Cliff-jumping on Bay of Fundy!

Although there are many ways for visitors to get to know our Bay, I'm always a big proponent of reaching out to touch the Bay of Fundy by kayaking it, walking its low tide beaches, or even hanging off the edge of its cliffs. This week I spend the day at Cape Enrage on the New Brunswick side of the bay filming the next episode of our Bay of Fundy Travel Show for YouTube.

Cape Enrage is a fun cliffside spot about one hour south of Moncton (half way between the famous Hopewell Rocks and Fundy National Park). The site consists of a heritage lighthouse, lightkeeper's cafe, beach full of huge tree trunk fossils and a long, broad rappelling cliff.

I 'had to' rappell down the cliff-face 6 times (see little blue me on the cliff in the pic) to get all the shots I needed. Even if you don't think heights are you thing, I encourage you to give it a try. It's only 140 feet high and it's extremely well organized and monitored. Oh, and it's a lot like eating chips: once you start you'll want more!!

I'll post the Cape Enrage episode here once its edits are complete! in the meantime, feel free to pop over to our youtube.com/fundybay channel to watch our first 11 episodes.

Our Bay on CNN

Just a quick footnote to my last post: that CBC segment about Bay of Fundy in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign made it also to CNN's website....check it out!

Celebrity guest visits Bay of Fundy!

Yesterday I was pleased to welcome a celebrity guest to the upper Bay of Fundy: world-renowned curler and television personality, Colleen Jones. Colleen is a reporter with CBC TV and was accompanied on her visit by cameraman Brian.

They're producing a feature on the Bay of Fundy's candidacy in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign. Colleen was smitten with this part of the Five Islands (Nova Scotia) are of the Fundy coast and spent several hours exploring by boat (at high tide) and on foot (at low tide - pictured here).

Here are a few images (used with permission) of the crew walking the ocean floor at Five Islands Provincial Park with Sue, a park interpreter. At least we didn't have to worry about Colleen walking on the slick Fundy mud - she's quite accustomed to slippery ice surfaces!

The feature is set to air on CBC TV Newsnow repeatedly through the day on Monday (starting at 7 am) as well as during the main evening news on Monday...in case you'd like to tune in!

Amazing whale watch photo!

As I noted it my last blog post it's truly been an amazing year for whale watching in Bay of Fundy. Whale watching is a great outdoor adventure activity for all ages. Here in Bay of Fundy, we've got some strict guidelines for our whale watch companies about what they can and cannot do around whales. Good thing for telephoto lenses then!

The folks at Quoddy Link Marine whale watching in St Andrews, New Brunswick, sent along this amazing photo and note yesterday:

Here's a picture taken by one of our Marine Biologist guides: we were so blown away by this! It is a lunge-feeding Finback whale, and, if you look closely, you can see 2 seagulls in its mouth. We certainly hope the seagulls survived (the whale would not be able to eat them as Finbacks are baleen whales and you can see the baleen hanging from the whale’s upper jaw). See more photos and read more about this sighting on our blog.

Here's a bit more info about baleen from Wikipedia: baleen is a filtering structure in the mouth of most whales, which they use to feed by sieving small animals from large mouthfuls of seawater. Instead of teeth, these whales have rows of baleen plates in the upper jaw–flat, flexible plates with frayed edges, arranged in two parallel rows, looking like combs with thick hair at the end of each comb tooth. Baleen is not in fact composed of bone, but of the protein keratin, the same substance as hair, horn, scales, claws and nails. Baleen whales use these combs for filter feeding.

Really....we all should go whale watching!

Busy days these days for me around the Bay of Fundy. On sunny days I've been out filming 10 more episodes of our Bay of Fundy Travel Show for our YouTube channel and on rainy days I'm in the office. Regardless of how you spend your days it's hard not to be envious of our whale watch tour operators around the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Sample these recent posts & see if you feel the same way!!

"What a weekend! Fin whales, minkes and humpbacks and beautiful sunny skies! The humpbacks have been realy curious and made close approaches to the boat on two trips. Today one was literally beside the vessel."

"What a couple of great days! LUNGE feeding like rarely seen (i.e. amt of it). Yesterday some great breaches and I knew it/they were coming...so I gave the guests some warning & there were great photos taken."

