New Brunswick – Natalie the Explorer

Bay of Fundy: 6 Fun Attractions

November 18, 2022November 27, 2022Natalie74 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m glad you’re here. It’s week 46 in 2022 and I’m hosting Weekend Coffee Share linkup #96. Come on in for a coffee or tea, and let’s catch up.

I’m continuing the story of my adventures on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I wrote my adventures in three posts. The first post on five Natural Wonders is here and the second post on five Historic Sites is here.

This post is the third and last installment. I enjoyed visiting lighthouses, covered bridges and public art on the Bay of Fundy. Here’s six fun attractions to explore for free.

1. Masstown Market

Masstown Market is located 10 minutes west of Truro, Nova Scotia. Aside from the market, the lighthouse and interpretive centre has four floors to explore, with a lovely view from the top.

Masstown Market lighthouse and mural by local artist Andre Myette

2. Five Islands Lighthouse Park

The Five Islands Lighthouse Park is named after five small islands (east to west): Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg and Pinnacle. The Five Islands are collectively one of many geosites between Lower Truro and Cape Chignecto Provincial Park that form the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark.

The wooden, “pepperpot”-style lighthouse was built at Sand Point in the winter of 1913-1914. It had to be moved back from the shoreline at Sand Point several times due to coastal erosion. It was moved in November 2008 from Sand Point to its new location at the municipal Five Islands Lighthouse Park overlooking the islands.

3. Giant Lobster

The Giant Lobster in Shediac, New Brunswick is a concrete and reinforced steel statue sculpted by Canadian artist Winston Bronnum in 1990. The statue is 11 metres long and 5 metres tall, weighing 90 tonnes.

4. Sawmill Creek Bridge

Sawmill Creek bridge, built in 1905, is the last covered bridge on Highway 114 and one of the 58 covered bridges in New Brunswick. This covered bridge is 33 m (105 ft.) in length.

5. Maud Lewis Replica House

Maud Lewis (1903-1970) is known for her bold and colourful paintings that featured outdoor scenes and animals, inspired by the landscapes of southwest Nova Scotia and painted on everything from Christmas cards to pulp boards.

She has been the subject of Maudie, the 2016 film starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke. Maud was born in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia but she lived most of her life with her husband Everett Lewis in Digby County, Nova Scotia.

On the site of where her house stood is now a replica house built by Murray Ross. It is the same size as her original house. The original house has been moved and is on permanent display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax.

Maud Lewis Replica House, Everett’s Shop and Maud’s Photo Chair

6. Murals

Here’s a gallery of murals with brief captions for your weekend. Click on the top left image to start and use the arrow to move through the gallery.

The last mural, The Tide Flows, was created by Michael Burt and Daniel Burt in 2018 to mark Wolfville’s 125th anniversary as a town. A line of poetry from John Frederic Herbin’s book Marshlands added a focus: “The tide flows seaward as the day expands.”

*****

I enjoyed my adventures in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Now that I’ve been home for a while, I’m already thinking about my next adventure.

What free fun attraction(s) have you recently visited?

Bay of Fundy: 5 Historic Sites

November 11, 2022November 26, 2022Natalie85 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m glad you’re here. It’s week 45 in 2022 and I’m hosting Weekend Coffee Share linkup #95. Come on in for a coffee or tea, and let’s catch up.

Remembrance Day

November 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada. So I want to take a moment to honour all Canadian veterans who have served and continue to serve in upholding the peace and freedoms we enjoy today.

Poppy sculpture at The Royal Canadian Legion, Queen’s Own Rifles Branch

PPAC meets WCS

Today I’m combining Photographing Public Art Challenge (PPAC) with Weekend Coffee Share (WCS). I’ve been a PPAC participant so when Marsha at Always Write blog had to step back from hosting and she asked if anyone would be interested in taking over PPAC, I volunteered to host.

I continue to leave the topic open. There is no prompt or theme. Existing WCS participants are free to participate without any PPAC entries and PPAC participants are free to participate with one or more images of public art (outdoor and free) without writing their post as a coffee share.

To new WCS participants:

The weekly WCS linkup starts at 8 a.m. on Friday and ends at midnight Sunday night Eastern Standard Time.
Join the linkup using the InLinkz button at the end of my WCS post. If you prefer to leave a comment with your link, be aware that a link in my Comments section requires moderation and is less visible to participants who use InLinkz.
Please link one post, leave a comment on my blog and link back or pingback to my Weekend Coffee Share post. Links from bloggers who join without leaving me a comment will be removed.
Read one or more participating blogs and leave a comment. Hashtag #Weekendcoffeeshare.
I read all participating blogs and reply to comments left on my blog. I prioritize my visits and leave comments for bloggers who take the time to leave me a comment. Thank you.

Bay of Fundy: 5 Historic Sites

The region surrounds the Bay of Fundy is rich with stories from the native Mi’kmaq people, Loyalist heritage and Acadian history. Here’s five Historic Sites on the Bay of Fundy to explore. Click on the top left image in the gallery to see captions and move through the gallery.

