My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[Maggi Young]

Oh, great..... on a mantlepiece?  Brackets over doorway? 

[ranunculus]

It'll find it's plaice! 

[Kristl Walek]

I've been wanting to visit Brier Island since my arrival; because of it's natural beauty, it's reputation for whale watching and birding and, more specifically, to try to find Primula laurentiana and the tiny, relatively unknown bog-dweller, Betula michauxii. I had only seen the Primula once before in the wild, growing on wet cliffs along the St. Lawrence in the Gaspe region of Quebec.

I started off early yesterday, in dense fog, hoping that would change as the day wore on.

Brier Island is the last ferry ride along a long, narrow peninsula called "Digby Neck" which runs parallel to the south-west shore of Nova Scotia, near where I live. The town of Digby ("Scallop Capitol Of The World")  is about 30km from Annapolis Royal.

On my drive along Digby Neck to the first (of two) ferries I pulled into a dirt road advertising " ocean front lots for sale" to do a quick snoop. At the margins of the road, Aster umbellatus towered to incredible heights--some over my head-- the ubiqitous Aster divaricatus (the wood aster) intermingled.

Just a few steps inside the forest I found the woodland floor carpeted with Coptis groenlandica and Linnaea borealis (some still in flower), and Cornus canadensis in fruit.

Continuing, I drove to the first ferry and stopped behind a line of traffic already waiting in the fog.

[Kristl Walek]

The ferry pricing system on Digby Neck works one-way.
$5.00 per ferry; free for the return.

Fog totally obliterated my view on the road to the second ferry, which brought me to Brier Island (the most westerly point of Nova Scotia).

It is a tiny island, measuring 7.5km long and 2.5km wide, with a shoreline of approximately 25km and is composed of basalt. Portions of it have been designated as a "Nature Preserve" by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

I headed immediately to the basalt cliffs along the shore.

[fleurbleue]

Thank you very much for the journey  I can't hardly wait for the rest 

[Kristl Walek]

The cliffs near the ocean were drifts of Myrica pensylvanica and Rosa virginiana; compressed clones of both Juniperus horizontalis and communis, colonies of Spiraea alba latifolia.

At ground level, Vaccinium vitis idaea, Empetrum nigrum, Vaccinium macrocarpon begining to redden its berries.

[Kristl Walek]

Potentilla tridentata was largely in fruit, but a few scattered flowers were still to be seen, as was the case with Campanula rotundifolia.

Plantago maritima (seaside plantain) covered the cliffs, and in lower wet spots, I searched for Mertensia maritima, but found instead Lathyrus maritimus.

Here too, to my delight, I found the beautiful Iris setosa canadensis, last seen on the cliffs in the Gaspe. Most plants were under 4" and from the look of the seed pods, had wonderful flowering; which I must come back to see next year. Later in the day I again saw them in unbelievable abundance on high cliffs in another location on the island.

Iris versicolor was also present in low, wet spots.

The goldenrods are a nightmare to identify, at best, and I was excited to meet a number of unknown species here (always a delight). On first blush, I thought that this abundant and small solidago was S. sempervirens (the seaside goldenrod), but the inflorescence and height were wrong, among other characteristics.

I eventually decided on S. puberula, which seemed fairly correct on most counts.

[Kristl Walek]

Another new and small Solidago I met here was easier to identify: S. bicolor, also known as "Silver Rod" or "White Goldenrod". Quite a cute, tiny thing.

I also ran into the better known Euthamia (Solidago) graminifolia.

Aster novi belgii, which I did not know in the wild in Ontario was here are well; as was Rhodiola rosea which quite excited me to see on the cliffs, where I continued to search for Primula laurentiana.

This I did find EVENTUALLY, but it certainly took a "seedy eye" to find it. The tiny plants were buried in vegetation on cliffs quite trodden with whale watchers. It was only when I finally spotted a few seed receptacles still upright that I knew I was in the right spot. I even found a few tiny seedlings in between rocks. Next year for flowering!!!!

Brier Island has large populations of Rosa rugosa naturalized everywhere. One stretch of shoreline I visited was a mass of them as far as the eye could see. I was not sure if it was just my imagination, given that the hips *are* very large. However, these seemed to be the largest fruits I have ever seen, which have been described elsewhere as being "the size of cherry tomatoes".

[Kristl Walek]

My quest to find the rare Betula michauxii did not meet with success, likely because of too much cowardice on my part to venture into the bogs on my own. My experience of falling into that bog hole in Ontario last year is still too fresh in my mind. Will have to find a "bog partner" to accompany me next time I come.

You would have wondered seeing me standing by the side of the road, staring into the boggy space, doing deep breating, trying to get up my nerve; which of course failed me, in the end.

Across the space, however, I did see Myrica gale, Potentilla fruticosa, Rhododendron canadense, plenty of Sarracenia purpurea and other treasures I would have preferred to get close and personal with.

By this time, the fog had cleared entirely---turning into a beautiful, clear, coolish day when I did nothing more than eat a late lunch on the cliffs, stare into space and watch the waves break and head back to town to catch the first ferry home.

[fleurbleue]

What a good trip for you and us 
Thanks Kristl  for your pics

[ranunculus]

Exciting images Kristl ... many thanks.

[Kristl Walek]

Thank you, Nicole and Cliff. This was a particularly pleasurable trip---a beautiful spot, fun to get to, easy physically (compared to so many difficult areas I have had to hike into in the past) and fresh plants to find (always the best part about being in a new botanical environment).

The only thing that always saddens me on these solitary trips is not to have a partner to share the adventures with---and this is what makes sharing them with the members here a very personal and important part of my own experience.

[fleurbleue]

Looking at your pics I was dreaming sharing this walk with you  It's so exciting to discover new areas and new plants 
Cheers Kristl

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful pix Kristl !!
Another very interesting area ! Makes quite a difference to what you showed us before... 
Thanks a lot for taking us on your first outing ! 

[Kristl Walek]

A non-botanical aside.

To my dismay, the cost of consumer goods is significantly higher in Nova Scotia than Ontario. And in particular, one must expend significant energy and time to procure good quality, affordable food.

While the proportion of small farms and "back-to-the-land" folks is much higher in this area of Nova Scotia than back in rural Ontario; it has taken me a month to find eggs worthy of consumption. .

"Back Home" I lived next door to an egg farm--one that had fresh eggs daily--I would buy them by the flat (2 1/2 dozen) for $5.25, and they were of outstanding quality. Great tasting, bright orange,  plump, non-collapsed yolks. You could pick them up anytime, except Sunday, and payment was on an honour system--with money put into a box. I was spoiled.

I presently have 3 dozen eggs in my fridge. 2 of them barely deserve the name "egg" and were not a bargain to begin with. The last is interesting. Had I not been desperate, I would never have considered paying $5.00 for a dozen eggs ($4.75 for the eggs, $.25 for the carton deposit).

And if you think the colour profile on your computer is deceiving, the eggs are in fact 4 colors, the normal brown, a beige-brown, yellow, AND GREEN.

I had my first 2 for breakfast this morning---and I felt like I was back in Ontario.
And the taste might have been even better than the Ontario eggs.

I also thought you would find the egg carton as amusing as I do.