MAC GREGOR POINT M0ndaqy April 24th 2017.

MONDAY April 24th 2017

Finally it appears we have a few days that look to be OK to take El Campista on a short road trip and get 2017 camping underway.      160622                          

Left Durham about 10.15 a.m. in bright sunshine, although a cool breeze was blowing.

Arrived at MacGregor Point about 11 a.m.  After an uneventful drive.  The park was very quiet and we managed to get our usual #8, favorite site. 160705 

We got everything set up and sat outside with lunch enjoying the sunshine.  It has been really worth waiting for.   We stayed around the site until about 2.15 p.m. then ready to set off on one of our walks.   

The board walk leading to the Turtle Pond was very quiet.  We could hear a Blue Jay and saw a Chickadee in flight, but that was it.  No squirrels or any other birds. 

When we reached the pond it had become quite breezy, but still pleasant and relaxing.

No sign of any turtles at this time. 

    



There were trees in bud in several areas.

As we neared the lake we knew we would be seeing white caps.  We could hear the waves crashing on the rocks.

There was one lone Canada Goose enjoying the solitude.  It seemed to be oblivious to us being near by.

We made our way to Sunset Point, where the breeze off the lake had actually turned to gale force winds off the lake - or that is what it felt like.  It felt considerably colder.  So we headed to The Old Shore Line trail, which was a little more sheltered.  In fact it felt like a different place.  It was quite a bit warmer.

We wandered the trail.

Which led us to the next pond.

It was still warm here.  However, no sign of turtles or any other wild life.

The small creek we go to next, which was completely dry in November, was flowing nicely today.

The water in the creek was clear.

Always a pretty spot when the creek is full.

Further along the trail we came to an area that showed indication of what some high winter winds had been able to do.

There was also signs of flooding in the bush.

We did get to see a little red squirrel charging into the bush, but not waiting to have pictures taken.

After a two hour walk we made our way back to #8, where we relaxed in the sunshine with a bevvy or two.

It began to cool down quite a bit about 6.30 p.m.  So time for the wonderful camp fire.

And folks that was our destination for the rest of a wonderful evening.

It has been great to be here again.  Looking forward to see what tomorrow brings.


TUESDAY April 25th.

Well we woke to the sound of raindrops on the camper roof.   Apparently the winds of yesterday blew the rain showers in 24 hours ahead of schedule.   Todays forecast was for sun in the morning, some clouds rolling in through the evening, and possible showers for Wednesday.   So all our walking plans at this time have now changed.

I cooked breakfast inside today.  Luckily it worked out just fine.

We spent the morning reading, writing and chatting about our trip South, which is coming up at the end of May.

Still raining!! 

Found my old stand by past time book to challenge me for a while - Word Search.

Mike seemed to have a new "hat" to wear, and became my Entertainment Manager.  He found some really good music to play.  However, there was no room to dance in here, so he suggested we watch a movie.

So this dreary, wet day turned out to be not so bad.  I was snuggled up with the man of my dreams, watching Brad Pitt on the screen.  What more could I ask for?   Well I didn't even have to ask!   Mike changed his hat again and became my bartender (he's quite good at bartending).  So low and behold there was a glass of wine.   Suddenly, camping in the rain really isn't as bad as I imagined.

The movie we watched was "Benjamin Buttons".  Very well put together movie. Could it have been any different with Brad Pitt?

Movie all finished about 4.00 p.m. and The Entertainment Manager had arranged everything - even the rain had stopped.

Needless to say it didn't take us long to head out for a walk before it was time to light the campfire.  That is if the campfire hadn't turned into a bird bath after all the rain.

It was really wet along the trails so we took to the park roads and board walks.  It was not at all cold today.

As we neared the Turtle Pond, right at the beginning of the boardwalk, the chickadees appeared and let us know that it was time for something to eat.

Their singing suggested to some Blue Jays

Cardinals

and squirrels, that may be dinner was served.

When we moved along to the pond we did get to see a Turtle relaxing on a log.

The lake was very calm this afternoon.

And the "Lone Goose" was still enjoying the pace and quiet.

From there we walked the Huron Fringe Trail.  The water along this area was quite high, and almost ready to creep onto the board walk.

There were a few more chickadees, but today we did not see any frogs.  Usually at this time of the year there are a lot of frogs around.

Right at the end of the boardwalk there was a cheeky squirrel waiting for more food.

And so time to head back to #8.

It did take quite a while to get the campfire going.



But it was well worth the effort.
It had turned out to be a fairly nice evening, and reasonably warm.

So, all in all, what started out as a not so good camping day, turned out to be another very enjoyable day.

Just proves you have to make the best of whatever is thrown at you.








WEDNESDAY April 26th 2017

Today we woke to sunshine, and lots of it.  However, we are heading home after this short, enjoyable trip for the start of this camping season.

By 11.45 a.m. we were all packed up and heading to The Tower Trail before we hit the road.

It turned out to be quite the obstacle course with several downed trees along the board walk and trail.

Along with flooded area to walk around or through.

The frogs were enjoying all the water available to them, along with the sunshine.

The view from the Tower was good regardless of the fact there were no birds, ducks or geese today.

There was a lot of water to be found everywhere after yesterday s rainfall.

When we were in the Bird Blind we looked out into the pond and saw some snakes swimming around.

We did not see any birds or water fowls this time.

And so we wandered along to the end of the trail.  Another enjoyable hour and half walk.

The walk made us quite hungry and as it was time to start our journey home we made a slight detour and treated ourselves to lunch at the Erie Belle, in Kincardine.  Nancy was very happy to see us.  She now knows summer is on it's way.   As usual lunch was delicious.

