September discoveries

Our past week started with a picnic in the community of Cape Egmont. We had driven along the Evangeline shoreline of Prince Edward Island, and stopped at the Cap Egmont lighthouse. The sea stack there is another favourite of my husband and I and we like to observe it seasonally.

This year, the size of both openings in the stack continues to grow and the first part of the stack visible from shore has two faces. 

Can you see them? We will be interested to see how they change this coming winter.

The Double-crested Cormorants have enjoyed the stack this year if the guano is any indication. 

The birds perch on the stack between their fishing flights along the shoreline.

This nearby cove, accessible via a narrow path and chain to hold was beyond the risk we would take, though I wanted to try it.

The shoreline has Goldenrod and Asters in abundance and the lighthouse is a wonderful backdrop.

At Cape Egmont, Arsenault Pond is a beautiful setting for a picnic.

A trail around the pond goes through the wildflowers such as Fireweed and Joe Pye Weed all gone to seed.

A fish ladder on the pond was busy that day as little fish were on their way down stream.

Just below the ladder, a Great Blue Heron knew of the fish too. You can bet it wasn’t his first day in this location.

We walked the boardwalk this past week as well. One location along the boardwalk is frequented by a flock of European Starlings. The chatty birds sometimes hang out in the trees in that area or among the seaweed along the shoreline below. 

Later this past week we cared for the golden grand-dog, Daisy again. She keeps us on our toes! It is cooler weather now so we didn’t take Daisy to the beach. Instead all of our walks were on the Confederation Trail, where we saw a few interesting things.

We expect this bird, probably a duck, fell prey to a raptor. 

Of course Daisy discovered it along the way. Only feathers remained around a headless body cavity. That predator was efficient! The tail feathers on this bird were beautifully coloured.

Also along the trail we discovered two tiny garter snakes. It looked like they had been run over by bikes. The tiny creatures would have been difficult to see as one rode along. We had never seen such small Garter Snakes.

The fields along the trail are near harvest time, potatoes having been sprayed, waiting for harvesting. Corn fields are tall and provide beautiful texture to the wildflowers bordering the fields.

Meanwhile, this young dog, along for a walk to use up some of the energy she has in abundance, can run free on the trail when no other walkers or bikers are around. The faithful creature, runs ahead as fast as she can, stops suddenly and looks around, checking on the two seniors walking along behind her. 

We smile and walk on…

  

Wily

It was cold, -8 C but it felt like -16. My husband and I decided a walk through the woodland would be sheltered and comfortable. We were right, appropriate clothing kept us warm enough to enjoy the outing, and the golden grand-dog was elated. We allowed her to run after we left the parking area. 

We walked a section of the trail which was new to us. It was at the end of a field, parallel to the highway in the distance.

Coniferous trees, including pines were planted in the area years ago. 

A huge stand of deciduous trees stood in their tall grey silence as we passed.

Georgie was delighted to be off lead. She hadn’t been for a walk with us recently, and she made up for lost time. She ran ahead of us but always responded when we called her.

As we headed back, we put Georgie back on lead as we neared a pond just recently frozen.

It was a dangerous area since she is inclined to explore and the ice might not have been safe.

Then we saw it, a coyote headed towards us on the trail. When Georgie barked, it turned into the woods and headed across the adjacent field. 

I took one quick photo, though not a great one. You can see the animal’s beautiful coat however. It was taller than we imagined but scrawny too. 

Undoubtedly, there are others in the area as family units stay together. We’ve seen the warning signs there about coyotes and we told two mountain bikers about it as we left the trails.

The coyote was an unexpected find but we were glad Georgie was on lead at the time. She will be on lead there in the future for sure.

That dog

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a Georgie story. This time of year has the usual celebrations and a family birthday besides. We have always celebrated two occasions, never wanting to make a birthday blend with the Christmas festivities. Of course Georgie, the golden retriever, is in the middle of every celebration.

Many of our activities with the grandkids are done on couches and coffee tables or on the floor. Whatever games we play, Georgie is there. Everyone must reach around or over the dog. That dog thinks she’s human. 

Presents were opened as we sat around on the floor and you know who was in the centre. She had a sniff at the packages before they were opened. Georgie knew about the scented candles and the bath bombs long before we did.

Decorating the tree was an experience. Our grandchildren worked at the decorations, reaching in over the dog much of the time to place the decorations on the tree. She wanted to be there with them and they took it for granted that she was.

We thought Georgie would enjoy some of the Christmas headwear but she didn’t look too pleased and quickly had it off her head, running her paw over her head to dislodge it.

This is one tradition she doesn’t enjoy and we won’t make her suffer the indignity again. 

That dog!