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!

 

 

 

 

With Spring, Comes new Life

The Night Stalker

I thought I was alone but a shadow kept appearing in my peripheral vision.  I could see something watching me from over the sand dunes. When I turned my head to see who or what was watching me, it disappeared behind the dunes.  

I could feel my heart beating faster and I picked up my pace and headed toward the parking lot and the safety of my car.  Whoever or whatever was watching me was following me all the way down the beach.  When I reached the bridge to cross to the parking lot, I heard a scuffle in the darkness not too far away and whatever had been there, took off into the darkness.  

At that point, I knew it had to be some sort of animal.  A coyote? A bobcat? There are no bears here.  I ran the rest of the way to my car, hoping whatever it was wouldn't return to grab me for a late-night snack. 

The Great Reveal

That scary walk on the beach near my house was ten years ago. I've since found out who the beach stalker was and met her and her whole family. Generations of beach stalkers have come and gone since then and I've befriended every single one of them.  And now for the great reveal.....

 

I know, so scary, right?! 

All joking aside, I managed to laugh at myself when I realized my stalker was just one of these adorable little red foxes.  Over time, they became accustomed to me being around and now they even wait for me to pass by their den every evening during my walk.  Not too many people even know they are there because not too many people go far enough up the beach to reach their home. 

Getting to know the Resident Beach Critters

I lived away for a long time so I wasn't aware of the generations of foxes that made their home on this beach but I managed to piece some of their history together by talking to some long-time beach-walkers.  Through observation, I've learned their habits, where their dens are, when their kits are born and what they like to do for fun. 

Now, I know their routine. Every March, I see Dad fox scurrying around more than usual and digging random holes in the dunes.  Around this time, Mom fox disappears, not to be seen again until sometime in late April or early May. And I wait.  I wait until I see more activity around the den that Dad has been hanging around all winter. I wait for Mom to start coming out of the den more.  When I see her, I know it's almost time.  

And I wait some more.  

I wait to see one little furry face peek out of the entrance...then two....then three....until finally, they emerge into the great big world for the first time! I try to be there, from a safe distance of course, as they see this whole new world for the first time. 

Sometimes, one of them will lock eyes with me and tilt its head sideways in confusion at the strange creature lurking in the shadows. There's always that one brave one in every litter who'll wait until Mom isn't looking before inching closer and closer to me for closer inspection. Sometimes, the little one even tugs at my shoelaces.  But, I never try to touch or interfere. I just watch.

When I first started observing this den, Mom would bark at me and shuffle them all back into the safety of the den if one of her curious little ones got too close. Now that generations of this fox family have come to know me as a regular fixture on that beach.

From Toddlers to Teens to Adulthood

For a few months every Spring and early Summer, I return to the beach almost every night to watch these babies grow from tiny, nursing furballs to adolescents learning how to hunt for rodents. Playtime is my favourite time. 

Their hilarious antics include chasing their tail (and sometimes their siblings' tails), somersaulting over one another, play fighting and stealing anything they can get their little paws on. If someone loses something at the beach, it can usually be found near their den!

As spring turns to summer, the kits get their red coat and grow so big that you can't tell them from their parents. Day by day, I see them less and less until they leave the comfort of their birthplace for good, leaving Mom and Dad fox with another empty den...until spring comes around again.

How I got that Shot - An Adorable Fox Kitten Seeing the World for the First Time

All through the long, hard Atlantic Canadian winter, I look forward to the hot days of summer, but there's one event that I look forward to before the temperatures start to soar and the summer clothes comes out of storage; the new life that emerges from the sand dune den on the beach near my house. I'm talking about the generations of a fox family who've lived on this beach since I can remember and the little ones that are born there every spring.

The preparations start in early winter. The adult pair start digging various holes around the dunes for potential dens. When Mamma fox disappears and only the dad can be seen foraging for food in the evenings, that's when I know she is getting ready to welcome a new litter of little ones. 

From  mid-April onward, I watch the den like a hawk. Of course, my intentions are not actually that of a hawk.  I'm hunting but not for a meal; I'm hunting for the perfect photo of one of those little ones as they emerge from their warm, dark den and face the big, scary world for the first time. 

In early May, I knew that the a new litter of kittens had been born. The habits of the adults suddenly changed.  They were more watchful and they were hanging out in the same area where the den from last year was. 

One nice evening when I thought one of the little ones might peak out for the first time, I parked myself a little ways from the den where I could see the main entrance.  Mom was sitting nearby and Dad was watching my every move from his perch on a nearby dune. When anyone else goes near this den, the adults bark and give chase. But, they never seem threatened by my presence. They know me and I guess they know I have no ill intentions to their precious little ones. 

It was starting to get dark but I didn't have to wait long to see and capture one of those little cuties peaking out into the world. It happened fast.  Had I turned for a second, I would have missed it.  In an instant, a little face was looking out at me in wonder.  It didn't seem curious about anything else going on around the den - the seagulls flying overhead, ducks floating in the bay - it just seemed completely fixated on me. I snapped the photo and the little one retreated back into the safety of the den.  

I didn't realize the photo had come out so well until I got home.  It's a keeper.  Only taken with a phone so maybe a little out of focus but it certainly captures the cute moment effectively! 

When it Comes to Land and Sea Life, There's Always Something to See Around Cape Breton

You just never know what you might see while out and about around Cape Breton Island, especially when it comes to wildlife....both on land and in the water!  Moose, fox, coyote, black bear, bobcat, lynx, whales, dolphins and hundreds of species of birds make their home on the land and in the waters around Cape Breton.  You'll see something every time you venture out, guaranteed!

There's so much wildlife around Cape Breton.  Take this giant Leatherback turtle I spotted a few years ago on a whale tour near Ingonish.  I'd never seen one before.  In fact, at that time, I didn't even know they were in the waters off Cape Breton.  I wasn't expecting to meet this guy but what a treat it was when he was spotted swimming right next to the boat!