Music to our ears

We returned to Cavendish Grove this past week. The area is often our first choice; a favourite place on the island for both of us.

My husband and I always enjoy a picnic at the Grove from spring to late fall before it closes. One year in mid November, we wiped snow off the picnic table before we had lunch. No snow last Saturday but too cold for a picnic.

As we walked to Cavendish Beach, the grey of early spring surrounded us, newly exposed after the snow melted. The weeks ahead provide rapid change as nature shifts into overdrive. 

The sun is a big part of these changes as the lengthening days trigger the processes which awaken nature.

On New Year’s Eve this year I photographed Cavendish Beach before noon. 

Below is a similar shot from Saturday past before noon. The long shadows are gone.

Many birds have migrated back to the island already. Song Sparrows, which you often hear before you see them, are among the smallest birds we enjoy over the coming months. They sing their hearts out, lifting their voices into the heavens with every fibre of their beings. I always pause to listen.

The Canada Geese are in v-formation overhead every day now, sending their honking calls long before one can pin point their location. Soon nesting will keep the occupied.

In the bay at Summerside and elsewhere in the waters around the island the Black Scoters, diving ducks which have a distinct call, are fishing off shore this spring. That haunting call is a part of the sounds of spring too.

As usual, we walked the boardwalk other days and enjoyed the animals we have come to love there. As I photographed these Mourning Doves, Blue Jay and Red Squirrel partially hidden in the grass, two Black-capped Chickadees fluttered around my head. 

The feeder nearby offered peanuts that day, much to the delight of the birds 

and squirrels.

Birders on the island are watching for the return of the Osprey between April 12-15. Sure enough, yesterday, the 13th, we saw a single Osprey in the nest by the boardwalk. I bet she wonders what happened to the nest in her absence.

I want to finish today by thanking all music teachers out there. You who teach music appreciation, instrument and band, train voices and teach choir, direct musicals and the myriad things you do every day…thank you.

Generations have come to know and love music and performing as you work hard to pass on the joy of music to new generations.

Our eldest granddaughter had the pleasure to perform in the musical SpongeBob put on by her school last week. It is something she will remember for a lifetime. Thank you especially to her school’s great music teacher. Your hard work and dedication shows and is appreciated. 

A wet week

This was the scene in the salt marsh a week ago Sunday. We haven’t seen the sun since then.

With a few exceptions, we missed our usual walks and excursions this past week because of the miserable weather, cold, wet and windy.

Of course my husband and I had to keep moving. It is an important part of our days, for the social interactions and the healthy increase in heart rate. A day without a walk is possible but not a week. Besides three days on the boardwalk, we walked the track at Credit Union Place, locally referred to as CUP, an excellent recreation facility in our community. 

While we much prefer the outdoors, CUP is a great substitute on occasion. There were a few days I walked on the treadmill at home which is the least preferred walk for sure. However I find it bearable if I watch YouTube as I proceed.

Meanwhile, on those days on the boardwalk, despite the weather, the ducks were enjoying the marsh. Walkers sometimes leave food for them and some ducks are not as skittish now as they once were when walkers approach the gazebo. Others still escape to the bay. 

We also saw Bluejays, 

Song Sparrows which blend into the environment

and Black-capped Chickadees. 

Squirrels were out and about one day when the wind wasn’t as high.

The wind was so high last week though, the marsh flooded at high tide and the ducks disappeared off-shore for a day. 

Also off-shore, Black Scoters gave their plaintive call which helped distinguish them from the ducks in the distance.

Meanwhile, on the home front we are still eating tomatoes from our garden which are ripening in the house and will be for another few weeks. The garden has yet to be put to bed for the winter due to the miserable weather and it isn’t likely to happen this week either. The forecast for this week is no better than it was last week.

I hope you have better weather! Have a great week regardless!

The sights and sounds of spring

While spring broke through the remnants of winter last week, my husband and I watched for the signs of spring we see every year as we walk the boardwalk in Summerside.

The bay was free of ice on the first day of spring and including the mouth of the bay, unlike two days earlier. This scene always reminds me how endangered the island is when it comes to rising sea levels.

At the mouth of the Wilmot River, we discovered the huge flock of Canada Geese we had seen overhead. The return of the geese in mid to late March is always a rite of spring.

The Song Sparrows returned to our garden last week. We have seen them around the yard and look forward to their serenade in the early morning when we can leave the windows open again. Meanwhile, we hadn’t heard them singing yet until one day, along the boardwalk where many sparrows nest, a hardy little bird was singing one of the first serenades of the year.

The robins are back and while others have seen them, we saw our first of the season yesterday.

A strong on-shore wind blew ice back into the bay this past weekend. The ice is diminished compared to the previous week and is mainly slushy now. Walking along by the shoreline however, one can hear pieces of ice cracking, a spring sound to anyone who is familiar with an icy sea.

The gulls have been raving about spring too, with their best calls to the sea, a sound that is music to my soul. 

March every year, Black Scoters, diving ducks which visit the island every winter, spend time feeding in the bay before they head north to breed. We saw the ducks and heard their whistles on Sunday. They are part of the symphony of spring.

Winter is holding on to the island, but the signs of spring around us keep us hopeful and eager to experience the season.