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Hereabouts we have the highest tides and one of the swiftest harbour currents in the world. Ships bringing goods and tourists come in on the flood tide and leave on the ebb tide. Movement of the tides is central to many primary activities here in Saint John. How many times this year have Fluff and I stood back and watched busload after busload of Americans from the cruise ships pull up to our World Famous Reversing Falls at the mouth of the Saint John River where it flows into the harbour and ask , "Where are the falls ?" The poor devils hit there during slack tide , the twenty-minute interval when there is no tidal movement nor difference in water levels at all !!
Yesterday ( 9/11/2009 ) Fluff and I took a drive upriver a ways .... looking for an unsuspecting flock of ducks , etc to shoot..... with a camera that is !! So lo and behold we came upon this sorry lot in above pic about ten miles upstream in Brothers Cove. Mother Nature had pulled their watery carpet literally out from underneath their webby feet leaving them high and dry for six hours or so. Just a few hours earlier these same quackers had been floating about in 8 feet of prime water. Effects of ocean tides in this area are felt as far as 100 miles inland ..... upstream ... from the sea.
And thus it has been with the treacherous , dastardly deed of 9 / 11 / 2001 and its tsunami-effect aftermath reaching the most remote nooks and crannies of the world. We lost our innocence on that fateful and tragic day and shall never again trust the "other guy " in quite the same way as we had before.
That is so interesting about the Tides. When it ebbs and flows does it happen real quick or slow? It sounds scary in a way but I would so love to see it. Does or has anyone ever caught off guard?
ReplyDeleteLove your quackers! I still have two in the backyard and these past four days they have seen their first rain (and lots of it) They were born last April.
Hey there , Cindy Anne... great to see you in such great inquisitive spirits this foggy Sunday morn.... the rate of ebb and flow depends on the contours of the coastline , of course.... in some places it laps its way rather slowly up to high tide level whereas in other lowlying areas it rushes in rather quickly. You could Google up " Tidal Bore " sometime ( and no I am not referring to George W ! .... God bless him... to get a better understanding of what takes place on the Petitcodiac River nearby. Just last week an unfortunate American tourist was drowned in the flood tide.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself I love quackers both in the water as well in the oven..... but fat chance of the latter ever happeneing around here !! LOL Hugs !
That's terrible about someone drowning. Do you keep lots of warning signs up for all to see?
ReplyDeleteIt's a long rugged coastline to patrol , Cindy Anne.... and yes , there is ample info and warnings along highways ..... and he and his wife had ventured quite a ways out and paid no heed to the inevitable change in tide movement. Unfortunate happening !
ReplyDeleteI think we were in Nova Scotia once on a tour and there was supposed to be an instant high tide but it didn't happen while we were there. Maybe the tides didn't like our tour guide? (c;
ReplyDeleteIn any case as a youth I saw similar such tide behavior on the New Jersey shore.
Nova Scotia ? So you have already been in this neck of the woods , Jim ? What is it the old saying tells us.... about time and tide waiting for no man !? They are at noone's beck and call I guess !!
ReplyDeleteFrom a land-locked flicka, it is so interesting to learn of tides, water, etc. Wish I lived near any body of water. Thanks for the interesting post. hugs!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting with the tides. I never experienced it myself. Great photo!
ReplyDeleteWIsh you a wonderful day KRAM