Bay of Fundy

I am fascinated by rocks. Their shape, size, colour, pattern, all give me a great feeling of amazement. The granitic tors on Ben Avon in Scotland inspired me to paint their unique shapes.

So, when I read about sea caves at Cheverie, Hants County, we headed there yesterday, to take a look. It was dull, no bright sunshine to brighten any photos. The tide was well out on the Bay of Fundy, but as we left the car, a north wind hit us. It was so cold at Johnson Cove, that we thought we might freeze to death before we reached the caves, so we returned to the car and drove a little further to Mutton Cove.

The beach here was sheltered fom the north, so we walked back towards Johnson cove. Despite it now snowing, I forgot about the cold as I caught sight of the rock faces.

Horizontal bands of white and pink set above layers of breaking shale.

Vertical columns pushed up from the horizontal. Folded, twisted, blacks and reds. Some sitting adrift on the beach floor and rock stacks, that have split off from the land but still have a growth of trees on the top.

And around the corner, the north wind did blow, and white horses raced on a chocolate sea.

So, we retreated to the car for our picnic!

Aspotogan Peninsula, Nova Scotia

When we first moved to Canada, we rented a house on the Aspotogan Peninsula.

The Aspotogan Peninsula is the piece of land that separates Mahone Bay from St. Margaret’s Bay. The coast is dotted with fishing communities.

We particularly enjoy the rugged coastline here near Northwest Cove.

It is not too far from Peggy’s Cove and so the geology is the same. Large granitic boulders were deposited here after the Ice Age, leaving an area of rugged beauty.

We always have the coastline to ourselves –  this is our favourite picnic spot.

The first time we saw this building we were confused. Here was this massive Hotel complex in the middle of nowhere which had never been completed.

It seems that it was built as a Sea Spa in 1993.

The plan was ‘to have spa treatments focusing on seawater and a wide range of massage therapies, skin cleansing and spa-related health services, complemented by world-class hotel accommodations and cuisine.’

This is the link to the location on Google Maps

http://maps.google.ca/maps?ll=44.510592,-64.013729&spn=0.004598,0.011362&t=h&z=17&lci=com.panoramio.all

‘131 guest suites would face the ocean, with large windows overlooking the wave-battered rocks, the tidal pools or the islands of Mahone Bay.

The plans  also included a spacious dining room and convention facilities in addition to the saunas, steam rooms, Swiss showers, Vichy treatment rooms, seawater pools, aerobic training rooms, rehabilitation facilities, squash and racquetball courts, and generously laid out common areas.’

The property is still for sale, so if anyone has any ideas for how this massive building can be utilised?

http://www.aspotoganseaspa.com/

Lobster pots bob in the bay.

And lobster boats haul their creels.

It is a perfect spot, where even the road  had to be cut between the erratics.

Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove is the most photographed lighthouse in Canada. It is featured on almost every calendar from Atlantic Canada. It even had a Post Office until 2009, where tourists could have their postcards stamped with a lighthouse.

The lighthouse sits on an extensive granite outcrop at Peggy’s Point, immediately south of the village and its cove. It’s great to walk across the granite outcrop around the lighthouse and look out to the ocean.

If you were to sail due East from here you’d eventually arrive at Spain.

Interesting patterns in the granite look like maps.

I thought the band of quartz  you can see in the photo opposite was snow!

The harbour here is still used by local fishermen, lobsters being the main catch.

Sculptor and painter, William E. deGarthe immigrated to Canada in 1926, from Finland.  He spent summers at Peggy’s Cove, painting marine scenes. In the 1970’s he began a  monument to Nova Scotia’s fishermen, using a granite wall as his canvas. It depicts 32 fishermen, their wives, and children enveloped by the wings of St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors, as well as the legendary Peggy. Unfortunately it was only half finished when he died.

The Lost Gallery, Mahone Bay

Friday night was the gala opening of the new contemporary art gallery, The Lost Gallery, in Mahone Bay. This is the exciting new venture of Lynette and Angus Park.

Lynette and Angus moved to Nova Scotia, from Aberdeen, 2 years ago and have been dreaming of the day when they would open their own gallery. They bought a former bookstore, at 532 Main Street and Angus has spent the past winter renovating the 1850 building into an impressive area to display modern art.

Here Lynette stands with her painting of the famous Mahone Bay churches, which are just opposite the gallery.

(copied from press report)

Lynette paints abstracts and abstract impressionist paintings. Pride of place in the gallery is  an eight foot square canvas, ‘Big W”, Lynette’s reaction to how George W Bush handled hurricane Katrina. It shows people drowning, the Statue of Liberty holding a hamburger, American money, skyscrapers and building plans.

The ‘Big W’ painting.

This painting is entitled ‘The Harbour’

Here is another abstract entitled ‘The Handbag’.

The coastal scenes of Nova Scotia also feature in Lynette’s paintings, from Peggy’s Cove, and Blue Rocks, to Lunenburg.

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Lunenburg Waterfront

As well as Lynette’s paintings, the gallery exhibits 3-dimension work by Angus,  and work by other Nova Scotian artists.

This gallery is a great addition to the South Shore and I wish Lynette and Angus every success in their new venture.