Port Burwell, August 24-27 2012

Burwell, Birthday, Beach, Bacon & Beans.........

The five "B's" of the week-end...........
We had a great birthday week-end at the beach.
To celebrate Duncan's big day he decided he
needed to take a long week-end so we stayed
until Monday. Unfortunately it rained all that
day but it was relaxing. Saturday and Sunday
we spent our time on the beach and enjoyed the
great waves and warmth of the water. It was a hot
and humid w/e so the water was a welcome relief.
It is always so much fun to hang out at this beach.
I didn't do any trail hiking as all the walking on the
beach and playing in the water was enough for me.
We baked a pizza on the BBQ Sunday morning and
enjoyed it as an afternoon snack while soaking up
some rays at the beach. We were able to enjoy three
campfires but it was a little earlier to bed for a couple
of the nights. All that sun, sand and water makes for
a couple of tired people.
Duncan has been under the impression that I am
depriving him of bacon recently so I made sure he was
able to enjoy some cooked on the BBQ this week-end.
Can't have a celebration and not let him have his bacon!!!
I hope he enjoyed his Birthday w/e as much as I did.


The Birthday Boy!!!


Duncan enjoying a walk in the water.

Sunsets on Lake Erie

Note the double wind turbine.


Seagulls enjoying an evening flight.


Sunset on the edge.


Beach grass in the glow.


Sunset through the clouds.



A strange looking animal face in the tree.
Can you identify what it is?


Its looking a little like fall in the sunset light.


The historic 1840's lighthouse in the
evening sun. You can climb to the top
of it and take in the sights.


A modern version of the lighthouse on the break wall
down at the beach.


A sand castle in the evening light.
I love the little door on it.


There were lots of sand castles on the beach.
This one had the parks name on it.


There were lots of Beach Beans. They are toxic raw
but are edible once they are cooked.


A young Sandpiper that we met twice on the beach.
Once during the day on Saturday and then again
Sunday evening.


Beach grass in the evening sun.

Backyard Beauties & The Beast..........

Mrs. Cardinal patiently waits her turn to par take
in a lunch of sunflower seeds.


The tomatoes are ready and we are enjoying them.
Nothing like fresh from the garden......YUM


The crow that never stops cawing. One of many that
have taken up residency in our area.

Point Farms, August 17-19 2012

WE HAVE COMPANY FOR THE WEEK-END!!!

Drew is joining us for our week-end away. We arrived
and set up camp before heading up to Pine River Cheese
to get our supply of cheese for the next while. We picked
up a few new flavors and Drew found some honey mustard
& onion pretzel pieces he wanted to try. They were yummy
so we stopped and got some more on our way by on Saturday.
We did a bit of a tour of the area before heading back to
have supper. In the evening we went down to the beach to
enjoy the sunset and then back to our site to spend the rest
of the night in front of a great campfire before heading off
to sleep for our busy day tomorrow.

FRIDAY EVENING......

Friday's sunset from up on the ridge by our campsite.


Sandcastles and the Surf on Friday evening.


A Happy Face in the evening clouds.


The suns reflection at the shoreline.


Evening sunset from beach level.

Saturday we headed into Goderich in the morning to get
DONUTS at the bakery. We have waited along time to
get our fix. This is the first time since the tornado went
through last August that we have been able to enjoy
these delicious ooey gooey melt in your mouth treats.:o}
We visited the market and then headed to Inverhuron to
spend time with Duncan's brother Rod who was staying
at a cottage there. We had a great afternoon exploring the
area. We all headed back to Point Farms for dinner
together and enjoyed our time at the campfire. Rod
headed back to his cottage around 11 and we tucked
ourselves in bed after a busy day.

FAMILY TIME IN INVERHURON

The water crashing on the rock ridge at the edge of the lake.


Rod & Duncan discussing just where the cottage may have been
that they stayed in as children. Drew is listening with interest.


This is a Lodge along the shore of the lake. The colors are eye catching.


Lots of greenery to enjoy as we walked the roads and beach
in Inverhuron.


A spider in its web at Rod's cottage.


Memories of Childhood: I just had to take this photo of their
sign as it has Galt on it and it is now called Cambridge.


Evening sunset from up on the ridge by our campsite.

