We Almost Went Swimming

Waist deep when the clouds closed back in and the rain came down.

Stone stacking will soon catch on as powerful kind of meditation.

The residual coolness in the cabin fooled us into dressing inappropriately for a walk down the Lane. By the time we got back, a swim sounded like the right antidote to warm and humid. But then the weather changed, as it had done frequently all day.

Rock stacking requires calmness and patience—a need to be nowhere else and be doing nothing else. Given time, and minute adjustments, the rocks will find their balance points, and stand rock steady.

Oregano Honey?

Well, honeybees like the flowers.

A chip off the Benjamin’s?

No row this morning, but a sail in the afternoon—a lazy drifter to Sandy Beach and back. Cool, but mostly sunny, and tonight downright chilly.

Delicious Mexican dinner at Pinebox.

Sunday In The Park With…

…various woodpeckers, chickadees, gulls, ravens, jays, a kingfisher, a loon—and crows right outside the window, as reveille.

No salmon seen yet in the river

Barrie Interesting

Huge south wind (precluding sailing) and 100% chance of thunderstorms (which never materialized) led to an exploration of Barrie Island.

Big, flat, open, with many cattle and few cottages. Limestone shoreline. Feeling of remoteness.

Seven Mile Sail

Perfect day for a Windride across the bay to about the midpoint of Maple Point, and back. Lively west wind on the outward leg, dropping and backing on the way home, but still nice.

Photos by Sue.

Salt of the Earth…

…or at least basalt of the Earth, along with granite, gneiss, dolomite, some quartz, and a whole lot of schist.

All brought here by water, of the frozen kind.

Day Full of Weather

From a calm and sunny morning, to torrential downpours, to interludes of bright blue.

And there’s something special about taking an outdoor shower in the rain.

First Fire…

…in the stove. Chilly, damp, windy—autumnal, in a word.

Perfect day for roast Burt Farm chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, to be followed by apple crisp and Sequence.

Dramatic Sky, Big Wind…

…in other words, lots of cool fresh air.

Too gusty for sailing, but good for a paddle and bike ride.

Paraprosdokians

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

6. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

Morning Chainsaw…

…afternoon sail changed to row/paddle as a result of high winds and potential squalls.

Photo by Sue

Fall Pansies

Cloudy and cool, so a drive through the countryside to J&D’s for a late season touch of color on the front deck.

Normally coreopsis planted in spring. Later, dinner and Sequence at Pinebox.

Providence Bay…

…for fish and chips (delicious), two days before the place closes for the season.

Hooked On Sailing

Overcoming a long period of landlubberlyness.

Photo by Sue

Today, a long beat in gusty, shifting winds to Gray Point (Murray and Elaine’s), then a slide downhill along the shore all the way back to the marina. Of course, this after a morning of chores (limited I must admit) of digging some in the defunct garden and then chopping up and removing two dead balsams interfering with the Feng shui along the Lane.

Noisy surf all last night caused by a NE wind. Chilly.
Then today, bright and cool with the wind backing from NE to N to NW to W to SW.

Perfect Use for a Billhook

Delightful tool from the 16th century.

Used here to strip the fungalized bark off the balsam that is serving as a clothes pole. From dead tree to an object d’art?

In other news, today’s sail was an example of timing so good it would be impossible to plan. We got the boat out, motored to Fraser Beach, did some MOB practice—and then the wind came up, giving us a good hour of lively sailing.

Traditional braunschweiger, onion, with mustard on a Triscuit hors d’oeuvre on the Pinebox deck as the day wound down.

Man Overboard Drill…

… in advance of a pleasant sail up the east side of the bay.

Prior to departure we re-tied the trampolines, stretching them tighter, with less sag. But then as we were heading out of the harbor, one of the lines I had secured came loose, causing Mimi, who was sitting on a tramp, to go for a swim. Mea culpa, but good practice, with the only loss being Mimi’s favorite hat and one hearing aid. Good sport as always, Mimi dried off, climbed aboard, and said, “okay, shove off.”

Mimi’s Fairy Castle…

…aka old stump.

Late afternoon sit at the Zen spot, with a view towards the village and marina.

And last night’s cooking during the power outage—after the propane problem got figured out. (Nice to have a backup.)

Power out for about 6 hours, from 5 to 11 p.m.. But we did get a good amount of rain.

Hors d’oeuvres this evening on the Pinebox deck!

Thor’s Hammer

Heavy rumbles still rolling around the bay, even as the front has passed. Or is that the Manitou reminding us of who’s in charge? Power out, of course, as is standard with any respectable storm. Will we be cooking on the griddle? Pinebox is getting the full Manitoulin experience in just two days.

Ride today, on my old bike, to the marina and back. Fun. Reminiscent of years past. Even made it up the big hill, though I do miss my ebike.

And, below, a shot of the new revetment between the marina and the church.

Pine Box Contingent Arrives

After a 10 day drive from south Texas.

Rollers In The Bay

About midnight…

…a rustling in the trees and then the sound of surf, building to the roar of waves breaking on rocks. Bay has been a maelstrom ever since. Cool, with a little rain, which feels good after all the heat.
No thought of swimming, however, since our swim cushion raft dragged it’s heavy anchor all the way to the Pinebox beach.
Mimi is baking brownies to warm the house.

Glacial Erratics…

…no, not us—the boulders below.

And even farther below…

Made and brought here by ice about 10,000 years ago, and then rearranged by ice last winter.

Weather not much good for sailing, but perfect for swimming. We are looking forward to a little variation on the theme of sunny, hot, humid, and still.