Not a typical summer here.....

 

Our Location: Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

 

It's nice to read all of you are doing well. Some of you working hard, some of you hardly working, and others just having a great time doing old things, new things and other things. 

 

Webs and fog caught in the dewy morning views.

Wild fruit, chokecherries, billberries, apples and raspberries. (not in that order)

Not a typical summer here weather wise, it's been cool, cold at times, dry from the sky but humid, hot and breezy. Lots of smoke, plenty of clouds, some foggy mornings, and a bit of pure blue sky! We more often than not, have lots of clear blue skies for the summer months with some hot, humid days, and dripping, dewy, mornings.  The cool to cold waters of Lake Huron are fantastic for cooling off on those days. Some days the water is warmer than the air and other days it's the opposite. It depends on the wind direction. 

 

 

Some greenery and some blossoms!

 The summer is slipping past so quickly. We've been back in Ontario for over 90 days and in about 100 days we will be leaving our summer spot for this season.  Not crossing into the USA at that time but leaving here for southern Ontario. How does time pass so quickly?

 

You have to love the views!!

 

We've had some visitors here around the Igloo in the form of the cattle pasturing here on the farm. They are foraging for green grass and with the lack of rain for so long there is little to be found. They found a few things to chew on that were green, now we will have less tomatoes than we planned and The Cabin is half a flower short. We have cow deposits around but other than that our visitors were here and left quickly. 

 

A different drive home with just the Dogsled after we park the Igloo.

 

The promise of rain appears every few days but it never really comes, a drop or two here and there, 5 more the day after tomorrow and mist the day after.  We truly need some water from the sky for a few days and nights. The fields are crunchy, the leaves are starting to show lack of water, and the water levels in the ponds and rivers are getting lower.  It has rained all around us for weeks, fire bans have lifted around us but not here on the Rock. Although we wonder if we can get it turned off when we've had enough. 

 

The Igloo up there in the trees,(top left, bottom right) a water view (top right, bottom middle), with and without fog, low pond levels.

 

Spoke with my SIL Janet, she's doing well, things are moving in the right direction. She and Dennis will be moving to Portland for the rest of the summer months, taking a cruise  to Hawaii and then returning to Indian Wells for the winter. They hope to get a round or two of golf in at Pebble Beach before they return to IW.  

 

A beautiful field of Canola!

 

Today's photos are of various things that caught my eye. I hope you enjoy them. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all stay well. 

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

Happy Canada Day, Happy 4th of July....

 

 

Our Location: 

Near South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

 

Hello, I hope all of our fellow Canadians had a joyous Canada Day and the our US friends all have a grand 4th of July tomorrow. 

 

We call these Devil's Paint Brush.

The road sides are brilliant with colours!

Tiger Lily.

There is beauty here!

 

Things have been pretty hot and humid here on our Rock. We have a fire ban for the entire Sudbury, North Shore, Manitoulin Island region. It has been in place for about a month now and it doesn't look like it will end any time soon. No rain in the forecast! 

 

From a distance this looks just white. Queen Anne's Lace!

Wild Strawberries.

Wild Roses.

A large patch of wild roses.

We've been busy working (our little summer jobs), doing some work around a summer spot, getting caught up with family, and appointments, etc. I have been trying hard to keep up with your blogs but I will admit I don't read them everyday but I do comment from time to time. It's nice to see most of you home and keeping busy! I have enjoyed the views of the travelers that have ventured out during the summer season. Thanks for sharing them with all of us. 

 

Morning dew is often very heavy.

A small patch of wild strawberries.

I love the vibrant colour.

It's not in bloom yet but it's promising.

 

Birthday wishes to sister Jan (June 25). A great sister and wonderful friend. We chat often and visit back and forth on a regular basis. The winters are spent catching up on the phone and visits tend to be long! Birthday wishes also to co-worker Amanda (June 22). A nice young lady that loves cats and dogs. She is foster mom to more than a few cats! Happy Birthday to Uncle Percy (June 24). He is actually my great uncle, half brother to my grandfather! Happy Anniversary to brother Rick and his beautiful bride Barb (June 23). We spend many mornings with coffee cups in hand and it's something I miss over the winter months! A special note of kindness from my Uncle Don, he and his lovely wife Joan granted us use of their Suzuki Quad runner for our stay here. Very kind and we appreciate it very much.

 

Today's photos are of various flowers along the roadside! I hope you enjoy them. 

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

A few pics .........

 

 

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

 

The weather has been up and down, hot, cold and in between. The garden is starting to grow, the mosquitoes, black flies and deer flies are plentiful and very annoying. We've been working both at our pay jobs and our own 'around the Igloo' jobs. It's keeping us busy and out of trouble! 

 

Brother Rick's wood piles.

Morel Mushrooms!

 

On June 3rd, we, Riley, SIL Barb, myself, and eight other ladies all attended the Espanola Little Theatre  to see 3 one act plays. Barb's daughter Nicole was an actress in the final play. It was a very enjoyable evening. 

 

The new walking bridge at High Falls.

The views at 10 Mile Point.

 

The rest of our time has been spent working at the Motel, doing a couple of private homes, and a few things around here. The Cabin has now been stained, the garden is planted and starting to grow, I've been helping Dad doing a few things, and spending a little time doing some visiting. 

