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Wednesday 15 September 2021

Along the way

Over the spring and summer months, my husband and I enjoyed our excursions around our island home of Prince Edward. Along the way, we encountered some curiosities which give us pause for their location or appearance. Some are man made, others occur in nature and drew our attention.


A sunflower grew at the end of the salt marsh again this year. Birds or squirrels are the source of the seed which walkers provide for them. Two years ago one sunflower grew near the location of this year’s bloom. We always marvel at such errant blooms.





On a recent trip to our favourite seafood store, the lobster tank held two blue lobsters which are real curiosities. Such lobsters occur 1 in every 2 million lobsters, the genetic anomaly from an over abundance of the pigment crustacyanin.





The boardwalk in Summerside has been undergoing repairs the last two years. This year, the western end of the popular walkway is under repair which includes the bridge over the stream where the squirrels and birds gather to be fed by walkers. We regularly take a photo of the progress on the bridge as we wait for the reopening of this end of the boardwalk.





It hopped in front of us, this Two-striped Grasshopper, an eating machine which loves to dine on crops. It was hopping along the boardwalk. No crops here! 





It was unusual to see this hot air balloon one morning through our bathroom window. We have watched them in Alice Springs, Australia, Las Vegas in the United States and at a festival in Ottawa, Canada one summer. This was the first sighting on our island home. Travel wasn’t necessary this time.





A different kind of bird greeted us along the boardwalk one morning as a Search and Rescue helicopter patrolled the shoreline. A young man was missing and a month later hasn’t been found. 





This convertible 1973 Triumph pulled into a parking lot recently as I waited for my husband. What a beauty for a ride on an warm end of summer day!





Sometimes a dilapidated old vehicle brings a smile. This one was in St. Peter’s Harbour when we visited a few weeks ago. 





Later we saw it at the lawnmower races. But, that’s another story.











33 comments:

baili said...

what a delightful posting dear Marie :)

the sunflower filled my heart with joy ! it was hard to remove eyes ! flower blooming at unusual place looks more captivating indeed :)

such gorgeous lobsters ,blue my so favorite :)

grasshopper were fun to follow when i was little ,had no idea than they can be as harmful to crops .pretty little fellow though .

dashing car and yes this last one makes smile at once :)
hugs and blessings!

William Kendall said...

I occasionally see hot air balloons here. The big festival for them is held in Gatineau on the Labour Day weekend, when you can expect to see many in the sky over the course of a day on both sides of the river.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Cool "unique" photos! That old dilapidated truck in St Peter's Harbour looks like a character in the kids movie "Cars" but I don't know which one. But I know My Rare One's great-nephews LOVE that movie, LOL!

Rose said...

Oh, good old Mater!...That is the truck's name. That is wonderful that someone thought to do this.

Love that sunflower. They are like a bit of sunshine when they appear.

When I worked at the orchard, I would find sunflower seed hidden down in the stem end of Fuji apples when picking them. I wish I had had a camera to take a photo. They were not close the house or anything so birds had to carry them there.. And never in any other kind of apple. Now is that not strange? I tell people that and I think half do not believe me. Also, the jumping spiders really liked Fuji apples, but they also seemed to like Arkansas Black. Maybe I saw them on other apples but I don't remember it if I did.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Yes, that's Mater from the Cars movie - I've sat through that more times than I care to remember! A good mix of curiosities to encounter on your walks and rides.

Bill said...

What a wonderful variety of photos. Love the old vehicle.

photowannabe said...

I love this eclectic combo of photos today.
It seems you have so many wonderful places to explore and photograph.
Love the Triumph and I said ...awww.. when I saw "Mater" he's too cute and is perfect for a parade.
Sad on the missing man though.
Fantastic photo of the Eating Machine...
Sue

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you so much for sharing the beauty and the wonder. My heart goes out the the family of that young man.

Mage said...

I'm charmed. Thank you. :)

Debbie said...

keeping our eyes and minds open...there is so much to see!! so sad about the missing young man!!

i am drooling for lobster right now and the truck in the last picture is a riot!!

Beside a babbling brook... said...

A blue lobster. Have never even heard of such.

Oh that convertible! And painted British Racing Green I think.

🍁🍂🌻🍂🍁

Helen said...

Such a lovely collection of 'curiosities'! Your sunflower is beaming, like the dilapidated old vehicle.
Lovely to note that you have visited Down Under.

DJan said...

How wonderful! I enjoyed the myriad different views of your beautiful world. So much fun, all of them. :-)

Marie Smith said...

Helen,

You asked about the buckwheat fields in a recent post. I don’t know what the fields look like after the blooms are gone since we haven’t been on our bikes to see the area. I hurt my hip and bike riding is on hold for now. When I get back there, I’ll be sure to notice how they look now.

Marie

Ruth Hiebert said...

Great set of photos, although the grasshopper makes me want to head in the opposite direction .

The Furry Gnome said...

Those blue Lobsters are something I've never seen.

Joanne Noragon said...

Alice Springs--on my bucket list.

peppylady (Dora) said...

The old pick has a jolly ole look.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Red said...

There's all kinds of good stuff to see if you go out cycling or walking. I like the grass hopper. I saw very few grasshoppers here this summer.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, Marie

The Sunflower is so pretty, they are a love sight to see.
I missed the hot air balloon festival here, they had them lit up at night.
I am sure the farmers do not like having those grasshopper around. A blue lobster that is interesting, we have the blue crabs found here in our bay.
The old truck reminds me of a children's cartoon. Cute! Take care, enjoy your day!

Anvilcloud said...

You have eclectic vision and you see a lot.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Always something to catch the eye, Marie. I would have to overcome the urge to buy those blue lobsters and return them to the sea!

Boud said...

This post covered a lot of ground. Snd water. And sky! We used to have a local hot air balloon club, so they were a frequent sighting. Occasionally one would come down unexpectedly, and local kids would run to see up close. The basket was a lot bigger than we'd thought.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

The old car, and the Triumph bring smiles. Sad the young man b is missing.

Rhodesia said...

I hope the Blue lobsters if they are so rare were not for eating. Very sad if they were. If I had been there I would have bought them and taken them back to where they came from. Hope all is well Diane

Margaret said...

I love that cheery old truck! I'm terrified of lobsters and grasshoppers.

Catarina said...

A great set of photos. I wouldn't mind driving that convertible.

The Padre said...

From Old To New And All Points In Between - Amazing

Cheers

margi said...

Beautiful pictures. I didn't know that blue lobsters exist.

Betty said...

Sad to hear about the missing young man. Love all the pictures, but the old truck was my favorite.

Pam said...

LOVE the truck at the end. That is just adorable! Yes, that would be a great ride with the top off and the wind blowing through your hair. However, I prefer a bigger space. Two wrecks in two weeks a couple yrs ago made me a nervous person in little cars! I LOVE hot air balloons. Been up and around in one when I was a teen, totally loved that. As for grasshoppers, don't see them a lot like I did as a kid. They were all over when I was growing up. Nice pics, thanks for the tour.

Danielle L Zecher said...

That sunflower is absolutely gorgeous.

Barbara said...

This was full of oddities. I didn't know there were blue lobsters. Seems a shame to eat them. Love, love, love the old racing car. Those were the days, my friend ...