The lighthouse that greets you when you enter Battery Provincial park.

View from my campsite, I was high up on a hill.

I learned a lesson in Nova Scotia. The last day was misty and rainy and we just hung around the campsite watching the changing skies. Suddenly a huge flock of birds ( estimate of about a thousand ) came swirling in towards the coast. They were white with black wing tips and more streamlined than gulls, I thought they might be gannets which the local people confirmed.  The most amazing thing was that they were following schools of fish. From forty feet in the air gannets would plummet straight down into the water with a splash, and more often than not, bob back up with a fish in their mouth. My campsite was on top of a hill. I had a great view of them through my binoculars, you could hear the sounds of their splashing from way up there because there were so many.

Here’s the thing; I became obsessed with trying to get a photograph of the action. I grabbed my camera, jumped in the car and drove down the hill. Of course by the time I got there the flock was gone with only a few stragglers remaining. I could see them winging across the bay so I went back to my site. About an hour later they were back, and of course the same thing happened. This went on all day. In the afternoon I tried a different strategy, I took something to work on and waited by the shore for several hours – nothing. Then I drove to another place I had seen them and waited; it was maddening because I could see the giant flock out in the middle of the bay just bobbing up and down in the waves. I tried using my magic powers to bring the school of fish to me, I’m sure you know how that worked out.  Finally I went back to the campsite and told myself to give up – it just wasn’t going to happen.

That evening I heard a familiar splash, plop. The gannets were back and in perfect view of my campsite. This time I didn’t grab the camera, I got the binoculars and sat and enjoyed the birds for almost fifteen minutes. They were wonderful to watch; the soaring flight so graceful, the sudden dramatic dive was exciting and I swear they looked quite smug when they bobbed up with a fish! I had missed so much when I was chasing them around with a camera.

I have some very beautiful photographs of Nova Scotia but no pictures of gannets. The experience is in my mind and heart though, and you might see them in my art work some day.

I saw this car at Fundy National Park, they followed me to Nova Scotia! They are from New Jersey and very passionate about stopping fracking in their part of the world.

Maya and I took a drive to Cape Breton Highlands.

We took a short hike on top of Smoky Mountain. You can see Maya leading the way.

It smelled wonderful from all the blooming flowers.

Mountain Laurel

Lobster traps waiting….

These are not gannets!

We had a short ferry ride across the channel.

Good bye Nova Scotia, you were beautiful.