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!

In our element

On our second time back at Cavendish Grove this year, the gate was open for another season. Yay! Several geese families which return every year were settled in for another season and some of the frogs were singing as well. Spring! Besides, the return of the contrails overhead made it feel as if life was beginning to return to a semblance of normalcy after two long years.

We walked to the beach which is clear of snow now.

Along the way, animals go about their lives and if you take the time, you may see Osprey, Bald Eagles, Song Sparrows, Grackles, Gulls and Ravens, as we did. One of the gulls was playing, all alone, floating on the breeze along the shoreline.

The Ravens were especially interesting. They can be hard to distinguish from crows but are larger and have a fan-like tail. My husband found a large empty egg shell nearby and placed it on a post. 

Before long, one of the birds checked it out. The Ravens obviously raid nests of the Geese and Ducks in the area. 

Back at the Grove, we passed a Chipmunk, busy filling its pouches. It stopped to watch us for some time and eventually climbed into a hole in a tree. 

My husband and I had lunch overlooking the water, listening to the peepers and the geese. This is our favourite picnic spot on the island.

There was a new resident at the Grove this spring. A muskrat was active in the water and on the islands. We identified an area which could have been its lodge 

but before we left, it looked like a goose was moving in. I wonder if she was evicted.

A good landlord can make all the difference.

At the park

We ventured to the national park on Prince Edward Island twice in the last few weeks, both times urged on by the above zero temperatures and lack of wind. These were exploratory visits, to see if our favourite areas of the park were open and if a walk and a picnic were feasible to begin our outings for another year.

Two weeks ago, we visited the western section of the Park at Cavendish. Cavendish Grove wasn’t open but we parked along the road and I took a photo through the gate of our favourite area. It is there we spend a few hours every spring entertained by the spring peepers and several pairs of geese who return there to breed. All was quiet in the Grove that day.

At the Lookout over Cavendish Beach, snow was still visible along the shoreline. The days of snow on the beach are numbered.

Several weeks ago, the Song Sparrows returned to our garden, singing with the advancing daylight outside the bedroom window as they will do for the next four months. Everywhere we go, these melodious little birds are singing their hearts out, as they were that day by the Lookout. They are fast becoming my favourite birds.

We stopped at MacKenzies Brook again where I took some photos of the ever expanding sea arch. When I took this photo, 

I was oblivious to the Bald Eagle stood in the upper right of the photo. On the way back to the car, the eagle flew overhead but this was the best photo I could capture.

Finally we visited Orby Head and the Great Cormorants were back, some standing vigil at the Head already this year.

                            Can you see the five Cormorants in this photo?

We decided that if the weather was at all co-operative, we’d have a picnic at the park in the next week. Yay!

Winter and nature

We have stayed close to home this winter and the occasional day when we’ve ventured forth are days without much wind, a rarity to be sure. Dressing for the cold is easy, the wind is another issue entirely. However, the days we are out and about, we have enjoyed the time immensely. The glory of nature is evident everywhere we look and we take in as much as we can every time.

On an 8 degree Celsius day, the ice in the harbour looked like spring break-up had started. 

There was a delicate line between sea and sky, just visible on the horizon as white and blue co-mingled. Closer to shore, the sun highlighted the lighthouse almost enough to create a reflection amid the blue glow. 

The animals along the boardwalk enjoy the hint of spring as well. We heard a small flock of American Black Ducks as we exited the car. More than a dozen hang out around the flowing water of the salt marsh. I tried unsuccessfully to take video of this orange-legged beauty which was quacking up a storm. 

She looks quite pleased with herself and the day.

Another spring-like day we drove north to Cavendish. We were the only people in the area as we walked to the beach. The sea ice had moved off-shore and was barely visible on the horizon. Looking west along the coast, one can almost conjure memories of this beach in the other seasons.  

As we move away from the shore, a hardy evergreen, looking more black than green this time of year, reveals the direction of the prevailing wind. In its effort to survive, the tree leans rather than breaks.

Further along the coast, at MacKenzies Brook, the sea continues to carve the coastline as the sea arch is closer to collapse with each season. 

                                                                                      November 2021

Sandstone is no match for the reach of salty hands from stormy waves. We are witnesses to the beauty of her work however. 