 

The morning sun, and two foxes playing just outside our door.

 

Birthday wishes to my Aunt Shirley, she celebrated on the 3rd. She is the oldest of my father's two sisters. 

 

The photos are of a few things we've seen over the past few weeks on the Rock. 

 

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

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe,

 

Deb

 

 

A quick post with a few pics....

  

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

Nothing new and exciting here on the Rock. We are back to work and back to our regular weekly schedule. Some visits, some catching up and a few more to get to before long, or at least we hope. A graveside celebration of life for Marion (dad's lady friend) last week was the only real thing of note in the past few weeks.  A few pics to share, random of course, but hopefully they are of some interest to someone.

I mentioned my dad was split wood, here are a few of the wood piles/stacks around his storage space.

Before photos of Jason & Leah's property...

After photos of the property, or should I say middle? Construction is always bad before it's good.

 

The mud has dried up and the dust is here, black flies have arrived, as have the mosquitoes which are abundant. On a happy note, the hummers are also back, we have 3 that fight over the feeders! I haven't planted any type of garden as yet, we have only been having warm days for the last 3 in a row now!! Yah.... We need rain but my rain dance didn't work, hopefully someone with more experience will do the fancy foot work! 

Smoke from forest fires turns the morning sun red.

Yeah, it has been frosty a number of mornings....

But spring sprung and the heat is now turned on.

We are happy to report all of our friends made it home, although some are heading back out on the next adventure! Happy travels Jim and Barb. 

Apple blossoms are out at the old orchard.

And below the old orchard too.

A birthday wish to Aunt Shirley, who celebrates in the up coming days. She is my dad's sister. Happy Birthday Auntie!! 

Across the road from brother Rick's house.

Across the road from Dad's house, the morning sun is just getting above the trees.

A beautiful sign of spring, The Lady Slipper!

So there you have it, all caught up! I am hoping to get a few more scenic photos in the weeks to come, we will be travelling to other towns within a two hour drive and I hope to showcase some of the beauty we are fortunate enough to see on our travels. 

The Honeysuckles are also showing their colours.

The sign we had made in Mexico.

A quick glimpse after all the winter stuff was removed. Shelves and a clean up have been accomplish since the pic. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you are having a fantastic summer folks!!

Until next time....

Take care, stay safe, 

Deb

A rainy Sunday......

 

 

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

 

Yesterday morning was busy with getting The Cabin cleaned out and almost all of our things put back where they should be now that winter has passed.  Another half a day and all will be finished in the settling in process. 

A fungus growing on a tree stump.

I would say it was time for this one to come down.

 

 

Normally that is flat and green, not brush or trees, no mud and muck, just green.

Here too, a small road but usually green with no logs, mud or muck.

 

Rain last night and again today has put a damper on outdoor activities but there isn't much we can do about it. I did manage a walk this morning after coffee time and with my umbrella I managed to stay mostly dry. Things are changing a lot here in our summer spot since nephew Jason has purchased the lake front property across from the lower gates. He has been doing some serious deconstruction/demolition over there and all of the trees/stumps removed from there have made their way across the road into the pit below us. I'm sure they have a future use but for now they are just 'there', some are limbed, some are not. I have no pictures of the lakefront area but I will get some and post them in the weeks ahead.  

If you look high on the right you can just see the hint of the Igloo in the trees.

Can you see us better now? It is raining and dreary today.

That little splash of white way up there is the Igloo.

It appears as if only  a few of the bloggers I follow are still making their way homeward, everyone else seems to have arrived safely. I'm happy to know you are all safe and sound, and enjoying the home dirt. Those of you that didn't travel, well it's nice to know you are home and safe and sound as well!! 

 

 

It is usually a skinny gravel path, and lots of grass on each side.

If we were not so long we could take that road but we are too long to make the hill.

Two roads diverged......we took the one less travelled. On the left! The right was just muck.

 

The pics today are mostly for myself, they show the mess in the bottom of the pit. It usually isn't like this but oh well, it's a pit, what do you expect? 

 

It was soft but there is solid limestone under there.

It wasn't as muddy as the other road. 

We eventually  made our way to this corner, we headed up that hill to the left.  Four wheel lo gear and off we went.

 

 

Looking back at the road we didn't take due to the muck.

 

Things are picking up quickly here, Riley and I both head into the motel tomorrow for our first return day of work this season at My Friends Inn. It is a little Mom & Pop place in the town of Manitowaning ( Man-i-to-wan-ing), a mere 15 to 20 minutes from the ferry terminal. We also return this week to cleaning house for an older couple in the community. She called my dad a few times to find out just when we would be home and to have me call her as soon as we arrived. We dropped in for a visit yesterday while on an errand to pick up our mail and to visit my Uncle and his lovely Bride in the little town of Tehkummah. I see some of you shaking your head.... Tack-a- ma. Pretty easy huh? 

 

It is a fairly steep climb but it's pretty dry up here.

We refer to this as the green. It is about 2/3rds of the way up to the our level. 

We end up on the same level as the brown crest of the hill ahead.

And now you can see us up there. It's much drier up here than down below. Lots of rain over the last few weeks.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate all the wonderful comments in the last post. It's nice to be back and we are looking forward to the summer!! Again, I will try to post a few times over the summer but no promises. Take care everyone. 

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb