To the Appalachian Trail

Look up! 

 

The back road to the woodland trails of Dromore in eastern Prince Edward Island was lined with tall trees. My husband and I were headed to the island part of the International Appalachian Trail, IAT. The road was rough and we decided to walk rather than take the car. It allowed us also to walk through a natural wonder before we even arrived at the trail.

 

Part of the road was lined with a stand of tall pines, such an unusual sight. 

 

The opposite side of the road had deciduous trees. Someone worked at planting these pines.

Listen!

The woods were alive.

We stopped often to listen in nature's aviary and to look. Our untrained eyes could not discern many birds in the tall trees. However, not even the flies, tormenting as they were, could detract from the sights and sounds of that road.

The old road was lined with dandelion and cabbage white butterflies fed on the yellow beauties. 

 

As we walked, the whites rose from their feeding, so on occasion, dozens of the little butterflies fluttered around us.

 

The road was a butterfly conservatory as well as an aviary.

On the Birding Loop of the IAT, we focused on natural features we had never seen before. This Shining Club moss was an unusual one, more like a small shrub. 

 

Painted Trilliums were scattered over the forest floor, a pretty distraction on the trail.

 

Lung lichen looks like a bunch of leaves stuck to a tree trunk until you notice these "leaves" don't have any veins. 

 

The holes at the base of tree trunks were intriguing. 

 

We were not brave enough to look inside any of them however.

 

 Who would want to disturb a skunk?

 

We walked back to the car at a fast pace to go to the beach for lunch. However, this walk was one of our favourite nature walks ever.

Tulips and topping

The colour in the opposite field caught the eye immediately. 

 

My husband and I had never seen anything like it and after we explored part of the Appalachian Trail at Dromore, Prince Edward Island, we checked out the colour source. Tulips!

 

The farm grows tulips, rows of glorious colour, yellows, pinks, reds, purples, 

 

yellow-reds

 

interspersed with white. We were welcome to photograph them in all their glory and we did.

 

The aim is to harvest the bulbs for market later this year. Some bulbs are used for planting again later this fall to ensure next year's supply. 

 

While we watched, the farmer was topping the tulips, cutting off the flower to leave the green stem and leaves. This process allows the bulbs to strengthen before they are harvested for the market in the fall.

 

The flies were plentiful and biting that day so the farmer was in a fly/mosquito head net. It must have been hot in there.

 

We were sad to see those beautiful blooms cut and left in the hay between the beds but such is the nature of tulip farming. We were fortunate to see the field before topping was complete.