Rice Point

We visit the Argyle Shore on the south central coast of Prince Edward Island several times a year. Canoe Cove, along that shore, is where we buy wildflower honey from our favourite vendor at his roadside stand. 

However, we’d never visited Rice Point until one day last week. We were hunting seals.

I recently posted a photo of a seal, the first I’d ever seen around the island though my husband and I always watch for them. Helen, a blogger from Brisbane, Australia, see below, told me where she saw seals with her family when she visited here. Sure enough, there were seals at Rice Point at low tide, just like Helen said. Thank you, Helen! Here.

The beach reminds me of Canoe Cove just up the road where the tidal pools at low tide are of great interest to our grandchildren. 

Here, at Rice Point, offshore on a small, barely exposed sand bar, I saw shapes which could have been rocks. 

I recognized the familiar shape of cormorants along one part of the sand bar too.

I walked as far as I could and sure enough, the shapes were seals of various shades of grey and black and various sizes though all were big. Had I been prepared to wade in the water, I could have taken closer and had better photos. Another time.

The sand itself has wave induced shapes which I find intriguing too. How does ebb and flow create these? 

Also, the sand was full of holes made by shelled animals.

Our grandchildren would love to dig here. 

The beach, though not a huge one, is a beauty. 

It sits between two points of land in a shallow cove. 

The countryside around is farmland and residential. 

Gulls walked around the tidal pools, the ocean’s remnants easy picking for the scavengers.

We will visit Rice Point again and bring the grandchildren but it may not be until next summer.

Through the dunes

Before school started last week, my husband and I visited Cavendish beach with the kids for the last time this year. The children love this beach with its pink coloured sand.

From the walkway, on our way to the beach, we could see through gaps in the dunes that the water was rough from the storm the previous day.

We set up our chairs and blanket in the swimming area and our daughter and the kids headed into the water immediately. Within the hour, the lifeguards warned swimmers about the rip current which was strong and most people left the water.

The kids enjoyed playing in the sand while my husband and I walked the beach. A small flock of Sanderlings landed nearby long enough for a photo.

Later we walked with our oldest granddaughter to the other side of the beach, where low tide exposed the sandstone cliffs. We walked among the sandstone Inukshuks left by visitors. Our granddaughter enjoyed making one too.

I mentioned how dangerous it was to stand under the sandstone cliffs. She had lots of questions about the rock, its formation and qualities. Our eldest grandchild has an interest in science.

Later the beach opened for swimming again and we enjoyed more time in the water. It was another great day on the island.

New London Lighthouse

Every spring we visit the New London Lighthouse. It is one of my favourite lighthouses and my husband and I enjoy watching the fishing boats pass by close to shore. We always take visitors to this area to see the lighthouse, beach and boats.

We were late in spring and late in the day for our first visit this year so the fishing boats were already in port for the day. 

The red sand beach was almost deserted. 

A senior was flying a kite 

and another couple walked up the beach towards us.

It was low tide and the expanse of red sand beach invited us to walk its length. Since we’d had a walk already and it was late in the afternoon, we didn’t go far, but examined the driftwood 

and discovered a fish in the sand.

Off shore, cormorants and seagulls stood on the remains of an old structure in the channel. The old wood, bleached by sun and salt and assaulted by high seas and ice, still stands in spite of all nature throws at it.

The old lighthouse survived another winter too. It stands between the dunes and a stand of bulrushes. The Red-winged blackbirds, male and female, were busy, making their presence known with their melodies. The old sentinel is ready for summer visitors.

We’ll go back another time to see the boats as they return home to French River.