"We had another VERY successful whale watching trip this afternoon. Flash and her calf were sighted today along with another humpback named Churchill. The calf once again played around the boat- sometimes it makes you wonder who's watching who?!?!"

"Had a rollicking good time today. Wind waves and whales. Yeah a bit of fog as well. 2 trips out and all were satisfied."

"The mom and calf fin whale we have been seeing are still hanging around off the entrance to Head Harbour.The other day the calf was barrel rolling quite a bit, here you can see mom surfacing and the calf has his or her tail half out of the water."

Click here for listings for our whale watch tour operators in the Digby Neck & Islands area of Nova Scotia and the Saint Andrews & Grand Manan Islands of New Brunswick.

New Fundy fish co-op!

Last year I blogged about low lobster demand putting such downward pressure on lobster prices that fishers were in danger of spending more to catch them than they could sell them for. This resulted in quite a few lobster fishers selling their wares fresh & direct to consumers out of the backs of their trucks in various cities in the region.

I don't know if that initiative influenced this recent one but there's just been a CSF (Community Supported Fishery) Co-op created for Bay of Fundy! how lovely....here's the scoop!

This summer "Off The Hook" CSF is connecting a co-operative of small-scale, groundfish bottom hook & line fishermen from the Bay of Fundy to subscribing customers in the Halifax area. Subscribers pay in summer for weekly shares of the co-op's catch of fresh whole haddock, hake and pollock.

CSFs provide several benefits to small-scale fishers, such as more family income, more market choices, and increased ownership and control of their livelihood. Since there are no 'middlemen' involved, fishermen can get a fair price for their catch. Subscribers benefit through increased access to the freshest local, traceable, high quality fish along with renewed connections with local fishing communities and the ocean that sustains us all.

Read more about this creative initiative on Off the Hook's website and take a look at the feature feature coverage on the CBC National News the other night.

Thanks to Becky Cliche-Shanahan for permission to use these photos of the CSF folks in action!

Fundy Whale Car sightings

View Fundy Whale Car Adventures in a larger map Folks who visit our bay are often quite keen to claim they've sighted a whale during their holiday. Well now, with a bit of a watchful eye, they may also be able to claim 'whale CAR sightings' too....we've been having fun introducing our new Whale Car to many people around Bay of Fundy.

I've snapped photos wherever the Whale Car has been since it's June 5 launch so we have an ever-growing collection of quirky 'sightings' to share. Here's the Google Map we've created (which is also embeded on the Whale Car's website).

If you happen to see the Whale Car yourself & you take a pic, please feel free to email it to me (bayoffundy@gmail.com) so I can put it on the map or post it yourself to the car's facebook page!

Cruising across the Bay of Fundy

I'm Pisces so that may explain why I'm always keen to get near, in and on the water!

This week I had the perfect chance to be on the water: we hosted some travel writers aboard the Fundy Ferry that traverses the mouth of the Bay of Fundy from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Digby, Nova Scotia. The trip is only 3 hours and enables folks to make a loop around the Bay in both provinces without backtracking.

I love this ship, the Princess of Acadia...it's one of those nice solid, clean & bright ferries with plenty of viewing decks fore and aft (as well as Starbucks coffee & internet on board). Here's a view off the bow as we were about to dock in Digby. I spent 6 hours aboard this week, going from Digby to Saint John and back.

The other image is Rose from the New Brunswick Museum doing their on-board interpretive program during the daily cruises: the theme is Bay of Fundy, of course!

Test tidal turbine takes a beating

Having the highest tides in the world also means having the strongest tides ~ and that's what captivates those dreaming of harnassing tidal energy from the Bay of Fundy.

Tidal turbine testing started last November with the installation of the first of three different in-stream technologies. The test site is just a few kilometres from my daily dog walking route on the shores so I've been keeping a close eye on the project. Ultimately, as part of this testing phase there will be three turbines installed.

The Bay is quite intense in that location: the narrowest passage of a bay where 100 billion tonnes of seawater is passing with each 2x daily tide cycle and the news came this week that the 1st turbine lost a couple blades and will need to be removed from the Bay for further testing.

Whale car revealed!

At long last our Bay of Fundy whale car is now revealed!

Here are a couple photos from its weekend adventures and there are plenty more photos on our Facebook page.

We're holding a contest to name her or him on our facebook fan page - send us your best & brightest names....

