Mist and fog are part of life in Nova Scotia. They soften the corners and edges of things or reduce visibility to the extent that things disappear altogether. What lingers beyond the limits of our vision is distorted and enhanced by our imagination.
Let us go in, the fog is rising.
~ Emily Dickinson
Mist is usually lower to the ground while fog is higher and denser. Along the shore, their effects are compounded with sea spray. Even when it’s not raining, you can get soaked just by walking through these ground-level clouds.
It’s not unusual to see clouds run down the road. Mist moves. Like everything else in nature, it’s dynamic and full of surprises. Often, blue skies and sunshine lie in wait behind the fog. Sometimes it reveals that which is otherwise overlooked. Here the mist betrays the outlines of spider webs on spruce trees.
Like the darkness, fog provides a cover for predators. A Bald Eagle looks over the salt marsh from the top of a tree. Is its hunting ability impaired or enhanced by the fog? Perhaps a little of both.
Mist is also a veil that separates the worlds of man and faerie. It is mystery and magic itself. Its greatest trick is in making us believe that everything is in a fog except us. Because we can see clearly a few feet ahead of us, we surmise that we are alone in our clarity. Yet we are just as much wrapped in fog and mist as everyone and everything else in our surroundings.
