Another amazing day in Nova Scotia

If I can have a "major adventure" once a week I'm happy.  I define "major" as just getting out of town and going somewhere different.

Like meeting up with chums Ros and Terry in Hall's Harbour for an outdoor lunch at the Lobster Pound while watching the tide recede in harbour.

 The boats were still floating when we arrived as it was only an hour or so after high tide.

But not long after they were siting on the bottom of the harbour.

With tides of 35-40 ft. it's important to know where you are in the tide cycle before you go strolling on a beach along the Bay of Fundy.

I was glad to get a shot of the last of the Lupins and the first of the marvellously scented roses.  

As Ros and Terry are new to the area I insisted on dragging them over to nearby Huntington Point and my beloved "Jelly Bean cottages".

The cottage with the blue roof can be rented to $400 / wk. in summer.  I'm told it's pretty chilly and damp as it's entirely made out of concrete.

The other cottages are privately owned.

The bottom two are facing directly onto the Bay of Fundy.

BTW I was quite taken with that driftwood fence.

Just as you're coming into Hall's Harbour is Cove Road.  Nothing special there.  

Unless you count this stunning cove.

At least a kilometer of shoreline and we had it to ourselves.

Terry sat on a rock, while Ros and Bella explored the shoreline.

I think Ros was a tad creeped out by the clearly evident rockfalls that happen from time to time and stayed as far away from the cliff bottom as possible.

Things look a mite unsettled up there.  Notice the tree just right of centre and the way it's tilting.  Perhaps the land under it isn't that stable ?

 There are amazing rocks to be found along the shore.  Many have crystalline cavities.

There must have been a partial rock fall a while ago.  Notice the upside down evergreen in the centre.  It's crown is starting to grow upward indicating that it's been hanging there for a while.

Of course we were not alone.  

Wendy

Bella

Well this is a first.  No photograph of Sooki !

I've been to this waterfall before but never noticed the cave entrance beside it.  It's listed on Google Earth as "Hall's Harbour Sea Cave".  I shimmied into it and found it was only about 50 feet deep.

 

The waterfall is even more stunning in winter !

  

And this my friends is Hall's Harbour in the mirror.  Be warned.  There is a very sharp turn as you're coming into town.  Keep your eyes on the road and wait till you're safely parked before gawking at the stunning scenery.

But rest assured, it's a trip worth taking.

Living every day ...

The other day a dear friend reminded me of the importance of living each day to its fullest, so yesterday I went on-line to check tide times for Hall's Harbour and once suitably reassured that they were safe for a long beach walk, I went for a drive across the province to the marvellous Bay of Fundy.

Driving across the province isn't as onerous as it sounds; the distance from my door to Hall's Harbour is about 110 km or about just over a one hour drive.

Cruising through Centreville I felt compelled to stop at Charles Macdonald House as for the first time the flag was out and it was open.

Built as a one-storey house in 1910 by Macdonald who own a concrete factory in nearby Kentville, the second storey was added around 1917.

Though I didn't get to see it on my tour, apparently the bathtub is made out of concrete too.

It's not just that Charles Macdonald's house was made of concrete; pretty much everything inside and out was made of concrete.  Even the birdhouse hanging in the tree is made of concrete !  The grounds once were littered with concrete  figurines.

             

The bather has just been refurbished.

At one point there was even a life-size Moose which sadly was destroyed when hit by a car many years ago.

I was happy to finally get to see inside this unusual house.  As you might imagine it had a very musty smell.   Not sure I'd want to live in a concrete house in our damp climate.

Yep.  A concrete table.

Painted concrete ornamentation.

The Living Room.  BTW the Deer head ?   It's concrete too.

Like many places in Nova Scotia, the Charles Macdonald House does not get the attention or assistance it deserves and exists only through the support of a dedicated group of volunteers. Should you wish to learn more just click here.

After my tour I hopped back in my car for the ten minute drive to Hall's Harbour.

Though it was only two hours after high tide when I arrived, the boats were already sitting on the bottom of the harbour.

The tides of up to 48 feet, translate to a the rise and fall rate of around  EIGHT feet an hour ! The tides are approximately every six hours; not exactly every six hours or they'd be at the same time each day.  Each day the tides vary by around 50 minutes so that if high tide yesterday was at noon then high tide tomorrow will be around 12:50.   'course I'm ignoring the fact there are two high and two low tides at day; I only pay attention to the timing of the daylight tides.  That's why it was so important that I checked the tide time before I even set out from home.

The tide table told me that high tide was at 11:15 am.   That meant the tide would be going OUT for six hours.  I could walk the shore till well past 5 pm without worry.   If however low tide had been at 11:15 am then I would have to keep an eye on the rising sea for my whole walk to make sure I didn't get trapped in a cove by the rising water.

The view down the shore.

In the above shot the rocks are covered with green algae; a good hint that they will be underwater when the tide comes in.

Donald Trump's "comb-over"?

