Floating........

Monday, 28th August.

This forthcoming trip is being vexing.  As I've written before, the idea is to travel, piecemeal, from 107 to Guy's place in Toronto by our own effort.  So far we have completed travelled on the Rouge from Labelle to la Conception, we have paddled the Rideau Canal - Kingston to Ottawa - and crossed Prince Edward County by bike - Kingston to Trenton.


This year's plan is to make some more Westing by means of the Trent-Severn waterway.

Trouble with that is that we intended to start at Port Perry at the foot of Lake Scugog which is conveniently close to the Great Trail that crosses Canada from side to side and leads from Port Perry to Toronto.......

But Lake Scugog has no camp sites and leads into a very large piece of water, similarly bereft.  And further along, Rice Lake is very long and similarly un-sited.  All of which is to say that we're spending rather a lot of time route-finding.......

But the afternoon was lovely - paddling and fishing and paddling and fishing - and another bass for Karen!  The evening was still more taken up with planning and with reading about lee-boards.....



Tuesday, 29th August.

 

Lee-boards are like a keel, hung over the side of a boat to counteract the sideways push of a sail.  When we tried the Windpaddle there was a considerable amount of leeway.  So I have been reading about lee-board design and position and today went down to the barn, salvaged a very disreputable piece of plywood and made a lee-board.  The streamlining is a lot easier with a power plane and a disc-grinder, mounted with a sanding disc !!!!  It's supposed to be the same each side......

So - first coat of resin, holes filled.


And then down to the lake for another float and dabble. 

Lots of little takes this time but nothing into the boat.  But who cares?   Certainly not the loon who ignored me.


I was there ages - completely happy.

And who wouldn't be, Eh?

Ratty's song....

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows 

Saturday, 26th August.


These fish are truly vexing this year.  There were some who, upon reading last year's account of the seemingly endless capture and consumption of Wide-mouthed Bass questioned whether this was a species evolved or created to throw themselves upon the hook of the weakest and least skillful of anglers, like kamikaze pilots upon the deck of a warship (unfortunate image but....).  You know who you are!

 
Not so!  The fish of last year were artful, needing to be stalked, worthy quarry of the fisherman's artistry.

But the fish of this year are nowhere to be seen!  Well, that's not exactly true, they are to be seen but not to be captured!

An early morning start - not the best of times but the sky was blue, the wind was moderate and the water called.  After something like two hours, three tugs - they couldn't really be called strikes - and that was all!  I wandered, weary as I might be after little breakfast and no success, back up to the house. 
An hour or so later, refreshed, we two headed off for some sailing practice - with little wind and a great deal of hilarity - the sail is not easy to furl......

And back at the house were Karen and Denis - come to stay over prior to a golf match on Sunday morning.  So, of course, we had to head to the lake again and this time, back to lac Noir where Ali expertly ghillie'd the boat and - at last - an only moderately sized fish fell to the lure; enough for Karen's supper tomorrow.  Phew! 


Back home for our own supper - steaks from the barbecue and salads.  Yum!  Thanks for cooking, folks.


Sunday, 27th August.

A Canadian breakfast - toast and muffins and fruit salad and coffee!  Yay!  Then off to Arundel to church, lead by Bevin, and then to the Arundel golf-course for a friends' lunch.  So good to see peter and Gregg again, and to meet a young couple whom we last me at the creperie last year.  He's the Fire-Chief of a community up at James Bay.  She is a financial administrator for a number of Community organisations there.  They have a house on lac Gagnon here in la Minerve.  Great conversation, filling in some of the holes about First Nations life.....

It was a happy event organised by Wanda and serves to bind the community together yet again.

Back home via the covered bridge and the country road up to la Conception. 

 


It's a winding route but much shorter in miles although not any shorter in time. 










But you don't meet sights like this on the 117  - Fortunately!


And do you know?  If you have frozen sweet corn cobs still in their husks, two will cook to perfection in ten minutes in the microwave and taste just as sweet as if they had been picked within the hour!

Stop Press

Friday, 25th August.

I know that I wrote this morning - well, a lot's happened since!

I was just finishing the blog and tidying up when something made me look out across the meadow.  Five minutes before it had been the young buck of the last post, but now - this!

