We very much enjoyed our rambles around Manitoulin Island where we discovered beautifully clear, lovely lakes.
Walking along on well-worn footpaths near the lake was delightful. It was wonderful to be able to admire the water quality, the birds and the utter tranquility.
We experienced a few black flies but there was a light breeze that kept them down on that day!
Happy Friday.
We stopped to wander around Big Lake, which is on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario.
It’s an incredibly lovely, clear lake, popular with campers and boaters. A wide range of water sports such as windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, swimming and paddle boarding are also common but I understand that anything with an engine isn’t allowed, so if you’re in a boat, you’re also getting your arm exercise!
Summer cottages, many of which can be rented, dot the lake’s beaches.
We had a lovely ramble around the water’s edge and saw this mother loon with eight very little ones!
The birch trees were wearing their new pea green leaves and we enjoyed walking inside their canopy. We encountered a few blackflies but nothing much, really. At a stop the next day they were terrible, but that’s another story!
Happy Thursday.
We drove from Markham (near Toronto) to Tobermory for our ferry trip across the mouth of Georgian Bay (off Lake Huron) to Manitoulin Island.
We had a restful evening at a very comfortable inn before our early morning departure. The ferry was in port in preparation for the next day.
After our evening meal and walk back to the inn, the sun began to go down.
The next morning dawned chilly but calm.
We passed the light house as we departed for our two-hour ferry ride to Manitoulin Island.
After a very smooth crossing, we continued our road trip, stopping often for rambles and photos.
Happy Wednesday.
For 32 years ending in 2007, the iconic Toronto tower was the world’s tallest freestanding structure until it was displaced by the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
M and I have both been at the top of the tower before – as you can imagine, it has spectacular views of the city and Lake Ontario – but we felt that we didn’t need to go again. Do you see the moon to the left of the tower, above its viewing deck?
Instead, we enjoyed it from the rooftop patio of an adjacent hotel which itself provided beautiful city and lake views. Here’s one of the Skydome, where we had just watched a Blue Jays baseball game.
It was a beautifully warm, clear day, great for looking at the lay of the land!
Happy Monday.
Ontario byways on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Happy Sunday.
This apple tree is loaded with blossoms …
… the bees buzzing among them were in heaven …
… another example of spring’s gorgeous gifts to us.
Happy Saturday.
If you’re in Canada, Happy Victoria Day weekend. 😊
Joy abounds from the beautiful spring bloomings …
… but even after they have fallen …
… they lend allure to a concrete sidewalk.
Happy Thursday.
M and I have been meandering along Ontario’s south coast at Lake Erie, where we visited one of M’s favourite spots from his time living in Toronto.
Long Point is a large sandbar that has fabulous beaches, many summer (and also year-round) homes, and at its southern tip, a UNESCO world heritage site protecting birds, butterflies and a number of types of plants and trees. It also contains North America’s oldest bird observatory.
We went walking along one of Long Point’s famous beaches. Although there were lots of people about and the sun was shining, it was almost completely deserted since the wind off the lake was quite cold.
A lone kite-surfer had good conditions but he must have been chilly!
We nevertheless had a good walk and enjoyed this unique area.
British Columbia’s provincial flower is the Pacific dogwood.
The name comes from the fact that sailors used the wood of this tree to make nails, otherwise known as dags – or later, dogs – in ship repairs.
It has been British Columbia’s provincial flower since 1956.
So elegant and sparkling in either white or the dogwood’s alternative colour, pink, it’s another marvellous addition to the spring pantheon of beauty.
Happy Tuesday.
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 