The cheeky one

This past week was a typical week in March in some ways. We started the week without snow on the ground or ice in the bay. Snow soon made an appearance again though and by Monday morning, everything was snow covered. Since then, the snow has disappeared and reappeared again, though not lasting long. 

Ice has not returned to the bay in the absence of a strong on-shore wind. We did have fog most days although it is not so common here in spite of our maritime location. March, the cheeky one,  plays with our desire for an early spring.

My husband and I had an interesting experience last week regarding our car keys. It started out as many days do. We headed to the store then he dropped me back home before he made another stop. On his return, we planned a walk on the boardwalk.

As I went in the house, the car started some kind of alarm. There are so many alarms on the vehicle, we find it hard to keep them straight. My husband ignored the alarm and went on his way. Mistake!

I was inside putting items away when the phone rang. My husband was stuck at the business without a key to start the car. I’d had my keys on me when he started the car at home but had taken them in the house. He was in the car which was still running, without keys, hence the alarm which he ignored. Then later, when he turned the car off before exiting, he couldn’t start it again.

I left home and walked in his direction with his keys and he walked towards me from his position. We met in the middle. Thankfully he was only about four kilometres away. We missed our usual walk that day. Lesson learned.

Oh for the simpler days when a key had to go in the ignition to start a vehicle!

That vehicle, a plug-in hybrid, was bought new in January 2024. We have used one full tank of gas and part of another on ten thousand kilometres of driving. Our hydro bill has increased but less than the cost of the gas we would have used. Now if we could only get all the alarms figured out!

Meanwhile, one day last week, someone left cracked corn along the bridge railing on the boardwalk. The Blue Jays 

and Red Squirrels enjoyed it immensely.

No alarms involved.

 

Perfect!

Synchronicity

It was a mild, late winter day, three days before the Vernal Equinox, when day and night are equal. Ice in Bedeque Bay was turning slushy. Carl Sandburg’s poem came to mind as we watched fog creep onto the shoreline on “little cat feet.” Sea and sky blended into one as the ice covered bay and fog greeted the morning light.

In the salt marsh ducks paired up, 

male and female partners enjoying each other’s company with spring in the air. They make handsome couples.

As I walked along the boardwalk, I was taken with the beauty of the deciduous trees. As the juices start flowing again with imminent spring, long winter sleep is over. Buds will start to grow as the days lengthen and by late May, leaves will appear. There is promise in this scene!

As the week progresses, the ice in the bay disappears significantly. 

By the equinox, the cloud cover is mirrored in a thin layer of ice. Summerside is open for spring.

By Sunday, the bay is free of ice after wind, rain and warmer temperatures. Sea and sky are one.

Song Sparrows are singing along the boardwalk once again 

and the two which nest in our hedge are serenading us in the mornings now. Robins watch everything as they tip their heads to see food and/or predators. 

The calendar and the nature are synchronized. Spring has arrived!

This was the scene at the end of March in 2019. Our granddaughters were riding along the boardwalk by Bedeque Bay which was ice and snow covered. Ice is disappearing earlier in more recent years. It is concerning since ice prevents erosion in the winter months.

Will there be an island for the girls to call home when they are older? It is a worry among the many of this time in history.

Spring on the horizon

The snow is melting and the temperature was above zero for a few days this past week. Even though the wind has been high, it feels like spring and we have a spring in our steps. My husband and I hope to have our first picnic later this month. 

The ice in the Northumberland Strait has broken up and in places blue water is a welcome sight after a winter of white.

The ice in Bedeque Bay is breaking up slowly. We need a strong northerly wind to take the ice out into the Strait. 

The ice conditions prompted public warnings to stay off the ice surrounding the island. However, this fat bike rider had everyone who saw him nervous and prepared to call 911 if he broke through the ice yesterday.

A male Downey Woodpecker caught my attention over several days last week. The splash of red adds to the beauty of the industrious little bird.

One day last week, we walked the boardwalk after a visit to the head of the bay and the mouth of the Wilmot River. There, pans of ice came into the river with the tide as the ice broke up in the head of the bay. 

Canada Geese which flew south last fall have returned although some stay around the island all year now. The honkers are a welcome sight and sound overhead again. They herald the start of spring every year.

Also at the head of the bay, American Wigeons, not usual residents of the area, float through the open water, enjoying the sun.

Black Ducks, which may be some of the part time residents of the salt marsh further along the coastline, look at home here near the river too.

Nature continues to provide solace and joy in these troubled times.

Encounter

The first week of March provided the usual conditions for this time of year. It felt like spring for a few days, then winter returned. Wind kept us home one day and I didn’t take my camera for two days due to falling snow, using my cell phone for photos instead.

The stream through the salt marsh was flowing again at the beginning of last week. Then the weather turned cold, the stream iced over and the flock of ducks disappeared again. The blue colour of the stream was remarkable that day.