That's a coyote, bold as brass but very shy.  Slunk off up the slope very soon after - but I got the shot!

The day was forecast for sun - it sort of lived up to a chilly version of that.   So we tried out the new sail - the Windpaddle.  Straight out of the packet there was a problem with one of the grommets; I replaced it and let the (UK) supplier know.  Very courteous reply;  the manufacturer was copied in - equally courteous.  But we're good for now!

So - gotta try it out!


But that was in the super-stable "Big Green". 

So we came back up the hill; I made some adjustments to Burlesque and we trundled that down the hill as well.  It's a lot lighter than the Green one (but still "did for" Ali who took advantage of my footling with the rigging to crash out for ten minutes.)

And then we headed off for lac Noir.  Through the culvert under the road and into - silence!

 

 


We had a lovely, almost magical time of it; pushing the stroke rate up on the way back, and not really troubled by it at all.



Great!

Social whirl

Wednesday, 23^rd August

Ali’s been busy in the garden.  We have a battery-powered mower now which means that you don’t get so tangled in the cable; or tangled at all for that matter!  It is also rather wider which speeds the rate at which you cover the ground.  So we begin to look well-groomed.
 

 

And this chap is obviously putting on the Ritz for the season  :-)

Talking of which, time to spruce up for the evening; supper with Karen and Denis at le Cheval Jade in Tremblant.  Proper, grown-up food; a charming, truly French meal which pleased everyone.  A really happy evening.

 






Thursday, 24^th August

More gardening, we stored all the screen-room roof supports under the deck and spent a long morning putting finishing touches to the lawns – we look like a rather rolling golf-course now, manicured to within an inch of our lives.

Lorne and Audrey came for lunch; Ali made a wonderful caramelised onion quiche and we chatted for hours and hours.  It was late when they left and the good food and all added to my sleepiness; the Lazy-boy recliners are so comfortable!

Well; we have been so socialising!  Time to get to grip with the practicalities of this anticipated canoe trip…….

The rain it raineth.....

Monday, 21^st August.

Most people around here will tell you that the hummingbirds will “buzz” you if you haven’t put a feeder out for them.  Honest!  Well, a hummingbird “buzzed” Ali – and so she put a feeder out – a day later it’s true since we had run out of crystals.  And 10 minutes later, the hummingbird was at the feeder!

Who says that’s a co-incidence?  Sit down, you!

This is a very different holiday from previously.  With nothing much that has to be done (as yet!) we are doing – and not doing – things for the pleasure of it.  Today Karen and Denis were dog-sitting Roxy at Mark and Janis’ place, so Denis was over at Tremblant for the day, supervising his rental project build and Karen walked Roxy in to the village where I met them after shopping and brought them back for the afternoon.

Once Denis joined us, Ali gardened, Denis read, Karen and I went paddling.  And then we all had supper together.

Oh, and there was a partial eclipse – which was underwhelming I’m afraid.

I was going to take a picture of Ali back from the gardening, but she was hot and bothered and hid behind the wheel-barrow.

Tuesday, 22^nd August.

Thunderstorms, rain and overcast all day; a day for minor chores and the beginnings of route-planning for the big trip – if it happens. 

Did I mention the rain?  On and off all day, mostly on.

 

The Hummingbird – well a pair, this is the female Ruby-throated H-B – took up residence on the feeder stand for most of the afternoon; poor, bedraggled things; but close to a food-source, which they visited and visited and visited.

And there is a solitary fawn – it’s happened before.  In fact, some of the hinds / does have great raking marks down their flanks.  Remember the wolf we saw at Easter?  This poor chap – who doesn’t look malnourished but lacks the protection of the herd – came in the rain – did I mention the rain?

 

And it’s been raining; quite a lot.  Did I mention that?

The glass cloth and resin repair to Burlesque is done; second coat of varnish applied; looks OK.

Sausage and onion mash and green beans for tea.

It’s still raining.

Barbara-Ann...

.... remember the lyric

Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann
You've got me rockin' and a-rollin'
Rockin' and a-reelin'
Barbara Ann
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann.

Now, the question is - in 1961 (!) who made it to no 12 with the original recording?

And the second question is - why am I referring to it at all? 