The winner (has to be a resident of New Brunswick or Nova Scotia - sorry Alberta!) wins a 'guest appearance' of the whale car at the event of his or her choice this summer.

Whales, beetles and strange Fundy-themed dreams

Once, after reading that the heart of a Blue Whale is the size of a VW Beetle, I had a dream that my Volkswagen beetle morphed into a whale....and then I thought 'why not', let's do it!

The Fundy Whale Car launches this Saturday, June 5, in Saint John, New Brunswick, at the Fundy Food Fest. It seemed only fitting that the whale car's 1st trip would be to sample fabulous Fundy cuisine!

There's going to be some fun curbside contesting with the Fundy Whale Car throughout the season, so watch for it in its travels throughout Nova Scotia & New Brunswick. Check out the car's website and join its facebook fan page for updates!

Odysseus & the Bay of Fundy connection?

As you can tell from the "art" tab here on my blog, the Bay of Fundy inspires a great deal of creativity. However, even I was surprised to learn recently that there has been a relatively credible connection made between the Bay and the writings of Homer....

George Fowler (retired Engineer with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and classics buff) speculates that the seafaring Odysseus, hero of Homer's Odyssey, included the Bay of Fundy in his epic journey!

It's an interesting theory which Fowler describes using Fundy's tides and currents, as well as star patterns at the time. Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) was sailing around modern Greece from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea and got blown off course. Some think there was a chance that he was swept south to the Caribbean then up the Gulf stream to the Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast.

Read more in this feature article in the Toronto Star.

Who-pulled-the-plug?

When we 'talk tides' here on the world's biggest tide bay that conversation can veer in several directions. Depending on where you live in the Bay of Fundy the tides reveal their effects in different ways: whirlpools, sideways currents, bores, tidal rapids, vast expanses of exposed beach, etc.

One of my all time favourite tidal effects is the drained-looks-like-the-plug-has-been-pulled-from-the-sink effect evident in several communities around the Bay in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

This particular photo is of the Parrsboro, NS, harbour about 2 hrs after high tide. At this point in the tide cycle the tide is already over 1 mile from the downtown and has just dropped away from the wharf. By the time it gets to low tide in 4 more hours, it will end up another mile or so behind that lighthouse. And to think, this happens 2x day, every day of the year!

Beluga whale "guest" spotted again in Bay of Fundy

It seems that the beluga whale that found its way mysteriously into the Bay of Fundy two years ago is still hanging around.

Regular readers of my blog in 2008 may remember my post about "Q", a juvenile beluga who was 'in love' with a bell buoy and living off the coast of Cape Chignecto on the Nova Scotia side of the bay.

Although about 15 species of whales live in the Bay of Fundy from April through November, this sighting was unusual because: a) it was in the upper bay (our whales all live at the mouth of the bay), b) it was a beluga - a whale that normally lives in the Gulf of St Lawrence, several hundred miles from Fundy, c) it was traveling solo (without its normal pod).

It appears that "Q" has re-surfaced off the coast of St Martins, New Brunswick, about 30 km across the from its 2008 location at Cape Chignecto. Don't get too excited about thoughts of going whale watching though: it's well out into the bay and won't be able to be seen from shore. Besides, this whale is more likely to return to its original habitat the less it has contact with people.

Virtual whale watching

The whale watching season in Bay of Fundy will soon begin and continues through October.

While visiting the Saltscapes Expo this weekend visitors to the Nova Scotia exhibit got a preview of the season to come. I got really lucky and picked this one up by its tail!

P.S. no whales were harmed during the making of this blog post....

Zip-lining in Moncton?

Alright it may be a bit early to go zip-lining here in the Bay of Fundy but I got a kick out of trying a demo-line at the annual Saltscapes Expo this weekend in Halifax. Tourism New Brunswick partnered with the folks at TreeGo in Moncton to create a bit of fun for this event.

Here i am enjoying a taste of what's to come this summer. Check out videos of all TreeGo adventures on their website.

Moose sightings guaranteed in Bay of Fundy?

Probably one of the most common questions - other than tide questions = that we tourism folk hear from prospective visitors to our Bay is:"Where can I go to see a moose?". True, the Bay of Fundy is largely surrounded by forest but it's not like we've got moose roaming around in predictable locations every day.

Over the years I've seen moose in just about every region of the Bay in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia during my travels (including in my driveway, but that's another story) but they are tricky to summon at will.

