Brier Island

In 1990, Heather enrolled in the graduate program in Botany at the University of Guelph. Her field of study was Agalinis neoscotica, a diminutive plant growing in Nova Scotia (see blog post Biogeography). One of the sites was Brier Island.

On Sunday, we checked our records. It should be in flower, in early August. Up early, we drove down Digby Neck and took two ferries to Westport, Brier Island. It is a different world to the Annapolis Valley, shrouded in early morning fog and cooler temperatures from the Bay of Fundy.

The first stop was Brier Island Lodge. We needed to pick up a map to negotiate the backroads and trails on the island. It has been thirty years, and we needed help remembering the site locations.

We found Big Meadow Bog, a restoration project supported by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Afterwards, we took Gull Lake Road to Big Pond, and also the road to Western Light. In both locations, we found Agalinis neoscotica in flower.

We left early, around 7:30 am and we were back home by 3:30 pm. between we had taken two ferries, each way. One surprise, the ferries are free!

If you want to step into a different world, go to Brier Island. At the same time enjoy the story of Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail alone around the world. He has roots in both Mount Hanley and Westport (see blog post Joining the Dots).

Acknowledgements

Heather and I were stunned by the changes to Brier Island, over the last thirty years. Fortunately, the flora has not changed. All photographs are by Heather. Edward added the graphics.

References
Heather Stewart, 1993, Reproductive Biology and Developmental Morphology of Agalinis Neoscotica (Scrophulariaceae), University of Guelph, Department of Botany.

Postscript

How many plants in Nova Scotia, have a species epithet neoscotica?
This is Heather’s story to tell. She is the true author of this blog.