AUTUMN REDEMPTION

Birthday Bubbles and Fall Celebrations!

Canada has finally come through for us,- and a real squeaker it was, as we leave next week! But these last few weeks have been lovely. A hint of fall coolness, especially at night, but lovely days;- great for boating, walking, looking for bears, etc. The photo is of me examining some very fresh bear scat on a path very near here (the object itself would have been unsuitable for our readers sensibilities!)

We're not the only ones enjoying the season. The other day a small sea-plane flew in past our dock, landed at the next door hotel and left after a couple of hours. Hope he ate well, not a liquid lunch! Would have been curious to see, if he had been too unsteady to fly, would they allow him to take the plane up the locks? It would have fit.


Anne and I finally got to spend a day in the other Perth, one of the loveliest and one of our favourite towns here as well as in Aus. We ate at Mexicali Rosa's, on a balcony over the water and were surrounded by two to three foot long carp, who obviously expected to be fed! But as we were eating beavertails at the time (a deep-fried pastry concoction with your choice of multiple toppings)-there was no chance! Starve fishies!!

We also enjoyed a day in Westport, The pretty, nearby (30 min by car and 4 hours by boat) village where Mum and Dad lived so many years. Still our absolute favourite. It has tourist and specialty shopping, a beautiful little harbour on the Rideau system, and a scenic lookout which we've visited and photographed regularly over the years.

The countryside is changing quickly now, daily in some areas! The colours are starting early this year, presumably due to the cool wet summer. But the silver lining is that we will probably see the peak of the colours, whereas other years they're often just nicely started when we leave. People have started to put out autumn displays along the road, and in the villages. There will be more and more, and as we get into October many of them will have a Hallowe'en flavour. The shops are full of Hallowe'en stuff and it's hard to get Anne past without trying on at least one or two masks. So far we've restrained ourselves and only bought a sleleton and a few masks,-for the kids,- of course!!

We're busy getting organized for our great migration, although not as busy as the squirrels and other creatures. The RV has been winterized and put to bed and we're working on the pontoon boat now. The marina will pick it up next week and winterize the motor, but we need to clean the clears and carpets, etc. We are well underway with gardens, gutters and inside sorting. Anne has even started putting linens away in heavy plastic bags to thwart the mice;- party pooper that she is! We'll be saying 'cheerio' to those of you on this continent, and looking forward to seeing all those we've missed in Aus. (And so our UK family and friends don't feel left out, sending warm thoughts your way, as always)

Hope you're all well and happy. Love much and laugh often.

Anne and Kathie

The Happy Wanderers

SUMMERTIME!! REALLY?!!

Hi All!

Before I catch up on current stuff, I'll edit my last one and pop in a couple of photos that I missed, so if you're real keen, you may want to go back and read that one first!?

Here it is early September and the leaves starting to change colour already, but it feels like we're finally getting the summer we'd all almost given up on! Until today, we've had almost four weeks of fair to good weather !! We've been able to get out in the boat more often and I've even been swimming!!

Anne had a fun week in England visiting our friends and a couple of rellies, but restrained herself and didn't try to do too much/see everyone, as is her usual wont! Good Girl, Annie! Apologies to those she missed! She had a good trip home (Canada home) via Amsterdam, but her luggage took a much more scenic route and arrived four days later, none the worse for its wanders!

She got home in time for Mum's 85th Birthday celebrations, out here at the lake, with a fair few of the extended family able to join us. Mum's doing well considering, and seems stronger now than she was at the beginning of the season! We've also just had a family friend, Mavis, whom many of you met when she visited Aus with my aunt some years ago, visiting for a few days. No matter how much Mum enjoys us all, it's not the same as having a peer/friend to visit with, and she's running awfully short of those!

My daughter Kris surprised us all by coming over for a week's visit in August! She's on a tour through various venues in eastern and western United States, doing ecological presentations and music, as well as selling her second CD! It was a short but sweet visit on her way to the tour!

As promised, we had the three kids for two nights on the long weekend just gone. We boated down to the next locks, Brewers Mills, about 16-18 km south of us and met them there, so that the kids could have the experience of going up a couple of locks, and also going through the swing bridge, which opens for you on demand. The weekend was filled with boating, swimming and playing on the inflatable seadoo. Met up with a young family from New York, with three kids who paired up well with ours. The kids all visited and watched a film on their cruiser while we enjoyed Happy Hour with the parents.

Anne and I spent two nights at the Gananoque Inn where we were married last year. Had lovely sunny weather, with all the flowers out and boaters playing on the Saint Laurence. Had grand plans to take boat tours, go to theatre, etc., but ended up doing much of nothing,- just walking, browsing and being pampered! That's a wonderful spot, looking out at the Thousand Islands! One year, we'd like to go there by boat and just explore. But while it's about 40 minutes from here by car, it's probably 2-3 days by boat, and would stretch my boating and navigational skills!



On that happy note, this is goodnight from me and goodnight from her. Hope you're all well, and as happy as we are!?

Anne and Kathie

The Happy Wanderers