I was amused, then, to see this fine moose statue 'uptown' in the Fundy city of Saint John, New Brunswick, this week. It's pretty much life-sized (large enough to make a serious wreck of your car!) and it's at least a photo opp that we can guarantee during Bay of Fundy holiday visits!

New7Wonders special guest visits Bay of Fundy!

It's been a very exciting week here on Canada's Bay of Fundy: we're hosting a special guest from the New7Wonders Foundation in Switzerland! As many of my regular readers will know, the Bay of Fundy is now representing Canada in the global campaign to declare the New7Wonders of Nature.

The winners will be decided by popular vote with the announcement on 11.11.11.

New7Wonders Director, Jean-Paul de la Fuente is here for a few day of meetings to discuss the opportunities for Bay of Fundy on the worldwide stage now that we are one of 28 international finalists, but we can't resist showing off a couple of well-known Fundy locations.

Pictured here is our VoteFundy for Canada flag raising on the low tide ocean floor yesterday at Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick.

If you'd like to support Canada's Bay of Fundy in the campaign, you can VOTE HERE and join our Bay of Fundy for New7Wonders facebook group!

This gal LOVES the Bay of Fundy

I love hearing from blog readers who send photos and 'guest posts' - it's kind of like having eyes all around the Bay. After my last post about Bay of Fundy break-ups it seems only fitting to post this happy photo from my friend Maegan.

Here's how she describes it:

hi Terri - here are some fun and silly photos I took last night at Port George on the Bay of Fundy… I was attempting to spell “love” with my body. These photos are taken by my husband Aaron Noble, and are not photoshopped: this is the real, and amazing light from the Bay of Fundy. The photos were taken at Cottage Cove picnic park in Nova Scotia where we had a picnic with local fish and chips!

Many thanks to Maegan & Aaron who live in the section of Bay of Fundy designated by UNESCO as the South West Nova Biosphere Reserve - check out the Biosphere website and facebook page for info and other neat images.

Coastal break-up Fundy style!

No I'm not talking about relationship breakups (tho' with the amount of coast we have, no doubt some of those have happened on our beaches too!). Rather, here's an interesting guest post from my fellow blogger, Ryan (Annapolis Royal Heritage blog).

Hey Terri, knowing you're fascinated by unusual sights on our coast, so I thought you'd be interested in this excerpt from a recent series of blog posts about a scallop dragger that ran aground and beached at Parker's Cove last week.

After attempts to get the scallop dragger "Patpa's Boys" floating again were unsuccessful, a decision was apparently made that the boat should be broken up. This is, of course, the safe thing to do since there is no need for someone to accidentally get injured crawling around on the disabled boat. There is also no need to add to the already abundant flotsam which floats about the Bay of Fundy. By the time that I arrived all of the equipment and trawl had been removed from the boat and the excavator was breaking up the hull. The bow had been dragged to the high water mark so that the incoming tide would not carry it away.

With new draggers being made of fiberglass, boats with this type of wooden hull construction are becoming a rarity. At 15-20 years old, the Papa's Boys was actually one of the younger wooden boats in the Digby scallop fleet. Many of the wooden boats would be over 30 years old.

Ironically, the spot where the bow was sitting was used as a shipyard in the 1980s.

To read more about the journey of Papa's Boys and other interesting history from the Annaypolis Royal region of Nova Scotia, visit Ryan's blog.

Cormorants & dinosaurs!

I certainly don't claim to know much about the millons of year that dinosaurs roaming Bay of Fundy - let's leave that to the fine folks at the Fundy Geological Museum and Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia) and the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John (New Brunswick).

Really though, if you look 'sideways' at some of today's animals, it's quite easy to believe that they evolved from dinosaurs. OK this connection may be tricky to see in your puppy or your budgie but how about a crocodile (not in Fundy!) or a whale (lots in Fundy).

For me, there is something about cormorants that makes me believe in dinosaurs. Cormorants are not most charming of birds: they're awkward, aggressive and strong....kind of pterodactyl-like? or so I think when I see them on my daily dog walk to the beach....

Will the 'Bay of Fundy' site be chosen to be one of the New7Wonders?

I brake for sticky buns!

One of my favourite memories of touring the Bay of Fundy occured when a tour group I was guiding many years ago commandeered the coach and MADE us stop for "sticky buns" at Kelly's Bakery in the village of Alma, New Brunswick.

