This part of New Brunswick has been a friendly place for us so far. The most common question we get–and got back in BC– has been “Why New Brunswick and why here?” “Grandkids” usually suffices as an answer.
The people are helpful and informative.
We have a lot to learn about the history here.
According to the Tourism books we have gotten for free here, there is a lot going on all year round in New Brunswick
People in coastal BC and on Vancouver Island shudder at the cold and snow that happens out here. New Brunswickers have embraced winter, getting right into winter sports of various kinds. Many yards have a grass-bound skidoo or two parked beside the house –or sheltered from the weather in a shed or barn. Ski hills are not very common, but there are a few where the terrain allows it.
One impression that we have gotten from the drive across Canada, is that east of the Rockies, you can see the effect of the aging population, and in some ways, the migration of people to the big cities. So many farms have old, falling-down houses on them. Clearly, the family farms are not being kept much any more. On the prairies, the land is still being used to grow crops, and the cropping often just goes around the ruins. Here in New Brunswick, the land is often abandoned,and allowed to grow over into trees again.
I had the opportunity to be present when New Brunswick’s premier, Shaun Graham, was in St. Stephen, on a campaign tour for the September 27 election. He pointed out that last year, the population decline in the province has been reversed for the first time in a while. 6,000 people more live here now than the year before. Doesn’t sound like many, but over all it’s the equivalent of a community like St. Stephen.
The terrain here is all rolling hills. Lakes and streams abound. The forests have largely been cut over several times since the first settlers arrived in the 1600’s.
The trees growing are very diverse. Birches, aspens, including the quaking aspen, alders, spruces, firs, various types of pine, tamarack (larix) are the most common species. Cottonwoods grow in places, as do the Eastern Red Cedar. Dogwood shrubs grow in the underbrush. We have found Virginia Creeper growing up power poles and creeping over some roads and buildings.
Bunchberry or Cornus canadensis abounds in the Spring on the edges of forests. In the past few years, the roadsides on the highways and country roads have not been mowed regularly. We have been finding that Columbines, Valerian, daisies, Lupines, Black-eyed Susan, even day lilies and many other plants that we out west would have to pay good money to buy, grow wild as roadside weeds. Conversely, apparently, people going “out west” are finding some of their garden plants on the roadsides there. Of course, there are the common ones all across the country, buttercup, dandelion, various clovers for instance.
Many fields, like our blueberry field, have lines of rock walls, with the occasional pile of boulders that were moved, mostly by horseback I would guess, to make them more easily arable. It’s fascinating to follow these rock walls into the trees to see where they lead.
We are going to have to do a fair bit of “weeding” to clear out small trees that have started to take over our blueberry field to begin to make them more productive again. This will be a challenge.
We finally decided to rustle out our passports and drive across the river to Calais (pronounced like Calluss) Maine. We drove down the coast a bit out of town and were able to look back across the water to see “our” part of the world. Interesting sensation. Cross-border viewing at its best!. Then we went touring around town and found Walmart and a place called Marden’s, a large surplus and liquidation store a minute’s drive from the border crossing. Shopping places that everybody raves about, especially since the next Walmarts in Canada are in Fredericton and St. John, one hour and one and a half hours drive, respectively.
The ladies at the Tourism Maine place were also very friendly. They looked like they had had a quiet day and were glad to see someone actually come in. We were immediately able to hear the “Maine” accent which is quite different from the New Brunswick accent.
We weren’t really sure what to expect when driving over. The border agent was polite and firm. She closely scrutinized our passports, and Marie’s driver’s licence. She took some notice that Marie’s hair was longer than it was in the passport photo. After a couple more questions, she allowed us to pass. The American border agents all look quite intimidating with their large, deadly-looking side-arms that they carry in a holster in plain view on their belts. No messing around there!! On the way back, the Canadian agent simply asked us how much we had spent–around $20.00 plus lunch, at MacDonald’s. no less!–then sent us on our way.
The other day, Marie and I were shopping in the Atlantic Superstore, when a woman stopped us and exclaimed that she had just been discussing “that cookie” called Nanaimo Bar and then she saw me wearing my City of Nanaimo shirt. She had seen Bird’s Custard Powder in the store, and had remarked that this custard was one of the ingredients in the Nanaimo Bar. She hadn’t seen the powder in Maine,where she lived, for years, and then here we were.. what a coincidence! We had a nice chat in the aisle of the store, then parted ways.
Ohh and did I mention the fireflies? This is pretty magical., hundreds of little lights blinking on and off, starting at dusk and going through till the middle of the night. Our cameras aren’t sensitive enough to record videos of any but the very brightest of the flashes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly
