Island beauty

It has been a windy week and the temperatures have been cool, which we enjoy. It was a busy week and we walked between the raindrops a few days. The grasses along the boardwalk bent to the wind and we held on to our hats.

The bay was busy this week as well with sailboats, pleasure boats and an occasional fishing boat.

In the salt marsh near the mouth of Bedeque Bay, two Green-winged Teals joined the regulars, 

Mallards and Black Ducks. The Teals are small compared to the regulars and camouflaged in the marsh. Can you see the two Teals in the picture?

One day, I discovered a male Northern Flicker 

among the trees as I watched the now former nest site of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

We spent some time at Cavendish with our friend, Helen, last week. Sadly, I had forgotten my camera’s card that morning. We did manage some photos with the cell phone, however. The Grove has the green glow these days and was the perfect place for our picnic.

It was a great day and Helen and her husband, Frank, are like family now. We hope Frank will be able to visit next year again.

A chipmunk ran up a nearby tree after lunch was over.

Along the trail, a dragonfly flitted about, stopping long enough to be photographed.

We stayed close to home with our bike riding last week due to the high winds. However, we hope to be back on the trails this week.

Despite the wind, the peonies 

survived the worst of the week. The blooms are huge 

and plentiful but short-lived.

This past Saturday, an airshow at nearby Slemon Park, meant we could watch the show from the front of our house. The airport was part of the Canadian Air Force Base which was established during World War 2 and closed in 1991. The airport is still in use, such as the night our first grandchild was born in distress and was airlifted to Halifax hospital within a few hours of her birth.

I took photos of the aircraft during the show. 

The best photos were of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds 

in their Tutor jets. 

The loudest was a Hornet which flew over the house, the sound following it at a distance. It was a reminder of the sounds which many people in the world hear today and fear as the sounds of war. However, in an age when drones are used in war too, some cannot be heard apparently. Is that better? 

As we watched, safe at our home on a pleasant afternoon, it was impossible not to think of others in less secure situations in various places around the world. It was a reminder of how fragile our peace can be and a thought for those suffering now.

Meanwhile, we are thankful for the peace we enjoy and the beauty around us. We will never take it for granted.

Our daughter took this photo of her husband bass fishing on Grand River last week. I wish everyone in this world such peace.

Exploring Prince Edward Island

Bedeque Bay was featured this past week as we walked the boardwalk in Summerside. One day, a sailboat caught our attention with the layers of colour and pattern in the setting. The human element looked tiny against the natural elements. 

On a particularly windy day, six kite surfers played across the Bay near the lighthouse. It looks like fun but I cannot ever imagination wanting to try it, at any age. They are courageous people!

Our friend, Helen, is in Prince Edward Island visiting her son and his family for several weeks. Helen is from Australia and made the long journey on her own this year as her husband, Frank, was unable to travel. We missed him.

Helen introduced us to Hyde Pond last week, an area we were unfamiliar with but will visit again. 

The walk along the trail is a beautiful one any time of year and one can imagine a walk there in the autumn colour. We will find out.

Nearby, Canada Geese and Mallards, including young goslings and molting birds, were safe from predators in the fenced area of a settling pond. 

That day, Helen provided a delicious lunch which we ate across from Charlottetown, overlooking the harbour and the city from Rice Point. A cruise ship had delivered tourists that day, as is common this time of year. 

I always enjoy the view of the Hillsborough Bridge across the Harbour.

My husband and I were biking last week as well and took our first picnic lunch with us on bike. We stopped at a covered picnic table about 13 kilometres from home, in a marshland area which has a pond if we’ve had enough rain. The water level in the pond was the highest we’d ever seen. We had heavy rain numerous times in spring.

Though the wind was the predominant sound, Green Frogs called from around the pond, hidden by the vegetation. The chorus was loud and almost continuous, as if the amphibians didn’t stop to breathe. Nature’s chorus was in fine voice in the wilds of Prince Edward Island.

