Category Archives: Travel

East Shore Marine Drive

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, photography, Wabi-Sabi

 

After leaving the South Shore of Nova Scotia we headed out past Halifax, which we avoided. We have been to Halifax many times and wanted to concentrate this time instead on the countryside.

 

I insisted on stopping to photograph some old buildings and old boats. Both were beside the East Shore Marine drive we travelled along. This is not the wealthiest part of Nova Scotia, but I sure like it.

The boats were in a boat graveyard. I don’t know what they did to deserve their fate, but I have a strange attraction to the old and dilapidated. I’m not sure I have this affliction. I just know I do. They did seem to be corpses along Marine Drive. The Japanese have a philosophy for weird old guys like me. They call it Wabi-Sabi. I like it.

Sheet Harbour: Sweet Waters

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn, Waterfalls

 

Sometimes, meandering is just plain fun. This day was one of those. We were leaving the area around Lunenberg that included Mahone, Bay, Chester and Peggy’s Cove and started heading north east of Halifax along the shore. It is called The Eastern Shore or Marine Scenic Tour.

We stopped to admire and photograph the lovely falls and autumn foliage at Sheet Harbour. That is a pretty good combination. The Roman poet, Ovid said it well: “There is no small pleasure in sweet waters.” I think that is a perfect description of this day.” The water here sure looked sweet.

This community is located on edge of the 100 Wild Islands. We photographed the river and falls near the bridge across the highway. Nova Scotia is laced with lovely drives. Since the first time Christiane and I travelled to Nova Scotia, about 40 years ago, we have used those scenic routes as our guideposts.  I remember that first year, we actually met the young lady who had written the book for Nova Scotia Tourism. We were really blessed.

Only about 800 people live in the area around Sheet Harbour. Like most places in the Maritimes it was originally settled by the Mi’kmaq First Nation who have inspired me so much. The Mi’kmaq called the place Weijooik which means “flowing wildly.”  I guess that is why the surrounding islands are called the Wild Islands. Currently, West of Sheet Harbour lies Sheet Harbour 36 a small Mi’kmaq Reserve.

In 1773, nearly exactly 100 years before Mennonites arrived in Manitoba to settle the prairies, the first European settlers here were Loyalist refugees who fled the United States, much like refugees who show up on American borders today.  But these were welcomed by the British who wanted British settlers. They settled this area together with British veterans of the American Revolution and they called it Port North. That name was used until 1805. After that, it was called Sheet Harbour on account of a rock at the entrance of the harbour which resembled a sheet. This became a prosperous lumber area and its sawmill became a hub. The sawmill was built about 1863.

It was lovely. No sweet.

 

Self-Sabotage

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Birds, Nature

 

While we stayed at our B & B outside of Chester, Nova Scotia, we suffered a power failure, and I reluctantly went to bed at 10 o’clock one night at our lovely B & B in Chester Nova Scotia. After that I did not miss the sunrise in the morning as I often do. John Lennon, that great English philosopher, once wrote, “The sunrise every morning is a beautiful spectacle, and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” It was not a great sunrise though. Too many clouds covering the beatify. That was a pity. Or as the British would say, a dreadful pity.

 

I must admit I am guilty of missing the vast majority of sunrises. I have called myself an inspector of sunsets, but confess I have missed many sunrises, which are really just as good.

 

I did enjoy reading this morning in the lavish rooms of an outstanding B & B. . I got back to my book on the fur trade, finally. I had been too busy to read now for some time. That is another of my serious moral failings. Today though I enjoyed the quite morning.

 

After reading awhile, I noticed a lovely band of pale orange/red slipping through the blinds of the living room from my upstairs lounge vantage point. It took me too long to realize I should be photographing it. My bad. A bad photographer, distracted by an interesting book. Oh well that was good too. Our host Jackie was not so slack. She captured a wonderful image. By the time I got there the picture was lame. In photography the prize often goes to the fleet of foot, not the malingerer.

 

 

A little later in Mahone Bay I saw this cormorant soaking up the sun in its face.  It did not miss the sun rise. It was not a malingerer.

 

Yet I thought of what legendary Canadian photographer, Freeman Paterson said. I had watched a documentary on him on Gem recently. Many years ago, Paterson presented an outstanding slide show in Steinbach. Who said Steinbach is a cultural desert?

 

Paterson knows a thing or two about beauty. Even how to create or capture it in distinctive images. He said in a recent newsletter, “I’ve long observed that most of the people sacrifice the pursuit of beauty—natural or otherwise—on the altar of perceived necessity. There always seems to be more important things to do. Life gets in the way. Yet the day will come when we no longer have the opportunity to have experiences, nor to create the enriching, sustaining memories that come with them. One might call it, self-sabotage.” It’s like missing the sunrise. Same thing. Self-sabotage.

