Can you Believe this September Weather

This has been the greatest fall I can remember in a long time. The days have been between 25 and 34 and often there has been no wind. If I had any idea the fall would be so great I would have taken better care of all my potted plants and fertilized them more, watered them more. and dead-headed more as well, but with the cool summer, by the middle of August I kind of gave up on them and figured they would be frozen soon any way.... Well we always say Saskatchewan is "next year" country.

Many afternoons, I take my book and chair down to the lake and enjoy the quiet of the place, with only the occasional sound of a fish jumping up to catch a low flying bug and the ripple of the water as it disappears as quickly as it appeared. The trees are beginning to turn but 3/4 are still a beautiful green. The geese have returned to the lake from the north to feed and rest before their trek to the far south. With such hot weather, how do they know it is time to pack up and head out? Many mornings they wake me at dawn with their squawking as they take their last little swim before heading to the harvested fields to pick up the grain that the combines have missed.

Can there be any better time of year to be at the lake? The summer cottagers have cleaned up their abodes, locked up their windows and doors and headed home again. Only a few of us remain to wait for the winds and snow of winter to set in. It is so quiet and peaceful. I asked "Is there any better season than this?" Of course, when all reverses and the geese return with the summer residents and the place becomes alive once more. How wonderful we live in a place of four very different distinct seasons. I can not imagine living elsewhere.

A Fall Day at Grandpa Lake ( the other one is Grandpa Farm)

Holding hands as they cross the road to the beach

Feeding the ducks, leftover stale buns

Last rides of the season

Aiden rode for about 2 hours before he tired out

As the day comes to an end and Mom is soon to arrive, Grandpa holds the rope and walks into the lake so they can paddle boat by themselves. What a good Grandpa!

Another Passing

Back ground
In 1971 we received our first cabin at Lake Pelletier through the trade of a boat for a lake front lot with 2 granaries on it. We took the little building to the east and Harvey's brother took the one to the west. It was just one room with metal bunk beds, a small double bed and an old McClary No 45 Quebec Heater to warm us. ,,oh yes and a few mice under the floor boards. We built a small addition to the front about 6 x 8 , added windows,and that became our kitchen. We bought a wonderful double hot plate with an oven under it and thought we were in heaven. A plastic pink tub bathed our little ones and we bathed and washed our hair in the lake. We had a fine two- hole outhouse that we shared with Don, Denise and girls.


A few years later when we built a new cabin on the lot behind this, the old Quebec Heater moved with us and warmed our bones on many a cold morning when our feet nearly froze to the floor. If we came out in the winter (as we often did), Harvey would come out early and fire up the old stove and within 3 - 4 hours the whole place was warm and toasty. One night we filled it with coal and at about 3 am it was so hot we could not breathe, Harvey got up and found it red hot and amazingly, it survived a bath of cold water to cool it off. During numerous power outages it even was used to cook our food and to heat water, to steam the place when someone had a cold.
When we built on to our cabin and made it our full time home, our dear stove was the one thing I really wanted to keep, but somehow in the wisdom of our insurance company, we could keep it and use it if it was still just a seasonal place but if it was our full time home they would not insure us...so we had to buy a new Jotul heater. There was no way our dear Quebec Heater was going in to the garbage so I put it in the garden, over our well with a nice circle of flowers at its feet where it lasted for 7 years. The harsh winters, rains and sun finally took its toll on it and it started to rust and became very feeble. I was concerned that it could collapse on one of the little ones as they played around it. It was cast iron and very heavy and could certainly hurt someone...so the decision was made that this fall it would be broke down and taken to the dump, and today was the day. A small piece of the lid was thrown over near where our Chico lies buried as he had spent much time enjoying its warmth as well.

The front plate was removed and that will be screwed on to our wood shed with other mementos.....

After 38 years, it was hard to say goodbye to such a faithful friend that warmed us all these years. It was even harder when I checked on google and found that these stoves when restored sell for about $1500. Oh well I am sure he enjoyed his time in the garden slowly rusting away instead.

Demolition Photos

SORRY

Just not feeling blogish these days..........................

