Tuesday, September 23

A Visit to Princess Point

Sunday morning both hubby and I were up early, so we decided to take a drive to Princess Point in Hamilton, Ontario. We had never been there before and I had heard that swans gather here before migrating south for the winter.

It was a little overcast and we were hoping we didn't get rained out. Here's hubby looking at the map of the area. He doesn't even know that I took this photo.

This is the first thing we saw when we walked toward the trail. What a beautiful view. This area is so scenic and the panoramic view is spectacular.
I love weeping willow trees and there were a few big ones out on the point. You can see some of Niagara Escarpment on the right.

As we crossed a foot bridge and entered the trail, we saw wild roses blooming. Most of them were spent and we saw plenty of wild rose hips. These weren't fragrant but were very pretty. I haven't seen wild roses in years.
Along the trail was a historical plaque that explained that Native Peoples lived in this area. They were Ontario's first farmers. They grew corn, squash and beans that were known as The Three Sisters. They would have also harvested the wild berries and fruit from the area.
White currants, as well as red and black grow along the trail. This area is abundant with all types of currants.
Beautiful wildflowers bloomed on the sides of the trail. These were so pretty and as you can see, a few of the leaves are beginning to turn color.

Another view of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment. We were looking for water fowl, but there wasn't too much here. Maybe we were too early or late in the season. If you look carefully in the right middle of the photo, you can see a white dot. That is a swan. It is the only one we saw. As swans mate for life, I assume this one lost its mate. It was nowhere to be seen.
As we walked along the water, we saw some Mallard ducks. They are very pretty with their green heads.
I have been trying to remember what these birds are called. You can see it almost mid photo. It and a few others like it were diving for food. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know in the comments. I should know this and it's driving me absolutely crazy. LOL

Folklore says that if the pinecones are at the top of the trees, there will be a lot of snow in the winter. This tree was loaded from top to bottom, which indicates we will not get a lot of snow this winter. I hope the pine tree knows the message it is sending. It was very beautiful with all the cones. The contrast between the green and brown was astounding. It was about 40 feet tall and was very old.

I hope you enjoyed coming along with hubby and I to Princess Point. If you are in the Hamilton area, be sure to take time to walk the trail and view this natural area. It's awesome.
Have a great week and remember to do a kind deed or two. Even a smile can brighten up someone's life when things are getting them down. ~Blessings, Mary~

18 comments:

  1. It looks like a beautiful area! I hope the pinecones are wrong though!

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  2. Beautiful photos, Mary. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

    I've never seen currants growing, and never eaten any that I can remember.

    I think your mystery birds are cormorants. Does that sound right? That's what they look like in your photos.

    Happy first week of Fall! :o)

    Love and hugs,

    Diane

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  3. Whoa....this area took me by surprise...it's beauty and serenity!!! [The one photo of the bird that you can't remember also has a canoe in the background ---I enlarged it to see the bird better.] And yes, I see that Diane has named the bird, I think it's cormorant also.

    Enjoyed this walk with nature Mary.

    Happy Tuesday.

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  4. You know I blog with someone else who has mention Hamilton. I am going to have to ask her if she is close to this. She lives in Ontario...I don't know if the Hamilton is in her address. I'll have to see.
    I enjoyed the pictures it looked like a peaceful day for you and your husband.You'll have to tell him he is famous now that he has been published. :)
    Have a great day girl.

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  5. Yes, there are many cormorants in this area. A co-worker gave me a map to Princess Point recently and strongly suggested I should visit. Your pictures show it to be a beautiful area indeed! There are many beautiful spots in the Hamilton area, from the many waterfalls over the escarpment to the botanical gardens in Burlington.

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  6. I see someone has already identified the bird.
    These are just the kind of things I enjoy doing in the Fall. The apple festival and now this. I wish I were there to do these with you.
    Mama Bear

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  7. great pictures! Thanks for sharing. I bet it was so peacful too...

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  8. I liked going on the tour with you and your DH. I hope the pinecones are wrong too!
    I thought the wildflowers are so pretty. Thanks for sharing your Sunday with us. Love and hugs, Grams

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  9. Beautiful pics, Mary!
    And man, do I ever hope the pine cones are a good predictor of the winter to come!

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  10. Just a lovely place! I always wanted a weeping willow tree in my yard.

    I enjoyed the 2nd part of the Apple Festival too.

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  11. What a lot of beautiful things you saw - it is amazing to go see things that haven been close foreve, but we neve get a chance to get there.

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  12. Hello dear Mary:-)

    I'm finally back in the land of blogging! lol What a beautiful area you visited and I'll have to write it down as one of the places I want to visit:-) Loved all your photos!! As for the currants...I'm wondering if that's what I saw growing in my brother's trails. There were white, blue and pink ones, looked a lot like blueberries but I know they weren't.

    The Apple Festival you went to sounds like so much fun. I love these types of events:-) Steve & I are planning a trip in October and going to a pumpkin farm in the Niagara Region will be a MUST DO! lol xoxo

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  13. Hi Mary,
    What a beautiful area! Looks like such a great place to view all the wonders of nature. Thanks for sharing it with us!
    (I didn't know the name of that bird, but see that others did)
    xo

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  14. You have such beautiful places in Canada....... We have to travel about 4 hours from here to see things such as that....... One day I would love to drive through Canada.... Thanks for the pictures..... You are a blessed little lady....... I am glad that you and Hubby got out for a day just the two of you.......... such a needful thing sometimes.......

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  15. Mary, this is a beautiful photo/essay! Thank you for sharing it with us. hugs, Tina
    PS I hope the pine trees have it right!!!

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  16. What beautiful photos! The water looks so peaceful. I love ducks and water fowl. We used to live on a lake and loved feeding the mallards that came up in the backyard. We went through scratch corn like crazy! They loved it! Nice that you had such a great day!

    (((((( HUGS ))))))

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