From the ‘Natti, Good morning all:

Wisdom Of The Week:

“However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him” — Nicholas Boileau

Last week I was both the fool and the bigger one too, but more of that in a moment. Coffee does come first. It’s still dark, the neighborhood is quiet except for a distant train, the air is cool, and the grass I cut last night still puts out that special fresh-cut smell. This is a great time of the day. This is a great mug of coffee.

Two apologies, the first for my foolish assumption that our concert last Saturday evening would be at best a “country-bumkin” fest, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The lesson is; do not assume anything. The second apology is for the lack of photos. Canada’s Hughes Satellite System which Paul kindly lets me use while in the North Woods causes a conflict with Blogger when uploading—bottom line being it will not accept the loading of any photos. I’ll place a few in this post.

While last week’s post alluded to having to listen to compositions dealing with ploughing matches and biker reunions at last Saturday’s concert, I was oh so wrong. It proved to be an extraordinary event in all ways. What made it special is that it was a group of extremely talented young Canadian kids – some already professionals and others just emerging. The concert was put on as a gift to those living in these ‘outpost’ small rural communities of Northern Ontario. Plus, the ladies of the community supplied intermission pies to die for. Note that the young woman on the video clip just happens to be playing an extremely rare 17th century Giuseppe Guarneri violin!

What was just as amazing was how these kids managed to get to the concert hall. They were staying at a wilderness camp to plan and rehearse. Fogs prevented their float plane from getting them out, so some local residents played ‘taxi’ and got them with their ATVs – a 25 mile trip – 4 hours in and 4 hours back. Now that is dedication, and even more so, remarkable community spirit.

During the last four years Marcia, our gardener, has managed to mangle into oblivion two lawn mowers; something about new stumps arising in places where none had been before. The latest new tool to combat this problem is a Club Cadet mower with a Kawasaki racing engine. Not only just that but this beauty is self propelled.

I was thrilled for Marcia and was all smiles as she stepped out behind the beautifully humming machine for that very first time. What I did not expect was for her to be jerked around by the machine making like Lurch from the old Adams Family show. Sweaty, a blistered thumb, and a hissed “you’re trying to kill me aren’t you”, was the end of her mowing experience.

Last night I mowed the yard. Marcia laughed when my head hit a low hanging branch. I think she deserved a laugh.

Today is a celebratory one. This evening the clan is heading out to celebrate Adrianne’s birthday. Additionally we’ll skew it a bit into Vaioleti camp since she’ll be 1 next weekend when Marcia and I will be back in Canada. Afterwards it will be “Movies on Fountain Square” where we’ll watch Bees. This is part of the city’s effort to bring people into the city core as well as provide summer entertainment.

But, even prior to that, later this morning I’ll be sitting Vai from 10 till noon. Via, just 1 pound 14 ounces a year ago is now a bouncing 18 pound toddler. She crawls anywhere, stands, smiles, and skips naps. I can’t wait. Yea!

Make it a great week everyone. We’ll be heading back north to enjoy a final week and then to start preparing the cabin for its winter hibernation. Also, I can’t wait to see how my super-special mouse trap has performed, but I have been informed that I can’t talk about it and absolutely no photos. Summer is just waaaay to short.

Cheers,

Dirk