It’s day ten, and today’s prompt is “fave places.”
Today, my friend Tom gave me a tour around Grand Island, starting at the farm belonging to Tom Thompson. That was the start of my adventure to try to find my favorite place on Grand Island.
This farm is where I buy my eggs and whatever produce is in season. Right now, it’s mostly winter squash, onions, and garlic. There’s also lettuce available, grown at a nearby indoor hydroponic garden. Today, I bought an onion, some garlic and lettuce. And I met a few customers and a very friendly dog. The farm is a great place to visit with people, watch the antics of the chickens, and get fresh egg, jams, honey, and in-season produce. Sometimes, there are baked goods available, but that usually comes on Saturday. By Friday, the baked goods are sold out.
My next stop on the tour was Eagle Overlook. It’s the site of a resort that used to exist on Grand Island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where people, mostly from Buffalo, enjoyed summertime activities. It was a break from city life in Buffalo, and there were resorts and amusement parks galore for visitors to enjoy. Unfortunately, on June 23, 1912, too many people, ready for the ferry back to Buffalo, climbed aboard the dock. The weight of all of those people turned out to be too much for the dock, and it collapsed, resulting in 250 people going into the water. And, sadly, 39 perished.
Eagle Overlook is now state parkland. This is today’s view of the Niagara River, which is in the process of freezing. The water runs very fast as it approaches Niagara Falls, so it will never fully freeze. The land across from Eagle Overlook is an uninhabited island called Navy Island, which is in Ontario, Canada. It is a national historical site, and it is not open to the public. The human public, that is. Bald eagles nest on Navy Island. Other birds that can be found on Navy Island include green herons, canvasbacks (a large diving duck), peregrine falcons, geese, and much more. Navy Island very likely has a great diversity of bird species because the island is closed to humans.
After we left the Eagle Overlook, we traveled along the west river to Beaver Island State Park. There were no birds visible in the water. It is still duck hunting season, and the waters were full of duck hunters. They are a very determined group of people, who don’t let cold air temperatures get in the way of their activity of choice.
What are some of your favorite places?
Great story Alice! Actually I believe the eagle park disaster was on w. River near Staley though of course I could be wrong. P.s here’s a trivia question for you: how did Navy Island get its name? Actually it was used by the British Royal Navy ( i read) who had a shipyard there. Keep up the good work!
One of my favorite walks is Buckhorn State Park. It is easy walking over to the Niagara Falls bridge. The park is along the river so it’s easy to gather sea glass and small pieces of driftwood. It’s quiet walking with tall trees along the trail.
I would love having that barn to turn into a office She Shed for me although I’m sure my husband would want it for a Garage and my son a man cave for gaming. As for the Mural it was so pretty and I could have used some sweets today as I work hard on catching up on work. Enjoy the weekend and have a wonderful new week as we continue in the Challenge.
Enjoyed your winter adventures today. Looking forward to seeing more.