Drumlins

The fog fell fast on a late summer afternoon in southern Nova Scotia. From our ocean-side rental home we walked down a dirt ramp to the freshly uncovered beach as the 2 meter tide ebbed at low. Without the fog, a wide arching shoreline could be seen ending at a point 2 kilometers to the west. As the visibility shortened to 50 meters or so and we continued to walk. Looking shoreward the low cliffs grew higher and deeper.

Drumlins

Drumlins are round, elongated hills formed by the movement of glaciers. They contain mostly clay and boulders. This part of Nova Scotia is rich with them. Many have been cleared for farming. Just as many have forests on them. This afternoon we weren’t seeing the tops of drumlins, but cross sections.

With little wind, the only sound was the perfectly round stones clunking into each other as the light surf landed on shore. We were completely alone, and in the veil of the thick fog. Every 50 meters or so we walked a new peak would jut upward; a vertical collection of triangles above orbs of stone. Occasionally an erosion-felled pine would interrupt the cliffs. This was a reminder that these peaks are always changing.

In six hours this entire landscape would be inaccessible by land.