Through the leaves

This past week started at the Dunk River Trail in central Prince Edward Island. The trail is one of the most beautiful on the island and draws us for a walk there with the changing seasons. Our autumn visit is our favourite for obvious reasons. We always park near where the Dunk flows out of Scales Pond, which looked particularly serene last week.

The entrance to the trail is deceptive. The trees at the entrance were green still, which is hugely different from what one encounters after passing under these green sentinels. The trail was leaf covered with promises of more to come. 

Overhead, the blue sky was a perfect backdrop for the reds, yellows and oranges clinging to their mother branches. 

The river moved to the rhythm of the earth as it rippled through the shadows, 

the remaining leaves casting a red glow here, yellow there. We stood in awe at the scene. AI did not generate this wonder.

We also visited the Cavendish area again last week for a picnic in the Grove on a sunny autumn day. Although the wind was blowing a gale, the Grove is sheltered and peaceful. The photo shows the view from our picnic table.

Later we drove along the coast to North Rustico where several huge flocks of Canada Geese greeted us in several locations, this one in the harbour at North Rustico. 

We had an abbreviated walk along the boardwalk there but the wind made walking difficult. You can see from the grasses and bushes in the photo the strength of the wind.

Along the boardwalk in Summerside this past week, one day was particularly calm and we watched the gulls and crows argue over food the gulls drop from heights to break the shells for the morsels inside. I fully expect the crows to start gathering and dropping the shells like the gulls though their beaks may not be able to do it. Crows are intelligent enough to know what to do however.

A Solitary Sandpiper is still feeding in the salt marsh and a male Red-winged Blackbird gathered seeds left along the bridge by walkers. This is late for both species to be here on the island especially since temperatures have plummeted the last few days.

One common winter species here, Black-capped Chickadees, are busy in the trees these days and it is common to see groups of them gathering seeds, like the one below.

Autumn is a great time for fungi too. We have seen numerous mushrooms which we sometimes can’t identify. This Tinder Polypore on a tree trunk is easy to identify though since it resembles a horse’s hoof.

I’ll close this week with a photo of a pumpkin left at the entrance to the Dunk River Trail. The sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast on the tree make an ethereal body for the pumpkin.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Autumn colours

We walked every day this past week, despite the rain or threats of rain. The colours of the autumn leaves kept us going but the week finished with some gorgeous sunny days. My husband and I visited the boardwalk, Cavendish Grove, the Rotary Trail and the Confederation Trail. Each was more lovely than the last.

Along the boardwalk this birdhouse is framed quite beautifully by Red Maples.

One morning a Great Blue Heron waved as it waded in the water on its perennial search for fish.

It was particularly windy another day and the sea resembled chocolate milk as the red sand was stirred up by the rough water. A Solitary Sandpiper fed along the shoreline. It is late leaving the island this year.

The Rotary Park was particularly beautiful and over two days, we walked different trails to see the whole area. 

The Red Maples present some interesting colouration as seen in this photo of fallen leaves.

At the far end of an open field by one of the trails, we could see Canada Geese and as always, I focussed on them with my camera. I discovered decoys, not geese and four hunters in what appeared to be a pit in the field. 

We saw them both days we were on those trails last week. I hope they were successful in the hunt but I can’t help but root for the geese too. 

Cavendish Grove this time of year is as lovely as always even though not all of the leaves have changed colour yet. As you can see, it was a peaceful and quiet place for a picnic. We were the only people there.

I ventured into the glade which was devastated by hurricane Fiona. Nature moves on though and where there is a tree standing, there is beauty against the autumn sky.

On the way to the beach, the seed heads of goldenrod stand out against the red leaf background.

The beach at Cavendish has the windswept look of autumn. May it come through the winter without much loss of the sand dunes. They are not recovered from Fiona yet as you can see.

I stopped one day to take photos of a field of over 20,000 pumpkins being harvested in our area. The orange gourds will be sold around eastern Canada over the next week for Jack-o-lanterns.

My favourite photo of the week is from a walk on the Confederation Trail on Saturday with our daughter, the three grandchildren and the golden grand-dog, Daisy. My husband and I let them get ahead of us for a bit so we could take a photo of them that day. Oh how time flies!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

The wonders of nature

Temperatures have dropped making warmer clothes a necessity. My husband and I have probably had our last picnic for the year but our outings will continue. Late last week, it was a windy, overcast day on the boardwalk but in the distance in the Northumberland Strait, we could see the sun had broken through the cloud, making a streak of brilliance on the sea.

