Summer's Beginnings

Summer seemed to creep up gradually.  It seemed like one day I was still wearing my heavy jacket and jeans complaining about the fog, rain and cold and than one day, all of a sudden, the layers came off, I got a sunburn, the water warmed up, the lifeguards showed up at the beach and it was officially summer!

One of the first real summer things I do every July is head out to Rendell's Farm in Bras d'Or and pick enough fresh strawberries to last the winter.  This year the strawberries weren't as good as they usually were and my schedule didn't work out very well with the sunny days (it rained every weekend at the start of summer) so I only got half of what I usually pick.  As I write this, they are almost gone already!

It seems the jellyfish don't stick around as much as they used to and by the second week in July, they were all gone!  The water was a little late warming up but it was still tolerable in the early days of summer.  Any nice day when I wasn't out of town, I was on Dominion Beach in the afternoons and again in the evenings for a walk and sunset viewing.  Oh and there were some endangered piping plovers nesting on the beach too.  That added some excitement especially after the little ones hatched.  There were also three baby eagles born in the nest alongside the road I drive on to get to the beach so that made my drive a little more enjoyable!  I even saw a baby bobcat in Lingan on my way home from the beach one evening but that was a one time thing.  Elusive as they are, I've only seen maybe three bobcats in my whole life. 

Something that was missing at the beach this summer was fox kittens. There were none.  Several adult foxes were hanging around the beach all summer, but no little ones were born.  

Most mornings before heading to the beach, I'd drive to Dad's and go biking along the shore to the lighthouse.  That was sometimes followed by a visit to my sisters to see her and my little nephew or we would meet them at the beach so he could play in the sand and out his feet in the water. 

 As summer went on, the days got hotter and, unfortunately for me, my air conditioning broke in my car.  Of course, right in the middle of summer!  After a hard time trying to get someone to fox it and honor the warranty, it was back up and running but I was having to roll down the windows and sweat out any long drives for almost a month. 

Those hot days lingered and there were no more rainy weekends come late July.  As good as this sounds, it wasn't good for our forests.  Huge fires broke out elsewhere in the province and there was a high risk of one starting here so the province shut down the woods.  No fires, no hiking, no doing anything if it involved walking through any woods.  That smoke from the wildfires up the line drifted this way a few times and one evening, I captured the perfect sunset behind a haze.   

 Despite that woods ban, I made the best of summer and it turned out to be another amazing one filled with memories and adventures. A long drive to along the coast to Main-a-Dieu and through Louisbourg, sunsets, meteor showers, beach walks, ocean swims....and that's just the beginning of it all!

 

 

 

 

Summer Has Arrived in Cape Breton!

 

Outdoor Adventures, Sunburns and Bug Bites 

Enjoying some Hiking in the first Days of Summer Before it gets too Hot

Summer is finally here on Cape Breton Island but it's still cool enough to enjoy a few hikes before it gets too hot and my outings turn into lazy beach days swimming in the cool Atlantic Ocean rather than days trekking through the woods in the hot sun. 

Hiking in the summer is doable but the combination of heat, sun and bugs can make it unbearable at times.  I prefer to save my big hikes for the late spring and fall.  Recently I embarked on two amazing hikes; one to a location I had never hiked before and the other to a location I haven't hiked in many years and have been longing to get back to.

But First, Lunch

The first hike was supposed to be to the place that I had been before but that day turned out to be too windy for a coastal hike.  I met my friend in the parking lot of the church in Grand River, Richmond County.  Past Gabarus, Forchu and Framboise but before Point Michaud and St. Peter's for those of you are vaguely familiar with the area.  For those of you who aren't, it's in southern part of Cape Breton Island in an area off-the-beaten-tourist-path. 

We turned onto a remote gravel road and parked by a very old farmhouse because it looked like a nice spot to have our lunch before heading out on the hike. We sat near the weather-worn steps of the old homestead.  

The house had to be close to 150 years old. I doubt anyone has been inside since the family packed up and vacated it many, many moons ago, no doubt for better employment opportunities in a big city somewhere in New England, Ontario or western Canada. Perhaps their grandchildren and great-grand-children don't even know the old property still exists.  The treasures they would find within!  A part of their heritage if only they knew about it! After tea and sandwiches, we walked around the old property and found some interesting old farming equipment and some things we weren't quite sure what they were. 

 

Exploring a New-to-me Trail

The trailhead for the hike of the day was only a short distance up this gravel road.  We parked and hiked into the forest.  I had no idea how long the trail was and there really wasn't any point in asking my friend because every trail is "just a short one" even if it's 10 or 20 kilometers long. I was ok with that.  I had nowhere to be, I had nothing planned for that evening and I was just itching to spend a day in the woods.  After the long winter and the stress of the pandemic, this was long overdue! I didn't care if it took two hours or 20 hours, I was game. 

We walked. And walked some more. All the while catching up on gossip and what has been going on in our lives since we last embarked on a hike the previous fall.  The weather was ideal for hiking.  Warm enough to not need a jacket and cool enough to be comfortable. There was a lovely, steady breeze that kept the flies at bay and the odd light rain shower which were welcome refreshments. 

Finding Paradise By A Lake

Eventually we arrived at a lake where we thought we would sit and enjoy a cold beer. There was nowhere comfortable to sit and the flies were bad near the water so we moved on to the next one.  The next lake was perfect!  There was a little shelter with some seats and a nice breeze that kept the flies away.  

There was a slight but constant ripple on the lake and a haze that the sun's rays just barely poked through.  The trees rustled in that gentle breeze and the sound lulled me into a relaxed state.  The beer also helped. The stillness of the world around me in that moment was so peaceful and the sounds were like the ones you hear on those relaxing yoga soundtracks that city dwellers meditate to after spending 2 hours in rush hour city traffic after a long day at work...but this was the real thing . 

There was no sign of the owners of the nearby boat ramp or the little shelter we were occupying. I'm sure if they magically appeared, they wouldn't mind two women sitting down for a cold one. Around here, they'd probably pull out a chair, start a fire, take out some guitars and invite us to stick around for some more.  But, we were fine just the way we were and for about an hour, we just sat there and took in as much of those sights and sounds as we could. 

We walked for a few more kilometers before reaching an old building perched up high on an embankment.  If we weren't really looking at everything so intently, we might have missed it.  It was dark-coloured and tucked behind some big trees. My friend tried to access it from one end and found a way in.  I went to the other side to check it out but got stuck in some trees and couldn't go any further.  It seemed to be some sort of old workshop.  Like, really old.  Perhaps over 100 years old. I'm not too keen on entering old buildings like that.  I'm always afraid they floor will give out!  I passed on the opportunity to go inside.  

 

The Home Stretch

We reached the third lake on this hike and took a little break before finishing the last leg of the trail. It was after 6 in the evening when we got back to the car.  The flies were just starting to bite and a heavy rain shower was moving in.  Just in time.  

We parted ways but headed in the same direction.  Instead of leaving the way I came, I took the long way home and made a detour through St. Peter's where I grabbed a Tim's coffee and took my time driving home along the Bras d'Or Lakes. Midway home, I started feeling a burning sensation in my shoulders and my skin was hot to touch.  I pulled over to inspect my "injuries". Sunburn. Great. My advice to you: wear sunscreen when hiking even if it's cloudy and drizzly!