Saturday, March 8, 2014

Georgian Bay

It was a sunny day last week (we've had several of them recently), the day we went out owl hunting - successfully finding a snowy owl!  Later, down in the harbour in Meaford I found the ice had gone out and Georgian Bay was a deep blue, almost black line of water against the horizon.

My usual stopping point west of the harbour was snowed in, as it has been all winter.  I climbed a 6 foot snowbank to get this picture, and you can see by the bench in the foreground how deep the snow is, while those benches further out are kept clear by the howling winds off the bay.  And behind them is the blue-black water of the bay, though the ice will move around a lot yet before melting.

Further to the west there's just a little inshore ice, and you can see the Niagara Escarpment continuing in the distance, heading for Owen Sound.  Up there on the distant hill is the Land Force Central Area Training Centre (a name no-one remembers), locally known as the Meaford Tank Range, established during W.W. II, and still in very active use (though not for tanks).

Right down in the harbour the retired Coast Guard ship the Westport sits on its formal drydock beside the harbour.  This ship was retired in 2003, and serves as a museum locally.  I must go check it out in the summer.

Nearby are rows of large sailboats dry-docked for the winter, their cables snapping against masts in the wind the day I took this picture - one of the few pictures I have that has a distinctive sound associated with it.

And just west of the harbour a small bay is still ice-covered, but criss-crossed with fracture lines; behind the ice is that blue-black water of the bay in the distance.

Linking to:
http://mylittlehomeandgarden.blogspot.ca/

25 comments:

  1. Great signs of seasonal change -
    thanks for sharing signs of 'hope' !

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  2. So pretty there! Can't wait to see what you think of the Westport "Museum". Should be interesting!

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  3. It certainly feels cold looking at these shots!

    Well, spring's coming, from the general shape of the main part of the bay.

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  4. It's funny how ice moves. There must be a current to carry the ice away.

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  5. I'm glad to hear you found your snowy owl and a few boats as well, FG. The latter look a bit confused, poor things, as they sit waiting for the chance to sail again. It would be interesting to visit the coast guard ship and see the museum display that has been set up there.

    Thank you for linking to Sunlit Sunday. I always learn something from your posts.

    Karen

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  6. Beautiful winter scenes.. We have heard some weird strange noises coming from the ice on our lake..Congrats on your Snowy Owl sighting, they are beautiful birds. Lovely series.

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  7. I'm getting excited that Georgian Bay is blue and not covered in ice! I like visiting the Harbour at Meaford and have taken photos of the Westport in summer. Congrats on finding a snowy owl!

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    1. I remember your picture of the Westport. You photograph a lot of harbours I've noticed, so it's getting me interested too.

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  8. Just beautiful pictures, I'm so glad you climbed the 6 foot snow bank to get some of these to share with us. Thanks

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  9. Beautiful place! I just realized you're only across one state and one lake from me.

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    1. Yes, we're close to due east of you. We actually live half an hour south of Meaford, close to the town of Markdale.

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  10. Thank you for this update. If Georgian Bay is already ice free there is some hope! I thought it would take a month to thaw. Still, there is a lot of snow to melt. The pictures are wonderful.

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  11. I bet it was exciting to see the Snowy Owl. Lovely winter landscapes of your world. Winter wonderland with sun!

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  12. Well, your search for the Snowy Owl was a success, and now you've tracked down and treated us to Ontario's beautiful winter shores, which some of us, uprooted and across the pond, really do appreciate for their uniform allure of a blue and white delight! Thanks for climbing those mini mountains to share these wonderful views!

    Poppy

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  13. I am glad you clarified owl "hunting." For a split of a second I felt distressed that owl hunting (as in shooting) is allowed somewhere. Beautiful landscape and very interesting explanation. Thank you. It felt as if you were our tour guide.

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  14. Thank you for all your kind comments. Several of you have commented on the Snowy Owl - I should have included a link to my post of 10 days ago when I reported that, but I don't know how to add a link to a comment, so I'll add it to the text in the post. Yes, we were hunting with a camera!

    And the ice on Georgian Bay does move around a lot once it unfreezes from the shoreline. I think it's the wind more than currents, but huge areas of ice, many square miles in size can blow away from shore for a week or two, and then move back. It will gradually melt, but those blue waters could easily be white with ice again tomorrow. The blue water and summer sun will arrive eventually though!

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  15. As always, beautiful photos.
    Love the bright blue sky and the sunshine.

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  16. These photos remind me so much of our area. Beautiful pictures- love how the coast guard cutter stands out against the blue sky. There were reports of snowy owls around here this year, but I haven't seen one.

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  17. Beautiful and bright contrasts with the white snow and the sunny skies. Some of the places you've shown, like the Niagara Escarpment and Georgian Bay are places I've heard of for years, but have never seen, not even photos. It's fun to put the landscape of our country together.

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  18. It still looks very cold in your neck of the woods, but I love the icy beauty.

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  19. I love that Blue-Black water- so striking in the sea of white!

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  20. Love the red ship! And the Coast Guard!

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  21. Wonderfull shots, preety place..brr cold.. greeting from Belgium

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