Summer heat

On the way to the beach at Belmont Park with the golden grand-dog, we pass Clarks Creek which runs through a cattle pasture. 

Where the creek crosses the road, a shady area is frequented by the cattle. On this particular hot and humid day, the cattle were in the same area on our way home from the beach several hours later.

Several farms in the area have horses as well.

A recent news story on the Prince Edward Island tells of the tails of horses being cut off overnight by thieves while the horses were in a field near a farmer’s barn. Luckily, these two escaped that fate. Such a theft is difficult to understand.

Around 5 a.m. one morning, my husband looked out to see this visitor in our neighbour’s garden at the back of our garden. 

We will have to be careful when the golden grand-dog visits again for a two weeks soon. 

During one of our walks along the boardwalk this past week we saw a Garter Snake along the way. As we watched, it must have sensed us there and headed into the weed and stayed there.

Did it feel hidden like that though its back part was exposed? We can only wonder…

A momma Black Duck is in the stream by the boardwalk with three ducklings these days.

We didn’t see the ducklings when they were smaller this year, until now. Maybe she had them out and about later in the day than we’ve been walking recently.

The area’s Great Blue Heron is back in the marsh again, 

though content to stand silently among the grasses on Sunday morning.

We saw our first Yellowlegs for this year as well. It was well camouflaged among the seaweeds.

Also this week, as we walked to the car from the boardwalk, I spotted this newborn. It was about 30 mm or 1 1/4 inches in length. From what we can determine, it was possibly a newborn mouse. 

It probably was taken from its nest by an opportunistic predator and dropped on the sidewalk. I hope at least momma mouse survived.

Finally, the succession of wildflowers continues this summer and with the rain and heat we’ve had, the blooms are thriving. I especially love the scenes of flowers with the sea behind them.

However, a field of blooms is pretty special too.

July beauty

The golden grand-dog stayed over last week and my husband and I took her to beaches for morning walks before the worst of the heat and humidity. It has been hot, humid and wet from bouts of rain between beautiful sunny periods. Farmers are loving it.

On the beach, 

Daisy, the golden retriever is in her element. 

Toss a ball in the water and that dog will return it endlessly. 

We always tire before she does. 

Driving through the countryside this time of year, one is struck by the bounty of food growing in the fields. Already the potatoes are in blossom, 

much earlier than I remember on my grandfather’s farm when I was a child.

Fields of grain are waving in the breeze. 

Yellow blossoms of canola and mustard spread across the countryside and make us smile.

Another day along the boardwalk, we noticed the raindrops cling to the vegetation after the rain stopped briefly. 

The drops are reluctant to leave too.

On the home front, a family of four foxes lives in our neighbourhood. When the young ones were finally out and about, we often see them near our house. I especially love this photo showing but two tails of the young ones and the red and black foxes which were more completely visible. 

The black variation of the red fox is commonly known as a silver fox.

July has much to offer which the rest of the year cannot quite match.

Early July on the island

Every summer we hope to spend a day with our daughter and grandchildren at Canoe Cove. It isn’t always an easy day to plan because of the month of vacation out of the province the family has every year. Then dance camps fit around those plans. Besides, you have to plan a Canoe Cove visit around the tide schedule.

The Cove is an indentation in the coastline along the south shore of Prince Edward island on the Northumberland Strait. We arrived just after high tide and in time for a picnic lunch in the park. By the time we’d finished lunch and the youngest two had enjoyed the playground, patches of sand were appearing in the Cove from the falling tide. A small flock of Great Blue Herons had settled into the inner part of the Cove below the fields.

The girls and I watched Cabbage White Butterflies as they flitted from flower to flower along the perimeter of the park. I took numerous photos and eventually managed this one which shows an eye and its proboscis, a straw-like tube which a butterfly uses to extract nectar from blossoms.

We established ourselves on the sand and before long the falling tide exposed sand patches and tidal pools around the cove. 

