Happy Saturday morning all:

”Seeing a wilderness trek take place on de idiovision box….can help work off one’s sense of adventuresome spirit. And if you haven’t any spirit, those commercials will suck your brain dry even more” ~ our north woods everyman we’ll call Claire

Apologies are very present and sincere for skipping these Ramblings last week. Marcia and I were on an adventure – Derek and Kellen and their parental units were visiting. Yesterday a week we expected their arrival to be tennish or thereabouts in the evening; they rolled into a pitch-black driveway at 11:30.

Now, 11:30 is not all that late. However, consider that I felt the need to join a cloud of mosquitoes and wait by the highway with a safety LED flare in hand (ostensibly to guide them in on what becomes a very lonely place at night). An hour-and a half of roadside waiting and they were the second vehicle I saw; meanwhile all I heard were the buzz of the mosquitoes, a couple of owls, the scurrying of a critter or two, and a distant coyote.

Once here the chatter began and lasted hours more. That was all she wrote of any intentions I had to write my post early Saturday morning, especially since Derek and Kellen were ready to explore EVERYTHING in and around the place as soon as dawn cracked.

Their north woods adventure – and ours – had begun

Now time for my kick-starter; my morning mug of coffee. ¬Thanks for fixing Marcia.

A fantastic week – followed a busy ramp-up to get ready. For us the “ramp-up” consisted of our first major shopping back in the USA. We crossed into Sault Ste. Marie and spent waaay too much – money and time (mostly time) in the place. There are primarily two grocery venues, Glenn’s (very nice, but a bit limiting) and Wal-Mart. Drive into the Wal-Mart lot and you’d swear you were back in Canada since nearly every car there sports Ontario plates.

About $600 later (this included a large ice chest filled with chilled/frozen goods) plus a haircut for the both of us and Marcia and I, now thoroughly beat, crossed back into the land of the Mounties. Why join hordes of Canadians and shop back in the US, you ask? Consider that cheese and dairy products are nearly double, as are most fresh veggies and fruits. A fill-up on fuel pays for any travel since gasoline costs just about $2.00 per gallon less than Canadian gas. And, consider that Ontario slaps a 13+% tax on nearly everything; that’s why there is a weekly mass shopping exodus into the USA.

The time not spent shopping was taken up by applying an air-pump to almost everything I could get my hands on – air mattresses, floats, tubes, balls, you name it.

We were so ready!

Time spent – with Kirstin, Vince, Derek, and Kellen was wonderful. Name it and we did it. Almost each and every day was concluded by a camp fire (with s’mores) and the realization that another day had past without a hint of a melt-down by the little guys.

At some point it dawned on Vince and Kirstin that the kids were surviving very nicely without any reliance on electronics gear (iPad, iPhone, you know that list); in fact they were thriving.

Ok, there was a little bit of homage to the electronic world, especially some evening DVD viewing, notably the Little Rascals movie and the Bennie Hill show. Much belly laughter became the rule for those evenings..

Animal planet – Derek stated flat out that the best part of his visit was seeing a Loon pop up very close to the Kayak he was riding.

Kirstin was calling out depth readings to me as were boating through the cut-thru and one of the beaver dams between ours and the next lake when she spotted a Beaver swimming past under the boat.

As we were completing our hike to the top of the nearby cliff (through the woods and not the face) an Osprey kept circling and screaming her displeasure. A nest must have been nearby.

Marcia and I each caught a bat that had entered the cabin for a short visit. They were both promptly escorted off the premises.

And Derek, who REALLY dislikes spider webs, was just fine after I cleaned out all semblances of spiders and webs only after he witnessed me completely washing out the kayak. I had to submerge it to do the job right.

Fini – Make it a great week everyone. Yesterday the whole gang pulled out, but not before the kids gave an extra hug with an additional; “I love you Opa”. Those are moments to cherish. Big time.

Happy birthday to Pieter (yesterday). And, we’re getting ready for Cathy, Jason, Dinah, and Marin, who’ll all arrive next weekend.

Cheers.

Dirk

From the Archives
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Morning all:

and hello from the cool North-woods of Ontario. Already these woods have sprung to life, a humming bird is enjoying his breakfast nectar, while on the lake a breakfast nectar, while on the lake a Loon is announcing daybreak. And here in the cabin a perfect blend of north and south is brewing. Not north and south in the blue and gray sense, but in a magnificent coffee configuration; Canada’s Tim Hortons coffee combined with a Brazilian Pilão. Aren’t you jealous?

This week has been a blur. For some it flew by in a ron rico haze. For others it was the whir of saws and hammering that cadenced the days into one fast moving event. The hammering business was due to the building of a remote log cabin. Paul’s property has a 360 foot high knoll overlooking the lake which became the perfect spot for building. The fact that each trip was a 45 minute event on an ATV through the forest played little part. I’ll try to place some photos in the album over the next day or so.

Shang has been enjoying himself immensely. Several times each day he’d wander over to the water’s edge for a swim, and each day it was a grand run through the forest. Surely, it’s been a “dogs life”.

For everyone the weather has been perfect and the lake, only three months ago covered with three feet of ice, was now perfect for swimming. Even I, with my ultra white skin blinding the others, made it into the water. But perfection came every evening through pleasant conversation punctuated with a well deserved cigar.

Soon the pressure will build. Marcia is completely packed for the homeward trip. On the other hand I can find bits and pieces of my week strewn all over the cabin. We are staring our twelve hour homeward journey straight in the eye.

Now, I best get going. There is little choice since tomorrow we’re all celebrating Marin’s second birthday and we just cannot miss that.

Pray and think about those folk whose lives have been shook over in London.
Make it a great and safe week.
Cheers,
Dirk

7/09/2005 07:03:00 AM