Port Burwell Aug.19-21 2016

 We enjoyed the wonderful beach and waters that Port Burwell had to offer this weekend. The water was amazingly warm and quite calm on Saturday so we went swimming and enjoyed the afternoon at the beach. It was another very humid weekend so the water was a great way to cool off. I don't remember the lake ever being this warm before. We were suppose to get heavy rain and thunder on Saturday evening but we lucked out again and it passed us by so we were able to enjoy two wonderful evening by our campfire. I went for a few hikes and was able to observe a number of birds traveling through the trees as they searched for insects to eat. I watched a Black and White Warbler for a while but was not able to photograph it unfortunately. Saturday I went to the information session on "Feathered Friends". I was able to make Emma an owl out of a pine cone and paper. She really liked it when I gave it to her on Monday. Sunday we spent the afternoon at the beach but we didn't go swimming as the water was very rough. It was a very windy day so we went walking and sat on the beach instead. The wind surfers looked like they were having a great time out on the lake. We always enjoy our time at this park and there is a great ice cream store in town that offers a huge variety of flavours so we often indulge in a treat while we are there. Its nice to have a great park that is such a short distance from home.

Waters edge at sunset

Common Terns in the evening light

Beach art is always interesting

Setting sun through the beach grasses

Lucky shot of the gull passing by the setting sun

I loved this owl tent

Sanderling Sandpiper at the beach

Grasshopper at the beach

Wading in the water at sunset

Natures face of a dog in driftwood

 This Least Sandpiper was hanging out with the Sanderlings

Canada Goose blowing bubbles

Busy doing some preening

I'm a little shy.....Note the feather on its nose

Catbird with lunch for the young ones

Vine showing affection for the tree.....lol

Blackburnian Warbler, a first photo for me

Blackburnian Warbler taking flight

 

Wind surfer out on the rough lake

 

Ring Billed Gulls at the waters edge

Bonaparte's Gulls

MacGregor Point, Aug. 12-14 2016

 It was a wonderful family weekend. We arrived to very hot and humid weather and a wonderful site to enjoy another great weekend with nature. We made a trip up to the veggie store to get some fresh corn on the cob to have with dinner and did some exploring in the park. We were not going to have a fire that evening because the weather was calling for rain. When it still hadn't arrived later that evening I decided to get one going. It was wonderful sitting out and enjoying the sights and sounds of a good campfire. The rain did eventually arrive late that night and continued into Saturday morning.
 Saturday we stopped at the Offshore Bakery in Southampton before heading over to John and Joannes for a visit. It was nice to see them and catch up on family news. After leaving there we headed to Marty's in Paisley to enjoy lunch with Duncan's family. We enjoyed a fabulous meal with Rod, Berg, Bain and Laurie. This is definitely a place we will go back to. After lunch we decided we had to get a picture of the boys in front of the old Paisley Advocate and Country Squire Printery building that their father once owned and that they all worked at in there younger days. Rod stopped into the convenience store and picked up three copies of the paper and the guy had lots of fun reading and posing for pictures. Lots of memories and laughs were shared as they reminisced about the past. We headed back to camp for a while before heading out to Rod and Berg's place in Inverhuron for a short visit. We all then traveled to Point Clark to Bain and Laurie's new home (cottage) on the lake for a late dinner and visit. They have a beautiful home and I'm sure there will be many wonderful times and memories made there with family and friends. We enjoyed the most delicious pizza that came from the pizza store in Point Clark and a yummy salad and cake for our late dinner. We all agreed we had eaten way too much yummy food that day. We arrived back at camp about 1:00 in the morning so no fire this night. On our way back into camp we had to stop for a deer on the road in the park. That was the only one we saw all weekend.
 Sunday morning I went for a hike. I thought it was a good idea to try and work off some of the great food I had enjoyed the day before. Neither of us were very hungry so we passed on our usual Sunday morning breakfast and just had a light late morning snack. We enjoyed some quiet time on our site before we went and did a bit of exploring. We then packed up and parked the motorhome down by the beach and did some hiking in the park. We were quite surprised to see the pond on the Huron Fringe Trail so dried up. We then went to spend some time at the bird blind area. We came across a big Snapping Turtle, saw a few Merlin and there were a number of Great Egrets as well. After a fun afternoon it was time to hook up the car and head out. The excitement of the weekend didn't end there.  As we pulled into the dumping station there was a young porcupine out enjoying the greens that field had to offer so I was able to get some wonderful photos and observe it as it munched away. It was quite interesting to see how it uses its paws as hands to grab the plants and watch how it moves around. I didn't realize just how big there back feet are and what tremendously long claws they have. It was a great finish to an awesome weekend with family and nature.

