We are home...and some very sad news...

 

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island

Ontario, Canada

Our winter season is over and we have journeyed many miles to arrive back here to this very spot where our Igloo waits for us. We left Cabo, Mexico on Monday, April 27, 2026 arrived back in Toronto, Ontario, Canada after 5 hr flight. We spent two nights in Toronto, rode the Via train to Sudbury on April 29, a taxi ride into town, another over night at a hotel and on April 30 my brother Rick picked us up and returned us to the Island in the waters of Lake Huron. It is wonderful to be home but folks it is cold. Even by Island standards, the spring temps seem to have forgotten they should have arrived by now. 

One of the many colourful sights on our nightly stroll.

A recap of our winter. It was our first full immersion into Mexican culture and for the first 2 weeks I wanted to come home and brave the winter. However we toughed it out and it wasn't long before things started falling into place and we began to enjoy our experiences a great deal more. We picked a winter that was hotter than usual and we did struggle with the high temperatures. My initial research indicated that the temps would be similar to the southwest desert of California we have enjoyed for nearly a decade. However the research proved to be wrong this year and even the locals were commenting about the heat. 

We stopped in here for a drink.

Sits at a little cantina near our AirBnB. 

Our AirBnB was a 2 bed, 1 bath with a nice little kitchen/living room. We have booked it again for this coming fall/winter. We enjoyed the easy access to most things of importance to us, we took a couple of Uber rides but mostly just walked. It was good. We found favourite places to go for certain things and just tried to enjoy the sounds and the people. We ventured out in the cooler evening hours and avoided the hot sun of the day. We met numerous foreigners visiting Mexico, some first timers, some returners, and some that simply never went back home. English is spoken by many and we are learning some Spanish, which reminds me of learning French, very similar in many ways. I can ask a few things, state a few things and while it may not be perfect, it is passable. I understand and read much more than I can articulate but hopefully that will come. I will admit we did not do any tourist things, no tours or rides, etc.  We live in an old quarry, we are surrounded by water as we live on an island and so many of the popular things are water and the Arch related in Cabo and therefore did not interest either of us. We did discuss a couple of tours but neither of us were interested in riding a camel, an atv or a horse. The only thing I truly would have been interested in doing was zip lining, however Riley shook her head and went off to her bedroom when I mentioned it, I took that as a no.  Perhaps next winter, but I won't hold my breathe. 

On the Via train heading for Sudbury, just leaving Union Station, Toronto.

We have touched base with all of our family and have enjoyed our first week back although the heavy frost is quite the contrast to 25c/77F at the same time of morning a few short days ago. A few solar bugs to iron out, a few repairs to the cabin in the form of glass, and all will be back to normal. I'm holding off putting water in the tank for another few days, it is just a bit too cold for that I think. If the daytime temps ever get out of single digits, 10c/50f I will be loading the fresh water tank but for now we will just keep refilling our smaller bottles. I'm sure the tank would be fine but I'm not going to tempt fate. 

Heading to Sudbury, the view out the train window.

There is a haunting beauty here, a land unremembered. 

Riley and I started back to work on Thursday, May 7 at the Buckhorn Motel, South Baymouth, Ontario. If you are travelling to or from the Island and require a place to stay, give them a call, check out their website and get a room. Clean, friendly, ideally located for ferry travel. Anyway, you get the idea, I have faith you can follow the path! Just something to keep in mind.  We have missed the fabulous ladies there, they are absolutely wonderful. Laughter, smiles, a few cusses all make the work easier and faster. We are happy to be once again be back with the Wild Bunch!

The sad news fits here, on Friday, May 8th my dad died. He was at home, where he wanted to be, he simply fell to the floor and was gone.  He was not sick, he had no medical conditions, he was 88 years old. His life was full, he lived a long time longer than he wanted. He missed mom and I guess he decided it was time. Dad was close to all of us, Jan, Rick and I,  he talked to us all maybe not everyday but most days, we all visited as often as time allowed, and while he frustrated us at times, he also made us laugh, he made us know we were appreciated and loved. For those that have spent much time with me you will know the temperature both inside and outside the house was one of the topics we discussed every night I called him, you may find it comforting to know, he put wood in the stove an hour before he passed, and I can say with certainty it was a good one. It has been a rough time for our family since the year began, dad lost a sister in law Sandra, December 27, 2025,  his youngest sister Eileen, February 10, 2026 and another sister in law Margaret, four days later on Feb 14. I will miss him more than I can say.  Perhaps I will do a post at a later date about dad, time will tell I suppose. 

I would like to offer my condolences to the Leeson family in the passing of Nancy. A very cheerful, boisterous, and fabulous lady. 

To the Pearson family in the loss of a brother, father, grandfather Rob.

Rhubarb is starting to grow.

Belated April birthday wishes to Joan (my aunt who isn't), brother Rick, cousin Daisy, nephews Allan and Jesse, and cousin Bob. A happy birthday wish to my youngest grandson Lincoln, he turns 4 on May 12.  

Last years onions are coming back.

