By the time that we see the Foleyet General Store sign, we know that we have had a long drive that is almost over (about 1000km since awaking earlier in the day).
We stop in Foleyet primarily to top up the gas tank so that we don’t find ourselves running out of gas somewhere far from civilization on one of the local forestry roads in the middle of a bird survey route. This time around, we were in for a treat as a small muddy puddle on one of the street corners was the mud source used by Cliff Swallows for the building of their nests. They would arrive singly, in doubles, or in small flocks of four to six birds, pick up their bit of mud and then fly off again. During the process, their wings were constantly fluttering. Last year I focused on photographing the finished nests: Cliff Swallow in Foleyet
 
 
Occasionally, a couple of Bank Swallows would sweep down to the puddle for a drink but they were outnumbered by the Cliff Swallows and didn’t share the space too long.
 
Foleyet is a small enclave on a CN Railway east-west line and, being about half-way between Capreole and Hornpayne, has served as a changeover point for crews and a train service area. The community has seen busier economic times but is still doing okay. The swallows were building their nest under the eaves of the fire station, and I am assuming that newer equipment was kept inside of the building.
While we were standing by fire station, Gerhard mentioned that a hummingbird had been using a Spruce tree as a look-out point and, sure enough, right on cue, it returned to that spot.
I think that I could have sat in Foleyet all day just watching the antics of the swallows around that little puddle of water, but before nightfall arrived, we still needed to get to the Ivanhoe Lake campground to set up the tents. Our stomachs were also telling us that we needed to get to the nearest restaurant for something to eat.
A control structure keeps the lake level relatively constant.
Setting up a tent should be an easy matter but can be complicated when local residents get to the best places first :-).