We had lunch and enjoyed the serenade as we watched Tree Swallows dart through the air catching theirs. Red-winged Blackbirds called out as they flew to nearby trees, surveying the scene.

After lunch, we stood on the bridge over the pond and watched as Swallows picked insects from the surface of the water, swooping down, picking up an insect and continuing on their way. The birds barely slowed as they snatched their prey from the water. A Water Strider didn’t have a chance against those stealthy birds.

Twice during our time there, Great Blue Herons flew over. We have seen them feeding in the pond on previous occasions. From the tiny Swallows to the huge Herons, avians enjoy the area. 

In the ditches along the Trail, Blue Flag Irises were in abundance. 

Similarly, Daisies filled the edges of the Trail.

Along the more shallow edges of the pond, Water Arum, with its single white petal, waded in the water.

The wind in the trees, the call of the frogs, the blooms, the birds enjoying the habitat, made the experience priceless. The world and all its troubles didn’t exist for a few precious moments.

On the way home, we stopped to take in the verdure. 

Along the trail in places, Dame’s Rockets adorn the way and are worth a closer look too.

Also lupins are still blooming along the roads and trails. They are such a treat this time of year.

At home, the first peony is blooming. Yay!

P.S.

On the world stage, the news is bleak. We escape into nature most days which helps distract us. One feels helpless regarding the world situation so we work to make our little part of the world better. There is always a way to help others in need even in one’s own area. Simply giving a compliment can brighten someone’s day. A smile is a kindness which doesn’t have a price tag.

As our daughter says to the children, “Be kind. You don’t know what someone is going through.”

Blooms and critters

This past week was a busy one with activities with our grandchildren and having the golden grand-dog overnight. We did manage a walk most days however, when the weather permitted. We have had cold winds and a great deal of rain.

Along the trails now, Mountain Ash 

and High Bush Cranberry are in bloom. 

Gone are the apple blossoms but people can enjoy a succession of blooms along trails and pathway over the weeks of late spring.

Prince Edward Island is known for its potatoes and planting is well underway now. The fields await the first eruption in the red soil with the potential of another bumper crop of the stem tubers.

One morning this past week, as we readied for the boardwalk, a fox and her two kits played across the street. My husband managed a photo of the mother through the window, but the kits played in the tall grass and were impossible to photograph.

Meanwhile, we walked the Confederation Trail with Daisy, the golden grand-dog, in an area where we could watch for other people. When nobody was around, we let her off the lead to run along the trail. She runs so far ahead and stops to wait for the two seniors behind her. 

Farm animals were out in the fields this past week. A farm with three horses is near the Confederation Trail where we took Daisy. This young pony didn’t mind the barking dog as it grazed in the farmyard.

Cattle were out grazing or relaxing one afternoon in another field. There were a number of additions to this herd this spring.

The same was true for this small herd of sheep another day. Lambs enjoyed grazing along a hill by the farmhouse.

It is lupin time again and the roads and trails are lined with the beauties for a few weeks. The whites, pinks, purples and mixes of colour provide a flash of colour as one drives by. It is so much better to walk past them.

My friend Lucy’s garden is beautiful again this year and I took some photos of some of her blooming beauties last week. My favourite photo was of these irises.

Lucy and I went to a birding class this past weekend along a trail in the National Park at Cavendish. We saw some familiar birds, including Bald Eagles, Osprey, Cedar Waxwings, Great Blue Herons and Song Sparrows. I was also thrilled to see Red-eyed Vireos, 

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

and an Eastern Kingbird.

It is always fun to be around a group of people with the same interests!

We enjoyed lunch with our family yesterday at our house. We have a wall in our utility room where we measure the kids every year and record their heights. We measured their grandfather and me last year too. While the kids each grew appreciably this past year, their grandfather and I shrank, though at a slower rate than the kids grew…at least.

We can rejoice in having lived long enough to experience the life which led to this loss of height and enjoy life at a new altitude!

Have a great week!