I truly have barely turned on the new Bluetti, it wasn't needed for the slide openings and we haven't been home long enough to test the fridge for more than an hour, but for that little test it worked great, and by all indications it will do what I want, which is to run the fridge overnight, with ease. It indicates that it would run the fridge for approximately 20 hours before the Bluetti would power down. It is a huge fridge freezer combination, about 18cu ft.  It will take a while but I will at some point try to post an update. It is very heavy, it takes both Riley and I to move it, I am waiting for cables to hook it to a single solar panel to start, and go from there.

Cold and damp on my way to Dad's for coffee.

A beautiful sunrise right here on the path.

I'm glad all of my lithium batteries are self heating, the temps have been just at the 0c/32f mark every morning and I've not worried at all about them. The best peace of mind for me.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Until next time.......

Deb

Home sweet home…..

 

Our Location:

Home, Tehkummah, Ontario

We left Valens Conservation Area in Flamborough, Ontario after dumping the tanks, disposing of our garbage and depositing the swipe card in the bucket, the time read 8:23 AM, Thursday morning. 

The Swing Bridge that takes us from mainland to island.

The first town as you cross over the bridge.

A few rain drops, a few sunny moments and various shades of blue in the sky had us hoping everything would stay on forecast, no rain until overnight. We did well, we stopped 3 times in our 8 hour drive. We were up the big hill, turned around, parked and level by 4:30 pm. Not bad! 

Some snow still around on the ground.

Spring flowers too.

A couple of drop ins at Dad’s but he was sleeping, he is currently battling with shingles and at 87, it is a big job. He is pretty much over the rash/blisters but the pain is still intense. I am shortly heading out the door, 6:10 AM for coffee, so will be better able to judge for myself.

Parts from this tractor….

Fixed this tractor.

It is good to be home, still some snow in places, the most I can remember in our years of camping here, although we are about a week earlier than usual. Red Gads are definitely hinting at spring, a very green tinge to the grass, even a little green in the chives and onions. On a morning walk I found a teeny, tiny morel. A definite sign of spring.

Of course the winter cut…

Still waiting for splitting and piling.

Over the next number of days we will settle in but Monday will find us off to the voting station, the mail box and the Township Office, so I see very little outside or cabin work that day. We also need to purchase a few things to get the gardens ready. The joys of returning and setting up.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Finally home.....

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, near South Baymouth, Ontario, Canada

 

Hello folks. I’ll bet you thought I forgot about you but you’d be wrong. You have all been on my mind and today is the day that I let you know Riley and I are safe, sound and parked in our summer spot and we hope you folks are all doing just wonderful as well. We left Buttercup Ridge on Easter Sunday and arrived here before 5 pm. It was a day of mist, rain, almost rain, a few snow flurries but NO WIND.

 

I just love this bowl. It sits in the formal living room at Buttercup Ridge. It always catches the sunlight and looks amazing. 

 

 

 One of the spare rooms at Buttercup Ridge.

 

 

Throw pillows, blankets, robes, towels, etc throughout the house all bear the wonderful stitching!!

 

 

An uneventful drive, we stopped a few times to stretch and grab some food but other than that we kept on motoring. Leaving Buttercup Ridge before 8 am we managed to pass through Orilla around 10 am, thru Sudbury by 1:30 pm and were up the big hill, turned around and leveling by the time our first visitor arrived at 4:30. We had the feet down and were just putting the slides out when our second visitor arrived around 4:50 pm and were bringing things out of the Dogsled when our last visitor arrived at 5:15 pm. They came and left individually and never overlapped, a quick hello, nice to see you, chatter, chatter and off they went. Once they all left we were having some dinner and settling in by 6 pm. Social distancing is of course observed here and there were no hugs or close proximity standing.
 

 A very empty hamlet of Omemee, Ontario

 

 

Janet and Dennis arrived home on Monday night after four days of driving from Indian Wells, CA. A very long drive for certain. We are happy they are safe, sound and healthy back on Buttercup Ridge. On Saturday morning Riley and I headed into Cobourg for two reasons, shopping for us and them. They are now in 14 days of isolation with a full fridge and plenty of food and medications to last them until they are well past that time. We too are pretty much stocked for a  month or so. Milk and bread can be purchased by my SIL Barbara while she is at work and brought home to us.

 

  

Raindrops on the window.

Here on the Island there are only 2 reported cases ( reported about three weeks ago) of Covid-19, although there are a growing number of cases in the areas surrounding the Island. So we are happy to be settled in here although the cold is not enjoyable, we will manage. Of course the nice weather happened in the beginning of April and now the last two weeks will be quite a bit below seasonal norms. Yeah us.

 

 

The photos today are a bit of a collection, some were taken on our drive north, some while still at Buttercup Ridge and the last two this morning with my phone and they give you an idea of the empty roads and the ‘no sign of spring’ along the way, as well as our current weather.
 

