A Sunday Afternoon Drive

 It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, so after church in the morning we headed off for the afternoon.  Our destination was Big Bay, a tiny little ragged village strung out among the trees, on the distant shore of Georgian Bay, some distance north of Owen Sound.

This is the ancient Algonquin glacial lake shoreline, a significant hill to the west of Meaford.  After the flat sand plains the apple trees so enjoy, you can't miss it.

We had an ice storm here two weeks ago, so on the higher bits of the landscape you could see a fair bit of damage, trees and branches down.

We eventually dipped down over the Niagara Escarpment into Owen Sound.  I've never got into the habit of photographing meals, but we did stop at a new pancake restaurant and really enjoyed our meal.  Then it was all the way through town and out the west end, turning to head north.

Once we got on the back roads we started to spot things.  These are Coltsfoot, one of the earliest spring wildflowers, often confused with Dandelions.  But with Dandelions the leaves come first; with Coltsfoot the flower comes first, and in my view they are one of the most beautiful spring wildflowers.

One of Mrs. F.G.'s favourite spring plants is Red Osier Dogwood, noticeable because the stems turn bright red as spring arrives.  It tends to form large patches especially where the ground is a little wet, but you can't miss those red stems.

We passed a curve, dropped downhill, and there was Georgian Bay - well, Owen Sound (the water body, not the city), brilliant blue in the afternoon sun.

We turned left and followed the shoreline for a distance before turning back inland, choosing the back roads to get to Big Bay.