Sea Ice

Sea Ice
Raven and I set out on our first spring beach walk yesterday and saw a whole different side of Melville, one I have never witnessed before, one with plenty of sea ice! Above Raven is deciding how to navigate the ice covered beach.

Living in Canada and hearing stories of ice bergs off the coast of Newfoundland and the history of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, you assume familiarity with sea ice, ice floats and ice bergs, but unless it is up close, you really cannot appreciate the vastness of this phenomenon! As far as we could tell, the ice extends right over to Prince Edward Island, because I did not see a break in the ice, even once we got up on the road.

The little brook that divides the beach in Melville is the only open water that Raven and I could find. It is so deep at the moment that poor Raven was leaning over the bank to get a look and the bank let go and she and the sand she was standing on slid right into the water with a huge "PLUNK!" Watching Raven navigate her way out was a funny site, thankfully there was a stick close by that I placed halfway in so she could get hold of and climb out. Safe to say, we will be avoiding that part of the beach for the next little while!

 

Although it may not look it today, the Northumberland Strait is one of the shallowest bodies of ocean in Canada and north of the Carolinas (Wikipedia) and as such, holds the record for the warmest ocean waters in Canada! Temperatures reaching up to 25 degrees C have been recorded in mid-July's!

For now, we will have to wait for the sea ice to clear and enjoy the blue sky and sunny day ahead!