This week we had new construction along the boardwalk. We also had a brave long distance swimmer out on Georgian Bay on the day before Halloween.
Sunday, October 24th, 2021 – walking down the beach much earlier than usual with the sun low in the sky. Taken west of 13th street looking east.Sunday, October 24th, 2021 – the washrooms at the east end of the beach 2 board walk early Sunday morning. A beautiful sunny day.Tuesday, October 26th,2021 – Looking west from near Beach one at the entrance to the Beach 2 boardwalk. Very high winds today pushed all the way east. We retreated to trails through the bush rather heading west rather than walk into the wind.Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 – A front-end loader moving sand away from the boardwalk and piling it along the shore at Beach 2.Wednesday, October 27th – Provincial park vehicles driving along the beach. Cars are no longer allowed on the beach, but vehicles for maintenance are the exception.Wednesday, October 27th, 2021 – Provincial park crews are doing work on all the ramps along the boardwalk. Now we know why they have moving sand away from the footings all week.Thursday, October 28th, 2021 – Our provincial tax dollars at work. New decking on the ramps along the Beach 2 boardwalk. The footing will be a little treacherous in the rain until the wood gets more weathered.Saturday, October 30th, 2021 – This is the latest I’ve even seen someone swimming at Wasaga Beach. This person was swimming fast parallel to the shore a long way out alternate between front stroke and back stroke (shown here). They were wearing a wetsuit of course. They must have swam quite a distance – more than a kilometer because they were swimming the whole time we watched from shore.
Walking down the beach was a little depressing this week. I kept coming across dead birds along the shore with no explanation. Apparently this has been happening the past few weeks across Georgian Bay – see the article here.
Sunday, October 17th, 2021 – The water was spectacular this morning. Very high winds. Things were so loud it was difficult to carry on a conversation. I wouldn’t want to be out on Georgian Bay today! We walked down to Beach one along the water and retreated to trails protected by trees on the way back to get out of the wind.Sunday, October 17th, 2021 – The water levels are clearly lower – last year there would have been no beach to walk on with these kinds of winds. One disturbing thing we saw were dozens of dead birds along the shore line. I’m not sure what happened overnight. I’ve noticed that when the winds are high birds often hunker down on the beach facing into the wind. I suspect they may have been vulnerable to predators approaching from downwind.Monday, October 18, 2021 – this picture taken looking east across beach one.Monday, October 18, 2021 – An evening walk. Taken at 57th street looking west/Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 – This time of year the seagulls are out in force! Taken heading east towards 50th street.Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 – It’s hard to get a picture of a turkey vulture in flight. These are large birds with a six foot wingspan.Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 – Looking west near Beach 6.Thursday, October 21st, 2021 – Taken looking west from east of beach 6. Rain is coming in from the west.Friday, October 22nd, 2021 – Looking west across the Beach 2 boardwalk.Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 – I managed to get close to two Turkey vultures sneaking up from downwind.Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 – A Turkey vulture perched on a volleyball post @ 18th street.Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 – I managed to catch the Turkey vulture in flight when I got a little too close.
Above seasonable temperatures this week. Walking down the beach felt like the middle of summer. Especially on Monday where we hit a high of 26 C!
Sunday, October 10th, 2021 – It’s interesting how these sandbars form off shore this time of year. This picture taken looking east on the way to Beach one mid morning on Sunday.Monday, October 11th, 2021 – Today was like a summer day! I enjoyed a walk down the beach with my Mother-in-law visiting from Cape Breton.Tuesday, October 12th, 2021 – This picture taken around noon looking east from the Beach 2 boardwalk. Another beautiful day and almost nobody around.Thursday, October 14th, 2021 – Looking west on an overcast day returning from Beach one.Friday, October 15th, 2021 – On my way to Beach one right around the noon hour. This picture taken right around 13th street. Property owners along the water are starting to erect plywood barriers to protect their yards from harsh winds in November.Saturday, October 16th, 2021 – This morning was a little walking down the beach. The sky is definitely looking more like Fall over the Blue Mountains to the west. I carried an umbrella but managed to avoid getting rained on.
