Travel plans, catching up and quiet times.....

 

 
Our Location: Summer Spot, near South Baymouth, Ontario, Canada


I’ll bet you thought I forgot all about you, well you’d be wrong. It’s pretty quiet here at the best of times and with this pandemic still chasing us all around, it’s even quieter and I had nothing to write about. I salute those that find something to write about every day, I don’t have what it takes to do that.

This doe seemed to hang around for a couple of months. She would show up in various places including the ridge outside our dining room window.

The weather has been great for the most part but like others I’m sure we’ll all be happy to be rid of the humid conditions soon, not to rush fall or winter though. Sweltering heat here with high humidity has been the story for most of us in Ontario this summer and we here in the northern part were a great deal more fortunate than our friends and neighbours in Southern Ontario.  I think we can all agree it has been a summer unlike any we’ve ever experienced before with weather and pandemic being the top of the news for a very long time now. Hurricanes, tornados and floods are now more and more in the headlines as well. Certainly not the type of summer we are used to and our thoughts go to those that have and are suffering and struggling during this very trying time. Hopefully the coming weeks and months bring relief, promise and hope to all.

 

I haven’t been keeping up with blogs nor Facebook so I have no idea what’s happening with everyone. The pace of life here is very different and I find it’s bedtime before I think of turning on the computer and by then I’m ready to call it a day. So I apologize for not commenting and keeping up but as we all know, blogging is to be fun and not a chore.

 

These colourful mushrooms are starting to appear in lots of places around our summer spot.

 

Today’s photos were taken mostly with my phone, although a few were with the camera out the dining room window. The photos range from wild life to sunrises and a few things in between, taken over the past number of weeks since my last post. I hope you enjoy them.

These two photos are in the village of South Baymouth, near the ferry terminal. Very rough waters out there in Georgian Bay made for a few very rough trips on the Chi-Cheemaun.

Both the snake and the hummingbird were photographed out the dining room window.

Riley and I have decided we will be staying in Ontario this winter. With Covid 19 still very much making it’s ugly self known we both feel it’s safer to stay where we have family to help should it be needed. So we are currently searching for winter accommodations on Manitoulin Island. Something small and preferably in the south east area but we will be looking at everything. Comments are always the same: everyone seems to be searching for a winter spot here this year. So I guess we aren’t alone.

A sunrise shot taken on the way to Dad's house for coffee shortly after 6 AM.

These three shots were taken on a different morning on the way to coffee with the fog hovering, things were damp and the dew was heavy.

 

 Some notes to to share that I would normally mention in my blog but since I’m catching up some may seem a bit out of date to some but I’ll include  them anyway. Some notes will of course be for the future as well, since I’m not sure when I’ll write another post.

 

Another sunrise on the way to morning coffee. 

 

 

Another fog covered morning.

Taken between my dad's house and my brother's house with the sunrays shining through a maple tree.

 Condolences to our good friend Sharon and family in the passing of her husband Ron in May. We truly regret not being able to see them on our way home last spring but will always remember Ron’s gentle voice, kind heart and wonderful friendship. We’ve known them for years and have always enjoyed their company.  A true gem and we will all miss you Sheriff.  Condelences as well to the Hall family in the recent passing of their mother Pat, a fixture around Tehkummah for as long as I can remember, a contributor to the local newspaper, she wrote Tehkummah Talk and Times for many years catching everyone up on the local happenings in and around the area. Also to the Ward family in the passing of Susan and to the Oswald family in the passing of Helen. Both of these women were well known in the community, even if I didn’t know them well, and they will be missed greatly.

 

Sunrise one morning as I step outside heading for coffee time.

Birthday wishes to my middle daughter Bradey (July 24), my Aunt Sandra (August 5), my Dad (August 10), cousin Tammy (August 28), our friend Randy (who celebrates today, August 29) and a big happy birthday to my grandson Auston (who will turn one year old on September 12). Happy Birthday as well to my niece Nicole who will celebrate a birthday on September 30. The month of August is also brings us more memories of those that have left us, my mom (whose birthday was Aug 15 and passed on Aug 4, 2003), my late husband Richard (passed on Aug 10, 2006), and my grandmother (whose birthday was Aug 17 and passed on Aug 31, 2005).

The same sunrise as the above photos.

Some other notes for myself, dad’s brother Donnie arrived home almost 3 months to the day after his motorcycle accident. He is now in a wheel chair, but in good spirits and seemingly doing well. He arrived home August 26, 2020, having been injured June 19, 2020 in a single vehicle accident.  Fortunate for sure.

