FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Last night, after dinner, we talked about old Chiller Thriller TV shows. We remembered a handful of titles ... The Phantom of Rue Morgue, The Fly, The Ants, Psycho and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. 

Wayne and Mark moved the floating dock and secured it to the main dock for freeze up. Next, they winterized Chippy's Hollow and closed the shutters.  It's still lovely summer weather ... 30C today!

Julie and Mark loaded their things into the RV and moved to Anicinanbe Park for a couple of nights before going south. 

Sue and Wayne are staying at their cottage tonight and moving into their bus tomorrow. 

Tonight, Joanne and Doug are hosting a fish fry!  Julie took a few pics. 

Doug's houseboat is to the left. Jim's pontoon boat is to the right. 

Storms threatened but passed by to the south. It was a beautiful party. 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Last night's dinner at Ristorante was delicious but more importantly, we spent time with good friends. Soon, everyone will be off like the Canada geese to their winter destinations!

Today though, a bright sunny day, is perfect for tidying up the property, hauling the Crestliner and putting away seasonal lighting. 

Speaking of traveling ... wouldn't it be easier if the continents were still connected?

World travel in the time of Pangea was land based.  During the Paleozoic era, 300 million years ago, species wandered across continental lines. (Mega car trips would be "cool"!!!  Hilarious, as man wasn't around yet.)  :-)

Mountain chains are found in various, (unconnected) regions on earth. The Appalachian or Laurentian mountain chain is found in Scotland, Ireland, Britian, Scandinavia and Greenland. For example, the same North American mountain range is the Caldonides in bonnie Scotland. No wonder the Scots felt right at home in Nova Scotia and North Carolina!

Today's happy hour on the dock is Meyer's Rum and OJ. OK. 

Tonight, Sue and Wayne are preparing pork chops for dinner; the last joint dinner at Bear's Lair this year. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

We awoke to a mist covered lake and sunshine!  It's a perfect day for moose watching. 

September is the right time to see a fully antlered Bull Moose. The antlers, which are 6' across and weigh more than 90 pounds, are shed before winter. The largest member of the deer family stands 7' at the shoulder and are more than 8 1/2 feet long.  Alces alces, their scientific name, are gentle giants who prefer life alone except during mating season.  

A Canadian Clydesdale !!!  LOL. 

Moose have been domesticated in many countries, including Canada and have been treasured assets and pets. Who knew?

Moose are great swimmers and can easily swim at 6 MPH. As you can see, this photo appeared in LIFE magazine. 

Settlers riding in their moose cart!!! The cart appears short - as the moose team are very tall. 

Moose are herbivores and are very respectful of their environment. They can be spotted along lakes and streams nibbling on their favorite food, twigs. The name moose comes from the Algonquin language meaning "twig eater". 

"Giddy up"!  Moose can run 35 MPH. 

Bells on moose tails ring ... LOL. 

White moose are rare but are not albinos.

A spotted moose is even rarer!!!

Watch for moose along lakes, bogs and streams and enjoy these majestic symbols of the Boreal Forest.  

Meanwhile, Sue and Wayne ran errands in town while Mark gave the Scotties "Florida" hair cuts. Julie is loading the RV for travel. 

This evening, "Date Night", we are going to Ristorante in Kenora for dinner. 

It's a local favorite of ours. Mark is driving Sue, Wayne and Julie; and we are meeting Jim, Joyce, Rose, Charlie, MaryBeth, Monty, Heather and Bruce at Ristorante. 

Good times with good friends having good food. Summer 2013, most memorable!  

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

A beautiful sunny morning greeted us!  Lynne and Les Stevenson dropped by on their way home to Winnipeg from their boat in Northern Harbour. It was fun to see them and catch up on family news. 

Julie and Mark spent the day doing errands about town and shopping for tonight's dinner. 

Can you find Mark in this OLD picture?

Kenora dinner jackets were his favorite even then!  LOL

Mark took this pretty doe's picture. She wasn't the least bit concerned. 

