Mills Falls, Mersy River, Kejimujik National Park
Flowing Water
Late last week, Norma and I went to Keji Park, a day or so after a rather large rainstorm. We walked in to one of my favourite spots along the Mersey River which cuts through the Park – Mills Falls. It is a short walk to get to the falls, but then one can meander for quite a distance up and down the banks of the river.
The falls this time were breathtaking – the rapid water running white with foam, and yet still with that hint of peat bog brown that makes some describe our water in Southwest Nova Scotia as “tea-stained”. The river rushing past over the large boulders is an impressive sight, and one can’t help but be entranced by the motion and sound.
Wild rivers like the Mersey are so special as they serve as home to a myriad of wildlife both aquatic and simply water loving. Ducks, geese and other waterfowl follow the river just as the Indigenous folks used to on their route to the interior of the Province. Paddling on this day would have been exciting, but it was also only just above freezing, so it would have been cold!
But the rivers in our end of the Province are changing. On the Park Office door, closed because of the pandemic, there was a new sign. It told of the invasive species of fish the Park wants both reported and not returned to the water if seen. The Chain Pickerel has made it all the way up to the Park, and so the invasion of almost the entire southwestern end of the Province is complete. They will limit the trout and other cold water native fish, that already have enough issues to deal with given the climate change and warming waters.
I hope we can get a handle on the invasive fishes. I love the brook trout and the places they inhabit.
It’s something special – something worth preserving.
