…Monday, Aug. 26
I’ve been neglecting my daily walks so I started them again today. I’ve downloaded Strava to keep track of my route and progress.



…closing the cottage for the season
It’s always harder to close the cottage when the weather is so lovely. It had to be done, though, because Kevin and I are taking a road trip to the east coast before Thanksgiving. I drove up Saturday morning and only brought enough food for one dinner and one breakfast. I didn’t have to worry about turning on the fridge because I wasn’t staying long.
The line up for the ferry was half way up the hill when I arrived and more cars arrived. Luckily everyone got on the next ferry.




When I arrived at the cottage I took some time to go to the beach and go for a long walk. It was surprisingly busy for September. You wouldn’t know it from my photos.




Closing up the cottage involves stripping all the beds, storing the pillows, cushions and blankets in storage containers, taking all the liquids and canned good out of the cupboards to take home (otherwise they freeze over the winter and the cans bulge), packing away all the candles and anything that the mice like to chew on (hopefully they’ll stay away this fall), closing and locking all the windows, moving the BBQ and covering it, bringing all the outdoor chairs inside and boarding up the doors. It was a lot of work but I managed.


I left at 2:20, dropped the garbage and recycling at the top of our laneway and headed for the ferry dock. I knew there was a 2:30 ferry but I didn’t expect to catch it. I thought I would be waiting in line for the 3:30 boat. When I got to dock the boat was still being loaded and to my surprise I was the last car on the ferry. I don’t very often get this view going across the bay to the mainland.

Au revoir, Christian Island. See you next summer.
…an eclectic sampling of textures
Things I saw on my walk to the drug store in my sister’s neighbourhood in Calgary.



…a sunny warm day
When our daughter invited us to join her and her wife at the Cheltenham Badlands, I thought we were driving there to look, take a few photos and then drive over to Spirit Tree for lunch. When we arrived at the parking lot we discovered that they were hiking on the Bruce Trail and were about 30 minutes away from us. They suggested that we get on the trail and walk towards them. Luckily I had on walking shoes but my pants were way too warm. Nonetheless we made the short hike, met them and then hiked back toward the Badlands.
After a short walk back to the car we drove to the Spirit Tree Estate Cidery. We found a shady area under a tent and ordered cider and wood oven baked pizza.



…yesterday I went north to open my cottage
With the help of my dear friend, Liz, I drove to the cottage to open it up for the season. I always dread the first visit because it is often a lot of work. This year, however, the cottage was very clean. There was very little evidence of mice. They hadn’t run over the dishes or gotten into the cupboards.
We raked the leaves off the deck and the pathways, set up the BBQ, filled the water barrel, made the beds and put away the clean linens, blankets and pillows that I had brought home last fall to clean. When most of the work had been done we made dinner and took a walk on the beach.




This morning we woke up early and Liz actually went swimming. June is very early to be diving into Georgian Bay but Liz did it and actually swam for about 10 minutes. She went for a second swim later in the day. We went for another walk along the beach but this time we walked to both ends and took lots of photos.













It was difficult to leave because the cottage truly is my happy place and the day was perfect. I can now go back up knowing that everything is in place and most of the hard work is don
At 5:30 we caught the ferry to go home. I wanted to be home for Father’s Day so that our daughter, daughter-in-law and I could take Kevin out to celebrate this special day. As the ferry headed for the other side I noticed that it took a turn and was headed west instead of south. We soon discovered that we were in pursuit of a disabled boat with three passengers. When we reached them they climbed on board but before that one of them fell into the water. Thankfully he was all right. Then the crew tried to tie the disable boat to the ferry. After some trying moments they succeeded and we headed back to the island to drop off the exhausted boaters. Eventually we were headed back to the mainland and arrived about 40 minutes later than expected. Being a Saturday night the rest of the trip home was quick and uneventful.


…for us it included painting, walking and cooking
Last Saturday the forecast was very wet for most of the day. In between downpours I did manage to get out for a walk and snap a few photos.




When I returned from my walk I set up my art table to get ready for some more painting. Only 7 more sleeps before my solo show.

Kevin on the hand got into complete ‘chef’ mode and made empanadas from scratch.



…this Easter weekend has involved painting, drawing, getting together with family and eating…lots of eating
Every family celebrates this time of year differently but it almost always includes food. In our house it also includes drawing and painting and getting outside to walk and take photos.
Food with Family







Walking and Taking Photos





Making Art….to be continued
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/03/08/wednesday-challenge-the-birds/
Some birds hang out all winter long, especially the waterfowl. On my walk recently the ducks were close to shore and didn’t seem to mind me being there.