Then the inevitable , the drive home, in a really nice warm sunny day.

I glanced into the side mirror and saw some one else also enjoying the wonderful summer like day.

It feels as is we have all waited a long time for this.

Now if it lasts for a while I will catch you soon from "somewhere".

A good start to the camping season.  Arrived back in Durham about
4.30 p.m.

160729.

FIRST FULL DAY OF SPRING 2017 - A WALK IN THE PARK.

March 21st 2o17

First day of spring and the sun is shining, although there is a cool breeze.   Regardless it is a great day to take a walk around our park - Durham Conservation Area.   About an 8 minute walk from our house.

As you can clearly see there is still a lot of ice and snow on the Saugeen River.

Along with the geese.  Who didn't seem to mind standing on the ice.

The river over McGowan Falls was flowing very fast and furious.   (Good M0vie!)

Allowing for some of the ice to start breaking up.

You can find all different forms of ice along the river's edge.

Along the edge of the river you can see areas of the ice just starting to crack and fall away from the large areas of ice.

Then a small lone ice burg just floats along on it's own course.

This gives an indication of how deep the ice has formed.

Quite the snow/ice jam.

You can see how clear the river is today.   May be an indication of how cold the water is?

An area of the river where the ice has been breaking up.

Further proof of a very clear river.

And so we have reached the end of this very interesting loop trail.

We have walked this park all seasons of the year since we moved here but we have never seen such large ice burgs and snow/ice jams.  

A very interesting walk.

Mother Nature allowing I hope my next post will be when we are actually camping again.

Catch you then.

Lucky enough to be camping again.

Monday November 14th 2016                                                     160323

Guess where we are?   Yes - MacGreg0or Point.  We are lucky enough to have another few days of sunny, Fall weather.  It  is not going to be as good as last week, but still plenty warm enough for another Fall camping trip.

Our Dining Tent and El Campista all set up on site #8 (yes, lucky again) by 12.45.

After lunch it was time to go find the Chickadees.

They were waiting for us when we reached The Turtle Pond.

They were even trying to stop each other from getting to the seeds.

There were no other birds around at this time.

The pond was looking very low today, although there was still a lot of vegetation  around.

As we neared Lake Huron we could tell from the sound of the Lake it was not going to be calm like last week   There were some good sized waves there today, especially around Sunset Point.

It was a really good walk and still quite warm in the sunshine.

We made our way back to our site and got the campfire ready to light.

By 7.30 p.m.,   although the fire was really good,  it was feeling quite cold.   So we headed inside for dinner.

Followed by another Dominoes Championship.  And yes - Mike won again!

Tuesday November 15th 2016

Looks to be another good day.  Very cool start but we managed to BBQ breakfast.   The dining tent was toasty warm, so we ate in there.  It was really good.

As we didn't head towards Merganser Cove last week we decided we would do that this morning.

The Chickadees were already waiting for us as we got to the Turtle Pond.  Just as hungry as they were yesterday.

Today the lake was a lot calmer than we saw yesterday, and very quiet.

There was still a morning mist over the lake.

The trees along the trail were looking quite bare now.

Once again there was not much of a cove at Merganser, due to the high water.   Still   a slight mist here too.

When we reached the bridge over the brook, which had no water there today, just a few downed trees, we took the right fork    Our usual route is to take the left fork.

It made for a really great walk.

About 15 minutes along this trail Mike saw a Pileated Woodpecker land in a tree quite close to us.

Luckily enough this Wood Pecker was in no hurry, and not at all shy of a camera.

Then half an hour or so further along we came across a Ruffed Grouse.   However, this guy was in no mood for hanging around for picture taking - too bad.

From there we  got on to the Deer Run trail which eventually led us back to our campsite.   No deer to be seen today, just a couple of squirrels.

By the time we got back to camp it was time to relax, after a three hour walk.  And a very interesting walk.  The weather was perfect too.  In fact, it was still  perfect and we sat outside in the sunshine.  Not bad for the middle of November.

After a late lunch and a lazy start to the afternoon we decided we'd better go see if the Chickadees needed more food.

Of course they did, along with the Blue Jays and Nuthatches.

They all followed us around the Turtle Pond and just as we were heading to the Huron Fringe Trail we noticed what appeared to be two swans on the Lake, near the beach area.

Not only did it appear to be two swans - it really was two swans.

We have seen swans here previously, but only in the spring and summer. never this late in the year.

A very interesting site for the Fall.


And so back to our campsite to get the campfire going before the cool evening takes over.

It was certainly a very interesting and surprising day.

Wednesday November 16th 2016.

It rained quite heavy through the night, but was OK to BBQ breakfast and eat in the "Tent" again.  It was very cloudy, but not too cold.

Time to head back to Durham today.  Not sure if we'll be back again in 2016 as the forecast is for flurries over the weekend.  

I guess we'll have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us.  It's been a great camping season.

December 21st 2016.

Sorry for the delay in catching up with this Blog, but finally, I made it.

Mother Natured supplied me with a beautiful scene to look at as I finished this Blog.  

This what I see of my back yard when I look out of the window where my desk sits.  

No wonder it takes me so long to complete a Blog Post.

Here is our deck, taken from the other window.

No BBQ'ing for a while.

This where Fuzzy , the cat that adopted us, sits most of the days.   She enjoys watching the birds on the feeder.

As you can see the snow was not so thick at this time.

Yes - we have some interesting gifts under the tree.

Merry Christmas to you all, and a very Happy New Year.   

Catch you in 2017 -  Counting the days!!!!