Farther down the shore I came across this rock formation which loomed  several feet above my head. Notice that the rocks are covered with sea weed.  Another not-to-be-ignored sign that a few hours from now the water would be well over my head too.  In other words I was walking on the ocean floor.

Wendy and Sooki checking out the view.

It was a hot day but the  constant breeze off the bay made for a pleasant walk.
  

Looking back toward Hall's Harbour.  Gosh, did we really walk that far?

It was a long walk and the dogs got hot.  They cannot drink the water in the bay as it is salt water but they managed to find fresh water dripping off the cliff-face.  I had brought a thermos of water for me which I never walk without.

There had been a few people on the shore near Hall's Harbour but after half an hour of walking the dogs and I were alone.  It is amazing how even in mid-Summer you can have the shore all to yourself.  I guess that's because most folk just want to go to the classic "pretty" sandy beaches to sun bathe or swim while I avoid such beaches with the dogs in the summer.

There are some lovely rocks to be found here.  My book "The Last Billion Years: A Geological History of the Maritime Provinces of Canada" tells me that much of this rock is basaltic lava. The cavities in the basalt have been partially infilled with orange chabazite crystals.  Dunno what chabazite is but it's sparkly and that's enough for me.  ;-)

  I always come home with my backpack weighed down with rocks.

Dunno what it is but it looks kewl.

Crystals worn down by the tides.    

Love these bumps on the face of this rock.  Wish I knew what caused them.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to look up and not just down at the rocks below my feet.

Trees just barely hanging on to the cliff above me.  

At 4:30 I texted my daughter, Kaitlyn to tell her I was just walking back to the car and would be getting home just after six o'clock.

At six o'clock I texted her to say I had just gotten back to my car -- it was a longer walk than I'd realized !

Just as I was walking up to the parking lot I spied some writing on a rock ...

 I even love the graffiti here !

In the end I got home just before eight pm having left home at noon.  What a long wonderful day.  Not sure about the rest of them but I sure lived yesterday to its fullest !

If it's Thursday, this must be Fundy.

Dear friend, Pat, flew back to Ontario on Monday, after a whirlwind, six-day visit.

The weather was less than perfect, but we soldiered on through rain and shine, but mostly rain.  "Soldiered on": -- heck we tore around the province as if our very lives depended on it.  We crammed a lot of sight-seeing into a few short days.  I didn't realize how very much we'd done until I was selecting these images.

As evidence, herewith, Exhibit "A", photos from all  our trips.

 Bay of Fundy at low tide.

We checked out the spectacular view at Blomidon Lookoff,

Abandoned church, complete with falling-in roof.

We shivered our way along the beach at Scots Bay at low tide.

Hall's Harbour with its extreme tides, is always worth a visit.

Parabolic mirrors present fun self-portrait opportunities.

We weren't able to walk far along this shore,
as the tide was coming in.  With tides of 45 feet, it's a good
idea to check the tide timetable.  

Pat found the "jelly bean" cottages at Huntington Point enchanting.
Typical of Nova Scotia, there are no signs, directing tourists there.

Next we visited the unique concrete home of the
cottages'creator, Charles MacDonald..  It wasn't open so we weren't
able to check out its interior.  Darn !

From the concrete bird houses, to the concrete lawn furniture,
the place was full of surprises.

Of course, we went to the Tangled Garden, which I had recently visited
for the first time with my Sister-in-Law, Janet.

It was even more "tangled" than it was on my previous visit,
two weeks ago.

Here we are in my favourite used-book store, Dustjacket Books.
I always go to the bookstore on choir Fridays.

It was our "Lunch Bunch" choir's last performance of the season.

Not done yet.  We also ...

visited the historic "Hydrostone" district of Dartmouth, which was
built after the devastating Halifax Explosion of 1917 levelled much of the city.

The Old Burying Ground.is a fascinating place to explore.

The sun came out for our visit to the lovely Public Gardens.

Rhododendrons thrive in a myriad of colours in Nova Scotia. 

It was graduation day, and excited, over-dressed grads, were posing everywhere
for countless photos, to memorialize this special day in their lives.

Guess what we did whilst checking out the lupines and murals  in Dartmouth ?

We put pennies on the railroad tracks.
Have you ever done that ?

Still not done.  We also, 

went walking at Hartlen Point,

and around the McCormack's Boardwalk,

at low tide.

We re-found a nameless, neglected cemetery, near Sambro, 
that I had stumbled across a couple of years ago.

Hemlock Ravine Park is a wonderful place for a walk.

We went for a walk along the boardwalk in Halifax,

with Wendy and Trey,

and saw Theodore tugboat.

Pat treated me to a delicious lunch at Murphy's on the Wharf.

Before she left, we took one final trip to the "secret beach"not far from my home.
Pat declared it her favourite place to be.

Now I think of it, Pat did say that she slept really well while visiting.  

No wonder -- she must have been exhausted !