PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND BARNYARD ANIMALS IN WINTER

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND BARNYARD ANIMALS

GREENWICH NATIONAL PARK BEACH

Arriving at Greenwich, Prince Edward Island just after a very filling supper at Rick's in St. Peter's doesn't bode well for swimming in an area often labelled as PEI's most dangerous shore. Thankfully, all had been calm for days and the weather was piping; right out of the oven. A quick inspection of the "real" beach in the Greenwich part of the PEI National Park revealed spectacular dune-scape but not exactly what we were looking for. Plus, we were supremely full. Before leaving, this picture of the beach looking northeast was a must grab.

GREENWICH TALL GRASS

Next year, you really ought to walk the Greenwich Dunes Trail in August. On a semi-clear day. About an hour before sunset. Stop on the floating boardwalk and turn towards your right. Here's your view. By this time you're only five minutes from coming to the end of the boardwalk and mounting the dune that'll offer quite a 360-degree view of its own, but pause for a moment and take in what feels like kilometre-after-kilometre of tall marsh grass. Wildlife much? Beavers, birds of many feathers, and foxes galore gallivant through this area. If you're as lucky as we were, incredibly warm water awaits on a completely private beach. But first, take a picture of the grass. All this is found in the middle of a national park just minutes from St. Peter's, Prince Edward Island.

SANDSTONE ST. MARY'S IN SOURIS

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Souris, Prince Edward Island is a wonderful example of sandstone architecture. PEI is certainly not the only location on the globe in which sandstone is used as a major construction element, but the unique colour tones set this church - and other PEI buildings - apart from the others. Red dirt is more PEIish than Anne of Green Gables or potatoes. Of course, this picture doesn't show the church so much as its brickwork and the cemetery in the background. Perched on a hill near the outskirts of Souris in the east end of PEI - "down east", as they say - St. Mary's is beautiful inside and out, Catholic or not.

KIDS ON ROOF IN SOURIS, PEI

At the height of the summer of 2009, the best weather arrived for a Prince Edward Island vacation for SC and TC. In SC's hometown of Souris, PEI, the heat of the noonday sun made the only fitting outdoor activity swimming at local beaches like Bothwell, Red Point, and Basinhead. However, after the supper hour, the children of Souris found an entrancing activity looking out over the area where the Îles-de-la-Madeleine ferry docks in Souris. In fact, these little "tourist bureaus" are all over PEI after Pat Binns' budget cuts meant some tourist outreach work was to be done by the communities in picnic huts. But I digress. These boys (and girl) were practicing their gymnastics in a sight that was all too obvious for a beautiful silhouette by SC. And power lines? There's something good about power lines in this photo: a genuine quality that makes the photo definitively Alfresco; something with urbanic rurality.

THREE LLAMAS

Over a week spent on Prince Edward Island involved just one drive on the road through Kinkora, Newton, and Shamrock. On a steep downward left-hand sweeper, SC's father decided to make a quick u-turn for pictures of a field full of llamas. Included were a handful of timid llama babies (cria) and a large pack of adults who weren't at all afraid of the photographer. Llamas were reintroduced to North America later in the 20th century and there are now over 100,000 on this continent. Llama and alpaca farms are common on Prince Edward Island. The three llamas seen in this picture stand near the crown of a hill about 10 kilometres from the Northumberland Strait.

ISLAND OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Walk a few minutes around the eroding bend from this previously pictured beach in Lower Darnley, Prince Edward Island and you'll find this spot. The rate at which PEI disappears casts doubt upon the life expectancy of this sandstone edifice; only adding to its allure. Grassy corners full of small birds who likely spend much of their summer hardly seeing a single human mark this island as one of the Island's most charming spots.

LOWER DARNLEY BEACH OUTGOING TIDE

Not far from a favoured beach of TC and SC, Thunder Cove, sits this unnamed swath of sand near Lower Darnley. Nearly empty but for for a few cottagers, this beach may not be as spectacularly sandy as Thunder Cove but its setting is perhaps more idyllic. One long dirt road, one very narrow path, one stream that must be crossed, and hardly any people? That's a real Prince Edward Island beach.

HUNTER RIVER, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

On our way to our 5th anniversary dinner, we had to make yet another stop. SC couldn't let TC drive past this scene from the past. This is on Route 2 in PEI. It is a quaint little village named after the river - Hunter River.

SOLITARY TREE IN HUNTER RIVER FIELD

Less than 24 hours after a major winter storm struck Prince Edward Island just before Christmas, Summerside-based SC and TC traveled towards Charlottetown with one goal: eat at the Canton Cafe. One of many stops resulted in a sideroad near Hunter River. Winds were howling and the windchill was lower than -20 C. Drifts were forming under a bright blue sky on relatively high-trafficked roads. This snow-covered dirt road was as picturesque as could be expected in winter scenery, with this battered tree separating two potato fields off to the side of the road. Because of the cold, TC didn't even escape from the heated seat of his in-laws Toyota Camry.

DESERTED TRACTOR IN ISLAND FIELD

While on the side road in PEI, we couldn't help but stop and take this picture.  It speaks of how things come to a grinding halt for some farmers when winter hits the Island.

AN IDYLLIC WINTER SCENE IN PEI

While on vacation in Prince Edward Island (PEI), SC's parents suggested we take a drive down this road on our way to Charlottetown for Canton Cafe's most delicious eggrolls.  The suggestion was much appreciated as we took in one beautiful scene after another.