There is something so easy and natural
about a quiet morning walk
with my brother and sisters.
While in Nova Scotia recently,
we went on numerous walks together.
The Joggin Nearing Low Tide
On several occasions
we walked to and from The Joggin,
a tidal inlet that empties into the Annapolis Basin.
It's a good 11-12 klick/6.5 mile jaunt,
with a pot of strong hot coffee
beckoning at the end.
The Joggin Looking in the Opposite Direction,
Toward the Annapolis Basin
To get there we walk along
a section of the Trans Canada Trail.
You can actually hoof it
from one end of Nova Scotia
to the other on the TCT,
but we're not that ambitious.
Tidal Flats
from Joggin Bridge
Digby from the Joggin Bridge
The Digby Pines, a well-known golf resort and spa,
overlooks the wharves where the Digby scallop fleet anchors.
In the Smith's Cove area,
the TCT traces an abandoned railbed
that once linked us by train to other places
in our far-flung and rural province.
We miss the iron horses.
Roy and Barb on the Abandoned Railbed
Now Part of the Trans Canada Trail
The tidal scenery is ever-changing,
a result of the extraordinary tides that occur here.
Nearing Low Tide at The Joggin
The Joggin fills and empties twice a day
with the rise and fall of the extreme tides.
It adjoins the Annapolis Basin
which connects to the Bay of Fundy
through Digby Gut.
The gut looks so calm and peaceful,
but it is a dangerous passage
filled with swirling currents and hidden rocks.
Frequent fogs and changeable winds
add to the dangers for boats negotiating the gut.
Generations of our family have
passed through this gap in North Mountain.
Digby Gut
The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world.
At Burntcoat Head at the top of the bay,
the tides range as much as 16.3 meters/53.5 feet.
That's change in depth of water, folks!
The Bay of Fundy
Between the Canadian Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
And that makes for a lot of mudflats and sandbars
in bays, basins, and inlets
as the waters ceaselessly come and go.
Mudflats and Sandbars
in the Tidal Joggin
But we're not thinking about the tidal surges
that shape the scenery.
We tend to take them for granted.
The tides have been running through our lives
from the beginning.
Brother and Sister Enjoying the Morning and Each Other
Joggin Bridge
We're just happy to be together
watching the moving waters and winged wildlife.
Nearing Low Tide on The Joggin
Trickling Water, Sandbars, and a Lone Gull
This last photo makes me think of my father,
whose presence I feel keenly
as I write of our family's time in the North.
Dad was a painter,
and he taught me about perspective
when I was big enough to grip a pencil.
He had me forever drawing roads, telephone poles,
and railroads receding into a vanishing point.
Donnie, Barb, and Roy
Joggin Bridge
talking about anything, everything,
anticipating that welcome pot of coffee
we'll share at the end.
I miss our together walks.
It's tough to be so far apart.
As a prairie girl, I am fascinated by anything tidal. So foreign to me!
ReplyDeleteAs I am fascinated by the prairies, Debra! LOL! Have a good one!
DeleteWhat a great time you have with your family. And what a scenic walk. Since I live in a valley and hills surround me the flatlands and tides are something I know nothing about. I appreciate your descriptions and even that little map which help me understand the topography of your home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comment, Peggy! Every place has it's own beauty, and that's part of the fun of blogging ~ seeing places through other eyes. Have a goo done!
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! I hope you are having a great day!
DeleteI was a city girl, so tidal and prairie always fascinated me. Now I'm near the water, so I'm curious about the prairies. I'd love to visit one day, and hope it happens.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos! It looks like a fabulous area, and how awesome that you got to spend time with your siblings. You sound like my family; very close, and loving.
Thanks, Martha! I hope you do get to see the big sky prairies! They are lovely! Such a beautiful world that we live in. We are very close, and I consider myself so fortunate to have amazing sibs. Have a great day tomorrow!
DeleteSure many sights to see indeed. I think I've walked a little bit of it, but yeah, not that ambitious to walk it all either lol plus that would just take too long.
ReplyDeleteToo long is right, Pat! I am thinking about Smith's Cove Scallywag Run next summer. It's a slog through the mudflats, over the sandbar to, then around Bear Island, and back. We'll see! LOL!
DeleteBay of Fundy is truly one of nature's wonders.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got to spend this special time with your family.
Thanks, Terry. The Bay of Fundy is dear to my heart! But not as dear as my family. Have a happy day tomorrow!
DeleteWhat a perfect walk with amazing scenery and company!
ReplyDeleteIt was, Monica! I hope your kids and you got a good start to the school year! Take care!
DeleteWonderful jogging place.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sangay! It is lovely, and my ancestors have lived in the area for over 300 years. That probably seems like only a little while in your country, but for Canada that's a long time. Have a good one!
DeleteA quiet morning walk is a wonderful thing indeed. Thank you for taking us on this walk with you :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith! It's the best time of all to walk. Have a good one!
DeleteYeah, I wouldn't be that ambitious either, Fundy ;) Gorgeous pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elsie! I have so much fun with my photography, and it makes my day when people enjoy my photos! Take care!
DeleteHa, Ha - I didn't know our walks were going to turn into a blog Louise - silly me! I miss them too - cheers & hugs Barb
ReplyDeleteSilly you for sure! You were my traveling companion ~ I was the photographer! LOL! You are potentially cropping up in a number of posts! I called yesterday, but no answer at Chez Barb! Can't wait to hear all about Yosemite!