1. St. Andrews

St. Andrews, or Saint Andrews by-the-Sea, is nestled along Passamaquoddy Bay in New Brunswick. Founded by Loyalists in 1783, many buildings in St. Andrews still reflect that history. St. Andrews’ Historic District, one of the best-preserved examples of colonial heritage in North America, is a National Historic Site of Canada.

St. Andrews is also Canada’s oldest seaside resort town and a great place for whale watching, deer watching, outdoor recreation, dining and shopping. I’ll share more on St. Andrews in another post.

2. Saint John

Saint John located on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick is Canada’s first incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of King George III. The city offers beautiful historic architecture, funky cafés, creative galleries and shops, and more. Saint John in New Brunswick is not to be confused with St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Saint John City Market, established 1876, is Canada’s oldest farmers’ market. It is a good place to browse and pick up a snack, lunch, dinner, or local arts and crafts.

3. Digby

Named after Admiral Robert Digby, the town of Digby in Nova Scotia is famous for the local scallops and the fleet that harvests them. Along the Digby waterfront in Loyalist park are Digby Pier lighthouse and six cannons, five from Victorian era in the 1840s and one from the era of King George III sometime prior to 1820.

The cannons were part of fortifications constructed at Digby, primarily to protect the town from privateers. Each cannon has a plaque affixed to its carriage relating a small part of the story of the fortifications and the cannons.

4. Fort Anne

Set on the banks of the Annapolis River in Nova Scotia, Fort Anne was first fortified by the Scots as early as 1629. The site was later controlled by the French before falling for good to British troops in 1710. It would remain a regular scene of battles until the fall of Quebec in 1759. Fort Anne became Canada’s first administered National Historic Site in 1917.

It is a wonderful learning experience to stroll inside the fort and around the Perimeter Trail to explore a renovated 1797 Officers’ Quarters (now a museum) and a maze of defensive ditches, banks and bastions overlooking the Annapolis River.

5. The Landscape of Grand-Pré

The Landscape of Grand-Pré is both a National Historic Site of Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated on Nova Scotia’s southern Minas Basin, an inlet of the Bay Fundy, the Landscape of Grand Pré (Grand Pré means Great Marsh) is subjected to the most extreme tides in the world. The tidal range averages 11.6 metres and the tides move in and out of the Minas Basin every 12 hours.

Starting in the late 17th century – an era which predates the introduction of engineered drainage systems – the Acadian settlers applied an inventive and ingenious system of earthen dykes, ditches and aboiteaux, or wooden sluices, to hold back the formidable tides. They also began a tradition of collective management that was community-based. Today, the agricultural landscape is still protected and drained by the same system, still exhibits distinctive field patterns, and is still managed through the same community approach.
Parks Canada website

The landscape is beautiful and the dykes in Wolfville are amazing to examine in real life. Information boards posted at the historic sites give helpful explanatory notes.

I hope you join me next weekend to discover fun attractions on the Bay of Fundy.

Bay of Fundy: 5 Natural Wonders

November 4, 2022October 30, 2022Natalie92 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m glad you’re here. It’s week 44 in 2022 and I’m hosting Weekend Coffee Share linkup #94. Come on in for a coffee or tea, and let’s catch up.

When I was planning for my trip to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in September, I wanted to see several natural wonders and UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the Bay of Fundy. I had visited main attractions in Halifax and surrounding areas such as Lunenburg, Peggy’s Cove, and Cape Breton in Nova Scotia before. So for this trip I focused on new-to-me places.

I’m happy to say that I saw everything that I wanted to see and more. I wrote my adventures on the Bay of Fundy in three posts. This post is the first of three:

Natural wonders
Historic places
Fun attractions

The Bay of Fundy is renowned for its extremely high tidal range (the highest in the world), geological discoveries (dinosaur fossils) and marine life (whales). Here’s five amazing Natural Wonders to explore.

1. Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Joggins Fossil Cliffs on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is Canada’s 15th UNESCO World Heritage Site. Joggins is world famous because of its fossil record of life on land in the Coal Age. More than 300 million years ago, Joggins was home to giant insects, towering trees and the first known reptiles.

I enjoyed 1) A visit to the Joggins Fossil Centre to see an extensive fossil specimen collection, exhibits, and displays and learn about the “Coal Age,” when lush forests covered the Joggins region 2) A guided tour with knowledgeable interpretive staff to explore the coastal cliffs (up to 15 kilometres of magnificently exposed layers of rock) and look for fossils on the beach at low tide.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs and beach at low tide

2. The World’s Highest Tide and Hopewell Rocks

The Hopewell Rocks also called the Flowerpot Rocks are rock formations caused by tidal erosion at the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brunswick. This is where the power of the Bay of Fundy tides is most impressive. Not only does the tide rise 14 meters (46 feet) vertically, it also recedes almost two football fields horizontally.

I enjoyed 1) A visit to the Hopewell Rocks Interpretive Centre for an overview on geology, tides and wildlife 2) A walk with an interpretive guide to see the powerful tides and the 40-70 feet tall flowerpot rocks.