Duncan, Rod and Bain enjoying a few laughs

Porcupine out and about having dinner 

What a little piggy....lol

I don't know how this young blue jay could handle so many peanuts.

Beautiful stained glass on a building in Paisley

You can always find a happy face in the woods

The Merlin wouldn't come close enough for a good shot

Flowering plants in the marsh

Enjoying a bite to eat

Walking onto greener pastures

You can see the ear hole in this photo

Monarch was photo bombed by a bee....lol

Lots of frogs by the water on the Tower Trail

Very large snapping turtle

My, what big claws you have

Female Northern Flicker trying to hide from us

I love these dainty blue and pink flowers

One of the Great Egrets in the marsh

Sunday morning along the waters edge

Busy as a bee

Point Farms, Aug.5-7 2016

 This summer is turning into one of the warmest and driest ones we've had since we started our adventures. We had planned for an indoor dinner for Friday as we were suppose to get thunderstorms but once again the rain Gods decided not to produce any wet stuff on our weekend. We have never seen so many people enjoying the beautiful waters at Point Farms as there were on this weekend. The beach may be much narrower than it has been in past years but most available sandy spots were being enjoyed by sunbathers and swimmers alike. We enjoyed a delicious bbq'd dinner and a trip to the nearby pond before settling down by the campfire for the night.
 Saturday we were going to have company for the afternoon so we headed into town for our bakery run and tour of Goderich earlier than usual. We enjoyed a couple of donuts for breakfast.......lol Mike and Wendy arrived just after 11 on their spyder motorcycle and we spent a few hours visiting before heading to Flippin Eggs for lunch. Mike and I ordered the grilled cheese hamburger and it was to die for!!! The meat was so tender and the grilled cheese it was wrapped in was amazing. I will definitely order this the next time we stop there. After our wonderful late lunch we toured around Goderich and walked out on the pier and enjoyed the sights and view for the end. It gave us a different perspective of the great beachfront that runs along the edge of town. We then travelled back to Point Farms and went to the beach. Mike and Wendy couldn't believe how small the beach has become. It had been a few years since they had been there so it was quite a change. After visiting for a while longer they headed home. Neither Duncan nor I were hungry so we went exploring for a few hours before enjoying the sunset from the cliff. By that time we were feeling a little peckish so we enjoyed a salad and a restful evening by the campfire.
 Sunday I went for a hike before we had brunch. We relaxed at our site until it was time to pack up. We moved the motorhome to the picnic area and drove into town. I have never seen so many cars and people along the beach as there were on this hot and sunny day. We sat and enjoyed the view over the beautiful lake and watched a young girl flying her butterfly kite. It was quite real looking as it flapped in the wind except for its size and colours. On our way back to the park I became very tired and was not feeling the greatest so I went for a nap. Not sure if it had to do with the pie and donuts I enjoyed on the weekend or just the hot weather. A special thanks to Mike and Wendy for making the trip up and the fun times on Saturday.

Beautiful blue waters of Lake Huron

Chickadee at the filling station is maybe looking for water

Busy bee's collecting pollen

Fridays sunset rays through the clouds

Spider webs are everywhere

Chickadee looking for a treat in the webs

Splashing against the rocks

Sunset at the edge of the pond

Muscrat with a bouquet of flowers.....

Blue heron landing at the pond

Evening snack time for the muscrat

Mike and Wendy heading out on their spyder

Three stages of the coneflowers bloom

Saturday sunset over the lake

View of the sunset from the cliff

Juvenile crow keeping an eye on me

Butterfly kite by the waters edge

A butterfly of many colours

Chicory flowers are blooming everywhere

Chickadee all puffed up with a fly on its head