PEI...the lagoon

first trip over to the beach in a dory

that feeling, first time, can't wait to get to the top

the view back to the cabin

and along the barrier dune

this wetland is a haven for birds, a rare find today especially as it isn't officially protected by any park or organisation.

 

Steve had to go down and moor the boat again after the tide shifted a lot during a long beach day.

Steve looks worried about something, perhaps the storm clouds approaching!

On this evening we stayed on the beach late for a fire, and by the time we were heading back there was a large and angry storm approaching. No photos were taken, but I'll never forget the feeling in the atmosphere, the light surrounding us, the flashes of lightning getting closer every minute, the calm before the storm and then the wind picking up, the energy and excitement in the boat between us as we took it all in, Steve trying to row quickly and the boys straining their eyes and yelling orders to help him avoid the oyster farm floats (though we did hit one!) It was a real adventure and I was totally thrilled, not only in myself but for the boys as well- I'm sure that experience went deep inside their souls and just added something special to their whole existence.
The next day I walked along the deserted beach for a few miles, with Araliya nestled against my chest in a carrier, and I pondered the relationship we humans have with the coast. I tried to imagine the very first people who walked along this stretch and what they must have been feeling or thinking. I wondered if there had been a woman among those early explorers, perhaps carrying a tiny baby as well. How did she carry and care for her babies? What challenges did she face each day/year? What made her laugh and cry? Impossible, I know, but it was a fun thought experiment. Whatever her challenges, she didn't have the ability to call her husband on a cell phone and ask him to come pick her up at the end of the road when she couldn't cross the jellyfish infested tidal estuary!
That spot was definitely a highlight of our year. Unforgettable.

 

collecting crabs in the early morning

oyster farm in the lagoon

The boys took turns fetching the dory or canoe for the short hop over the lagoon.

heading back to base

Brendan is the lookout in the bow

"left a bit"

The start of the boardwalk was a small and well hidden target

the boardwalk to the beach

calm water in the morning

misty far bank and a heron

peaceful sunrise

This was the morning after we began seeing the first of the Perseid meteors. The following week was filled with stargazing and meteor spotting on our own and with two sets of friends, plus three sightings of the International Space Station as it passed overhead, including one good binocular view showing the H shape quite clearly. The holiday in general was a good one for sky watching. In New Hampshire (in case I forget to mention in later) Brendan and Siobhan had lots of late night trips to the river beach to try to learn some of the constellations. I loved this as it holds a major spot in my memories of childhood, time spent listening to my dad tell stories of Greek gods and goddesses, a trip into the desert to see a comet, a lunar eclipse from my bedroom window. Brendan is fascinated and just last week on our regular Friday visit to the library his question for the librarian was for a book about the constellations. He has been drawing them out and sticking them on his pin board. It won't be long before he knows more than me!