A week in November

The weather this past week has been an interesting combination of clear skies, wind, rain and minuscule snowballs from above. My husband and I walked through it all, enjoying whatever nature offered us, revelling in our ability to do it. Every experience in nature has something new to offer and we continue to look for it and enjoy it as long as we can.  

This view of North Rustico was on a windy day at low tide. The high wind made it difficult to hold the camera steady though the scene was peaceful.

The Millman Heritage Road is a place we visit seasonally. The road is cut deep into the red soil in an area where homesteads once thrived. The road is lined now with deciduous trees, providing a natural border for the fields which continue to be farmed. In more protected areas, leaves still cling to the trees for another few days. 

This year, silage grew in those fields and was recently harvested.  

From the Millman Road we visited the New London Lighthouse, where the path to the beach always draws us onward. 

Since lobster season is long over, most of those boats have been pulled out of the water by now. However mussel boats still can be seen pursuing their trade for another few weeks before the sea freezes for this winter. Here at New London lighthouse, the boats steer into a channel close to the shoreline where the channel is deep.

There, on an overcast day, the light breaking through the clouds gave the impression that the sun is drawing water as is the common saying. It was difficult to photograph however.

Another windy day, we stopped at the mouth of the Wilmot River where it empties into Bedeque Bay. This is a favourite area of birds, especially at low tide this time of year. Thousands of Canada Geese and various species of ducks were enjoying the protected area. 

American Wigeons were a new species for me.

Later that day, we stopped at the Malpeque basin on our way to Malpeque and watched gulls and ducks in the bay. On the opposite shore, what looked like an observation deck had two people watching a flock of ducks as they took flight. 

At the wharf at Malpeque, several mussel boats were tied up. 

We walked to Cabot beach and watched another boat make its way through the sandy channel into the harbour.

The colours of the sand and the autumn Marram grass make a beautiful backdrop for driftwood on the beach. 

On our way home, we stopped at a field where a donkey grazed near the road. It was curious and watched me as I photographed it. 

My last photo today is of the salt marsh along the boardwalk where we walk most days. It is snowing in this photo which shows as faint lines over the water areas especially.

Island news:

In a troubled world which causes so much worry these days, there are times we are reminded in our own lives how fortunate we are. This message popped up on social media on the island this past week. “Notice! Two cows running east on Kilkenny.” It can be quite dangerous suddenly to come upon a cow on the road. This is what we have to be on the lookout for on PEI, roaming farm animals. We smile and appreciate our island home.

On a personal note:

My husband’s Aunt Marie died this past week. Marie was more like a sister to my husband as the youngest of his father’s siblings. The two had some great childhood memories together and we were close through most of the years since.

Marie was a single mother who worked hard and raised a wonderful son. She had a super daughter-in-law and two handsome talented grandsons. Marie died after a short battle with cancer.

We miss her already!

Ducky days

The weather turned cold this past week and for several days the wind was high. For a second week, the absence of Great Blue Herons is noticeable. However my husband and I walked the boardwalk as usual and had a ducky week there watching the Mallards and Black Ducks. 

The salt marsh is home to a flock of mixed ducks these days, since the water is slow to drain out of the marsh due to the dam of seaweed at the mouth of the stream. 

Mallards add the most colour to the marsh, the males with their green heads and the females with their beautiful markings.

A pair of Black Ducks have been long term residents of the marsh, but this past few months, they have increased in number as the marsh has flooded.

This smaller duck is not a common sight this late in the season. 

Another rare sight here is this hybrid duck, with green marking on the sides of its head and combination of Mallard and Black Duck markings on its body.

The scene from the nearby bridge can look different depending on the cloud cover, the wind and the tide. 

These two photos were taken just over a week apart at the same location.

Winter jackets have been moved to the front of the closet this past week. Temperatures in the low single digits now take some getting used to, as the hats and gloves make walking more comfortable. Snow one morning didn’t accumulate but was a reminder of what lies ahead.

Meanwhile, a nearby street which two weeks ago was golden,

has lost much of its glow but kept its character. 

Along the boardwalk, many of the trees are leafless now. Only the Tamarack/Larch has any golden colour these days, always later to change than the deciduous leaf-filled trees.

One day this past week, the temperature rose to 16 degrees Celsius among days of 5 degrees. That afternoon my friend Liz and I went for a walk along the beach in the Evangeline area not far from Summerside. Afterward we sat in our chairs on the beach and enjoyed our pumpkin spice coffee, brought in our thermos from home.

We sat near a stream that trickled into the sea which lapped the shoreline. A piece of driftwood was a reminder of the power of the sea. Such a day so late in the season was a pure gift of nature.

And on a colder morning, a Red Squirrel was busy collecting seeds from an evergreen along the way as we walked the boardwalk. Winter preparation is upon all of us!

Have a wonderful week! 

Island reverie

This past week, we had some beautiful weather and my husband and I headed to Cavendish one day and Cabot Beach/Malpeque another. In between, we walked the boardwalk, some days between the raindrops. These minutes during a day when we immerse ourselves in nature are precious. 

