Need Peace? Go East!

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Monthly Archives: May 2011

PEI Doves

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province, Uncategorized .

mourning dove

We have Mourning Doves on PEI. Note the spelling. Some people say morning dove. Their name comes from the mourning sound they make – I find it quite sad myself – I think they’re crying.

For all I read that they are strong flyers, I have never seen one in my bird feeders. They are always foraging on the ground for the seeds the others have scattered about.

I really enjoy seeing them in my back yard I hope you have a chance to enjoy them also.

The weeds are calling again this morning.  See you soon.

Granny ~oo~

PEI Coyotes

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province, Uncategorized .

coyote

Yes we have coyotes on PEI. If you listen carefully at night, you can hear them howling at the moon.

Coyotes have been migrating East for some time.  They arrived in PEI in 1983.  If you recall, we have no large game in PEI so the coyote has no natural enemies. Therefore their numbers grew very quickly.  They have been a problem for farmers. Coyotes will prey on small domestic farm animals, particularly lambs, sheep and poultry. Newborn calves born in the open field may also be vulnerable.

While there have been some concerns about human safety, normal precautions are usually sufficient to avoid serious problems.  However, if you are in an open area late at night, be vigilant.

In 2001, the PEI government concluded a study that bounties are not useful in reducing the population.  They allow hunting of coyotes during the usual hunting seasons (October to February).  For more information on hunting in PEI, see the government website.

Going for a road trip today, perhaps I’ll come back with some seaglass or some more geocaches.

Granny~oo~

PEI Buffalo

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province .

Buffalo

If you are from Eastern North America, it is likely you have never seen buffalo up close. Well you can do so in Prince Edward Island. You can go to Buffaloland Provincial Park.

It is located just outside Montague in the Eastern end of PEI.  See this Google map.

This is the biggest game you will ever see in PEI.  We have no deer, mose, caribou, bear, or any other large animal in the wild.  We have coyotes, foxes and skunks, but no porcupines.

I am trying to include animals in my ABC this time around.  Tune in tomorrow for coyotes.

Granny ~oo~

PEI Alpaca

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province, Uncategorized .

alpaca

Do we have Alpaca on PEI?

There is an Alpaca farm in Pownal.

There is another in Montague that invites you to visit the animals.

The newest seems to be Green Gables Alpaca Farm.

On the Dover Road, near Murray River, I visited Spit”n Image.  There I learned all about alpaca wool and other things.  It naturally comes in two shades of brown and in white.  It is also naturally waterproof which makes it an excellent yarn for winter wear. Sheila was very exuberant and passionate about her product.  It is definitely worth a  visit.

Granny ~oo~

PEI a to z summary

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province .

If you have joined late, I have just finished my second go through of PEI from A to Z. You can consult the the summary of the first 26 posts. Below is the summary of the current 26.

  1. Accommodations
  2. Beach Glass
  3. Coffee
  4. Driving
  5. Eating Out
  6. Foxes
  7. Golf
  8. Hotels
  9. Ice Cream
  10. Jam
  11. Kilns
  12. Lighthouses
  13. Museums
  14. Nautical
  15. Oak Trees
  16. Packaging
  17. Quilts
  18. Running
  19. Seafood
  20. Tall Ships
  21. Unique
  22. Victoria Park
  23. Wind
  24. X marks the spot
  25. Your cYcling holidaY
  26. Zesty

So tomorrow we start another round of PEI from A to Z. Please join em in planning your PEi vacation.

Granny ~oo~

 

Zesty PEI

Posted on by Posted in Hospitality .

Do you like your food with a little bit of Zest?

Spicy Food

Gotta run, sun is shing and the weeds are calling me.

See you tomorrow

Granny ~oo~

Your cYcling holidaY in PEI

Posted on by Posted in The Confederation Trail .

Gulf Shore Parkway

The last time we visited the letter “Y”, I spoke about the trail, the trail guide and finding roadways with paved shoulders. There is one important cycling lane that deserves a second mention. The Gulf Shore Parkway runs along the waterfront from North Rustico to Cavendish. This 10 km trip between the two villages is much more scenic and full of places to stop and step down to the beach.  Last year, they added a dedicated cycling lane several feet away from the main roadway.  This will make cycling the parkway much more enjoyable.

Red Island Relay

Have you heard of the Red Island Relay? Cycling PEI puts on several events weekly to promote cycling and other outdoor activities.

Cycling loops

The Government has put together 5 cycling loops ranging from 40 to 75 km. They have full turn by turn directions but unfortunately have not included a Google-Map type reference so you can see exactly where you will be going.  So drive to a destination, take a 50k ride and drive to your evening rest spot.

self guided tour

I found a self guided tour that plans out your itinerary along the trail with side jaunts to find food and accommodations.

Accommodations

If you are looking for Accommodations close to the Confederation Trail, there is no easy answer. You can consult the cycling guide, but you may need some help finding accommodations in the more remote areas.  A Goolge Search for “accommodations close to confederation trail pei” yielded no useful results.  I determined that there probably are not many motels and hotels ON THE TRAIL, so I tried “b&b close to confederation trail”.  I got several indirect results form Trip advisor, Tour PEI and BB Canada for http://besidethetrail.ca/ and another reference to http://www.islandhomebandb.ca/.  Then I tried “b&b confederation trail” and I got Country Charm B&B.  Although a nice enough looking establishment, they are in Murray River which is not close to the official trail.  I did get several references to Trailside B&B again.