 As I said, I’m not sure when I’ll update my blog again but I assure you all that you cross my mind and bring a smile to my face each time I think of you. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time….take care, be safe, stay healthy.


Deb

A busy week....

Our Location: Lakeshore Rd N, near South Baymouth, ON

The last number of days have been busy with various errands, jobs, and visits. We’ve travelled a bit to place like Espanola, Little Current, Manitowaning, Mindemoya and Tehkummah but we have yet to visit the little hamlet of South Baymouth. We will though and I promise to remember to take the big camera instead of just my phone.
 

Waiting for Dad at the bank in Little Current. Ahead is a small glimpse of the water front, which is the North Channel.

Tuesday found Riley and I securing a new family doctor in Mindemoya as our Hamilton family doctor retired and we don’t care for the new fellow. We’ve slowly been switching things to the north and have now joined with Dr. Maryna Harelnkava at the Manitoulin Health Clinic.

This is the local OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) building. No town cops, just provincial and Native ones on the Island.

Wednesday we travelled to Espanola with Dad as he wanted to do some grocery shopping, and we too managed to find a few items we could use. Isn’t that always the way though? You don’t need anything and $50 later you leave the store. The ride is about an hour and a half from where we’re located, we must cross the swing bridge in Little Current and continue along Highway 6 north bound through a couple of reserves.  We travelled through Birch Island Reserve, Whitefish Falls Reserve and weaved our way through the rocky outcroppings of Willisville and passed into Espanola just before 10 am. We managed to pass the time at a few stores, lunch and before we knew it we were home by 2:30 pm. Not a long trip but a nice slow pace and a few laughs along the way. 

My view of the morning sun as it greets the day.

Thursday  had Dad and I travelling to Mindemoya to have his 2 week old hearing aid back at the hearing clinic there. Seems they have to send it out to be repaired, and it’s only 2 weeks old. I’m not sure what to think about this little issue but we’ll see how long it lasts when it comes back. We did a few little errands while there in Mindemoya as well. 

This fella and his partner (she's in the ditch among the weeds) may be nesting in this location. Lots of marshy areas here.

Friday has us visiting Aunt Shirley during the morning and sister Jan on our way back home.  We also stopped at the local body shop where my long time friend Blaine did his magic on a stone chip we picked up over the winter travels. 

One of my morning walks, I walk up to the bend in the road which is where our gateway is located.

Taking a few minutes most days I’m also working on the oxidization issue on the nose cone and hopefully will have it finished by Monday and be able to apply some wax to bring the shine back. We shall see how that goes though. I’ve been walking a bit more now that we are back, although the mornings are pretty crisp still but I’m sure they will get warmer soon. The snow and ice are now all gone, with no signs of lingering any where. A walk over the back trail to the Sugar Shack didn’t find any Morrels in the spots I noted them last year and I think it’s too dry. Hard to believe with all the snow they had here but the ground is dry and crunchy in places. Rain in the forecast for tomorrow so hopefully we get a nice gentle rain over the evening and night. It would be most helpful. 

This is taken from our regular parking spot, as you can see we're quite a bit lower down.

Our Canadian long weekend is about over with today being Monday. Rain on Saturday had us doing some inside chores and reading. Sunday found me finishing up not quite all of the nose cone, about 15 more minutes should complete the oxidization removal and then I can apply a couple of coats of wax and be finished with that particular job. We have a few things planned for the week and hopefully a bit of warmth finds the wind/breezes that are constant here on the rock. Things are starting to show their spring colours more and more with daffs, tulips, crocus, and hyacinths showing their bright spring colours. 

We normally park right back there along those rocks and trees on the right. In fact you can see the outline of the out door mat we use toward the left of the picture.

With the long weekend comes the cattle into our little piece of real estate. They should arrive today and be here for summer pasture. All of the gates are now closed, and we will start being more aware of the things we leave outside. Cows will chew anything, we’ve been fortunate enough to only lose the occasional solar light to their destructive ways over the years so we can’t complain. 

You can see the lake from here, but we don't park this high. That's our fire pit down there below on the rock.

So there you have it folks. Nothing exciting but we’ve been busy. I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

Quite the view from up here but we can't get this high with the Igloo.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Walking across the old orchard you can see the back of my brother's house, my dad lives to the right behind that tall pine tree. You can barely see the David Brown Tractor on the extreme right but Dad's there splitting wood for next winter's heat.

 


Deb



(A note: I've found that posting a daily blog right now just isn't possible as my mornings are too full and the internet speed at night is disgusting so I'll be posting when I can, I'll try for once a week but who knows. I'll be catching up with everyone's posts at some point but I can't tell you when. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!!!!)