I have noticed the tree behind this bench every time we walk the boardwalk.

Over seven days, the tree went from green to yellow. 

Another sign of the advancing autumn is the coming end of the lobster season this year. One day last week, I saw a boat in the distance near the Confederation Bridge. I tested the limit of my camera and my ability to hold the camera steady to take this photo. 

One calm day this past week, we drove to Water Street to see if there were any Great Blue Herons along the shoreline. 

We counted twenty of the birds in the area which, with the rising tide, began to disperse. 

One flew along the shoreline towards the salt marsh where we normally see a Great Blue.

This past week we saw numerous ducks in the marsh. One day, a flock of small ducks, Green-winged Teals, 

enjoyed the marsh, along with the usual Mallards 

and Black Ducks. 

Along the shoreline, some of the smallest gulls in the world, the Bonaparte’s were in a line behind the largest species, a Great Black-backed Gull. 

There is a huge variation in size among gulls.

We met with our friends, Helen and Frank this past week and walked a part of the Rotary Trail in Summerside, through the colourful autumn canopy. 

Maples are a big part of the forest in the area and the Striped Maples are in various stages of  autumn splendor. 

Some are still green while others are translucent yellow before they fall onto the trail. The Red Maples make a pretty covering on the forest floor too.

Along that trail, Helen spotted an American Toad, a great discovery camouflaged among the autumn leaves. 

Finally this week, our daughter took this photo of the Aurora Borealis. 

The colours were bright enough to lighten the night sky to resemble day. We have never seen such brilliant colours though we’ve seen the Aurora numerous times, especially when we lived in Buchans, Newfoundland.

P.S.

Helen and Frank are leaving the island this week, beginning their journey back to Australia. We will miss them and look forward to their return next summer. Safe journey, friends!

The view from here

This past week was busy and on several occasions we walked between the raindrops. However it was a lovely first week in October although a bit cooler than last month.

We met up with our friends, Helen and Frank, again and this time we drove west, stopping at Northport. The view from a wharf there is classic, 

the sea, lighthouse*, cormorants, and fishing boats. Some boats have already been pulled ashore for the season.

We continued our drive along the coast to Tignish Shore where the low tide revealed sea glass along the shoreline. Helen’s keen eyes found browns and greens which eluded me. Thank you, Helen!

At the far eastern end of the beach, we saw the nesting holes of Bank Swallows although the birds left the island for southern regions weeks ago. 

I hope winter doesn’t erode the soil, destroying the holes for the birds on their return.

At North Cape, we saw seals in the water, their heads poked out between dives, as they observed the people along the shore and the rock reef.

The reef, the largest of its kind in North American, is formed where the Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence merge. People were walking on the reef, the first time my husband and I have seen people there.

Erosion is obvious along this shoreline with the collapse of the arch roof forming this sea stack. A hole in the stack will probably undermine the stack itself over the next several seasons.

We had a leisurely picnic lunch at North Cape and enjoyed the time with our friends.

This past week, as always, presented some interesting sights along the boardwalk. One day, from the gazebo, we observed a Great Blue Heron, Black Ducks and Mallards along the shoreline by the salt marsh.

As we watched, a lone Black Duck came out of the bulrushes in the marsh and started quacking insistently. Many of the ducks in the bay headed into the marsh, 

some waddled, while others flew. 

Once there, the ducks dispersed around the marsh.

It was fascinating to watch how one duck could marshal the others as it did. We can only wonder the reason for the action of one and response of the others. Meanwhile, the Heron caught some fish which you can see from the bulge in its long outstretched neck as it swallowed.

Also along the boardwalk, Common Grackles were their usual loud selves as the chatted in the trees. 

I love how the shape and colour of the feathers are visible in this photo. They are late migrating this year.

A male Northern Flicker, a species of woodpecker, was busy digging in the ground. The markings on its feathers are impressive.

The autumn colour has begun, as the trees, including many Red Maples, are beautiful again this year.

Along the shoreline, the Asters stand out among the seed heads and changing leaves.

The view never fails to amaze us!

*The lighthouse was decommissioned and is now in private hands as a summer home.

P.S.

I walked with my friend, Lucy, at Brander’s Pond this past week. It was a sunny day and the coastline look different from the same scene last month.