On the way to Cabot Beach and Malpeque we pass a wetland area where we usually stop to look for ducks. 

There were a number of Green-winged Teals in the area that day. 

At Cabot Beach, work by a dredger on the channel to the harbour at Malpeque allows fishing boats to travel safely to port, mere metres from the beach. 

Further from the water, the sand and Marram grass make a beautiful backdrop for driftwood.

Early morning at Cavendish we encountered numerous hares, feeding and frolicking in the early morning sun. 

In addition, the Osprey were newly returned to the area and their nesting platform had been damaged in their absence. The pair perched in nearby trees and eventually one landed on the old platform. I wonder where they will nest this year?

Along the boardwalk, on two consecutive days we saw the same Red Fox as it hunted. This time of year hungry kits must be fed. Before long they will be out with their mothers playing in the sun and we hope to see them one day.

Meanwhile, Black Ducks enjoy the salt marsh most days. This pair always hangs out together. 

When the wind is on-shore, gulls stand along the shoreline, looking along the bay. These two Herring Gulls kept a silent vigil.

It was a wonderful nature-filled week.

Winter beach

A walk on the beach in winter is a welcome distraction. Of course it is easier on a windless day which is what we did. My husband and I drove to the north central shore in the national park on Prince Edward Island but beach access is limited this year. Much of the damage to the park has not been repaired since the destruction of Fiona. Also this year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence hasn’t frozen around the coastline of the island. The ice would prevent much of the erosion in winter. Therefore, the shoreline is unprotected thus far this winter and more erosion is a concern. However, one of the few areas where one can access the beach is at North Rustico. 

It was a cold day but without the wind, one could dress for the temperature. There were a few people on the beach, but gulls were the main attraction. 

They provided the beach music, that call so familiar in a maritime setting.

Along the beach, at the high tide mark, the foam was frozen. 

Seaweed strewn across the beach was stiff from the cold. 

Driftwood cast a shadow in the winter light.

Even the rocks looked petrified. 

An occasional feather made one wonder if a bird missed the insulation the feather would afford.

A stream crossed the beach, rushing to meet the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

Old weathered pylons from what could have been a wharf cross the stream. In the distance summer cottages wait for the heat which always brings visitors. 

Later, we visited the old fisherman, frozen in the North Rustico Harbour this time of year. 

Along the north shore, the coastline showed the icy touch of winter on the cliffs and rocks.

On our way home, we drove through the community of Stanley Bridge where the Stanley River is frozen. On the ice a Bald Eagle was scanning the area.

I took some photos from the car which it didn’t appear to mind as it stayed there the longest time. I wish it had let me know when it was taking flight so I could have had a better shot of its length. However, its feet and claws were well exposed in this shot and one can well imagine how this bird catches its food.

And it’s only six weeks to spring!

Along the coast to West Point

It looks wild and untamed, an area of beach on Prince Edward Island left to nature. We’d headed to the southwest coast of the island to Brae Harbour and driven along the coastline from the small community over a dirt road. We passed a few off-grid cottages and eventually arrived at a place where we’d need an off-road vehicle to go further.

This is an exposed area of coastline along the Northumberland Strait. A sand bar off shore breaks the waves and the water looks like it is boiling. 

Sandy red sea rushes to shore. However, there aren’t any sand dunes along this shoreline. Trees, shrubs and other vegetation border the beach while driftwood in abundance shows how many trees have been claimed by the onslaught.

This area of coastline is without a village or even a cottage. It is a part of the island coastline we have rarely seen, without cliffs or dunes either. A cottage here would be risky, without a border between it and the sea.

During a walk along this beach, we crossed one familiar island feature, a brook crossing the beach, a small one we could easily jump over. Walking east, one could see homes or cottages kilometres away along the shoreline. One cannot imagine the same in this area.

We returned to the main road and continued on to West Point. This area has been settled and like so many areas of the island, has a boat basin along the shoreline to offer protection to fishers, their boats and gear. 

There wasn’t much activity in the basin this time of year as fishing season was winding down. The ubiquitous sentinels of the sea, the cormorants, had one lone bird on duty that day, 

while along the breakwater side of the basin, others of the species commune with gulls and enjoy the autumn sun. 

Damage in the basin walls allows one to look west towards the West Point Lighthouse, one that stands out among lighthouses on the island for its black and white striping. This area has received much damage over the last number of years and revetments along the shoreline and lighthouse are strategically placed so as to reduce the same in the future.

We had our favourite lunch of the autumn thus far, sheltered from the on-shore breeze at a picnic table at the park there. While we ate our delicious chicken stew, we watched the robins nearby 

and listened to the chickadees, our most vocal woodland bird of autumn, as they flitted among the trees around us. We watched with interest at what we thought initially to be a crow but later identified as a Turkey Vulture, an unusual bird for the island. It was a thrill to watch it circle the area for its food, animals which are already dead, such a road kill.

We walked through the park and along the shoreline after lunch before we headed home. Another great day exploring the island!