The lure of a bench

Seeing them these cold days makes me shiver, though I have enjoyed them immensely in warmer weather. Benches have a tendency to draw you to them, though the temperature can be off-putting. Such is the magic of a bench, whatever the design or location, though some of my favourites are by the sea. This time of year, they represent hope.

This bench in North Rustico was inviting but it was too cold to sit and ponder or just enjoy the setting.

The bench at the end of the boardwalk in Summerside 

has a distant view of the Confederation Bridge, making it a great place to sit for a time. Not today!

Benches can be battered as well as snow covered.

This long bench comes with its own cover.

Some benches, like the one below, will wait until spring for their next guests.

And some are a perfect part of the scenery any time of year!

The scythe

It’s curious how an object can take you back in life. The scythe was hung in the shed at Doucet House in Rustico, Prince Edward Island. It is in rough shape now, not having been used or maintained in years. 

My grandfather owned and used a scythe to mow the hay for the animals. This time of the year, he worked hard to provide for the coming year. Granda died in 1972, a few hours after having mowed hay. Working to his last day, he died as he would have wanted.

The days of the scythe are long gone as machinery has taken over the family farm and industrialized farming has taken its place. The horse and cart my grandfather used to transport the hay are part of the history books, part of the fond memories from my youth. The smell of the hay, clothes and hair covered in the dried grass, are etched in my sense memory.

It may be part of the reason that at every opportunity, I pause to look at and photograph bales of hay and straw on fields today on Prince Edward Island. Beginning every summer and continuing into the fall, bales sit on the fields ready for collection.

The view near French River, shows signs of the fishery in the foreground, a golf green and bales on a field. 

At the National Park at Cavendish, bales sit in cottage country.

Near the park at Brackley Beach, the back and forth rows made by the harvesting machinery make what looks likes tracks for the bales.

On a friend’s field one evening at dusk, I had the chance to see the straw bales at field level

and up close.

From the Confederation Trail, the fields are bordered with trees and wildflowers.

The trees on the Trail provide a frame for a lone bale.

Last fall, the colours of autumn added another dimension to the common scene near Bonshaw Park.

Finally, the Confederation Bridge is the backdrop for the bales, a scene which changes every year with the crops on the field.

These views from our island home are some of my favourite farm scenes.

Seacow Head

It was our first visit to Seacow Head lighthouse. The area, about twenty minutes from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, is cottage country. At this time of year, the cottages stand empty against the worst weather conditions.

This year though, has been unusual so far. While the winds have wreaked havoc on trees and roofs, the snow has stayed away with the exception of a few days earlier in the season. Now, little remains. My husband and I could drive up to the lighthouse, a rare mid-winter experience.

This lighthouse stands on a headland of sandstone cliffs. Here, the sandstone along the shore is covered in red soil which washes away easily. You can see the vegetation hanging over the side of the the cliffs as soil disappears faster than the sandstone below.

 

The ice in the Northumberland Strait extends to New Brunswick on the mainland, visible in the distance. 

 

On closer inspection, one realizes there are small areas of open water. 

 

Along the shoreline, the ice piles up with the on-shore wind and the tide. 

 

The red cliffs are in stark contrast to the ice, but water has frozen in transit down the rock, as if attempting to link land and sea.

 

The Confederation Bridge is visible in the distance. 

 

It is the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water. People and nature have worked their magic and today, the bridge looks like part of an ice field.

High winds do not test the lighthouse today so the cold is bearable.

 

The lighthouse and the land are named after walrus which lived in these waters at one time. The structure was built in 1864 but was moved from its original site in 1979 due to the effects of erosion. Today, gullies into the shoreline show that effect.

 

The long grass on the headland looks like waves of blond-gray frosted hair. 

 

A tree near the edge of the shoreline has experienced severe conditions if the trunk is any indication.

 

Nearby, the road around the lighthouse is like a skating rink. 

 

 

The weather sculpts this place. We look forward to its artistry next season.