 

 

 

A few notes of interest for those that pay attention to such things. Fuel prices in the area around Buttercup Ridge were in the 81/82 cent a liter mark for DIESEL. That translates to APPROXIMATELY $3.28 a gallon. I bought my diesel at the local reserve there. A stop in Parry Sound, Ontario (Muskoka-Cottage country) had us filling the drinking bowl at around 97/98 cents per liter. That is APPROXIMATELY $3.92 a gallon. A further top up at the turn off from Hwy 17 to Hwy 6 which we travel to reach the island had us seeing $1.14 per liter, APPROXIMATELY $4.56 per gallon. We are set for fuel for  quite a while as we drive  very little here.
 

 Most of the small inland lakes in the Sudbury area are still frozen but not with enough ice to hold a person up.

 

For those that are interested in the temperatures, BRRRRRR comes to mind with day time highs reaching 38 or 39F/  approx 3 or 4 C but with the cold west wind those aren’t the true temps. Night time lows dip well in to the ‘oh my God it’s cold’ numbers and one is good while in bed but hates to step out of bed in the morning. Although Dave, (Our View from Here) we aren’t as cold as you are out there in the cold plains of Saskatchewan.

 

 

Some of this sh*t is still on the ground and it's noon thirty! 

 

A couple of other notes as well to pass along. Since we are now in our summer location and not really doing anything of interest I will be posting occasionally now. I’ll try for once a week but can’t promise. We are on a different time pattern here, more structured and I spend a great deal less time inside and usually take very few photos. I seem to find things to occupy my time and keep busy. So if you don’t hear from me often, don’t be alarmed please.

 

 

 

 

A birthday wish to my brother Rick who celebrates tomorrow. I won’t give any numbers but he’s older than me. Haha. Happy Birthday big brother, we hope it’s a fantastic day. Also a birthday wish to brother Rick’s youngest son Jesse. He celebrates on the the 28th by turning 24. He and his lovely lady recently became proud parents of a fur baby, a very nice chocolate lab. I believe the puppy is named is Remy. Also a birthday wish to my nephew Allan. Allan is my sister’s only son. Allan celebrates on April 21 st and will be celebrating a 30 something birthday. Happy Birthday guys. We hope you all enjoy your special day.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are all happy, sane, and healthy and remain that way. Hopefully we start to get back to some sort of normal in the next few weeks or at least by summer time. To quote an Anne Murray song,’We sure could use a little good news today.’

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

Deb

 

 

 

 

 

A nice day here in Borrego Springs, California.....

Our Location:  Near Borrego Springs, CA

Cooler overnight temperatures here in Borrego Springs had me piling on some more blankets. I did however sleep very well and didn’t wake up until 6 AM. What a wonderful surprise that was. Riley and I enjoyed our hot drinks and discussed some things we wanted to do today. 

Heading toward Borrego Springs.

 

So it was around 8:30 AM that we headed in to Borrego Springs with two things in mind. Our first stop was Christmas Circle to walk on the grass, leave our trash and check out the decorations. I mentioned to Riley how Al has mentioned about bringing Pheebes here to walk on the grass. So a few pictures to help tide them over until they can do that themselves. No vendors today but it being so close to Christmas I guess I should have known that I guess. 

The beautiful green grass of Christmas Circle.

 

Our next stop was the laundry building we’ve passed many times. No we don’t have laundry to but I was thinking of doing a load of blankets while we’re here to just kind of freshen them up a bit. I sat on the bench and chatted with a local California fellow for 10 minutes about various places to see and places to stay. From the laundry we headed out along one of the roads toward the north canyon walls. We eventually found our way home.

The Palms are tall and straight in the Circle.

 

At this point I started setting up our yard. Chairs, BBQ, table, mat, etc. It didn’t take too long and I even managed a chat with Larry from the toy hauler that was parked a short distance away. A nice fella he was telling me if I noticed a coyote running around with a cap on his head I could shoot him with no bad feelings. Seems he left his cap outside last night and it was gone this morning. Larry is from northeast Georgia but is visiting his son and family. They have been here for a couple of days with multiple quads and have been enjoying the desert. Before long they were pulling out and heading home to the son's place here in California. 

 

Not the fantastic shots that Al takes but a reminder at least.

 

After that it was time to sit outside in the sun and enjoy reading. We moved from the sun to the shade and back again a few times. The sun is very intense here and we need to give ourselves a break from it’s rays for a while. I managed to BBQ lunch while reading my book in the shade of the Igloo. Today we enjoyed a garden salad, meatloaf, spaghetti squash and grilled potatoes. Jello of course ended our meal.

Looking toward the west but a little south as well.

 

I talked with Courtney this morning, she’s back in Toronto, Canada. Her first day off of work for the Christmas season and she was enjoying lazing in bed and a bit of a sleep in. She’s excited to be off for a few weeks and is looking forward to doing some cooking as well as celebrating the season with her husband Matt and his family, as well as friends in the area. Cold, gray, blustery day with a temp of -4C/28F. No snow either. 

Prehistoric Christmas?

 

The next hour or so was spent cleaning up dishes, sweeping and tidying the Igloo. No real sunset tonight as it’s kind of a weird looking sky tonight. Almost hazy here in the little valley.

 

Palms along one of the roads we travelled today.

 

 Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Heading toward Henderson Road from a back road.

 

Until next time…take care, be safe,

 

 

Deb