A busy week in August

It was a busy week. Besides our walks along the boardwalk, time with family and friends this past week has kept us busy. It included time on one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, at Thunder Cove on the north shore. It ended with a sleepover for the grandchildren, always fun, though exhausting.

There are certain expectations with a walk along the boardwalk, depending on the time of year. The Great Blue Herons which summer on Prince Edward Island are often visible in Bedeque Bay. 

The bands of colour and texture at low tide on a sunny day in the bay make us stop to take in the scene as one of the large birds feeds in the tidal pools.

By late August, shorebird migration has begun and some of the birds stop in the bay on their way south. Yellowlegs are common visitors and this one was alerting the animals to the predator sitting on the bank of the stream.

I managed a photo of the Red Fox running into the bulrushes. It was a few minutes before the bird stopped its alert!

Another day, sailboats were out on the bay as they often are but sails were furled. The wind was high that day.

At Thunder Cove, fun at the beach was the order of the day. The expanse of shoreline is a great place for sand castles, lying in the sun, a walk

or a frisbee. 

The local colony of gulls was watchful for morsels of food and were entertaining, as usual, as they explored areas vacated by beachgoers.

At sunset, the beach took on a glow in the diminished light. 

As the sun settled lower, the approaching night has a look of its own.

We headed back over the dune path, looked back at the peaceful scene and were thankful for our good fortune to live in this time and place.

Late afternoon in the bay

It was 5 p.m. as we headed home after a day on the northeast coast of Prince Edward Island. As we passed by the bay, we noticed a flock of Great Blue Herons just off-shore. Of course we stopped to take in the scene.

While we were stopped for the herons, the scene on the horizon made us linger as the sun highlighted a band of clouds beneath thick blue cloud cover. The water below looked silver as birds, probably gulls, foraged in the intertidal zone. 

Wading and floating in the water, geese looked peaceful as well. 

However the most dramatic scene became the long shot of the Indian Head Lighthouse with a shimmer of light on its north side, the band of lighter cloud directly behind it and the dark blue cloud overhead. The intertidal zone provided interest in the foreground. The pools of water in that zone reflected the dark blue overhead. That lone white cloud highlighted the lighthouse.

Nature surprises us constantly.

At the beach house

The beach house is on an inlet near the mouth of the Hillsborough River, with the capital city, Charlottetown, visible in the distance. A salt marsh and beach separate the house from the brackish water of the estuary.

Our daughter’s family rented the house recently and my husband and I visited. It is a lovely house in a beautiful setting and we spent much of the time with the family on the beach. 

The path to the beach goes through a meadow with wildflowers 

and Queen Anne had her lace spread about with abandon.

It was low tide 

and the Northumberland Strait having already receded, began to rise as we walked with the children and explored the beach. Plenty of shelled animals live below the high tide mark here. 

The kids enjoyed playing at the water’s edge and soon discovered they could cover themselves and each other in muddy sand. 

Why pay for a mud treatment when you can have this much fun for free?

Nearby a farm extends to the shoreline, reminding us of the connection of land and sea on our island home.

We had a wonderful day with the family and although it was overcast, it didn’t rain. We were lucky to have such a day in a week of miserable weather. If only we could share the rain this summer with western Canada!

The lowest low

Tide that is! We had never seen the tide so low in the harbour in Summerside.

Sand bars galore were exposed as the sun heated us and the cool breeze made it bearable.

Two great blue herons waded in the water, fishing for brunch. 

As my husband and I watched, the birds dipped their heads into the water to snatch their food.

The rose hips are brilliant red and huge compared to those we’ve seen before.

A friend who makes rose hip wine would love these.

The geese are back now from their adventures further north.

                                                                                    Incoming

On September first every year they are overhead, honking as they go. They must mark the calendar with the departure date from their northern summer homes.

Gulls shared the beach with the geese. We watched as this young herring gull picked up mussel or clam shells from the sand and dropped them from a height.

Then it flew to the area and ate the contents. Isn't that a clever bird?

Further along the beach, the range light has a new paint job and looks well maintained before the stormy weather to come. 

We also met an Irish wolfhound named, Balan, and his owner. Balan is five years old and is waist high. His owner said, "He backs onto the couch where he planks his derriere while his four feet rest on the floor." 

Balan also sleeps on the bed with his owners. It must be king size!

It was another great day on the boardwalk!