Aspotogan Peninsula

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada

Sometimes I think I photographed nearly every islet in Canada. I liked the flag and eyes on this one

We spent one dreary rainy day circling the Aspotogan Peninsula.  It is a lovely area but the rain and gray clouds were depressing. This is the eastern part of Lunenburg County and separates St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The original inhabitants here were, of course, the Mi’kmaq First Nation.  These people were primarily nomadic. Now not so much. For example, they could be found in North West Cove, the village of Aspotogan and East River. They lived on the coast in summer and moved inland during the winter. They lived here until 1939 when the Second World War began. I am not sure why they left. Maybe, they became nomadic again.

The name Aspotogan is a derived from the world Ashmutogun or Ukpudeskakun which means either “block the passageway” or “where the seals go in and out” depending on whom you believe. I like the reference to seals. The land on the coast here was fairly high compared to others on the south coast of Nova Scotia so it was used as a marker for sailors coming from Europe or the West Indies on their way to Halifax.

 

In addition to the Mi’Kmaq the next immigrants to this region were first Newfoundland Irish in the 1750s and next New England Planters who arrived from Chester in the 1760s. After that French Protestants came from French village, not far away. After that Germans arrived on the west side. Around 1762 there were 62 English living here as well. They had been invited to help assimilate the Acadians who the British feared might be disloyal to the British crown. Between 1750 and 1753, 2,500 “Foreign Protestants” arrived to settle. Lunenburg was built for them.

Although Acadians never lived on the peninsula, they had a strong influence on it. Even 40 years after their arrival, 10,000 of them lived in Nova Scotia and they dominated the region. As the Americans are now finding, expulsion is not as easy as it looks, even without pesky courts. The English were more ruthless than modern Americans, even under Trump, and they couldn’t accomplish it. We’ll see how Trump does.

During the American Revolution (1776 to 1783) Americans plundered Lunenburg, burning buildings and taking prisoners. The Americans at that time were terrorists in other words.  And they came here from their country to terrorize the locals.

Naturally the Germans exported sauerkraut until the end of the 20th century. Fishing was an important enterprise for European settlers as well as industries that supported fishing, such as shipbuilding.

Besides the Jesse Stone shows that were filmed in the area, many other Hollywood and CBC films were made here including the CBC series Black Harbour and Blackfly as well as Hollywood films High Tide at Noon in 1957, which was shot at Northwest Cove. The outstanding film based on an outstanding book, The Shipping News starring Kevin Spacey was filmed here rather than Newfoundland. I don’t know why. Probably they got some government breaks. Kirsten Dunst and Lynn Redgrave were in the film Deeply that was also shot here.

 

Peggy’s Cove Rogues

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Lighthouses

 

 

One of the problems with Peggy’s Cove is the crowds. They are everywhere all the time. And they are relentless. They never disappear. Even when its dark! I waited nearly an hour waiting for the sunset and the crowds to disappear. They never did.

 

Unfortunately, at Peggy’s Cove some good views of the lighthouse have recently been ruined in an effort to make it safer.  While that bugged me, I have to admit safety is important. In fact, it’s more important than getting a good image. People have died here trying to get the best viewpoint for a good shot. Those waves can be dangerous and can pull careless people into very rough water.

 

There are more than 160 lighthouses in Nova Scotia and they can be found everywhere. Some of those lighthouses are world famous. Peggy’s Cove is the most famous of them all. It might be the most photographed lighthouse in Canada.

But Peggy’s Cove is more than a pretty lighthouse. It is also a lovely fishing village.  Though it is a working fishing village, I am convinced that some of the boats in the harbour have been strategically placed there to lure photographers and tourists. I can’t prove that, but I am sure of it. This day we got there too late to really look at both.  And the light was pretty dark already so I had to concentrate on the lighthouse.

You gotta make choices and then live by them. Life is hard and then you die.

Hopefully, before that happens you have seen Peggy’s Cove.

A couple of days later, after our visit to Peggy’s Cover, we returned in the hopes of finding better light. But instead, it was worse. It was raining and blustery by the time we got to town. The air was filled with sleet. Yuck.  I really didn’t want to get out of the car. So, we didn’t stay and went to our temporary home instead. I know I am a pretty wussy photographer. I was convinced there was a conspiracy of the Gods.

