To the lighthouses

It was a day of lighthouses. We accompanied friends, Helen and her husband, Frank to Indian Head Lighthouse after a visit to the boardwalk in Summerside and lunch. The red dirt road which leads to the lighthouse had been recently graded but the going was rough. Arriving at the end of the road, one discovers the lighthouse at the tip of a long breakwater.

The city of Summerside on the other side of Bedeque Bay looks peaceful in the summer sun. 

The Front Range and Rear Range lights are in place as they have been for decades, now but a reminder of the days before navigational systems guided entry to the bay. 

From the sea floor at low tide, one can get closer to the Indian Head Lighthouse. 

Some fishermen fish Striped Bass from the breakwater while feathered fishers watch nearby. 

This Savannah Sparrow sang from the bushes. 

Erosion of the shoreline just inside the breakwater is dramatic, as trees drape themselves down over the cliff.

I sat on the breakwater and took photos of the sailboat out in the Northumberland Strait. When my husband downloaded the photos, it was a surprise to see the wind turbine in the far distance, one from a wind farm in New Brunswick.

We drove on roads lined with lupins on our way to the Seacow Head Lighthouse at Fernwood.

The area provides a view of the entire Confederation Bridge, which links Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick. 

At the Head, the road disappears into the sea and nearby, waves work on the sandstone. 

The lighthouse oversees the setting and withstands the elements well.

We bade farewell to our friends who are returning to Australia this week. Meeting fellow bloggers has been wonderful!

Fun at the beach

A sunny day with a breeze made for perfect conditions after several days of rain. We spent the day with family at Chelton Beach Park and started with a picnic. 

This beach is on the south shore of the island near the Confederation Bridge, visible in the distance.

After lunch, we headed to the beach where it was low tide, creating tidal pools which we love to explore. 

We found seaweed, hermit crabs and small fish known locally as bait fish. 

In the distance, the lighthouse at Seacow Head looked to be enjoying the summer day too.

Down the beach, a dog looked to be experiencing the ocean for the first time. It was a pleasure to watch its prancing and dancing along the beach and into the waves. 

Any time we are at the beach, our grandson has his dump truck and digger with him. 

The children love the water but also enjoy playing in the sand.

Meanwhile, in the air, several species of gulls floated on the breeze 

and hung around with our family enjoying the water.

Nearby another family made a huge sandcastle which we watched for several hours as the Northumberland Strait reclaimed it.

And finally, you never know where you’ll see a Canadian flag.

Now and then at the beach

The wave action causes ripples in the sand which the retreating tide exposes. 

In the distance to the left, the Confederation Bridge looms large. 

To the right, Seacow Head Lighthouse stands guard over Seven Mile Bay. 

This is Chelton Beach, a day use park in Prince Edward Island, a perfect place to spend some time. We visited the park with our grandchildren and our daughter recently.

Of course we had a picnic, after which we walked over the embankment to the beach where it was low tide. We set up on an exposed sand bar for a few hours until the advancing tide caused us to retreat to the shoreline. Meanwhile just off-shore, paddle boarders stood tall above the water. 

This beach had tidal pools but without the animals present at Canoe Cove. There aren’t starfish or clams to explore. Here the two types of jellyfish which frequent the waters around Prince Edward Island were prominent as well as varieties of seaweed.

The jellyfish, some transparent White Moon and lots of purple Lion’s Mane were of interest to the grandchildren because of their fear of being stung. 

The Lion’s Mane are called Blood Suckers by islanders and knowing that, the kids were sure to avoid them and not silently either.

They played in the sand on this beach, 

creating sand walls and digging until water filled the holes where they placed small White Moon jellyfish for observation. They certainly didn’t play with the purple ones.

I walked among the seaweed floating in the advancing tide. Fifty years ago, when I attended university, I enjoyed courses in marine biology. My childhood summers in Maddox Cove, Newfoundland, made me want to know more about nature. All these years later, the beauty of the seaweed waving in the water is just as fascinating to me as it was all those years ago.

Did I just write fifty years?