My earnest attempt to keep the group 'on schedule' instantly became irrelevant when I tasted one of these famous 'sticky buns'....they're like a really poofy cinnamon bun about the size of a large fist. Whenever I'm in Alma I always make a point to buy one fresh from Kelly's (as well as take a dozen to lock in the trunk so we have a half chance of making it home together)....

pure carb delight and a 'must stop' attraction in Alma!

A Sweet Sign of Spring

One sure sign of spring on the Bay of Fundy is the beginning of the maple sugar season. Rain and warmer daytime temperatures in recent days mean that the sap is now flowing.

Every spring, maple producers in our region journey into their sugar woods to collect sap from maple trees. Sap is a clear liquid and tastes like fresh spring water. However, once it's boiled, sap takes on its distinctive maple flavour.

There are many family owned & operated maple sugar camps around the upper part of the Bay of Fundy (see posts from previous years about our family's camp) but one that really stands out is Sugar Moon Farm in Earltown (near Truro, NS).

This family has successfully transformed the 6-8 week long maple season into a year round experience with demonstrations, a log cabin restaurant, sugar camp tours & interpretative programming, sugar bush hiking trails, maple products for sale and even guest Chefs' Nights featuring a maple dining extravaganza with the province's finest chefs!! They are also a member of the Atlantic Economusee Network of artisans who celebrate and share traditional crafts or trades.

It's great to have this sugar farm in operation year round. As you might expect, we don't get many tourists visiting Bay of Fundy in early March so with Sugar Moon Farm even our summer and fall visitors can get a glimpse of this important part of our heritage! Maple syrup FAQs.

Winter Bay of Fundy from space

One summertime FAQ we hear from visiting tourists is "what happens here in the winter?". Well, now you can see for yourself. Check out this NASA daily image from space showing a light dusting of snow all around the Bay of Fundy.

So here's the scoop on our winter: We're in the northern hemisphere so yeah, we get some snow. It doesn't always snow by Christmas (didn't this year) and doesn't snow much after mid-March.

Snow storms do not happen every day. They are usually spaced about a week to ten days apart, with clear sunny or cloudy days in between. It is not as cold here as it is 'up north' in the Arctic. Temperatures here in winter range from plus 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) to -15 C (around 5 degrees F). For a few days here and there usually in Feburary it can go as low as -20 or -25 C at night (around 0 degrees F).

The Bay made up of salt water from the Atlantic ocean so it doesn't 'freeze over' like a lake. If we're lucky though we get some ice cakes or small ice burgs. And, just to set the record straight: none of us live in igloos....

iPad launch & new7wonders connection

If you like to keep up with techie news, you probably watched Apple's iPad launch last week. Imagine my delight when Phil Schiller, Senior VP of Worldwide Produt Marketing, started to demonstrate the iPad's 'Keynote' function and used the global New7Wonders campaign images to do this!

The Bay of Fundy, as you likely know, is competing in an international campaign to declare the New7Wonders of Nature. We are Canada's only site in the campaign and, now, one of only 28 worldwide finalists. You can support Bay of Fundy by voting here or joining our Facebook "Fundy for New7Wonders of Nature" fan page or by following us on Twitter.

What great exposure for the New7Wonders concept to be included in the iPad's launch.
(Keynote, by the way, is the Mac version of PowerPoint)

"The Seacaptain's Wife" ~ new Bay of Fundy book

Anyone growing up in Bay of Fundy ship building communities commonly heard stories of folks who spent their early years traveling the world on ships built and captained from our shores. Indeed, it's well-known that not only men voyaged on these vessels but also their wives, sisters and children.

The women's side of the seafaring story is rarely fictionalized which is why I'm very excited to read Beth Powning's new book The Sea Captain's Wife. Here's an excerpt of a review in the Chroncle Herald:

Epic in its emotional intensity, The Sea Captain’s Wife charts both the inner and outer worlds of the young protagonist; her longing to sail, her romance and marriage to Capt. Nathaniel Bradstock, her resignation to life on land, the scandal that forces the couple to flee with their child to London, and the hardships encountered during the ocean voyage that takes them there.

Available to order on Chapters.com

Happy birthday, Robert Burns!

Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, once wrote: "Nae man can tether time or tide". For this quote alone (not to mention all the Scottish connections from our part of the country), I welcome Robbie Burns as an honorary Bay of Fundy-ite.