DeleteFirstly, that ol' coffee pot would be / should be at the beginnin' of the trek and the end ~ oh I loves me a strong cuppa cuppa!
ReplyDeleteNow I am so much apart of this 'mudflats' living as you and your sibs are Louise, only I'm at 'tother end wandering around Medford as a child running and sliding feet forward or stomach first smeared in mud from head to toe. I LOVED IT! Gees, where did that come from? All I know getting covered in mud felt so good as you lathered it on and watched / felt it dry. Then, of course we washed ourselves off and felt the soft skin laughing all the while because we did it again ~ clomping around with giant mudcake feet. Again, loved it!
Your lone gull pic is AH!Mazing ~ hear me!!!
Truly I know very little about The Joggin other than as a child taking the train from Wolfville to Digby to catch the ferry to St. John I used to hit the floor of the train as we traversed over the Bear River. The danged tressel scared the B'geesus out of me, everything was so high in the air for awee one like me. One good thing came from it though, I remember the trip and it was fantastic.
Digby Pines summers of 1970 and 1972 ~ nothing but good thoughts and the best time working at the resort. So many stories and to top it all off, I met Jim's brother Dennis there way before I met Jim. Something tells me the inevitable was on it's way and meeting Jim was bound to happen!! I have a few friends to this day from those 2 summers. Ah youth and all the silliness that goes along with it.
I see the visit this year was a solidly good for you and your sibs. It is so very difficult when time and distance keep getting in the way. I truly believe that social media is a saviour. I try valiantly with my brother's family but it's like pulling teeth. I keep chipping away at them though.
All the best and a BIG HI ~ HELLO to Terry and your sibs because I know they ALL read your musings!!
Ron
LOL! Terry only looks at the pictures ~ which may be a good thing! My mom loved mudflats like you. Me ~ ouuuu. Icky. Icky. There's things in that mud! That said, as I told Pat, I'm thinking about the Scallywag Run in Smith's Cove next year. Donnie has already done it, and Bertie says she'd do it with me. I'd have to slog it, not run it. And I'd be down and dirty with the mud though. We'll see!
DeleteI'm owe my presence in this world to the Bear River Bridge. My grandfather, Jack MacDonald, helped build it. He was a high diver, and when tools fell from the bridge, he would dive and recover them. Then his boss would give him time off, and he was interested in a young lady in the Cove ~ my grandmother!!!!! It was really hard to see it gone when we came into the Cove this summer. The only railroad bridge still standing in the area now is at the Joggin. Generations of my family used to come and go from the old Bear River Station, but that's long gone too.
I'm glad that you have such great memories of the Digby Pines. Roy worked there too, but I'm not sure which summers. He was a waiter, and I think he worked in the locker rooms for the golf course too. I'll have to ask him!
I'm loving this whole social media world, especially blogging. Michelangelo kept chipping away at marble and out came David. Don't give up!
Have a great day tomorrow, Ron! Thanks for sharing your memories!
I bet it is tough to be so far apart, Louise, after such a wonderful and close holiday.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful part of the province with so much history and things to see. It always amazes me how quickly the Bay of Fundy tides come and go....not to mention the height!
Must get back to this part of 'our' province.....thanks for the inspiration and the wonderful photos, Louise. Nice job. and very contemplative post.
Thanks, Jim! We'll all have to get together in the Cove, maybe next summer! What do you say? I know we could find a bed somewhere, and SD would fit right in! I'm capable of contemplation once and a while! Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteBay of Fundy.....I love how you're teaching me something new about a place I'd love to visit. 53 feet change in depth is CRAZY. It's so beautiful though and I'd love to walk there and check out all the sea birds, etc. Thanks for sharing.....love all the pictures! I'm sure you are missing your siblings something fierce! XO
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey! It's so good to see you! 53 feet is crazy. When I lived down on the islands off Digby neck, I'd sometimes go to the Friday night dances on Brier Island. If we left at high tide, we could just hop on the ferry, but coming home hours later we'd have to climb down 25 or 30 feet of slippery, seaweedy ladders to get to the ferry ~ Then up another set of slippery, seaweedy ladders to up to the wharf on Long Island. It made it quite an adventure! And yes, I am missing my sisters and brother very much! Hope all is well with you, Alain, and the girls! XO
DeleteHello there! My name is Jenny Ellsworth and I am developing a new website for the Parker Trail Riders organization. You took a few pictures of them in Parker at the 2012 and 2013 parade. Can I use a couple of these images on their new website? What kind of photo credit would you require? Thank you for your consideration :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny! You are more than welcome to use any photos I posted on the Parker Christmas Parade. Just credit me as the photographer: Louise MacBeath Barbour. And please send me a link, so I can see your website! You made my day!
DeleteWonderful! Thank you Louise! I will send you the link as soon as I publish the new website :)
DeleteCan't wait to see it, Jenny! Thank you for the honor!
DeleteHi Louise, their website has finally been published... it took a little longer than expected, with the holidays and all. If you want to check it out, here is the link: http://www.parkertrailriders.org/ Thank you again for the images!
DeleteI had no idea. Over 50 feet... That's unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteHi BG! Thanks for your comment. The tides along the Bay of Fundy are incredible. Have a happy weekend!
ReplyDelete