Just Tell Me: "How's She Headin'?"

 Even 111 years ago there was resistance to change:

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"Havin' A Great Time!"

 I found this neat old card postmarked 111 years ago in 1910 on eBay. The good old days? They all look so happy.

The photograph would have been purchased at the amusement park. There was likely a choice of backgrounds. This one shows the steamer American which brought American tourists every summer by the thousands from Buffalo to Crystal Beach Ontario. I added the caption.

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I Love You Too... Now Gimme!

 

Alvin visits but we all know what he wants.  

You cute little guy. Can you really be here just for the pumpkin seeds? 

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Cruise Port Franks to Grand Bend and Back

Getting there and back by car was a bit of a challenge with unexpected road closures in three locations. This added about 20 minutes to the trip.

We launched in Port Franks at the marina ramp and headed immediately out to Lake Huron which was pretty flat. We figured we could explore the river later, when we returned from the lake if we had time. We had purposely selected today because of the off-shore breeze from a southerly direction. Google says we covered 28 miles (44 km) by boat so not bad for about 2 gallons of gas. (14 mpg)

The weather was perfect for beach-goers all the way along in the Pinery Provincial Park (shown in green on the map)

Of course the Bend is the place for beach-goers

You never know what you'll see on our Wing Dinghy cruise.

We saw a yacht called 'Double or Nothing' at Grand Bend yesterday as it came in for fuel at the same time we were filling our 'Wing Dinghy'. Wow! A 2017 Pershing 82. Entered the harbour and with bow thruster, spun around like a 26 footer and tied up in front of us.

It can do 52 knots (60 mph) and cruises at 45 (52 mph). Another boater said they saw it in Killarney earlier this week. This is a big boat for The Bend.

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Summertime And The Livin' Is Easy...

You never know what you'll see if you get out and about. We trailered our dinghy down to Port Stanley and launched at the municipal ramp by the mouth of Kettle Creek in the harbour. Very hot but nice breeze on the water so we motored up under the newly redone bridge, sightseeing our way along through the various marinas along the banks of the creek.

HISTORY OF THE "WING DINGHY": In a weird twist of fate in 2011 I decided to put the dinghy down in the parking garage of the condo instead of leaving it on our boat to go to heated storage for the winter. I told Wendy I changed the plan in case we wanted to use it in the spring before the big boat was launched. We often took the dinghy over to Stokes Bay Bar in Sarnia for chicken wings, hence the name. Well a few days before Christmas the big old "Phoenix" burned up. All we had left was our dinghy. (A Father's Day gift from Wendy). After that we found we could explore dozens of places we could never get to in the big boat and used the little boat more than ever before.

Motoring peacefully along in Kettle Creek we saw a small boat that looked very much like a boat that used to belong to some friends in Point Edward. I said it looked to be too small. Around the next bend, there it was... "Lucky Me", the boat our friends sold years ago and had no idea where it went. I sent a picture to Maureen the previous owner:

WOW 😲 

Oh Tim,  Bryan and I went to GTs on the beach on Friday (in the pouring rain ☔️!)

and as we were driving along beside the marina, we thought about the boat .. no idea where it was .. could have been anywhere, we were just musing!  So thank you, and yes it does look fine ... and glad you had a good day.  One of our regrets is the fact that we didn’t keep the dinghy 🙄

Take care, 

Maureen

As the temperature climbed as noon approached we craved a cooler breeze so we headed out Kettle Creek to Lake Erie, heading west along the shoreline past Mackie's and the main beach to the clay cliffs a few kilometers away.

Everywhere there was evidence of the shoreline erosion that has peaked in the last decade or so. The fresh cleavage lines in the clay face are quite beautiful, but also quite unstable. Keep your distance.

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Better Late Than Never - Getting Ready To Go Boating.

The boat launch ramps are finally open again so our thoughts turn to getting out on the water. Today was a beautiful day 82F or 28C, sunny and a light breeze from the northwest. I decided that today would be a good time to get the boat all ready to launch. Only and hour job I thought. NOT! I soon realized I wasn't going to get everything done to allow us to explore today.

Although the "Wing Dinghy" is only 10 feet long we still need to take everything required by law for a power boat (and more). Twenty or more items from a marine radio and other safety items to a pee bucket to a cooler and snacks.

Tomorrow, being Monday we figure things won't be as busy at the launch ramp and the weatherman says it will be another hot one; sunny, hazy winds light NW high of 85F or 30C. To ensure we have a dead calm sea, the breeze will be light and blowing offshore if we go to Lake Erie.