Life Imitates Nature

Not so Nice Things

Every few weeks the septic tank has to be pumped to get rid of our wastage and make sure none goes into our fragile lake system.

The "pooper scooper" arrives and hooks up to our tank to empty it. The aroma that floats through the air at this time is not so pleasant and the pictures show that even Len the "scooper man" thinks he should hold his nose too.

Summer Time at Grandma's

Life is sweet.......

Summer pictures

I am not sure as it is still a bit cool, but I think this is summer. So here are a few photos of things that stir my emotions enough to take a picture, as I wander my yard, my neighbourhood, my lake.

Brewing storm clouds

Basil, Thyme, Parsley and Sage to flavor many dishes

The first of my Asiatic Lilies to bloom.
Driveway sidewalk finished

Potty chair made into a planter (Now as long Aiden doesn't take out the flowers and use it for its real purpose)...lol Lake wood nymph

Happy Father's Day Harvey

To a Great

Dad,

Poppa,

G-Pa,

Grandpa

and Husband

What is it? What do you do with it?

This is the algae that has accumualted on Lake Pelletier this spring. It was all over the lake but the southwestern winds seem to blow it to our end. I have never seen it this bad in many years and it is really disgusting. You can see a dead fish in picture #2, and a dead beaver was found near this as well. I am not sure about the beaver as he may have died of natural causes but who knows.

I have heard a lot of different senarios on the algae such as it is caused by not a hot enough spring when the ice melts. I have heard not enough oxygen in the water.

Some say a good rain will remove it, others say lightening will destroy it too.

But right now it just sits and looks at me through my front window. My grandchildren want to play in the water, the boat gets pretty scummy and we complain a lot.

My thought is maybe when you fiddle with the natual ecosystem of a lake by digging up the south area where all the birds, fish and animals live, when you dig out part of the lake to make a canal into where new homes are to be built , you are disturbing the natural cleaning process the lake does and this is just the start of the destruction of Lake Pelletier. Don't say we did not warn YOU!

Gravel Works

The 10 yards of gravel arrived and it is big. Ask me for 10 yards of cloth and I can tell you exactly how much it will be. How do they determine that a big pile of gravel is 10 yards? It must be a man thing.

For 36 years we have been working to improve the cabin. Will it never be finished? One thing ends and another starts.

Now we cut out the grass and edge it up nicely so the gravel will look like a real driveway.

Celine's Ball Game - WON!

Celine catching

Celine batting

Just two catchers ..the young and the old

Sat afternoon in Winnipeg

Gord and Shannon have not had much luck growing the sod in their small back yard, due to not much sun and 2 little dogs, so they are biting the bullet and saying goodbye to grass and hello deck and paving stones. Harvey and Gord are busy getting it going and look like they know what they are doing......but do they???

Whatta Country!

Cloudy, freezing temperatures, 2 days of rain, the sun comes out and the temp soars to 13 degrees, and then the temp drops to 8 degrees and the hail hits. The hail was only pea size but came down in buckets and we ran to cover plants, hide plants under chairs, throw blankets over biggerr plants and move vehicles to safer places.....and all of this June 6th and 7th. Like I said.."What a country"

One mourning dove has a nest and babies in our eaves, I wonder how she made out.

Stalking the Baltimore Oriole

This is what he should look like.....(stolen from the net)
But below is all I can catch
You will need to click to enlarge and then look closely in the middle of the photo


But in searching I also stopped to talk to Ruby the Robin who is nesting low in our front yard.
(Pictures to follow of her children)

and a quick "Hello" to Sidney Swallow



You will notice he just lives in a cabin, not a beautiful condo like Catherine's birds.....but he says the view is better.

A Cloudy Sunday but........

The Boat got into the water................

Mya & Aiden had their first

boat ride of 2009

Some high flying beach swinging took place...........

And as the last of my tulips look

out the window at the beautiful,

gentle falling rain....

.......all my flowers are happy, their feet have been planted in the soil, a beautiful rain is washing off their greenhouse dust, and they are smiling..(I think!

Ready and Waiting

Turn up the heat and let me out side

I burst forth in bloom even though my feet can not get into the soil yet