Thursday 2 July 2020

Celebrating with the Hungry Hikers

Wednesday 1st July, Canada Day

This time last year, my husband I were on Prince Edward Island, with our son, his wife and our darling Grandson, Ben. Festivities for Canada Day were poorly supported as the day was so cold, wet and miserable. Braving the conditions, we watched the human Canadian flag being created and then partook of the delicious and warming food, from the many food vans. There was definitely no queuing required.




Thanks to Covid19 we won't be returning to visit in the foreseeable future. It is quite heart breaking. Our Grandaughter could be 18 months old before we meet her. A good friend of ours had his sister from Canada visit in late January. She was to return to Canada in mid April, but of course all flights ceased before she could rearrange her ticket. Alas she doesn't know when she will be able to return and is missing her Grandchildren, especially as July 1st loomed. Knowing exactly how she was feeling, I made a plan to celebrate with her.

In conversation with my early morning walking buddy Mary, we came up with endless ideas as to how the day should pan out. I will add here that it was brilliant day.

My scarecrows still sit in our front garden, spreading good cheer to all who continue to walk daily. They definitely had to be part of the fun.

And, at the end of the day, we made a video to send to Ben and Nora. Their 1st July would begin in  several hours.

We had chosen the Eddie Santaguiluana Trail on the Cleveland waterfront for our walk, as it was only 10 mins from our friend's home. The trail had only been recently discovered, so this was a perfect day to explore it, after a delicious morning tea.

The tide was just beginning to ebb when we arrived at 9.30 but the bay was mirror calm. It was a perfect backdrop to our  morning tea picnic. Sadly the best laid plans can go astray and our guest was unable to join us, because of a last minute unavoidable appointment.

Hungry Hiker Jenny will have a  Canadian Daughter in law next year. I have my Canadian family on PEI and a sister in law, at Niagra on the Lake. Between us we have many Canadian friends, so we toasted them all. Cheers to Andra, Elizabeth, Leslie, Tina, Greeba, David and Marie, to name just a few.

The table is set. 
Jenny and I send hugs across the miles.



We had to stay alert as the local Magpies and Noisy Minors, wanted to join us. The Lorikeets just quietly watched from their nest and then preened themselves.


Eventually we packed up and set off on the trail. About 500 m on, 2 young girls were standing still under a gum tree and pointing. We were excited that they had spotted a koala, quite often seen in this area. They informed us that a mother and joey had recently be seen, but they weren't having any success spotting them. Throughout our 12 km walk we were constantly looking to the treetops but we were as succesful as they had been.

The trail.











At the creek crossing we were entertained by ducks, Musky Moorhens and Magpies. This area might be the habitat for koalas, but it is also appears to have a large colony of Magpies. I have never seen so many so close together before.




Male and  female Chestnut Teal Duck.


Magpies and Moorhen

We were a little surprised that this coastal walk rarely gave us a glimpse of the sea. It was mostly bordered by thick mangrove swamps, with the shady canopy overhead, of swamp melaleucas, stately white gums, wattle and casurinas, among others.


The prolific blossoms on this Pointsettia, begged for us to be photographed with them.

As we returned to our picnic area, we deviated slightly and walked through a lovely grove of trees. A plaque informed us that the 100 trees of the avenue were planted for 100 years of Rotary Service in the Cleveland area.  Rather special I thought, if only I could recall the name of these trees.

In our absence the tide had further receded, but the view was still serene as we sat reflecting on a marvellous day Down Under with friends, whilst thinking of our friends far away, across the Pacific.


Dare I say, a perfect winter's day. Not at all chilly! We deserve it. Our summers are so long, hot and humid.
[A doggy bag of Canadian treats was delivered to our friend, before driving home.]

I would love to read your comment.

18 comments:

  1. What a wonderful thing to do for your friend! Hope this pandemic dies down soon so you can go see your grandchildren.

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    1. Thanks Linda. Sadly it is not going way quickly. The important thing is that we stay healthy.

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  2. Your winter looks wonderful!

    I have never seen a Pointsettia growing in the wild like that!

    We had a quiet Canada Day with our daughter and the kids. Great though. Let’s pray next year is different for all of us.

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    1. Our winter's are wonderful Marie. We complain about the cold because our homes aren't built for cold. We would so enjoy our summers being more like winter.
      The Pointsetttia isn't growing wild. Just a common garden shrub, loving our heat.

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  3. You gals have so much fun! What a nice celebration (both before and after. I lOVE that Poinsettia - I've never seen one so big. DO the Melaleuka Trees smell like tea tree oil? I feel sorry that you can't visit the grands and hug that new granddaughter.

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    1. Thanks Barb. It was an exceptionally wonderful day because of the weather. I had to google re your question on Melaleucas. One certainly doesn't pick up on an aroma when walking near them, unless they are in flower and then that is more a honey smell. There are over 300 varieties but only a few are grown to produce the Tea Tree Oil.

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  4. People are finding they have to go back to what it was like in the "old days" when visits to relatives that lived far away were quite rare. Even when we moved to Canberra 40+ years ago we only went back to Queensland to see our parents once a year. We didn't even phone very often as phone calls were expensive. A weekly letter was how we kept in touch.

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    1. I know exactly what you mean Barb. My husband's mother lived in the UK, up until our 2nd son was born. We wrote weekly and tried to send photos and videos as often as possible. I am very fortunate to have such regular contact via the internet.

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  5. Fabulous walk and scenery!

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  6. We will return and walk more of this path. It is surprising that it isn't better known.

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  7. The poinsettias looked like they bloomed just for your Canada Day celebration! This is definitely a case of making lemonades out of lemonades. Early in the stay-at-home orders in Kansas, I sent craft boxes to my granddaughters. I hope they helped a little as their parents were juggling at-home school and full-time jobs. What a year 2020 has been so far!

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    1. Yes, the Pointsettias were perfect. Just as things were looking very rosy here, a 2nd wave is spreading from Melbourne. Borders are closed but we will see.

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  8. Wonderful idea, so thoughtful :)

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  9. It's so sad for all (of us) who are far from our loved ones... However, your celebration would surely cheer up every Canadian when it delights even a Finn. :)
    The duck (in the photo 29) is really cute.
    It's a pity you don't have snow now, you could take photos of the Poinsettia and make marvellous Christmas cards. :D
    Thank you for your comment (on my puzzle post). The puzzle you are doing is much more difficult than mine. In mine, the image is simple and with bright colours.
    As we can see, the emergency is not over. Stay safe and well!

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    1. Thanks Sara. We do have Christmas cards with Pointsettia but no snow, as that is our normal.

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  10. My word, Helen, you had more of a celebration in Queensland than we had right here! We are getting some of your heat, however. Today, with humidity factored in, we are supposed to be in the mid forties. Not my kind of weather at all. My daughter will be arriving this afternoon, from Ottawa, and staying until Monday. If it were not for Covid-19 I would be in NSW right now.

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  11. Even we Queenslanders complain about a 40 + humid day. It totally saps one'e energy. Enjoy your daughter's visit. If it's any conslolation, it's raining along the NSW coastline.

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