There are two highs and two lows each day, with about 6 hours and 13 minutes between each high and low tide. The bay water is brownish-red as organic sediment and red mud are stirred up from the sea bed by tides and currents.

During my visit, the tides covered Daniels Flats, named for one of this area’s early settlers, an immense mud flat that is 4 km (2.5 mi.) wide and stretches almost as far as Grindstone Island in the distance.

The tides also covered Lover’s Arch situated relatively high on the beach. The tide needs to rise 28 feet straight up before it touches the base of the archway. The Fundy tides can then continue to rise another 18 feet (5.5 meters) before starting to recede.

3. Fundy Biosphere Reserve and Fundy National Park

Fundy National Park is in the heart of the UNESCO-designated Fundy Biosphere Reserve. Often draped in a blanket of summer fog, the lush lands of the Biosphere Reserve stretch farther than the eye can see. The park maintains 110 km of hiking trails, both inland and coastal, as well as guided nature walks and interpretive programs. I’d love to spend more time here.

Map of UNESCO-designated Fundy Biosphere Reserve

All biological communities, including people, lead lives under the inescapable influences unique to the Bay of Fundy. For example, fishing boats can only leave or dock at the wharf when the height of tide permits. The right time could be morning, noon, or night.

4. Reversing Falls Rapids

Reversing Falls Rapids is a unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. It was incredible to watch the tides of the Bay of Fundy actually force the water at the mouth of the Saint John River to reverse its flow.

The nearby Stonehammer Geopark, the only UNESCO-listed global geopark in North America, has information panels on the tides and the geology of the cliffs.

5. Marine Life

A whale watching tour is a fantastic way to experience marine life in the Bay of Fundy. My tour with Quoddy Link Marine in St. Andrews was excellent. We passed by East Quoddy Lighthouse built in 1829, the oldest lighthouse in New Brunswick, and saw harbour seals, humpback whales, porpoises, sea birds, and more.

East Quoddy (or Head Harbour) Lighthouse

Seals, porpoises and whales – Images by Quoddy Link Marine crew

I look forward to combining Photographing Public Art Challenge with Weekend Coffee Share linkup and sharing historic sites on the Bay of Fundy next Friday.

Eating Out in New Brunswick

October 7, 2022October 5, 2022Natalie73 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m glad you’re here. It’s week 40 in 2022 and I’m hosting Weekend Coffee Share linkup #90. Come on in for a coffee or tea, and let’s catch up.

Last month I was on a tour in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, two of three Canadian provinces that are known as the Maritimes in Eastern Canada. The third province in the Maritimes is Prince Edward Island.

Similar to my eating out in Newfoundland and Labrador in June, I ate out when I was in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, primarily fish and seafood. Here’s a sampling of some of the delicious food that was on my plate while I was in New Brunswick.

On My Plate

Blueberry pie with ice cream in St. Andrews by-the-Sea

Chocolate cake with berry sauce and whipped cream in Alma

Lobster with coleslaw and potato salad in Shediac Bay

Lobster Cooking Recipe

I got a Lobster Cooking recipe from Ron and Denise, owners of Shediac Bay Cruises. The traditional way of cooking lobsters is to boil them. Here’s the recipe:

Part 1 – Boiling

In a large pot, measure enough water to cover all the lobsters you are cooking.
Bring the water to boil.
Add about 1/2 cup (118 ml) of salt for each gallon of water used.
Place lobsters in boiling water. (Best to remove bands from claws. It can leave a rubber taste in meat. Use extra precaution handling lobsters.)
Wait for water to start boiling again before you time.

Part 2 – Boil times:

1/2 lb or .227 kg lobsters – 12-15 min.
1-2 lb or .454-.907 kg lobsters – 15-20 min.
2-4 lb or .907-1.814 kg lobsters – 20-25 min.
4-8 lb or 1.814-3.629 kg lobsters – 25-30 min.
8 lb and over or 3.629 kg+ lobsters – 4 min./ pound

Note: Freshly molted lobsters (Soft shells) boil 2-3 min. less.

Part 3 – Fringing

Once the lobsters are done boiling, plunge them in cold water. Same salt content as the cooking. It will do two things: “Fringe” the meat from the shell and allow for a juicier lobster, making it easier to shell the meat out. (Add ice cubes in the water. You want to go from hot to cold as fast as possible, for a good “Fringe”.)
Leave them in the cold water for about 10 min.
Once out of the cold water, keep lobster on their back, belly-up, this will preserve the juices in the lobster much longer.
Cooked lobsters will preserve in the fridge for at least 3 days after.
The whole process goes a lot better when using a strainer to go from Boiling, Fringing and Serving!

Part 4 – Serving

Enjoy a “freshly” cooked lobster served cold. You can’t get a better lobster. Avoid the garlic butter and lemon juice, you are just camouflaging the taste.

*****

Eating out while on vacation is definitely a treat as I rarely eat out when I’m at home. Monday October 10th is Canadian Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to enjoying a family gathering and homemade meal. Happy weekend, everyone!

Shared with Donna and Deb‘s #WhatsOnYourPlate.