SUMMERTIME??

And the livin' is easy! We're finally getting some decent weather,-at least a few days worth so far! Catching up with people and chores, and various family gatherings/eatfests!

Mum's been staying with us about half of each week, and we hope to have the kids for one last visit before school starts back.
Doing mundane stuff like gardening, transplanting, etc.
Have been raiding daughter's and sister's gardens for perennials of any sort, just so they'll hide a lot of sins, and come back of their own accord each year!

OUR PLACE AT SHANGRI-LA

Our huge mushrooms got discarded when the neighbour mowed our grass (blessings Richard!). We have a myriad of birds, squirrels and chipmonks at our feeders; occasionally the racoons knock the big feeder down/open in the night, but I think I've finally beat them! Thank heaven for duct tape!

We had a group of Mum's friends here to lunch shortly after we returned and piled 11 of us (3 with canes and one visually impaired) on the pontoon boat (rated for 8!) and took them all over to the hotel and back. We rode impressively low in the water,but a good time was had by all!

Still on a learning curve re formatting! These are:- bridge opening for our boat, our place from the rear, and a Loon (rather special water bird here) .



There's been a bear in and around camp off and on this year. It's killing Anne that our immediate neighbour, Eileen, has seen it and we haven't!! It seems to do a fairly regular circuit around its territory and reappears here at intervals! Large animals are really coming back here the last few years; there were also reliable sightings of a cougar just outside the nearby village! Very exciting!

Two shots of Eileen's bear I scrounged and scanned in for you!

Finally, to let you all know, Annie is in England for 8 days!! -A totally spontaneous/spur-of-the-moment decision, made Tuesday, flew Thursday,- to visit our friends Gladys and Rod, whose family visited us in Aus last March! Thank Heavens for points! Although we're a pair of old sooks about being apart, she's having a great time, and thanks to Skype I can hear/share it all in detail!!

Th-that's a-a-all for now folks
Take care and keep your emails coming;- we miss you all (in one season or another!)
Kath and Annie
The Happy Wanderers

Return from Eastern Provinces

Hi All!



We're embarking on a different venture (thank-you Carol T.) Instead of diary type updates to clutter up your mailboxes, I'll try my hand at blogging. Then you can read/ignore as you choose!



We came back to Ontario through the States, taking two blissfully quiet and relaxing days at a campground in Maine. But then the rains started (again!) so we shot through New Hampshire, Vermont and upper New York in record time. Reentering Canada, the whole RV was X-rayed, by a truck with an outrigger arm, which was kind of neat.








We were back only five days when we took our niece and 2 nephews in the RV for a weekend festival:- the Smiths Falls Chocolate and Railway festival. It opened with the annual nightshirt parade, which earned us a basket of choccies and our photo on the front page of the local paper!!Aren't we a vision!? We came home absolutely exhausted; they're all super kids, but they're kids and we're SO not!!







We're now at the lake, visiting various family and friends, and trying to catch up on our boating between rain and storms. This has been the wettest July on record! and August is keeping up with July so far!! Mind, we had 3 1/2 good days in a row early this week!!






We took the pontoon through the locks for the first time this year, and because the province of Quebec is on holiday and they're all boating here, we were packed in! Had seven boats in total, including one absolutely huge cruiser (eat your heart out Nick), and little us rafted up the middle. The last one had to be placed crosswise so they could close the gates!












We also learned a useful boating skill;- if you're going to break down, do it in a narrow channel, so no-one can enter or leave until they've rescued you. Fortunately nothing too serious, other than our pride at being towed home and we're mobile again now.











We had hailstones yesterday and today we've got mushrooms in the front lawn bigger than softballs, and on their way to football size! Truly! Will take a photo for my next effort.











Take care all;- hope some of you write back and let me know how I've gone? We so enjoy hearing from each of you, but too hard to keep in touch with all!

Cheers
Anne and Kathie