On Robbie's birthday January 25, or the Saturday nearest this date, people around the world celebrate his life & poetry and their Scottish heritage.

Each year our family feasts and dances with about 200 other kilted Bay of Fundy Scottish descendents (ages 2 to 90!) at the annual Burns night dinner and ceilidh (dance) in Port Williams, Nova Scotia.

I'm dusting off my kilted skirt and getting ready this weekend for the speeches as well as a fine meal of neeps, tatties, and haggis (and, who knows, perhaps even a wee dram o' scotch!).

Wow! Hollywood celeb endorses Bay of Fundy for New7Wonders

Insider celebrity scoop here on the bay today! We are really excited to announce that hunky Hollywood actor James Tupper has just lent his support to Bay of Fundy in the New7Wonders of Nature.

Wanna know more about James & the significance of this endorsement? here's the scoop...

James Tupper, born in Nova Scotia, is well known for his current role as Dr. Chris Sands in the highly-rated NBC primetime medical drama “Mercy”. James Tupper is rated by US Weekly as one of 2009’s “Sexiest Stars” and recently made TV Guide’s coveted “Sexiest Men on TV” list.

Here's what James has to say about Fundy:

“I am so excited that the Bay of Fundy is representing Canada in the contest,” stated Mr. Tupper. “Through its online voting campaign so many more people will discover and appreciate the extraordinary natural wonder created by world’s highest tides.

While growing up on Canada’s east coast I spent my summers exploring the Bay of Fundy and as a child walking on the ocean floor at low tide was absolutely mesmerizing to me. To be able to explore the beach where only a few hours’ earlier tides were the height of a 4-story building…now that’s adventure! And because of the Bay’s crazy tides, it’s also the only place in the world where fishermen have to climb a ladder for their daily catch.”

James Tupper currently divides his time between his coastal homes in Los Angeles and Vancouver, BC. Tupper is also well-known to TV audiences for his role as “Jack” alongside his real-life partner, actress Anne Heche, in NBC’s “Men in Trees”, and for his guest appearances alongside Christina Applegate in “Samantha Who?”

Released in December 2009, James Tupper stars opposite Zac Efron and Claire Danes as the title character’s best friend, in the screen-adaptation of the best-selling novel, “Me And Orson Welles”.

Remember: you can vote for Bay of Fundy on votemyfundy.com and you can post what you love about Fundy plus your fav Fundy pix on "Official Bay of Fundy For New7Wonders Facebook Fan Page"

Chef Lynn's "lobster immersion" in Bay of Fundy

Last summer the 'word was out' that we had a celebrity visitor here in Bay of Fundy: Chef Lynn Crawford from the Food Network. Chef Lynn just launched her new series, "Pitchin' In", where she travels around the world to discover the source of the freshest of ingredients.

Her first episode was filmed here on Brier Island, Nova Scotia, and the topic is LOBSTER, of course!

The episode aired this week but if you missed it you can watch it online at the Food Network. I love the good people of Brier Island who showed her a good time way out in the mouth of the Bay of Fundy...seems fitting for a chef, don't you think?

Bay of Fundy's longest driftwood beach part of Mi'kmaq legend

There is a Mi’kmaq legend that tells of a meeting requested by all the animals living in the Bay of Fundy: a meeting with Kluskap!

The animals living at the mouth of the bay said the water levels were getting higher, flooding the fields and swelling the brooks and streams. The animals living in the upper bay were saying, “There is no water in the bay - it’s too dry!”

Upon investigating, Kluskap found the dam of Kopit (Beaver) across the bay. Kluskap told Kopit what was happening on both sides of the dam and asked him to remove it. Kopit said that what happened to the other animals was of no concern to him. Kluskap said that it was of concern to him and that he had promised to correct it.

Kluskap enlisted the help of Putup (Whale) to take down the dam. When Putup did so the tidal water levels in the Bay of Fundy returned to normal as did the way of life for all animals.

In the upper Bay of Fundy near Advocate, Nova Scotia, there is a 4 km stretch of beach that
collects driftwood from all over the world. The unique occurrence of ocean currents and the
world’s highest tides continually deposit vast amounts of driftwood on this beach. To this day,
this debris is known as the remains of Kopit’s broken dam.

