A day at the beach

It was a sunny but windy day and the tide was low, a perfect morning for the park and beach at Canoe Cove. We love to visit that beach with our daughter and grandchildren, so we headed out early to get maximum time there at low tide. The kids were so exited when they jumped out of the car, all laughing and talking at the same time. The Cove is a great place for all of that energy. 

First they checked out the playground at the park. Meanwhile the tide was headed to its lowest point and before long, we headed down for a walk in the sand and tidal pools. We watched a pair of Great Blue Herons fishing for an early lunch. 

Also, this is an area of coastline which is home to seals. They are in the distance in this photo but as so often happens, I didn’t notice them until I looked at the photos later.

This cove drains off most of its water during low tide so all that remains is water in low lying areas. The exposed sand shows the action of the water on the sea bed. 

Seaweed is strewn around the beach and we spent some time observing the Toothed Wrack variety 

which anchors itself to rocks via a holdfast. 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each person in the world had a holdfast to anchor us when the storms of life are particularly rough?

We explored the animal life remaining on the beach including barnacles and periwinkles attached to the rocks. 

The periwinkles in the tidal pools were crawling over the sand and explored our feet when we walked among them.

It was an interesting sensation. Around the exposed seabed, we found several dead crabs which were intact. 

We didn’t find any starfish that day however.

Several jellyfish were in tidal pools and stranded along the beach. 

The children always avoid them but are curious about them too.

Overhead, the Bank Swallows darted through the air in pursuit of insects and from the exposed shoreline, we watched as they entered and left their nests through the holes in the bank above the sandstone.

Along the shoreline, driftwood of various sizes stands against the elements, 

while trees drape their roots over the elevated shoreline. Those trees will eventually be but a piece of driftwood too.

Our grandson played with toys to make a channel in the sand. It flooded later with the rising tide, a lesson in tidal action he will remember.

The girls had mud baths, coating themselves in some muddy sand along one of the tidal pools. They had a natural spa day with the mud bath and the periwinkles tickling their feet.

Lunch in the park at a covered picnic table was a cool affair in the shade on that windy day.

As we left the park, the rising tide sent people off the beach as the Cove filled with the rising sea.

Canoe Cove at low tide is a great place for children to explore and swim. The added bonus of the day park facilities makes it an ideal location for families to spend the day.

Watch your step

During a walk on the beach in the national park on Prince Edward Island recently, we did not have to worry about social distancing. The beach on the north shore of the island had only four other people over several kilometres. We had a section of beach to ourselves.

The sandstone cliffs are always of interest along the coastline.

In the distance, a sea arch grows a bit every year.

The star of the day however was the Lion’s Mane, a purple starfish which is common in the waters around the island. On this day at low tide, it was common on the beach too.

This year the numbers of Lion’s Mane around the island are more than most islanders have ever seen. On the north shore, they were everywhere. Some were left stranded on the sand as the tide receded. Others floated in the waters which lapped the shore.

I stepped on one, slipped and fell on one knee from not watching where I was walking. Those stranded purple gelatinous creatures are slippery. While I didn’t hurt myself, I watched where I walked after that experience.

Thousands of the jellyfish floated in the water. In places they mingled with seaweed so it was difficult to distinguish them from the algae. Others  advanced and retreated with the gentle lap of the waves. Needless to say, we stayed out of the water. Their sting hurts. 

I watched some larger specimens are they moved up and down in the water, contracting and expanding the umbrella. The trail of hair-like tentacles from the underside of the bell shape give the jellyfish its name. A 24 second video shows its movement here. Their dance is like a slow twerk.

As we left the beach several people headed down to replace us in the sand and the jelly fish. 

Watch your step!

Now and then at the beach

The wave action causes ripples in the sand which the retreating tide exposes. 

In the distance to the left, the Confederation Bridge looms large. 

To the right, Seacow Head Lighthouse stands guard over Seven Mile Bay. 

This is Chelton Beach, a day use park in Prince Edward Island, a perfect place to spend some time. We visited the park with our grandchildren and our daughter recently.

Of course we had a picnic, after which we walked over the embankment to the beach where it was low tide. We set up on an exposed sand bar for a few hours until the advancing tide caused us to retreat to the shoreline. Meanwhile just off-shore, paddle boarders stood tall above the water. 

This beach had tidal pools but without the animals present at Canoe Cove. There aren’t starfish or clams to explore. Here the two types of jellyfish which frequent the waters around Prince Edward Island were prominent as well as varieties of seaweed.

The jellyfish, some transparent White Moon and lots of purple Lion’s Mane were of interest to the grandchildren because of their fear of being stung. 

The Lion’s Mane are called Blood Suckers by islanders and knowing that, the kids were sure to avoid them and not silently either.

They played in the sand on this beach, 

creating sand walls and digging until water filled the holes where they placed small White Moon jellyfish for observation. They certainly didn’t play with the purple ones.

I walked among the seaweed floating in the advancing tide. Fifty years ago, when I attended university, I enjoyed courses in marine biology. My childhood summers in Maddox Cove, Newfoundland, made me want to know more about nature. All these years later, the beauty of the seaweed waving in the water is just as fascinating to me as it was all those years ago.

Did I just write fifty years?