After the snowfall

You couldn’t call it a storm. We’d had 10-15 centimetres of snow but without significant wind. Many of the conifers were snow laden. 

When I arrived at the boardwalk, the parking lot was empty. I felt safe in the area although I was alone so I grabbed the camera and headed to the trail for the hour during my granddaughter’s dance class. It was a great opportunity to get some fresh air after a day indoors.

It was cold but I was dressed for it. I started at the gazebo as I often did. The view out the harbour was always a great place to begin, looking out to sea in the Northumberland Strait. The sea was frozen in places but the stream and the saltwater marsh were completely frozen. An animal, possible a fox, had crossed the snow covered ice. 

As I headed out from the gazebo, I heard a woodpecker. I followed the sound to a feeder which was new to the area and the woodpecker was busy pecking at the feeder. Then he found the suet. 

A plow clears the bike trail alongside the boardwalk in the winter and early going, among the trees, was perfect. Further along, in an open area, the snow had drifted so the walk was more of a challenge.

Among the trees again, the path was perfect but the bench at the end of the trail didn’t have many guests.

As I walked back, the trail plow/salter made its way towards the drifted areas. The trail was cleared for the evening.

On my way to collect my granddaughter, I stopped along Water Street to take in the setting sun. It was a perfect outing.

Sunset on the beach

We arrived a half hour before sunset. The western sky had some clouds but my husband and I settled in anyway. We were the only people on the beach and though it wasn’t cold, it was cool enough for jackets. The lighthouse at New London was dark compared to the western sky.

A boat came into the channel headed home for the night. 

Others were on the move too, as overhead, jets carried passengers to parts unknown. 

As the boat moved farther up the channel, the mechanical sounds left room for the  waves and the birds. A sand bar on the opposite side of the channel was filling up with its tenants, hundreds of gulls.

As the sun set, light flashed in the old tower as the sky behind it changed with the cloud cover.

Within minutes, another boat was visible in the distance and before long, it was in the channel.

As the darkness deepened, the details of the lighthouse began to disappear. The light became the beacon and in the deepening darkness, glowed. 

Meanwhile far in the distance, lights of another boat were visible. The rhythm of the waves was the same as in the days when the light was the only hope for mariners needing safe passage along the coast. 

Darkness on the beach was complete, the birds quiet, the waves constant, their sound comforting in the still and dark. 

We became one with the setting as overhead, stars were visible through openings in the clouds. 

Some time later, it appeared. The orange moon rose out of the blackness and reflected off the water. Each of the elements had done its part, as night settled over the island at the end of another day .