad you are going to make it here ...

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  4. What a great looking place to explore! And seals! Oh my goodness, the cuteness!

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    1. It was the first time I'd ever seen them in such numbers basking and hooting and hollering at each other ...

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  5. Look what fun you had! I enjoyed looking at the pics this morning. So happy that Sandy was able to visit and that you enjoyed the seals so much. Your photography shines with summer enjoyment.

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    1. Thanks my friend. BTW I've had two more visitors and a few more adventures since Sandy flew home.

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    2. So many visitors! I've been mostly gone for two weeks, so don't know which way to turn next. Am still snickering about your comment on my blog. Way too funny!

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    3. You can always count on me for a wise-ass comment when everyone else is being deep and mature.

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Thanks for stopping by. I really do love to read your comments.