Sunday was a relaxing morning for all of us. We enjoyed a
great brunch and did a bit of packing before I headed off
to see what photo ops were waiting for me. Well, I scored
a big one!!! While taking a few shots of the flowers I spotted
a large bug that was flying like a hummingbird. I had never
seen anything like it before so I started to snap pics at
random as it was always hovering or on the move. It stayed
for a few minutes and then it was off to where I could not
follow. My search on the internet at home was successful
and I identified it as a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. From the
info I learned they are not that common. After packing up
Arista we headed to the beach to enjoy a long walk. The
water was nice for walk in and we enjoyed our time at
the beach taking in the sights and sounds at the
shoreline. We stopped for an ice cream before our trip
home. Thanks goes out to Drew for making this a special
week-end. You are welcome to join us anytime.

MY EXCITING FIND OF THE WEEK-END

Hummingbird Hawk Moth from a side angle.


Hummingbird Hawk Moth from the front.

SUNDAY MORNING NATURE TIME











BEACH TIME

Duncan & Drew taking a leisurely stroll on the beach.



The view from Duncan's perspective. I'm taking the picture and
Drew's walking on the beach with the lake in the background.

A Cardinals Lunch

I didn't realize this fella was enjoying a grasshopper lunch
until I uploaded the picture onto my computer. He can stay
around here and enjoy all he wants as we have an abundance
of them.

Port Burwell, August 10-12 2012

We had our first week-end with cooler weather
& wet conditions in a long time.
At the family reunion my cousins wife told me
that a photo of mine was in the Long Point Park
guide so we had to take a short drive to Long
Point to get a copy of it. While we were in the
area we drove through Port Rowen and were
able to get a few pictures from there. On the
way back to Port Burwell we stopped at a few
vacant houses and captured some shots of them.
Old homes always make for great shots in my
opinion.
With the rain we had been experiencing
that week Lake Erie was very rough and we were
told to be careful of undertows. Neither of us were
anxious to get in the water on Saturday so we
headed to Port Stanley to check out the sights.
It is a great little town with lots of shops, a great
beach, a tourist train you can take a ride on and
lots of great spots to view the lake from. It rained
a bit off and on but nothing to stop us from our
exploring. When we arrived back in Port Burwell
the legion was having a BBQ chicken dinner so we
headed there for supper. It was yummy! We were
both so full that we just relaxed for the evening.
Sunday the sun came out and the temperature
warmed up nicely. I went for a hike on a trail while
Duncan hung out at the cottage. We headed to the
beach but decided the water was still to rough
for our liking so we had a nap instead. This was
a very relaxing week-end and we both seemed
to need that. I have to admit that I missed the
time we usually spend in the water at this beach.
We will be back there in a few weeks so we are
hoping for warmer and dryer weather.
P.S. People with barking dogs need to teach
them to be quiet or leave them at home......

My first published photo

This is the 3rd page of the 2012 Long Point Park guide.


Original photo taken August 26, 2011

Adventures from the week-end.

This shack down by the lake in Port Rowen was just begging to
have its picture taken. I love the color!!!


I spy with my big eyes..............
This fella is looking out towards Lake Erie on someone's front yard.
What a great woodworking idea! Sure brought a smile to our faces
when we saw him.


The docking area in Port Rowan. I thought the variety of colors
made for a great photo


This old brick house is slowly falling into disrepair. It is next door
to the wooden house below. What a shame to see it falling apart &
empty when it could be a great home for someone to enjoy.


The wooden trim work on this house is amazing. The original
narrow double front doors are still there.


This old house must have been quite the place in its prime.
Sad to see it so dilapidated.


The bay window at the side of the house with its colors still showing
a bit.


Looking across the harbour to the main street in Port Stanley.


Some of the cars that are used on the tourist train in Port Stanley.


Looking out over the rough waters of Lake Erie from the top of
Hawk Cliff just outside of Port Stanley.


A view of the cliff looking back from a jut at the top.

Mushrooms

Mycena leaiana


Angels Wings: edible


Oyster Mushroom: edible


Slime Mold: Fuligo Septisa


This is a White Pale Beauty that spent hours on this branch
without moving. Must have been napping!


This Tussock Moth caterpillar is checking out the tiny
mushrooms on the bark of the tree.


Common Buckeye Butterfly resting on the beach.