Off shore, one could walk out a great distance and still be knee deep in the water.

While the others enjoyed the water, I followed the shoreline to where I had previously seen Bank Swallows. Before long, I came upon the bank area where part of the flock is nesting this year. 

I watched silently from a distance as bird after bird entered and exited the holes. I captured several with the camera and while they aren’t great shots, I was pleased to have any photo of these great birds.

Daisy, the golden grand-dog was with us on the beach and she loves time in the water. 

The water in Canoe Cove is as warm as bath water so everyone enjoys going for a dip there.

Meanwhile, we walked between the raindrops several days last week. Early morning was a good way to avoid the worst of the humidity. It will be brutal the early part of this week as well.

And as always, the succession of wildflowers continues as we make our way through nature’s beauty.

  

Blooms, birds and butterflies

It rained most of last week but we were out a few times between the raindrops. We had record rainfall, often with winds enough to deliver it horizontally. The most spectacular lightning storm accompanied the rain one night, lighting up the neighbourhood like mid-day.

Our peonies bloomed late the week before, so as usual, they didn’t do well with the wind and wet weather. Petals are beginning to cover the ground.

I did manage some photos when the weather was good, knowing what usually happens! Hope you like peonies!

We feed some neighbourhood crows late fall and winter but let them fend for themselves the remainder of the year. As a result, they haven’t been stopping by recently.

However, last week, some of the regulars dropped by with two of the young ones. These juveniles have red mouths and make unusual sounds, unlike the adults. 

We gave them some food and stayed nearby to get them accustomed to us. Two young ones have been back several days since. They wait around for a bit but we don’t feed them. It is good to see the family is healthy.

Meanwhile we continue to follow the Osprey at Blackbush on the webcam and their three young ones. The parents keep the chicks well supplied with fish and now that the little ones are more active in the nest, it looks like the adults are building up the sides of the nest with more twigs in an effort to keep them safe. Those Osprey are great parents!

Along the boardwalk one day, I stopped to photograph the blooms of a blackberry bush and out of nowhere, this Canadian Tiger Swallowtail landed and posed.

I usually chase butterflies without success so this one was a gift.

Another day, a White Admiral posed 

and this tiny Northern Crescent landed nearby at the same time.

I was doubly thrilled.

The wonders of summer from blooms, to birds and butterflies are a great diversion from the news. They kept us going this past week.

Land and sea

On a lupin quest this past week, early one day ahead of the smothering humidity, we headed around Bedeque Bay towards the Indian Head Lighthouse on the shore opposite Summerside. As we neared the south side of the bay, a Great Blue Heron flew across the road about five meters ahead and above the road. Such a sighting was a great start to the day.

Along the way, fishers and farmers were busy. In the bay, on the south side of Holman Island, oyster fishers grasped the shellfish between the teeth of the tongs they held over the side of the boat. 

On land, the first cut of hay was underway in one field but cows nearby weren’t ready for breakfast.

In another field, an elderly farmer used an old tractor in his field near the road. I missed that photo and on our way back, he had stopped the antique and left it in the field. Tractor without farmer isn’t quite the same.

However, lupins lined the red dirt road near the lighthouse. 

Our first look at the breakwater was one of surprise. Had the breakwater been damaged by storms, removing some of the huge rocks along its length? 

After the requisite lighthouse shots, I walked out the road to see the lupins. The sight of the blooms in this seaside setting, though high above the waterline, is a favourite of mine.

The pinks, blues and purples, the mixes of colour along with an occasional white, always make me smile. 

Overhead, Bank Swallows flew their usual erratic way catching insects. They are an important part of the aesthetic of this place.

Islands by their very nature are linked to both land and sea. Earlier in human history the sea was our only means of transportation to and from an island. The sea also provides food as does the land of course. The vistas before me on Prince Edward Island are a combination of land and sea which I have known all my life on my island homes.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.