Port Burwell, Aug. 21-23 2015

We had a great weekend away and spent lots of time at the waters edge enjoying the sun and sandy beach. Its always nice to be able to walk along this long beach and enjoy the crashing of the waves along the shoreline. The water was rough on Friday but became calmer as the weekend progressed. I was able to observe a fair number of Sanderling Sandpippers as they foraged along the waters edges for food. I had not yet photographed this bird so it was fun getting pictures of them. It is amazing how fast their legs can move if you get to close to them. They breed in the high Arctic and spend there winters on sandy beaches probing for food in the receding waves. It was also nice to see so many monarch butterflies. The numbers are still down but this was the most we had observed in a long time. Some of them looked pretty beat up as they were missing parts of their wings but this didn't stop them from fluttering about as they enjoyed the nectar on the milkweed plants. I enjoyed two hikes through the woods in the morning sunlight. I only saw one other person along the trail on Saturday and no one on Sunday morning so it was quite peaceful except for the birds that were singing or pecking in the trees along the way. We enjoyed Fred's garlic sausage bbq'd with baked potato's and beans for dinner on Saturday evening. He makes the best sausage and Duncan does an amazing job of barbecuing  it to perfection. We were able to spend two wonderful evenings by the campfire enjoying a tea and a delicious hot chocolate. This weekend we are off to the Pinery and Drew is planning on joining us. We will be doing some biking through the park and enjoying our time with him. It's suppose to be a warm and sunny weekend so we will have lots of fun.

Sanderling Sandpipers along the beach

Monarch enjoying the nectar

Beach grass that grew in a clump

Caterpillar climbing on the beach bean plant

This is the biggest tree I have seen at the park

Lots of water spiders in the creek with a great reflection

Beauty in the woods

White-breasted nuthatch doing its upside down travels

Wildflowers along the trail

A feather in its mouth after preening

Old knots washed into shore with the waves

Adult and juvenile Sanderlings working the beach

Pretty tiny flowers growing in the bush

This is not what you are suppose to do with your used wood bags. 

Please throw them away as they are biodegradable.

 

Juvenile Pine Warbler

 

Saturday evening at the beach

Seagull in the setting sun

Beauty above the trees at sunset

Seagull hoping for a handout while at the beach on Sunday

Sanderling wading along the shoreline

MacGregor, Aug.14-16 2015

What another amazing weekend. I think I witnessed one of my best sunsets on Saturday evening at the foot of Beach St. in Southampton. It was so beautiful to watch the sun set with the Chantry Island Lighthouse as part of the view.
 Friday after setting up camp we drove down to Inverhuron Park to check out the new Holmes Bay campground. We wanted to see what sites would be good for us when we head that way in September. They did a great job on the new campground but it will take a few years for the trees to fill back in. We also saw that they built a group camping area. After enjoying a yummy dinner of salad and hamburgers we spent the remainder of the evening by the fire. Not too close though as it was a very warm evening.
 Saturday I went for a hike in the morning before breakfast. It was already getting quite warm. We then headed into Southampton to do some shopping and make a stop at the bakery. We picked up a couple jelly donuts which I loved, a few apple fritters and a chelsea bun. We slowly made our way back to camp and had a restful afternoon. We decided to try Lord Elgin's fish and chips for dinner. We both really enjoyed it but were much to full by the time we finished. We then headed into Southampton to enjoy the sunset and take some pictures of it. We stopped in for a short visit with John and Joanne who were heading out to a dance in town. Hope you had a great evening! After arriving back at camp we sat by the campfire til just after midnight.
 Sunday I went for another hike and it was a very hot and muggy one even though it was early in the day. We enjoyed some brunch and a bit leisure time before packing up and parking the motor home off site. We spent the rest of the day touring the park. There wasn't to much activity as I'm sure it was to hot and humid even for the birds and wildlife. We hooked up the car and headed home around 5. We enjoyed veggie, dip, cheese and crackers for dinner on our trip home.

The beginning of sunset

This Monarch had very pale colours

Dragonfly keeping its eyes on me

Red Admiral Butterfly enjoying the golden rod

Hitching a ride on the back of the wagon

Beautiful flowers growing at the beach

The sky is a ball of fire

Tiny flowers on the shoreline

Golden wheat in a field by the park

                                                  I always love the look of wheat photos

Setting sun behind the lighthouse

The vibrant colours were breathtaking

Morning sun through the trees at our site

Tepee under construction along the old shore road trail

Christmas colours along the trail

Look what I found on my walk

New life growing from a dead tree

A Merlin surveying the snake pond area

I thought I saw a turtle

Pitcher plant flowers at the bog

Signs of fall are starting to show on some trees :o(

Sunset or moon rise? Depends on how you see it!

Point Farms, Aug.7-9 2015

 The "Prettiest Little Town" was a great place to spend the weekend. It was busy in Goderich as they were hosting the Celtic Festival and there were quite a number of people there to enjoy the music. We decided not to attend as we were going to have company on Saturday. Ian, Brittany, Drew and Emma were coming to spend the afternoon at the beach and have supper with us. Saturday morning we went into town to pick up our order at the bakery before visiting the market to get some fresh veggies and  corn on the cob for supper. When we arrived at the bakery they were lined up on the street to get in which had never happened when we were there before. I had a nice chat with a couple from Waterloo while waiting in line. After getting back to camp our guests arrived so we heading down to the beach. We ended up spending less time at the water as the clouds rolled in and it was getting cooler. Poor Emma was turning blue after spending some time in the water. She enjoyed playing in the sand more than being in the cool water. We had supper together before they headed back home. The corn was so good that most of us ate too much as we just had to have another one. Duncan and I went down to the beach to get sunset pictures and spent the rest of the evening by the campfire.
 Sunday morning I went for a hike in the park before we enjoying toasted egg, bacon and tomato sandwiches for brunch. We packed up and headed to the beach. It was warm and sunny so it was a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon before heading home later in the day.

View from the rail trail over the Maitland River

Old hydro trusses with the bridges shadow on the river

Bird on the right is a juvenile Cow Bird that is being fed by a Red-eyed Vireo. 

Cowbirds often lay eggs in other birds nests and that bird raises them.

Young Cowbird

Moth adding to the beauty of the flower

Heron flying away from me

Emma testing the water with dad (Ian)

Happy Emma at the beach

Mesmerized by the sand flowing through her fingers

Seagull with it large catch

It was fun watching it trying to swallow it whole

Lake bottom through the calm waters

Sunset from the lake edge

Great use of nature to secure a tarp

Even with the clouds it was gorgeous

Hiking on the Farm Trail

Busy as a bee

Beauty in nature

Dragonfly keeping its eyes on me

Turkey Vulture soaring past

Sunday the lake was busy with boat traffic