Peggy’s Cove is famous for rogue waves. They are dangerous. So are the slippery rocks. If you go there, be careful. Your life is more important than your photograph.

 

 

 

The Charm of Peggy’s Cove

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, Lighthouses

 

The village of Peggy’s Cove is quaint, at least when not over run by tourists, which is most of the time. This day I had to hurry through the village because we got there too late.

 

One years we stayed for nearly a week at a B& B with a wonderful view of the entire village. Some day I must show those photos.

We stayed at the house painted p9ale yellow on the far right of the line of houses at the top of the house. We loved sitting on the deck sipping a beverage or two. We could then go down when there were a minimum of tourists to block our view.

Who ever thought a fishing village would be so beautiful?

 

 

I had to stand over this little puddle of water for a long waiting for a reflection of the lighthouse in the water and when it arrived it was basically a dud.

 

Peggy’s Cove is one of my favourite places in my favorite province, Nova Scotia. We have been there many times. Frankly, in 2024 we visited it twice and both times the weather was uncomfortable and the light not great for photography. For this blog, I considered pulling out photos to show from other trips, but thought better of it. You gotta dance with the girl you brung and should not look over her shoulder at some girl you feel might be more attractive. There is beauty everywhere. If you don’t see it, you are not looking hard enough.

 

On our first visit this year, we arrived late afternoon. It was cool and the light not very exciting. I was hoping for a great sunset. After all, I am an unofficial inspector of sunsets. That may be true, but I like everyone else, am at the mercy of the gods and today the gods were not pleased with me. While not surprised, I was not sure what I did wrong. Like the time in Grade 2 when my principal, Miss Kornelson, pulled me out of the lineup before we tried to get in to school, and gave me a ‘lickin’ as we called it in those days. She never told me what I had done wrong and I never figured it would even after consulting my friends who were never shy about pointing out my failings.  I was not a perfect boy by any means, but I certainly, learned no lessons from that whupping.

It was a strange sunset.  One big cloud hid a large part of the sky.  As anyone who inspects a lot of sunsets knows, when it comes to sunsets, the clouds are all. They can hide the sun completely or not at all. Neither is good for sunset images. You need clouds but not too many.  Like Goldilocks, they have to be just right.  And frankly you never know what it will be like until it arrives. Anything can happen.

 

In fact, the best sunsets are after the sun has gone down. And you don’t need the sunset in the photo because the camera really can’t handle the sun. It is too bright.

So, it is important not to give up on it too soon. You must wait at least 10 minutes after the sun has left to ensure whether it is a dud or not.

It is very sad when the sun disappoints. But that is life. This day for most of the day I thought the sunset would be a complete dud.  Then for a brief while I thought it would be great.  It was never either one. Closer to a dud than great.

Chester: Captain Canada

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn

 

Chester Nova Scotia is a lovely little village on the southeast coast of Nova Scotia. We have been there many times and never tire of it.

The original inhabitants were of course the Mi’kmaq First Nation.  After that came the French, particularly the Acadian, who of course were expelled by the British. On the south shore where we were there were only a few Acadian settlements.

After British took over from the French after they left the English decided they needed to repopulate the area. It would not do to just have Indigenous People of course. So, they offered land grants, naturally without consulting the Mi’kmaq, to English colonists from New England.

During the American war of Independence Nova Scotia was invaded many times by American revolutionary forces including what were called privateers. Chester was raided by these forces in 1782.

However, after the American revolution, many of those were not loyal to the British. Maybe the English should have kept the Acadians?

Nonetheless it is a lovely region with lovely homes and even some nature where autumn sparkles.

Peter Gzowski, my favorite CBC radio broadcaster of all time, though not without his faults, lived in Chester for part of many summers. He was very popular and came to be called Captain Canada. He had a deep love for Canada and rarely travelled anywhere out of the country. He hosted an annual golf tournament for literacy in the area. Every time I go there I think of him.

 

Stonehurst Nova Scotia: another gem of small Nova Scotia town

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, autumn

 

Stonehurst is one more lovely tiny community in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia just a few miles from the town of Lunenburg Municipal District.

It’s known as a quiet little village that some have called “far from city life and off the beaten path.”

Yet it is notable for one strange thing which I discovered one day while watching a TV series starring Tom Selleck as a former police officer from Boston now a sheriff in a small town called, interestingly, Paradise.

What I noticed was that in the series the police officer called Jesse Stone lived in the red house at the end of the bridge in the photograph above.  I had photographed without knowing that fact. I had been struck by the quiet beauty of the house. That’s why I photographed it.

