Come down to the sea and take your imagination with you. Never mind the rain and don’t distract yourself with the usual finds of beachcombers: broken lobster traps, lone sandals, bottles, cans and driftwood. Sometimes the stormy seas bring something far more wondrous to our shores.
Of course, it’s not every day you get to see a mermaid. Such enchanting encounters occur so rarely that it’s difficult to know what to do when you do at last catch sight of one on the shore.
You wouldn’t want to get too close. Only half human, the wild part of their nature would likely make them quite skittish and easy to scare back into the water. It’s best to keep a safe distance for both your sakes. After all, mermaids have been known to lure humans unwittingly into the depths of the sea, never to return again. Even Blackbeard the pirate feared their charms and kept his ship away from waters where they had been sighted.
Mermaids likely visited Nova Scotia’s shores long before Europeans settled here. Thrown off course by strong currents during storms, there’s little record of their short stays on our beaches.
They linger only long enough to re-arrange their hair, untangle the seaweed from their tails and sing a haunting song or two before returning to their homes in the deep.
Though this one’s fingers weren’t webbed and she wasn’t sitting on ‘the mermaid stone’ (perhaps the algae made it too slippery this time of year), she was genuinely enchanting.
When will she return? Mermaid visits are as unpredictable as the weather here in Nova Scotia. One can only hope it will be soon.
Text and photographs copyright Amy-Lynn Bell 2012
For more on mermaids, see Where Mermaids Arrange their Hair and Calling All Mermaids.
Love it! Enchanting!
Thanks Ruth. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Ummmm. I’ll start getting up at 4 am to go walking with you if this is the sort of thing you’re seeing.
Is this the “Secret Beach” ?
What a wonderful, mysterious post.
Sybil, most mornings it’s still pretty dark when I’m out, so many of the photos I take just don’t turn out. However, I do see a lot of interesting things at that time of day.
The secret beach? What secret beach?
What wonderful photos! Makes me homesick for the sea. I live in middle America and haven’t seen an ocean in over 25 years! Thank you for sharing these.
Oldsunbird, so many local people tell me they could never move away from the ocean. Its presence can certainly change the quality of one’s life. The sea has a mystery to it that is pretty wonderful. However, I’m sure the trees where you live now grow much taller and larger than the ones here. Nature has something special to offer in each locale.
Very creative post!
Thanks Judy 🙂
What a surprise! Love her bracelet!
A surprise indeed Patti. Yes that bracelet IS lovely. [It was made by my 6 year old grandson]
Such a delightful piece of whimsy! Thank you.
Eva, we all need a bit of whimsy now and then to put some sparkle into our days. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This is fabulous, Amy-Lynn! My heart is beating wildly, loving that there are such things as magical mermaids in the world. Thank you for sharing your sighting. I sincerely hope she doesn’t turn YOU into a mermaid. Please don’t forsake Nova Scotia for the sea.
Kathy, as long as you and I believe these things can exist then they will always be there waiting for us to discover around the next corner. Don’t worry, I like the woods far too much to ever become a mermaid.
Delightful, Amy-Lynn, truly wonderful. How I love your wild, rocky shores. I don’t for a moment doubt you were lucky enough to ‘catch’ a mermaid.
Cindy, Nova Scotia has both rocky and sandy shores, sometimes on the same beach. I hope everyone who encounters a mermaid practices the catch and release method of fishing 😉
Beautiful story and pictures ! Thanks for sharing those dreamy images and bringing some poetry in my day 🙂
Isa, those images do look like scenes from a dream. Stormy seas can have that quality about them. I certainly enjoyed sharing them with you.
What a mythic shoreline–perfect place for a mermaid.
Alice, that is just what I thought. It has a jagged ruggedness about it that’s similar to the gnarly roots found in depictions of fairy tale forests.
And here I thought mermaids were in Florida. Time to set a new course!
Scott, they probably spend their winters in Florida, like so many other Canadian snow birds.
Now, why didn’t I think of that? Good point!
Can’t help but think of the song “Ocean Gypsy” by Renaissance:
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858649615/
Catharas, that is quite the song. It’s so hauntingly sad. Thanks for providing the link. I’d never heard of it before.
Yeh, really not sure what it’s about, but it always grabs me…the music is such a match to the lyrics! Listen to it some time if you haven’t.
Indeed very mysterious, a lovely mystery…
Giiid, all mysteries are lovely and such a necessary part of life. I’m very much looking forward to eventually seeing the statue of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid featured on your ‘My Daily Denmark’ 🙂
Good idea! I was actually thinking of it when I saw your mermaid photos. I´ll post what I have as my next subject. You will probably be surprised to see how little she is. 🙂
Giiid, I was surprised to learn that next year is the 100th anniversary of the unveiling of this statue. It may be small, but to so many people, it’s a big part of their visualization of Denmark. I’ll certainly enjoy reading your upcoming post 🙂
What a lovely, enchanting story, Amy-Lynn. I have never seen a mermaid before – but surely, this must be the real thing. 😉
Reggie, I’m certain they must visit South Africa as well. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you eventually have an encounter with one.
Has the mermaid returned? Or was it only a chance sighting?
Kathy, I haven’t seen her since, though she has sent me a couple of emails from her home in Newfoundland, north east of Nova Scotia;)
Wow!! Great job Amy!!
Now, I am gonna really come there and persuade her to stay back on shore…and no, not for her precious tears 🙂
Thanks swaps. I don’t think I’ve ever found any mermaids’ tears on that beach (small bits of sea glass). Maybe it’s a place for happy mermaids. Hopefully this one was happy enough on her visit to return one day.
What a great post. The only Mermaid I have seen in Copenhagen. 🙂
Thank you Sartenada. I’m glad you enjoyed it. This mermaid was much larger than the one in Copenhagen, but a mermaid of any size on the shore is always a delightful find.