Well the answer to that is because our body-clocks aren't quite attuned yet.  We're falling asleep at any time at all (me - Peter) and waking still surprisingly late 09.00 Cdn - 12.00 noon UK! - (Ali).  So we're definitely "Rockin' and a-reelin'"!

Saturday, 19th August.  I don't think we did anything to record really.  I'm repairing that cracked rib in Burlesque with resin and glass tape and that got started....  it rained.  Nightfall was at about 20.00.  End of the day.

 














Sunday, 20th August.  Of course;  one of the highlights of he summer is the iron-man competition at Tremblant - which we had completely forgotten about.  So our journey down to church at Arundel was through a contra-flow since the other carriageway had been taken over for the bike ride!








But we arrived in good time to an overflowing car-park.  Long-time followers of this blog - all four of you - may remember a previous Christening.  The two girls mentioned before now have a brother; William Alexander.  He was 9 weeks prem as a result of an urgent Caesar.  His mum told Ali, "That's it!".

And his family had laid on a magnificent reception for us all.


(You can just see, in the foreground, our Rural Dean, Nick Pang, who has adopted a very smart, cultural pony tail.  The fashion is growing it seems ;-) )

Home mid-afternoon in lovely sun-shine.  We moved Burlesque around the basement a little and transported "Big Green" down to the water.  I went fishing way past sunset.  The lake was mirror calm, the fish were very reluctant, but what could be better, Eh?!


Oh!  1961?  The Regents  (but you knew that!)

False start

Thursday, 17th August

Well, it should have been yesterday, but we arrived at Bristol airport at something after 6.00 a.m. to be told that our flight to Amsterdam had been cancelled.  To cut a long story unusually short, we went home.  Which was probably a blessing.  We went straight back to bed and to sleep, got up to go out for lunch and then called it an early night, to wake to the alarm at 03.30.

And back to the airport again, only to be asked for our eTA (electronic visa) details.

The airlines have access to this, but Serviceair - who run the desk - doesn't.  Deja vu.  It was a year ago that we had all the rigmarole in the first place.  So, in to Ali's laptop, search the emails and then the agent photographed the screens!  (I've now both photographed the eTA screens and the relevant pages of our passports.

Just enough time for a coffee (hooray) and a lovely flight to Amsterdam with a charming flight attendant by KLM.  We love KLM.

We arrived at about 8.00 and so began a very long day at Amsterdam airport!  We spent most of the time at Cafe Coco - nominally champagne and chocolate but in reality, rather pleasant, light grub, cups of moderately specialist tea and a great welcome to comfy chairs.  Just what we needed.

And then our 15.20 flight was delayed to 16.30, and then later still.  But we had the same reserved seats we should have had the day before (how did they do that?), indulgently greater leg room, a very jolly flight attendant, remarkably good food, drinks at thoughtful intervals.  Time, and the distance, flew.  We arrived relaxed, tired it's true, but so speedily! - Straight through immigration; luggage there when we got to the luggage hall; nothing to declare and out into arrivals - to find only this lady sitting, engrossed in her laptop.


I was about to bound up to embrace her when I realised - she wasn't Karen!

In due course, the real Karen turned up and Denis completed his turn around the block and we were off - to their new Condo!  They've moved house again!  A lovely supper - bed was never so welcome; we must have made poor conversational partners......

Friday, 18th August.
We woke to pouring rain, but what a great breakfast - turkey bacon and fried eggs and toast and fruit and frozen yogurt.  Thanks Karen.

And so up firstly to St Agathe to buy a pay as you go Virgin sim and then on to St Jovite to shop - only to realise on the way up that the car insurance had run out!  So, driving even more cautiously, we headed for the insurance office where we paid our dues and now we're legal again!

Food at IGA, Giselle's garlic on sale!


A lovely, chatty visit with M Bruneau to buy my fishing permit and home - to a wonderfully re-furnished house!  Karen and Denis have provided us with two beautiful settees, one with clever push out footrests, as well as a parasol for the deck, two new-looking Adirondack chairs and various other items.

It looks very different!






But the deer look the same - only tamer and more numerous.  Two hinds, three fawns and - later - a buck in velvet.

Eventually sleep overcame us despite the torrential rain.  It's good to be home here, despite its taking from Wednesday to Saturday properly to arrive!

Should've taken a boat.........  ;-)