 

The series is based on a series of detective novels written by Robert Parker.  He wrote another detective series where the detective was called Spenser. Another TV series was made of that series of novels too.

I loved the little brightly coloured outhouse in the above photos.  It reminded me of a series of outhouses in a book filled with photographs of outhouses by a Nova Scotia photographer called Sherman Hines.

 

In the Jessie Stone series of films, the detective was a recovering alcoholic with a dog that looked disappointingly at Stone when he slipped off the wagon.

Stonehurst in one sense does not seem very hospitable.  Rightly or wrongly, I got the impressiosn that outsiders were not wanted here.  Not sure why I felt that way, but I did.  Maybe it just me.

 

The TV series was filmed mainly in the town of Lunenburg. I remember seeing photos of Selleck on the wall of our favorite restaurant in the town. I guess he ate there as well.

To tell you the truth, in previous vists to the small town I concentrated more on the view of the village from the other side of the only road leading into town. This day I noticed that this side was pretty nice too.

 

But  I must admit in any direction particularly in autumn it looked good to me.

All in all, time spent in Stonehurst is time well spent.

Blue Rocks: A lot of Beauty in a tiny Village

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada, photography

 

 

 

Just a few miles from Lunenburg, Blue Rocks is a tiny little fishing village that has been occupied by artists for a number of years. It is usually calm and always gorgeous.  This day the view at the central fishing shack was less than stellar. The skies were dull and so was the light. But as, I always say, you gotta dance with the girl you brung. So, I did the best I could, which was not very good at all.

Christiane and I invariably visit Blue Rocks because it is one of the lovelier fishing villages of Nova Scotia.

This day however the light was dull.  But as I always say, you gotta dance with the girl you brung.

 

The area is named after the blue slate rocks that line the edge of the ocean. These Cambrian-Ordovician rocks (once sedimentary) have been compressed into metamorphic rocks by the movement of tectonic plates.

 

Blue Rocks has been called ‘Little Peggy’s Cove’ but without the crowds. Not a bad recommendation. To say it has charm is a sad understatement. It has a lot of charm. But, unlike Peggy’s Cove, there is no lighthouse.

 

It is also considered one of the best places to kayak, though we have never kayaked there. Perhaps it is so good for kayaking because  there are more than 50 islands in the area around Blue Rocks Harbour.  A great place for a great paddle.

Blue Rocks is a working fishing village, but artists are in the process of taking it over by stealth. It will require serious weaponry to get rid of them since it is such a lovely little hamlet.  They have doing that slowly and gradually for a long time. It has fishing shacks, fine homes, but no huge mansions that I can recall.

 

At the end of The Point Road is found the General Store, even smaller than the world famous Boissinot Brothers store of Middlebro Manitoba that used to be operated by the famous Boissinot Brothers. Ok not really that famous. Though once we met a person at Boissinot’s who had come all the way from Colorado to see it. The General Store of Blue Rocks is fine little general store housed in an old fish shack beautifully painted red. Not fire engine red, but a nice red nonetheless.

 

Blue Rocks is made of churches, wooden homes, small community buildings, fishing shacks, and weather-worn artist homes.

 

Every time we go to Nova Scotia we go to Blue Rocks. And we are never disappointed. We usually spend more time there than Halifax. I can hardly wait to go back.

 

 

Lunenburg: Perfect for Squareheads

2024 Trip to Eastern Canada

 

Old Town Lunenburg, where all streets are straight and all corners square, is reputedly the best surviving example of a British colonial policy of creating new settlements by imposing a pre-designed “model town” plan on various trackts of wilderness that the British sovereign chose to “civilize” with settlements.

Apparently, at least 21 North American settlements, including Cornwall and Cornwall and Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario to Savannah, Georgia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were constructed in such a manner. Of all of these Lunenburg is the best preserved. All the ones I have seen are lovely.

The grid pattern is remarkably well preserved. Many of the homes and other buildings date back to the 18th century. The town was founded in 1753 by the British.  After this a permanent settlement was established by Swiss and German-speaking Protestants who found the strict grid systems congenial. They are not called Square heads for nothing.

 

In the Treaty of Paris in 1763in which ended the 7 Years War between Britain and France and through which Britain gained control over much of North America, though much of it not for long. But for at least 100 years before that the Acadians and Mi’kmaq shared occupation of this area.  The Indigenous people harvested clams in the area.

 

I love doors

 

I don’t know what the message is here, but I’m sure it’s profound.

Some good advice.

If you have to cry, a lighthouse is a good place to go.

Lunenburg is a great place to unwind.

 

Always good advice