The day started out gray, cold and windy but as it progressed the clouds cleared and Ziggy called to see if we, Shenzi and I wanted to go for a walk....not that he ever has to ask. The sun was shining but there was a cold wind out of the northwest. It was a day of seeing old things as we walk through the woods. The snow is gone and very small signs of spring are beginning to show.
The dunes were civilized about 200 years ago mainly for farming and grazing until settlers realized that their activity was accelerating the movement of the dunes. This little livestock or storage shed is over 150 years old made from wide cedar planks.
On the beach up near the spit we found these old white oak timbers. The waters around Prince Edward County are littered with ship wrecks. Oak was used for boats and the bolts and fittings are old iron fixtures.
Speaking of old, Marcel and I would have been married 34 years ago!
Zebra mussels are an introduced species about the size of a finger nail and were first found in Lake Erie in 1988. Since then they have moved into every great lake and many of the large river systems of the eastern US and Ontario. The mussels adhere to anything and have caused millions $$ of damage to water intake system by clogging intake pipes.
The mussels have made a dramatic change in the ecosystem because they filter plankton from the water and reduce the amount of energy available for fish. Some parts of the Great Lakes system, such as the Bay of Quinte, have become very clear as a result, sending walleye to deeper waters.
Zebra mussels filter almost everything from their habitat. Organic pollutants get stored in the zebra mussels’ tissue. Before zebra mussels infested the Lakes, most material of that kind would either be absorbed by zooplankton or settle into sediments.
It was a good day for most of us. The walk was wonderful but at the end of the walk I lost it with R, he is a Pathways client who lives with Ziggy and Lucille and he is very annoying and I lost it....not good on my part.
Distance walked - 7kms.
