September 18th - fall will soon be here. Where has the summer gone?

September has been somewhat of a whirlwind. At least it seems that way after months of nothing going on.

Labour Day weekend I was happy to visit Greg's parents in Port Elgin. James was home from Borden for holidays so it was nice to spend the weekend with most of the family (Meghan was in London, getting ready to start university, and working at the course she was at all summer).

The Guelph pipe band, of which Tristen is a fledgling new member, did some practice performances at John McCrae House in Guelph. Time for me to catch up on all the things I missed over the past few years. They were getting ready to perform at the first live Highland Games in two years. It was taking place in Cobourg on September 11th. 

Because Patti was going to be away (flying to Europe again ) I agreed to take Tristen to the highland games. We had a really nice day and on the way came up with some other adventures we'd like to try next summer.

I'd heard on the radio that a new place opened in Waterloo called Lobster Burger Bar. Nancy and I had to try it out. So with our friend Marla, we made the trek. It was good but Nancy and I have pretty high standards for lobster. Enough said!

I took the kitten, who is aptly named Pepe Le Pew to the vets for his first shot but was told he was too young. We had estimated that he was approximately 7 weeks old, but the vet estimated he was younger than that, judging by the lack of back molars that had not yet come in. So he was REALLY young when we made that trip from the island. But he's doing really well now, and growing like a little weed.

This picture of a skunk explains Pepe's name!

September 1st - where has the time gone?

 I didn't realize I hadn't shared my last post when it was written. Better late than never, right.

The rest of my visit to the island was wonderful and I have many great memories that I've brought back with me. 

Patti arrived on the island on Monday, having worked a flight from Toronto. She arrived at midnight and I picked her up early in the morning. We had a really nice day touring around the island, as tourists, no longer residents. We enjoyed lunch on the veranda at Dalvay by the Sea and a walk on the beach. 

We ended our day by cooking dinner at Brenda's and because she was out from town, Meghan was able to drive her back into town to her hotel, before her departure the next morning.

Brenda and I took an overnight trip to the west end of the island. We visited several spots along the way that I'd never been to and stayed over at an Inn attached to a lighthouse. The weather was less than ideal but it didn't matter as we spent most of our time in the car.

I spent a night on the eastern end of the island, staying overnight with my friend Donna. She has a trailer that is parked at Red Point for the summer. 

On the way to Red Point I stopped in at the Inn at Bay Fortune and saw Chef Michael briefly, for him to sign a cookbook for a friend back in Ontario'

One of the highlights of my trip was a dinner at Pat and Sharyn's. They had three little kittens that had been born in the barn. Mom had moved three of the six but never came back for the last three. Not sure if she abandoned them or was killed by something before she returned. Regardless there were three very tiny kittens and one that no one wanted.

 Need I say more? My return trip was slowed slightly by having to stop every few hours to bottle feed this tiny wee baby. 

On my way home, I stopped in Iroquois, Ontario and stayed two nights with former brother in law Mike and his wife. It was really nice to catch up with him after many, many years.

Finally back home and into our usual routine. Work three days, off for four. 

Sunday, August 1st - it's a beautiful day on the island.

 The sun was shining when we got up at 7:00 so we dressed quickly and headed into town. We started with coffee at Receiver coffee, along with toast and croissants. The a quick stop at Meg's to drop off the park pass for her to share with her friends who were visiting later today.

On the way back, we checked out a new section of the trail. It's was such a nice morning, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Then it was back out to the country to go kayaking. I'd left my kayak here so we were good to go. A leisurely paddle down the Johnston's River was a great way to spend part of the day,

When we returned from kayaking it was lunch time so we sat outside on the little front porch and enjoyed the day even further. What to do next? I'd called a local farm to see if I could obtain some lamb shanks but they were closed on Sunday. Still they had what I wanted and they would keep them for me till Monday. So the decision was made to take a drive down to Selkirk to visit friends Richard and Daralen who are camped out there for the month of August.

In the evening Brenda and I ventured into town to see our friend Margie perform. It was an improv type of event. My plan was to surprise her by just showing up but that was spoiled as she crossed the street just as we were parking. She saw Brenda first then saw me. It was still quite a surprise as I'm sure I was the last person she expected to encounter there.