Items to Take:

Bug spray, Sunscreen, Small cooler bag and ice, Snacks, Water bottles

Marine VHF radio, Loudhailer, Boater's Operator Card, Lifejackets

Flashlight, Whistle, Heaving line, Anchor and line, Extra 2 stroke oil

Bailing/pee bucket, Hand bilge pump, Fly swatter, Sun umbrella (large)

I do hope there is still room for Wendy and I.

Checks:

Clean up and hose down the winter grime

Grease trailer wheels. Check all trailer lights, Lubricate hitch, Tire pressure - car and trailer

Fill boat tank with gasoline. Test start the outboard motor. Charge radio battery.

Along with the checks, I also encountered a colony of ants that found the boat to be a good place to set up camp over winter. I sure am glad I did all the heavy cleaning last fall.

Now what did I forget? I'll try to update the blog tomorrow when we finally finish our first boat ride of 2021.

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The New Roof

 Four men and a dumpster arrived before 8 am.

The weather was holding, overcast with sunny patches, no rain.

Chris, the lead man seemed to be doing most of the work, He told me these were new guys on the job, first day. Byron Roofing, the company that did this and the last roof now has 7 crews and they are all busy. Well, at least Chris is nailing on the shingles so they'll be straight.

The underlying roof boards appear to be in excellent condition being that they are about 60 years old. Chris was amazed at how good the boards looked as nowadays all the roof sheathing is plywood.

With the temperature and humidity rising into the eighties with a humidex of 93 it was getting very hot up there on the roof. The goal was to finish by 2pm but by 3 they were still at it. I suggested a swim and the boss happily said they could go in after they were finished. I could see they were looking longingly at the pool now. My job was to keep the ice and water jug full. They worked on until after 6. So much for 2pm. They left without their swim, tired and hungry.

Well, the roof looks great! Hopefully good for another 20 years.

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A Visit By Aria, Lindsay and Doug.

 What a special treat!

Doug is Wendy's brother's son and the new family came to visit on the back deck today. What a pleasant surprise.

Great Aunt Wendy helps little Aria with her bottle.

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Good Looking Yuccas This Year.

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New Roof Next Week... Fingers Crossed!

This was a job that I postponed too long.

 Aging shingles on the back half of our roof will be replaced next week if the weather cooperates.

These asphalt shingles are the ones replaced after hail damage in 2008. That's only 13 years ago. At the time the insurance would only pay for the back half where the damage was. 

In 2010 we luckily replaced the shingles on the front half (from 1996) with the new fiberglass type and these are the type to be used next week. There's no comparison between asphalt and the newer fiberglass!

The new materials were delivered this morning. 

We were scheduled for September but I cried a bit about a leaky ceiling and my whining paid off.

The 11 year old fiberglass shingles seen here on the front half of the house have stood up beautifully so hopefully our roof worries are over for many years to come.

I'll post more pictures of the roof repair next week. Wow! This is the most excitement we've had in over a year!

I wasn't kidding about the leaky ceiling. Hopefully once the water intrusion is remedied we can get the ceiling repaired.

UPDATE July 11: Of course, now that we are waiting for the roofing crew, the weather prediction shows rain all week!

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A Drive to the Beach

 The heat wave continues with humid, overcast weather at 28C or 83F (Humidex 38C or 100F).

Little Beach, Port Stanley looking east.

We drove to Port Stanley but it was too muggy to bother getting out of the car. Nice drive anyway.

We explored around in the air conditioned comfort of our car and had a nice day. 

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Wendy's New Power Washer.

 Wendy says she loves her new gasoline driven power washer she got for Mother's Day. I'm very happy for her.

The mud was flying everywhere as she blasted the dirt. 

With a humidex of 100F and mud on her face, the pool was beckoning.

I must say she did a fine job on the pavers, don't you think?

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When The Weather Is Hot - More Pandemic Cooking.

 When the weather is hot like today with a humidex of over 100F or 40C, it doesn't make a lot of sense to cook indoors and further burden the AC. 

Wendy made some delicious salads for us with leftover chicken and all the vegetables from her garden.

Earlier I made a loaf of flax/sunflower seed bread in the breadmaker. 

We even baked two pies on the barbeque grill, starting them off at 400F for 10 minutes and then 350F for 40 minutes after. 

Mmmmmm! Rhubarb custard pie! What a treat!

Wendy said it was a nice, thinning meal until the bread and the pie.

And that's how to beat the heat!

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So Much Going On In Our Back Yard

 

Too bad nobody can enjoy it with us!

I 'artified' this shot of the grape trellis. Click on it to enlarge it.

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Giant Sized Hostas Around the Pool

 

These very large Hosta plants are amazing.

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