Wow, the summer of 2021 seems to be zipping by at the speed of light and with the end of July fast approaching I realized it's been quite a few weeks since my last post. It also sunk in that we've spent eleven weeks here in the Great White North since May 10th. That said, we're enjoying each and every moment and I am offering an apology upfront for such a l-o-n-g post*. It's filled to the brim with photos and my favourite (below) was taken by John while he was kayaking on Quirke Lake.
Yes, John's been on the water as much as possible, but he's also managed to complete quite a few odd jobs around the house. In early June he transplanted some plants from our neighbour's property to ours. (This was done at Len's insistence, I might add, which is why John did not wait until the fall.)
The bird house is my first attempt at dot painting. It's a steep learning curve to be sure and there are at least three layers of paint and dots on top of each other (ugh!), but from a discreet distance it doesn't look half bad...at least that's what I'm telling myself before I attempt a second project.
Speaking of the gazebo, on our last trip to Sault Ste. Marie we visited Fabricland and it had quite a good selection of upholstery fabric and John felt inspired to spruce up the wicker chairs with new cushion covers. Our outdoor living space has always been a refuge, but now it's my sweet spot in the universe!
More exciting news this summer is we've noticed an abundance of butterflies, dragon flies and bees as well as wild flowers growing in and along the edge of the bush behind us.
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| Peonies in our backyard |
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| Pin Berries |
Moving toward the front of the house, I habitually admire the colour combination of the leaves of the red maple tree and the vibrant green vine growing atop the fence that separates our driveway from our neighbour's property.
John added a few pots and plants at the front of the house. The smallest pot on our front porch is an herb garden of basil, chives, parsley and rosemary.
For those who believe Paddle Boy is forever in his kayak, not so! During the past couple of weeks he's painted the front, side and screen doors. I love how the new colour matches the coleus.
The next ten photos are courtesy of John via his kayaking adventures on the various lakes that surround Elliot Lake and they all illustrate the superb beauty and serenity of northern Ontario.
What fascinated both of us when we were first admiring the photographs of the rock reflections was that turning them on their side resulted in a new and stunningly beautiful outcome. How many faces do you see?!
In early June we returned to the Boom Camp Trails beach on Lake Huron for a picnic lunch with Mark and Alan.
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| Beach Pea |
Seeing as John marked his 70th birthday in April and I'd just celebrated my 71st, Alan's birthday was within days and Mark's birthday fast approaching, it seemed fitting that we should celebrate en masse with a champagne toast. Me thinks this should be a frequent occurrence!
My first outing in the boat was on Semi White Lake in Mississagi Park a couple of weeks ago. The park is 30 km north of Elliot Lake.
Other than a couple of canoeists, we had the entire lake to ourselves.
As it turned out everyone was drawn to this little island at the eastern tip of the lake.
We didn't stop, but the picnic table and campsite were certainly inviting. Fingers are crossed that we'll make a return visit in September and pack a picnic lunch.
There are a number of sandy beaches on the Semi White and to our surprise they were mostly vacant on the day we were there.
We did spot this person, however, and they seemed quite content to be alone to do whatever while soaking up a few rays.
Another gorgeous summer day we headed up to the Fire Tower Hill that overlooks Elliot Lake. With crystal clear skies we could see for miles - all the way to Lake Huron in fact.
We also checked out Sandra's Variety of Treasures in Spanish, Ontario. It's been on my list of to-dos since last summer and it was a treat to wander through her various collections of bygone items as well as chat with Sandra herself and learn how she stumbled into this home-based business while striving to be a stay-at-home mom to her special needs son. (Btw, she's on Facebook.)
Last Sunday we headed back to the sandy shores of Lake Huron and along the way stopped at a fairly recent roadside lookout on Hwy. 17 that we'd not had the opportunity to check out before.
Sadly, the haze from the forest fires hindered our view of the islands along the north shore, but I'm certain we'll stop again on a clearer day.
Continuing on to the Boom Camp Trail beach in Blind River we enjoyed the varied landscape of bush, beach and vegetation. The first thing we stumbled upon was a teepee that had not been there on our previous visits. Someone certainly put a lot of work and effort into their creation and we were very grateful to be able to enjoy it as well.
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| The view looking inside the teepee. |
This next photo was taken from our picnic table. Believe it or not, this is a crowded beach in northern Ontario on a summer's Sunday! There were a total of six or seven other people on the beach with us, but as you can see there was no need to be territorial or stake out a claim on our patch of sand.
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| Close up of our 5 nearest beach bums. |
On the 20-minute walk back to the van I stopped multiple times to admire the plants, lichen, berries and flowers.
Interspersed throughout the past seven weeks of kayaking, boating and gallivanting about we've enjoyed some lovely get-togethers with friends Rae and JeanGuy, Astrid and Marty, Darla and Grant, Maxine and Fred, Sue and Jim, Alan and Mark and Nicki and Gerry. It's not surprising that everyone was so grateful to be double vaccinated and no longer afraid to share a hug or two. Thanks everyone.
It's been a super summer so far and we're looking forward to spending at least another two months in the Great White North before we return to Ottawa for the winter. What can I say?
Life. Is. Good!
*My intention is to post more frequently to avoid spending another entire day at the computer, but it's not a promise so please bear with me!
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