In the park

The boardwalk in Summerside is where my husband and I most commonly walk. However, recently, since the trails have dried out this spring, we walk the Rotary Friendship Park, groomed trails through a wooded area near fields on the east side of the city. On a windy day, the trees provide a lovely wind break and we enjoy the change of scenery away from the bay occasionally.

In this park,

the trails tease you to follow…always just another few metres. Walkers share the main trails with bikers while and side trails, of varying difficulties, attract mountain bikers.

There the flat countryside has been supplemented with large boulders, making trails of various levels of difficulty. The rock features are unusual for the island.

Now the trails have a hint of green along the margins, as trees and underbrush are in bud,

grass is turning green and spring colour has begun. 

Soon these fiddleheads will spread out above the forest floor and along the trails, contributing to the verdure.

The tiniest life forms are on the move again. 

These woods have lots of birds too, such as Yellow-dumped Warblers, singing to greet people at the entrance of the trail. 

Robins check through the grass along the trail. This leucistic Robin was an interesting sight.

Woodpeckers love this area too, though it has areas of devastation from post-tropical storm, Fiona. 

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are busy drilling as walkers enjoy the trails while the birds work around them. 

Through the trees we see two male Mallards swimming in one of the ponds. 

For a few minutes in a day, we are privileged to experience life in the park, not knowing what we’ll encounter any particular day. Spring there is a revelation!

The Confederation Trail

The Confederation Trail on Prince Edward Island is the old railbed, reclaimed after the railway was abandoned in 1989. It cuts through the countryside, fields and forests, across streams and rivers. Near our home, the trailway provides a glimpse of the progress of spring.

The fields are being ploughed now, prepared for planting after a wet fall and winter. 

Fiddleheads are erupting along the sides of the trail.

Pussy willows are in bloom.

Many of the trees are in bloom now, before the leaves erupt. On this mid afternoon spring day, the moon shines above us.

Shadows provide art for those who care to stop and take it in.

The trail appears to go on forever over the gentle countryside. 

Life force

The roots on the paths over the Bonshaw Hills are sacred. They are the vessels of the planet bringing the life fluid up to the leaves where oxygen, our breath of life, is produced. They are a reminder of the interdependence of humankind and nature. 

And again this spring, as the deciduous trees begin to leaf again and the coniferous trees become a more vibrant green, 

these vessels have been busy, the fluid has been pumping. The woodlands are alive now, awake from the long winter nap. Everything is in high gear as the forest awakens.

She doesn’t have long to switch into high gear either but she is glorious already. The leaves are beginning to appear so that hint of green is everywhere now. 

The forest floor, which will soon be darkened by the overhead canopy, has taken the opportunity these last few weeks to turn green too.

Last year’s ferns are flattened into the earth but fiddleheads are reaching skyward.

Mosses are hard at work on old tree stumps returning them back to the earth.

Birch trees are further along with leafing than other trees. 

As we climb the hills and look down through the woodland, the hint of green through the trees is invigorating. Being here in the heart of nature is good for body and soul.

Repeat

We walk the boardwalk in Summerside regularly, but there is always something new to see.

The fiddleheads are unfurling this week.

 

This song sparrow was giving his best pose to the passing crowd. He is a testament to symmetry.

 

A white-crowned sparrow is a visitor to the island, on his way to the breeding grounds in the northern boreal forests.

 

An angry grackle demanded attention.

 

The jays soon will be harder to see in the trees.

 

The mourning dove had ruffled feathers.

 

Squirrels will eat sunflower seeds when peanuts aren't available.

 

Until next time...

Where is your favourite place to walk?