Sue and Wayne went to visit Rose and Charlie at 4:30. Julie and Mark "kept up the side" and watched a young loon while enjoying happy hour on the dock. Mark wished we could stay through September. But it's time to head home!

Tonight's dinner is cob on the nob (corny Mark saying), pan-seared chicken and Greek salad. 

We four played the Cribbage rubber ... Wayne and Mark won BUT Julie had a 24 hand!!!

GOOFY STUFF THAT MISSED THE BLOG

There's always goofy stuff that misses the daily Blog.

1.  Setup:  Playing Scrabble and listening to the radio ... 

"They play the same songs ... what's with this "Mexican Lucky"???" said Julie. Great laughter from Sue, "I stayed up all night to get lucky"!!!  LOL

2.  Setup:  Relaxing at Chippy's Hollow with Sue, Wayne, Grandsons Kyle and Gavin, Julie and Mark. 

Wayne to Gavin ... "Gavin, I'll give you a quarter if you'll clean the fish for me"!  Gavin's reply, "No thanks, I've already got a quarter"!  Well, we roared!!!  Julie always told her dad the exact thing. "No thanks, Dad. I've already got a quarter"!  

3.  Setup:  Mark and Julie at the laundromat. 

Mark was getting antsy waiting for the dryer to finish and started looking through a "lost and found" box for his gray sock.  Julie said, "Get out of there Mark!  What are you doing rooting around?"  Mark pulled jean shorts out of the box ... "Hey!  These look nice!  Bet they fit me!"  Long story short ... Mark modeled them at the cottage and now JULIE's wearing them. Hahaha

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

Tina Turner belts out "Steamy Windows" but she's not referring to high humidity and chilly mornings. LOL. Julie walked the Scotties at 6:30 this morning; cottage windows steamed, lake blanketed with radiation fog = 7C or 45F. 

  

Or, you could ask the Kurian doggies!  They certainly won the Lotto. LOL

Julie and Mark finished cleaning windows, blinds and screens on Chippy's Hollow. 

Wayne finished winterizing the Windsorcraft and prepped the Crestliner for haul out tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, the sun is shining and it's warm. There's a man snorkeling amongst the reeds in our little bay from a white and blue Glastron boat. When he got out of the water after half an hour, Julie asked if he was doing research?  He'd lost an anchor and chain last year and was hoping to find it.

Snorkeling in the looney stuff. 

No luck finding his anchor!

Mark was as busy as the beaver who took down 19 trees from Kurian's property this summer. Really!  Mark piled wood behind the new shed, covered the chipmunks' woodpile with a new tarp and prepped the RV for travel. 

Sue and Wayne have gone to town!  It's their night to cook. 

Chipmunks' new winter home!

Happy hour was on the glider, in the sun. Tonight is borscht, cabbage rolls, perogies and sausage. Alright ... we get a taste of Marlene's homemade soup!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Right on cue the weather changed with the calendar month! We awoke to 10C (50F for Americans) and a stratus sky. 

Doug McKim, ice fishing, January 2013, -35C

First stop Sunday is Yesterday's for our traditional breakfast. The restaurant was overflowing with guests visiting the lake for summer's final long weekend of the season. 

Sue and Wayne delivered boxes of goodies for "It's a Dog's Life" garage sale while Julie and Mark delivered two round tables and chairs for the same sale. 

For our local friends, the sale is Saturday, September 14th. If we were still here, we'd be shopping!

On Kendal Inlet Road, Mark and Julie stopped for a family portrait. 

A buck, fawn and doe ... 

Mark and Wayne are winterizing the Windsorcraft today. 

The Windsorcraft, in Kenora, on a warm summer's day in July. 

Tonight's menu ... Angus burgers on whole wheat kaisers with garden picked tomato, onion and cheddar cheese. With a side of fries, of course. There's mixed berry cobbler for dessert.