Skywatch Friday on Saturday: Mighty Cape Split

Photo courtesy of NS Tourism

The countdown is on for Manuscript Filing Day, and I'm happy to report that things are well in hand. Except for other parts of life unrelated to book, such as blogging/blog reading, garden upkeep, making meals, etc. But just to let you know that all is well here, to participate in Skywatch Friday (even on Saturday) and to give you something to think about, this is an aerial shot I found in some old backup discs when I was looking for something else. This and several other photos were provided to me for use in a story I wrote years ago, and they are the best possible way to explain the mighty tide that races up through our neck of the woods. I know I wrote about this a while back, but beg your forbearance as I do so again.

That long promontory of land you see snaking away into the distance and curving off to the right of the photo is the end of the North Mountain, most specifically the Cape Split/Blomidon peninsula; the community of Scotts Bay is in the bowl of land surrounded by water in the upper righthand corner of the picture. In the foreground are the sea stacks of Cape Split, a very famous and welltravelled hiking trail. The trail terminus, I hasten to add, is on the grassy green field on the main part of the peninsula, NOT on those outer stacks where the tide is racing.

Because yes, that is the tidal pull of the upper Bay of Fundy, screaming around the end of Cape Split in a rip tide that is astonishing, humbling, beautiful and dangerous. This happens several times daily, as the tide rises and falls, creating that 'Voice of the Moon' I described for you before.

Before I leave you to return to editing, we go from the sublime to the ridiculous. I have written in the past of my dislike of petunias, although I acknowledged that Proven Winners 'Pretty Much Picasso' is very cool. It didn't do well for me last year, and I put that down to it not being a fan of the wind, fog, and other meteorological marvels we get up here on this hill overlooking the Bay and the Split. Well, didn't Proven Winners send me another bunch of 'Pretty Much Picasso' with the trial plants this spring! I had a thought, and put several of them in a planter on the greenhouse door, along with another green wonder, 'Avalon Lime' nicotiana. In really rude weather, I just shut the door, protecting the plants, but otherwise, the door is hooked open and they can bask in the sun when we have some. They're doing very well. AnnaFlowerGirl is laughing in "I told you so" glee. I can hear her from here. I'm not a petunia fan, though. Just like this one. Really.