A day later, it was mild again and the ducks were back. Fog in the bay added another element to the usual scene from the bridge.

Ducks were busy the rest of the week, flying around the marsh or chasing others in the stream. The male and female Mallards put on a show as we watched another day.

Along the walkway, I always stop in this area which has a lot of animal activity if it isn’t particularly windy. 

A favourite of the Red Squirrels 

and Bluejays, 

the feeder is filled regularly by walkers to the area.

A favourite photo of the week was a chance photo of a Downy Woodpecker diving from one tree to another in that area.

Meanwhile, on a calm day, the resident Mourning Doves gathered in a tree overlooking the bridge.

Another day, it looked like an American Crow in the foreground and a Common Raven beside it on the bridge railing eating seed. More expert birders can correct me if I’m wrong.

Sometimes the best stories are of the non-photo events. Yesterday, it was snowing again and I left my camera home, relying on my cell phone for photos instead. As I stood in the area near the feeder for my usual few minutes there, I was buzzed by Black-capped Chickadees. The tiny birds expect food from walkers who stop. I didn’t have food with me but they didn’t give up. I could hear their wings all around my head. 

As I held up the cell phone to take a photo, one of the birds landed on the top of my phone at eye level. No photos of course. Such an incredible experience looking into the face of that tiny creature about 30 centimetres away. 

The little bird stayed for mere seconds but I was happy not to have reacted negatively and scared it off. 

It was a memorable encounter and one I will talk about for some time.

Is it spring?

The weather has been milder this past week and our usual walking area shows it. This was the scene of the stream through the salt marsh on February 23rd.

This was the area yesterday. 

The ducks, gone since the stream froze, are back and the water is visible again.

The avians walk the salt marsh and swim in the water as the ice melts. Ducks and crows leave footprints in the snow. What do you suppose created the long impression center left in this photo?

At the mouth of the stream, the ice on the bay is beginning to melt. The ice doesn’t look solid any more. Soon it will break up and wind will take it into the Northumberland Strait.

A Downy Woodpecker had its feathers fluffed against the cold one day last week as it drilled into trees along the walkway.

A Mourning Dove was nestled into a cozy position one day, also with its feathers fluffed against the high winds.

We were fortunate to see a Ruffed Grouse again, which eats at the base of a feeder near the end of the boardwalk. It approached us as we stood quietly watching it.

Recently I read of a study at the University of Utah which found that people who spent time in nature showed improvement in their ability to focus on a task. I believe time in nature helps me deal with everyday life in a troubled world.

Meanwhile, in response to the tariffs proposed by the American president on Canadian goods entering the U.S., my husband and I avoided buying U.S. products last week. When we shop in the morning, most shoppers are seniors like us. We had numerous conversations with other seniors about our shared desire to buy Canadian. We also avoided U.S. stores/businesses this past Friday.

Store employees here are seeing the result too. At one store I checked the spinach to see if any was not a U.S. product. A clerk who was stocking the cooler told me all the spinach and lettuce are from the U.S. but people aren’t buying it. Neither did I.

At another store, the cauliflower and broccoli were U.S. products but they were going bad and needed to be removed from the cooler. I hate to see food wasted but sometimes greater principles take precedence.

Finally this week, I am thinking of Ukraine which has endured three years of war at the hands of Putin’s Russia. Ukraine’s leader, Zelenskyy, is a man of great courage and leadership. He is an inspiration to his people. 

May Ukraine prevail!

 

Bear with me

It has been an extremely cold winter and the high winds haven’t helped. This coming week, temperatures will be near normal or above which will be a great respite from the bitter cold of the last few months. Despite the cold however, we are drawn to the stark beauty of the boardwalk.

There is an area along the boardwalk which the birds and squirrels love. They forage for seeds there, under the trees alongside the walkway. On days when the wind is calmer the place comes alive with the animals. The last day we were there, three squirrels chased each other around as numerous Bluejays made their presence known. 

One had mastered the chattering sound of a squirrel which it repeated as it flew among the trees.

Sparrows are common there too. Tree Sparrows hop around 

and Song Sparrows, which fill the boardwalk with song in the spring and summer, are quiet this time of year. 

If you stop along the bridge, you can expect Black-capped Chickadees to come around. They have flown around me as I’ve attempted to photograph them. My husband likens them to mosquitos. 

On our recent visit to Cape Egmont, 

we passed an old house with something in an upper window on the side facing the road. I didn’t know what was in that window since we drove by so quickly but we decided to go back that way to see it.

The front of the house doesn’t give any indication of the resident visible on the side. 

Someone added a bear to one of the upstairs window. 

Despite the condition of the house, we smiled when we saw the bear and wondered about the old house. The old place has a new life.

The last few days of February are upon us. Spring is on its way.

Have a great week!