                                                                                    February 2022

We enjoy every minute.

P. S.

Time in nature provides respite from the news these days. We appreciate the peacefulness around us when the images of war and people fleeing their homeland fill the screens. We support the Red Cross and our country’s effort to accept refugees. 

I can better understand how our parents and grandparents felt in 1939 in a world on the brink of war.

Picnic by the sea

It was a day by the sea. We had cycled further along the Gulf Shore Parkway than we had the previous week. Again it was a beautiful October day, a slight breeze and 14 C, 57F, requiring a jacket.

My husband and I started at the Oceanview lookout with a view of the deserted Cavendish Beach in the distance. 

The dunes along Cavendish Beach are in stark contrast to the sandstone along the coastline. 

Gentle waves lapped the shoreline all along the parkway. Not a soul walked the beaches along the way. 

We were invigorated by the bike ride and hungry by the time we arrived back at Oceanview. 

We set up our picnic at a table with a distant view of Cavendish Beach, just above the cliffs.

There is nothing better than a hot cup of black tea to warm you to your toes.

This area is covered in grass but wildflowers and shrubs fill the perimeter. Now they too have reverted to their autumn splendour. 

This day was a gift of nature with the sun, the gentle breeze, the cliffs, sand and sea. Our days of such enjoyment are in short supply now as the last days of October fall like leaves into November.  We appreciate every minute. 

Tree hugging

The last hurrah of summer with our daughter and our grandchildren was on Labour Day at Cavendish. School started the next day. We had a picnic lunch at Cavendish Grove which was in its late summer beauty. 

The picnic area was busy but we had a great picnic table in the shade where we had a leisurely lunch safely distanced from others.

After lunch my husband and I played hide and seek with the family. The children love this game and we often play it when they visit our house. It is a favourite of our three year old grandson but the girls enjoy it too. This setting was perfect since it gave us space to run. We limited our hiding area to the trees within a certain boundary. The adults had to hug the trunks or kneel behind them to hide. This past spring, I hid behind a tree trunk here in an effort to photograph the birds in the pond below. Now, as usual, the pond is dried up and has been for months. This time the whole family hid and had fun. Everyone ran around including Nanny and Poppy which the kids loved.

I leaned into the trunk of one huge maple as I hid behind it. Hearing the wind in the leaves, I looked up where light illuminated various areas of the trunk. 

Movement to the right caught my eye as a woodpecker hopped upward. I couldn’t capture a good photo. However, it was impossible being that close to a tree without noticing the trunk which provided a home for moss and lichens and who knows what lies beneath.

This tree is a natural wonder.

While we played, our daughter saw a frog jump near one of the girls and told the kids about it. All were interested in the little Wood Frog which their mom captured to show them.

The middle child held the little frog too. She always wants to hold the creatures we find. The other two were curious but not eager to hold it. The brave one placed the little creature on the lower part of a tree trunk where it was camouflaged.

We checked later and it was gone.

Afterwards we went to the beach where the water temperature of 16 C and the wind made it too cold for the children to swim so they played in the sand. Everyone enjoyed the last grains of summer.

To the beach

During our recent visit to Cavendish Grove, after a picnic, my husband and I walked to the beach. A trail from the Grove to the beach runs through the trees and takes you near the Lake of Shining Waters. From there it’s a short walk to the shore.

The trail passes through an area where the trees provide a canopy and shadows dance on the path. 

In an open area of trail, 

trees are in bloom as apple and chokecherry 

display their spring beauty. Along this path, forget-me-nots appear through the woods, 

providing a gentle hint of blue through the undergrowth. Where they line the path, their tiny blue and white flowers are easy to remember.

Bees are plentiful on the apple blossoms and on the last of the dandelions before they go to seed.

Before long the sand dunes and the floating walkway on the Lake of Shining Waters lie ahead. 

From there it’s a short walk to the beach. Since we had the golden grand dog with us, we didn’t go on the beach because dogs aren’t permitted this time of year. We had a look though.

In this stage of the Covid opening, public bathrooms in the park are not open. I hope the next stage of opening rectifies this problem, otherwise park personnel will have a different concern.

We walked back to the car at the Grove and watched a Mallard and her ducklings for a few minutes before we left for home. 

It was another great visit to one of our favourite places.

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