Wherever you go on Prince Edward Island, look for the Cycle Friendly logo.  This means the owner has special amenities for cyclists. Whether that be suitable parking while you shop or extra amenities at a B&B.

Enjoy your cycling holiday.

Granny ~oo~

X marks the spot – Geocaching in PEI

Posted on by Posted in The Confederation Trail .

treasure map

Since my first post on Geocaching a month ago, I have become quite adept at geocaching. I now have 40 finds to my name and working on getting over a hundred before the summer is out. As the weather gets warmer, I spend more time ridding myself of pesky bugs and weeds. Therefore I may be spending a little less time treasure hunting.  Check back in about another month for an update on my progress.

explorist GPS

This is my GPS.  The screen is an adequate size but the printing is a bit on the tiny side.  If you are close to my age, you had better have your good reading glasses with you to go exploring.  Last time, I spoke about digit accuracy.  Now I understand a bit more about it. This particular model has a “check satellites” function.  It tells you how many satellites you currently track and how accurate your reading will be.  In Prince Edward Island, I usually have only 2 satellites in the green.  This translates to an accuracy between 9 and 30 feet.  So I have gotten into the habit of looking at my accuracy periodically to determine my search radius once I reach my destination.

One of the fun places to find geocaches is on the Confedertation Trail. There are many good caches just a few steps away from a roadside parking area. Of course, if you are walking or cycling the trail, you can find many more. I am still looking for an easy way to locate all the Geocaches on the trail.  In the meantime, I have a workaround.

  • Go to Geocaching.com and look at their Google Map Interface.
  • Zoom in to a reasonable detail level
  • Look for a string of caches that do not seem to be on a roadway
  • Turn on the satellite view – you should be able to see the trail
  • Select the Caches of interest
  • Happy hunting

If you are new to geocaching, stick to the simple caches.  You can progress to the more complicated caches like letterbox, puzzles, mystery, and multi once you get the hang of the sport.

Geocaching is a wonderful way to explore PEI.  Many geocachers who have placed their caches on the Island have chosen the more picturesque areas – you will see those descriptions in some listings.  So please come to PEI and do some treasure hunting.

Granny ~oo~

 

PEI Wind

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province .

Boy am I glad to get my Google Friend Connect working again.  Still don’t know what was wrong with it but after days of fiddling I deleted the whole sidebar and rebuilt it and it works….go figure.  Now on to today’s post.

experimental windmill

Prince Edward Island is known to be windy.  Therefore it is good to always have a sweater or windbreaker. Even on the warmest summer days, you can usually find a cool breeze on the coast and you may need to cover up come sundown. So it is not surprising that PEI is also known for windmills or to be more precise, wind turbines.

The first experimental wind farm was in North Cape.  I remember seeing several different types of windmills there like the helix shown here.  There was also one that looked like a small plane on top of a tower.  It is unfortunate that they have dismantled them.  North Cape could have become a windmill museum. It can now produce, 10.5 megawatts of electricity on a regular basis since most days have sufficient wind.

North Cape has V-47 turbines.  this means they are 47 metres tall. There are much bigger turbines, V-90 near East Point. The East Point Wind Plant can produce 30 Megawatts of electricity and those 90-metre towers are impressive.  If you visit the Elmira train station at the Eastern end of the Confederation trail, it is just a short jaunt North to the wind farm – well worth the trip if you have never seen the really big wind turbines.

Wind Energy is a big thing on PEI since there are no mountains or rivers from which to generate hydroelectric power.  You will see small private windmills here and there, usually on a farm.  The private windmill operator can get a rebate for some of the electricity he is able to return to the grid – when power generation exceeds his demand. However, you get less for outgoing than you do for incoming and that is a sore spot with many Islanders.  However, you have to accept that part of your power cost is maintaining the wires and poles that run down the highway; it is not just the cost of generating the electricity itself.

Come back tomorrow for an update on Geocaching.

Granny ~oo~

Victoria Park PEI

Posted on by Posted in PEI the Garden Province .

victoria park prince edward island

There are many parks in Prince Edward Island.  There is one of note in Downtown Charlottetown. Victoria Park is a waterfront park located behind the Lieutenant Governor General’s residence. On this picture, you see downtown Charlottetown just behind the park. The little specks in the water are boats in and around Charlottetown harbour.  I took this picture from the Atlantic Technology Centre website.  They have an interesting article on Dead Man’s Pond which is located in the centre of the park.

 

Victoria Park Boardwalk

The 100 acre park features a wide boardwalk for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront. This is a very popular area for dog walkers, joggers and walkers alike. There is also a dedicated cycling lane next to the one-way vehicle lane drive along the outside of the park.

victoria park harbour entrance

During or prior to the war of 1812, there was a fortification on the part which faces the incoming navigation channel.  The sketch shows how Victoria Park had a good vantage point of the navigational entrance to Charlottetown Harbour.

It features Tennis Courts, A swimming Pool, baseball diamond and play structures for the children.  So on a nice outdoorsy day, come and relax in Victoria Park and enjoy the scenery and the history.

Granny ~oo~