Legend & image: shared with permission from Gerald Gloade, Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre

Canadian tourism folks & a certain Mr Claus go crazy for Bay of Fundy

Working as I do in the tourism field I run across all kinds of cool travelers at various conferences across the country. I wasn't really expecting to see a certain Mr Claus this close to Christmas but that's exactly what happened at the November national tourism conference.

I was actually seeking colleagues who were voting for Bay of Fundy in the New7Wonders of Nature contest and wow, did I find them. Check out this video of the whole crew:

Santa spotting....in a Bay of Fundy spa?

Hey there Santa....you'd better get a move on!

Yes, it's true, the big red guy was spotted this week relaxing at Eau Spa at the Old Orchard Inn & Spa, near Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and we've got photo evidence to prove it. hmmm maybe he was there buying me gift certificates...in that case, carry on with your good deeds, Mr Claus!

Tide watching from stilts

One of my favourite little corners of the Bay of Fundy universe is the village of Bear River, near Digby, Nova Scotia. Bear River is located about 6 km from the Bay of Fundy on an extreme tidal river.

Bear River is well-known throughout the region as a mecca for resident artisans and as Bay of Fundy's 'village on stilts'. I was recently in the area for several days and enjoyed both the view and the food at the Bear River Cafe, pictured here.

To learn more about Bear River, check out another local blog: Flora & Larry's chronicling their adventure moving from Toronto (pop'n 2 million) to Bear River (pop'n 800)

New Fundy book in time for the holidays

I've always been fond of Bay of Fundy books, poems & music so it's great to see another book to add to the collection especially near the holidays. The book is Head of the Bay by Jeffrey Ward
"A History of the Maringouin Peninsula". Here's a book description as sent by Al Smith, with Tantramar Heritage Trust in Sackville, NB.

Tales of heroism, hardship, sacrifice and success animate the pages of The Head of the Bay, by Jeff Ward. The bay in question is the Bay of Fundy and, in particular, its upper end, where the Maringouin Peninsula divides its tidal waters into Shepody Bay and Cumberland Basin. Now virtually forgotten, the communities of the peninsula once played an important role in the industrial and commercial history of Atlantic Canada. In the nineteenth century, fortunes were won and lost in the shipyards and quarries of the district and place names such as Upper and Lower Rockport, Slacks Cove, Pink Rock, Hard Ledge, and Johnson’s Mills were known and respected far and wide. Ward succeeds unerringly in linking local stories to the wider sweep of current events, showing how even small places and modest lives can influence the shaping of the world.

Looks like a neat book ~ it can be ordered from Tantramar Heritage Trust's website.

Cranberry harvest time

These last few warm weeks of November (it's 15 C/ 60 F today!) mark the end of the fresh fruit harvest here on Bay of Fundy. Starting in June, we've got a series of fresh local berries to enjoy: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and finally cranberries.

In 'top secret' locations all around our bay, local folk still dry pick cranberries by hand or with a scoop. This week, while touring Bay of Fundy, I came upon these fellas harvesting cranberries on a farm near Medford, Nova Scotia. They are "wet raking" cranberries for commercial use. When the cranberries are ready to harvest, the fields are temporarily flooded with about 8 inches of water. The cranberries (which have small air pockets inside them) float to the surface with the gentle encouragement of a hand rake.

The berries are guided to the end of the field with a wooden guide (pictured here) then scooped out and taken for processing. By the way, that's salty band of blue Bay of Fundy along the horizon just past the field.

Probably these berries will be used to make cranberry juice or, even better, cranberry sauce to accompany our Christmas dinners next month!

Olympic torch visits Bay of Fundy!

The 2010 Olympics may start in 79 days but Canadians are getting pumped RIGHT NOW about hosting the games!

Although the games will take place on Canada's west coast, some 4300 kms from Bay of Fundy, we've all been given a fabulous opportunity to participate with the Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic flame has been visiting various Bay of Fundy communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during the past few days and will continue across Canada to 200 other towns and cities. If our experience is any indication, the torch will be met with great excitement and enthusiasm as it lights its way across the country!

I attended the relay at Grand Pre National Historic Site in Nova Scotia last week and Hopewell Rocks-Fundy National Park today. Here are some photos of the torch bearers & onlookers on the ocean floor (low tide) as well as my friend Keith (one of the torch bearers) with me and Hopewell Rocks staff grinning happily.