More winter walks

 Not much to do but take walks this winter but the ice sculptures have been wonderful and we continue to try and identify ducks.

On a walk in the Turkey Point Provincial Park, evidence of snowmobiles, big tire bikes and cross country skis.

I am always happy to get out

on a sunny day.

A bit further afield, Port Maitland.

There was plenty of evidence of high waves and winds, (this is a lamp post and a garbage can, on the pier)

but I can't believe that this fish got tossed up on the wall by waves.

My favorite ice sculpture so far, a bike rack at Port Maitland.

We walked in the Long Beach Conservation Area but walking on the beach itself was rough going.

Amazing that the trees and shrubs

survive

this winter onslaught.

At one of the beaches we saw this lighthouse out in the lake. With all his sailing on Lake Erie and driving and living along the shore, Rick had never seen it before and swore it was a mirage.

So Chris created this "mirage" for him.

Heritage Value

The Mohawk Island Lighthouse is a heritage lighthouse because of its historical, architectural, and community values.

Historical values
The Mohawk Island Lighthouse is an excellent example of the development of navigational aids on Lake Erie and is closely associated with the early history of Welland Canal. The lighthouse was specifically erected to warn of the dangers of an offshore shoal and to direct traffic to and from the southern end of the canal. The Mohawk Island Lighthouse is one of the few surviving lighthouses of its era on the Great Lakes. Its combined tower and keeper’s dwelling speak to the lightkeeping tradition at remote locations in the nineteenth century. The Mohawk Island Lighthouse is an excellent example of the socio-economic development of the region. The construction of the Welland Canal in 1829 and its subsequent improvements through to the 1840s was the most important factor in the
development of the area. The lighthouse supported the industries that flourished with the opening of the canal by ensuring the safety of passing ships.

Architectural values
The Mohawk Island Lighthouse is a spectacular maritime ruin that still evokes its Neoclassical style, as evidenced by its hammer-dressed stonework, its symmetrical massing and the placement of its openings. Although it is now only a shell in ruins, the lighthouse still exhibits the pleasing proportions of a tall tower with an integrated keeper’s dwelling.
Despite a half-century of abandonment, the tapered stone tower remains solid and upright, a testimony to the excellent materials used and also to the craftsmanship of John Brown, the Scottish stonemason who built the structure. From Parks Canada website.

Bald Eagle at Port Maitland.