On the beach

An overcast day with a slight cool breeze on the north shore of the Prince Edward Island made it comfortable for a walk on the boardwalk in North Rustico. 

Then my husband and I went to nearby Cavendish Grove for a picnic as the sun came out. By chance, we met Miriam and David, who had come back to visit the Grove. David is a fellow blogger and both birders visited PEI last week. It was great to catch up with them after some extended time on the island. Afterwards, my husband and I headed east to French River and beyond to the lighthouse at New London.

French River was in fine form with the lobster fishery underway and the boats tied up at the wharf or returning from the day’s work. 

Nearby a Lesser Yellowlegs, the first I’ve ever seen this time of year, was busy feeding. 

At the New London Lighthouse, the setting lived up to our expectations. 

Waves broke in the shallow water offshore, providing a white water backdrop for the remains of the old wharf. 

The grey weathered wood is a perch for birds but only one gull was in residence that day.

Fog rose from the channel and the houses in the distance became faint outlines. 

Mere metres in front of us, a small flock of gulls played in the breeze and dabbled in the sea. Eventually they formed a line in the falling tide as if playing follow the leader.

We didn’t stay long enough to see fishing boats pass on their way to and from port at French River, but we’ll have a picnic and a walk on the beach there later this week.

                                                             Never far from our thoughts

 

Picnic at the beach

On the way to another favourite beach for a picnic, we watched a farmer doing some adjustment to the plow he pulled behind his tractor. This time of year is busy for the people who grow our food. 

We stopped at French River as well to watch the boats coming home and spotted a female Belted Kingfisher in the trees watching the shoreline. She was a beauty.

Our destination, the beach at Yankee Hill, the site of the New London Lighthouse, is an area where fishing boats enter a channel to return to French River and other ports along the coast. 

The boats are only a few meters from shore and we love to watch their progress through the channel. We visit here several times every year.

A well used path from the parking lot crosses the dunes which are undisturbed otherwise. I took this photo of driftwood without doing any damage to the Marram grass.

We had our portable table and chairs with us and set them up for a great view of the channel entrance. Before long boats were passing mere metres from us, headed home.

In addition, as we ate, a Bald Eagle flew overhead and disappeared down the beach. Meanwhile, we could see hundreds of cormorants on a sandbar and pylons in the channel. As we ate, we watched the huge flock take flight.

Shortly after, fog emanated from the sand, creating an eerie look of smoke on the water, like the lyrics of the old song.

Even the boats released fog in their wake.

Before we left, I photographed the old pylons in the channel to compare their condition to last year. In the photos I noticed a Bald Eagle sat atop a pylon, surveying his domain. Did its presence scare off the cormorants?

The wonder of island beaches keeps us returning again and again.

At the beach

A beautiful sunny day without much wind drew my husband and me to the beach for a walk for the first time this year. We decided on the beach at Brander’s Pond to see how the sea stack there had fared over the last year. It is one of my favourite beaches but I have many favourites on Prince Edward Island.

Along the way we passed the Cavendish Farms Wetland, an area with huge grasses which the Red-winged blackbirds love. They found a way to land on the tall grasses, 

which sway under their weight, making them impossible to photograph.

At our destination, the pond is mere metres from the shoreline and a stream flows to the beach nearby. This year, Mallards and Ring-necked Ducks swam there. 

The local cottagers have fortified sides of the stream closet to the road which leads to the cottages lining the shoreline above the beach. The steam meanders more along the beach now than it has in the past however.

The sea stack looks much the same as last May, except the cormorants are hanging out there again. It is good to see the prehistoric looking birds back at one of their old haunts. 

                                                                        May 2020

                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                  May 2021

The face in the cliff looks more tired though. You can’t blame it after this past pandemic year.

The beach is in pristine condition, undoubtedly people picked up any debris which was deposited over the winter. Some seaweed is all that remains. We will only leave footprints which will vanish with the tide. 

Walking along, we could see fog rising from the wet sand in the distance. We imagine the earth, like us, is ready to exhale.

The sound of the sea fills the senses. It is good to be back for another year. 

Foggy mornings

Ahhh...spring, when an islander’s thoughts turn to fog. That’s what I was thinking during our 9 a.m. walks on the boardwalk this past week. We don’t have a lot of fog on Prince Edward Island but we had some every day last week.

Fog is a genteel visitor, faintly covering the harbour on occasion, adding an element of beauty to the familiar Front Range Light. She adds a sense of mystery to the landscape on a beautiful sunny day, when she creeps onshore.

Other times, fog is ostentatious, blocking our view of familiar landmarks, as she asserts her presence. 

The same scene can look dramatically different if she changes her approach.

Either way, she is a curiosity of nature.

Her long finger stretches forth in this photo from Saturday. Fog sits at the surface of the harbour, slowly stretching over the land she encounters.

The Indian Head Lighthouse at the entrance of the harbour knows all about fog. 

It has endured all of her moves and moods for 140 years. Fog nor her sister ice are no match for this seasoned sentinel.

Fog adds another element of beauty to nature.

Early morning in the fog

It’s been hot and humid so my husband, the golden grand-dog and I hit the boardwalk by seven a.m. because it’s too hot later in the day. Fog in the harbour changes the appearance of the trail through the familiar location. The fog and the early hour make for an interesting walk.

From the bridge over the stream, the gazebo is shrouded in fog.

The harbour is invisible in the distance and a Song Sparrow stands on a barren twig beside the barely visible sea. 

However, the animals are active and on the move.

In the stream, several moulting male Mallards are swimming around in the early morning mist.

A Sora which is visiting the area,

isn’t among the bulrushes this morning but its location in the fog doesn’t result in a great photo either.

The Red Squirrels are active this morning, playful really as they chase each other around the trees.

Three woodpeckers punctuate the misty air with their drilling around a broken tree trunk.

Everyone has the same idea when it’s hot and humid.

Out of the fog

The weather has been miserable for days with wind and rain and the promise of much more to come. However, compared to other parts of Canada, we don’t have any flooding. Early Sunday morning it wasn’t raining so I decided to go for a quick walk, with an umbrella in hand.

It was overcast at home but as I drove downhill, it was obvious the harbour was shrouded in fog. It changes the look of the environment and I was glad I had my camera.

It was low tide

and the fog made it impossible to see much beyond the shoreline. 

Over the hour I was there however, the fog appeared to dissipate somewhat. 

The city began to emerge from the fog 

as did the lighthouse, 

which had been invisible. I watched in the quiet of the Easter morning  

as the veil lifted giving the promise of a better day. 

How appropriate!

Foggy morning

Every second Saturday, I take my five year old granddaughter to her ballet class. The forty-five minute wait gives me little time to do much, so when weather permits, I walk on the nearby boardwalk.

Last Saturday morning, it was foggy. Fog over a snowy landscape is not common here but when it happens, it is a calm, damp day.

The views from the gazebo 

and the bridge were limited as I headed out. 

As I proceeded, the fog began to dissipate, making the lighthouse across the harbour just visible through the mist. 

                                             Can you see the lighthouse?

Twenty minutes later, when I arrived back at the bridge, there was a noticeable difference in the view.

It doesn’t take long for fog to disappear when conditions are right.