Bitten by the Bug

Hot off the heels of the house of horrors our days were a flurry of activity from property viewings, to exploring the local area and evenings spent sharing dinner and Moonshine with our besties next door. We were fast learning that we had a great deal in common with the Rocks, in fact we strongly suspected them to be our Canadian doppelgängers as far as character, mannerisms and sensibilities are concerned (I am not sure if Jason & Tanya will take that as a compliment or an insult!).

Each day we checked our phones eagerly awaiting a text message from the Rocks asking us what we were up to and if we wanted to go around for dinner, to be honest if they had not invited us, we would have invited ourselves – Yep, we have no shame. We loved their company and loved spending time with them in their amazing home.

Their home which dates to the late 1700’s was once known as the Golden Ball Saloon frequented by Sea Captains, Sailors, ladies of the night, travellers, and the Pony Express back when the Annapolis Basin was a thriving port. You can almost see the history in the rough-hewn beams and original features throughout and if the walls could talk, they would no doubt tell tales of merriment, turbulence, and debauchery (now that would make a delightful story).

We tried to live up to the history of the house with our own merriment and the regaling of tales of our property viewing disasters whilst surreptitiously trying to persuade the Rocks to revert their house name back to the Golden Ball, we even know a good silversmith who could make them a golden ball to hang off a sign or even a pair of golden balls if needed.

Our house hunting, however, was still without success. We viewed damp basements, ramshackle barns, tiny gardens, homes next to main roads and even a home with a doll museum in the barn which was easily the creepiest thing we have seen. None of the properties quite fit the bill, which is until a beautiful property in Bear River came on the market.

Our lovely dog walking friends who we had met at Smith’s Cove and caught up with for the occasional coffee or breakfast let us know that there was a gem of a property which had just come up for sale, it had a large workshop, an acre plot for a garden and the property itself was beautiful inside and out and as soon as we saw the photo’s we booked a viewing. Everything else had paled in comparison to this property, this might well be the one! (Yes, I know I said that before, but I must keep the dream alive).

Nova Scotia was fast putting down roots in our hearts, we were falling in love not only with its rugged and wild beauty but its people. It mattered not where we travelled and explored, every single person we spoke to welcomed us to Nova Scotia took an interest in us and in our story, these were people who genuinely seemed to care.

Each excursion we took involved being near water, whether it was the Annapolis Basin with its history, the Bay of Fundy renowned for the highest tides in the world, sea stacks and caves and diversity of its marine wildlife or the streams, waterfalls and lakes buried within the forests that stretched as far as the eye can see.

We were well and truly bitten by the love bug and it was hard to find a negative about living here although we were sure that they would crop up as time went on and we became established in a home, community and at work. If we were to really dig deep to try and find something at that stage that was slightly off putting then it would be the insects and bugs, because Nova Scotia had those aplenty most of which bite, they were most definitely not love bugs!

We were lucky that we arrived in the winter months when most of them had crawled or flown off to that place where they hide when it is cold (Hell I think), but even the cold could not scare off what is Canadas worst bitey things … ticks. Now those little buggers are enough to give you a serious case of the Heeby jeebies at best and a horrible disease at worst.

The ticks in Canada are next level! Not only do they get everywhere, I mean these little suckers climb to the tops of blades of grass or even on the branches of trees to jump on you like some horrifying eight legged ninja from hell, they roam in packs like the street gangs of the great outdoors but instead of the Crips and Bloods we have the Deer tick (black legged tick which carries Lyme’s disease), Brown Dog tick Lone Star tick and the American Dog tick.

If you speak to any Canadian they will tell you to ensure you check yourself and your pets for ticks in all the seasons, these little vampires latch on without being detected only dropping off once they have had their fill of your life’s blood, leaving the calling card of a nasty bite and if you are unlucky Lyme’s disease which if left unchecked can leave you with serious health complications.

As a newcomer to Nova Scotia, I have to say we did become a little paranoid at first about the tick situation, checking ourselves and Lola religiously like gorillas’ grooming themselves in the jungle, every time we returned to the car after walking anywhere that had trees, grass, or anything green we performed the national dance of Canada!

If it were not for the fact that all Canadians were doing the same thing, we may have been a little bit embarrassed about waving our arms in the air and checking all our bodily nooks and crannies in public, heck if we could have gotten away with stripping down to our undies without being arrested by the Police for indecent exposure to be sure no ticks were present, we would have.

More concerned for Lola with regards to the ticks, (dogs can also catch Lyme’s disease from a tick bite, and it can make them sick if not kill them) we very quickly we got Lola into a great local vet who administered a Lyme’s disease vaccine which lasts for a year and an oral flea, tick, and worm treatment (he also checked out a lump under one of her mammary glands that we were worried about).

With Lola fully treated we armed ourselves to go back out into the wilderness with our tick removal kit, lint roller (apparently great for catching nymphs… baby ticks and not the mythical woodland dwelling creatures) and our home-made tick spray of Eucalyptus, Lemongrass and Citronella oil that left us smelling like a walking herb garden (lucky for us ticks are not Herbivores. 

We were learning to be true Nova Scotia folk, and nothing was going to stop us from exploring the much-revered Canadian great outdoors.