A day at the beach and Fiona update

It is one of the most picturesque areas of Prince Edward Island. We visit St. Peter’s Harbour at least once every year, often in September. Our recent visit on a sunny but cool day did not disappoint. 

The lighthouse has been inactive 2008 and left to ruin until a local committee took on the tasks of repairs and maintenance. 

The small structure sits behind the sand dunes along the beach near the entrance to St. Peter’s Harbour. 

The well worn path through the dunes opens to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The beach stretches west and is strewn with seaweed, past some cottages behind the dunes.

To the east the remnants of an old breakwater are well weathered at the entrance of the harbour. 

Across the channel, visitors at the Greenwich part of the National Park, enjoy a stroll on the beach too. 

On the west side of the channel, the old pylons have taken years of relentless pounding much worse than today.

Meanwhile, along the shoreline, some of the last of the migrant shorebirds feed along the water’s edge. They walk quickly and appear to enjoy the company of a variety of birds. In the photo below, a Semipalmated Plover forages with some Sanderlings. 

Nearby, footprints in the sand show just how busy the area has been.

The sound of the ocean, the smell of salt air, and the sight of the breaking waves fill the senses.  As we head back to the car, crickets were chirping among the vegetation behind the dunes. A last look over the dunes will have to sustain us for another year.

P.S.

We have battened down the hatches prior to Hurricane Fiona tomorrow and Saturday. High winds and rain are expected, the amount of rain and wind speed uncertain as of yet. We are as ready as we can be!

Update: Saturday, September 24/22

Well, we are over part of what was the worst weather experience of our lives. The house shook and rattled but stayed in tact. The basement felt like the safest place but sleep was impossible. 

When we lost power at 1:00 a.m., the wind was so high, we wouldn’t chance going to start the generator. Through the night, unbelievably, the power came back on for an hour and a half. It was somewhat reassuring. Later, after the power went off again, by mid morning, the storm eased somewhat and we started our generator.

The worse part of Fiona occurred in darkness, when the neighbourhood was pitch black. With the sounds of nature’s fury and the creaking and shaking of the house, it was difficult to distract oneself from the onslaught. Dawn’s arrival by 7 a.m. was welcome. Now we are waiting for Fiona to blow herself out!

Anxiety has been our foremost emotion this week and especially overnight. When we could check in with family and assess the damage, the anxiety lifted. Everyone is well and while our house came through with minor damage, our daughter has water leaking from the ceiling. We are fortunate though. Many others in Atlantic Canada fared much worse. 

We will not soon forget Fiona.