Providential

An odd night with two power outages (and attendant screeching of detectors), the rain which was forecast  not showing up, considerable dog nervousness, and finally a belated shower. 

Over to Providence Bay (with the next door neighbors) to check out the new coffee shop/art gallery and for fish and chips at Lake Huron Fish and Chip (or whatever it's called—the sign has weathered away pretty much). Illustrated below, the mural on the side of what used to be a hardware store back when Prov was more of a town, but which now sells lattes and lithographs.

Mighty west wind all day blowing some of the humidity away and cooling things down a bit. Garden in desperate need of water, AGAIN.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

We did see several today but they quickly vanished in the desert air. If Wordsworth can say "rocks and stones and trees," I'll say "wind and sun and heat."  But I know it is worse elsewhere. Here a dip in the lake and a sit in the breeze, and climate change seems bearable.  

Wolf in the Tango as we sailed by.  

Heat Warning

Too hot, and, of course, too dry.  

The kind of day when you either had to crawl under a rock or slither into the water.

But, the Falls were overrun, with cars parked everywhere. Apparently people are willing to suffer extremes for a little natural wonder (which at present is the merest trickle). Marina also filled beyond capacity (one anchored out), this time with big sailboats. It must be the height of the season.

An odd little shower this morning with drops few enough to count. And this afternoon a few cumulo-nimbus sailing past to the west and north. Once again the tomatoes look painfully wilted.

Sunny, Hot, and Dry

No wind in the morning, rambunctious wind in the afternoon.  

Note the monarch.  

Continuous watering necessary of garden, flowers, and herbs. Lively sail on Windrider, with all systems fine with a blow.  

Cicadas buzzing in the trees.  

Sunstroke

We had to hide from the sun from 9 to 5.  

More dog vomit fungus, this time on the chip pile at the bottom of the driveway.  

Mimi taking an 8 pm dip to cool off after our cruise.  

Lovely cruise on Heliotrope from 5:30 to 7:30. John and ME, Murray and Elaine, and us. Just the right breeze for snacks and cocktails. Good fun silently buzzing a yacht anchored a short bit off Donna and Al's. These fine cruisers invited us to breakfast, I'm pretty sure. 

Gone To Seed

Time for goldenrod.  

Yes, we have thistle. Although I control it on our stretch of the road, others don't. In some ways the plant is attractive, and butterflies seem to love it. 

Goldenrod, queen anne's lace, tansy, and thistle. I can never resist picking a tansy leaf, rolling it up, and squeezing for the fabulous, pungent smell.  I don't eat it, but back in the day it was thought to control flatulence brought on by eating too many fish or too many beans. 

Sun Baked

Unlimited sun, almost no wind, warm water. Beaches thronged. Plans to sail the Windrider thwarted by lack of air.  

But the swimming was good.  

A family of young Jay's hopping about and making strange mewling sounds on the north side of the house, by the sawed-off cedars.  

And, Gooseberry Island is back. Two days after my third chat with chart-plotter manufacturer, Garmin, a FED-X truck showed up on the driveway and supplied me with a micro-sd card, supposedly loaded with the proper charts. It took over four hours for the contents of the card to be uploaded to the chart-plotter, but once done, Gooseberry was back in this world, along with the Clapperton channel, Kittiwake Rock, and a host of nav aides, depth contours, and hazards to navigation. This is what the device was supposed to display at the outset. Working properly, the plotter (combined with the new wind gauge and depth transponder} will be remarkably useful.

Guano

Sue's strings have kept the mergansers off the dock (because mergansers leap up from the water) but now the gulls have moved in and become squatters (they fly in), and,so, a vigorous scrubbing is occasionally required. Pinwheels are back up in the vain hope the gulls will be scared off, but how ridiculous is that?

And, another capsize today. This time—the worlds' greatest sailor—P.D.  Perhaps more accurately, the world's self -proclaimed greatest sailor. And this capsize done with very little wind. Great merriment and much hilarity on the dock.

In these hot, dry times Pax has become an avid swimmer. He even goes out over his head.

Working On The Chain Gang.

Visitors away this morning (but coming back soon). Afternoon spent hauling brush from Serendipity Lane to the dump (remains of tree trimming). 

Voyaging on Heliotrope

Fine sail.  

Voyaging on Heliotrope

Fine sail.  

Nothing But Fun

Swimming and boating. Boating and swimming.  

Blown Away

Huge wind, but warm and sunny. Fun everywhere: marina, pier, lower deck.  

Rain Shower Shower

Another basically rain free rain. Maybe half an hour of medium light precip, enough to make outdoor showers showery, but not enough to soak the ground.  

Kids so busy they fell asleep within the first paragraph of our current chapter the BFG.  

Yo Heave Ho

Sunny and HOT. The only place to be was in the water.  

The Windrider is back in the water with the mast pointing up.

In The Water

The best place to be today.  Very hot. And very windy (which made it bearable). Lots of swimming; morning, noon, and night.

Thunderation

Hot and humid, with a severe thunderstorm warning. Ten minutes of rain as the system split around Manitoulin. At least the kids got a drink.  

Full day—swimming in town and hanging out at the marina, swimming off our pier, picking peas, playing in the sandbox, catching raindrops (while they lasted).

A Sight For Sore Eyes, or, I Can See Clearly Now

Family has arrived, bearing gifts, foremost among them glasses.

An enthusiastic start to a fun time, with the kids remembering everything, and wanting to do everything, all at once. Pax, too, is glad for the company. And at bedtime, the first chapter of the BFG. I think perhaps my favodrite thing in all the world is reading good book to little kids.

Many Monarchs...

...and very few mosquitoes.

Lots of milkweed and little moisture. Another day of perfect weather. Morning spent on puttering projects, with an afternoon triathlon—walk the dog, ride the bike, paddle the kayak. A pair of goldeneyes making themselves at home on the boulders in front of Pinebox.

Perfect for Puttering

Some rain last night, at least enough to bother Pax, and a few claps of thunder (even more bothersome). But overall a wimpy storm, which is all we've had this year. Ten years ago last week we experienced the infamous Manitoulin micro-burst which knocked out power for, what, a week, and leveled hundreds of old white pines on the Benjamins. Plenty of wind today, though, ripping over the bluff and racing across the bay. Nearly lost my hat when Pax and I went to the marina to check the boat and buy ice. And before I could do that I had to remove a sizable dead balsam that had fallen across the driveway. (It's not easy being a tree around here.)

Otherwise, the weather delightful and perfect for puttering.