Summer flies by

The water fountain needed work. I always have to clean it halfway through summer. I took it apart. The deerflies were flying. I wore pants.

We've really hard water. There are always deposits that build up on the pump. I cleaned it out.

That looks a lot better!

Our milkweed has the first Monarch caterpillar I've spotted. The first one was July 27.

I found more! I spotted our one Monarch laying more eggs. They eat a hole once they hatch, which is a good sign. The leaves are covered in aphids, the wasps and ants eating the aphid poop. It doesn't seem to matter to the caterpillar, I think.

It's a good supply of milkweed. 

 

The Tiger Lilies are in full bloom.

The Cedar Waxwings zoom about, peeping their pipsqueak sounds, like a little squadron.

Float plane overhead:

Butterflies abound, Black Swallowtail, Monarchs!

Cinnamon was watching for mice friends. Fred was feeding. We haven't only seen Fred for the past few days. I am hopeful but not optimistic.

My veggies are limited this year. I have a couple of cucumbers. Cross your fingers.

 

We had a nice storm yesterday afternoon. There was smoke from the fires out west. It cleared the air. I took a panoramic photo for fun. 

We're on the edge of a storm today. 

 

Trip to town

 Firstly, we welcome tourists in our wee town. Many Americans have cottages here, or visit. There is a loud, obnoxious, American tourist in Scotland. Our Scottish friends are giving him a suitable welcome. Well done, folks. The BBC has some photos, but they seem to focus more on the protestors supporting the felon. I checked the NYTimes, and their headline is clear, 'Trump Greeted  by Protestors (🎁 article).' 

We played tourist in town. We had a mission: visit the Perth General Store. They are getting great press, and much support. There are 50 products, and all Canadian.  

We picked up some salads, too! 

Joe gave them their sign. We were given two from the kids. 

Our delivery people have complimented us on our sign.

Ironically enough, I found a Muskoka brand in the store. Muskoka Gourmet is located in Huntsville. Near our old house in Bala.

We have been pleased with the small producers placing products in small stores. Also, an impact of this tariff crap, the provinces and territories are doing more cross-Canada deals. In the past, there has been some protection of inter-provincial trade. Primarily because provinces had their own rules for packaging, and exchanging of goods. That is disappearing with agreements promoting east-west marketing, excluding US goods. 

We took our loot home, and put stuff in the fridge. It was 35 ℃! The clouds were terrific.

Horses and foals spotted on the way home.

Vacant land on Gore St.  New building 

This building is still for sale as of April ($1.475 million) and has 4 rental apartments (@ $2300/month)! 

Lunch in Carleton Place

 Field trip and lunch in Carleton Place. We wanted to get out of the house and sit beside some water. Joe wore his Strong and Free t-shirt. He has several like this!

It was nice and quiet on the patio at 1:30. 

It is a great location, on the water, beside the dam. No sooner had we sat down, than an Osprey landed in the tree. Can you see it?! I might not have noticed it if I hadn't seen the huge thing fly past and land there! 

I forgot my 57x zoom camcorder, but snapped a few photos. There is is in the lower left corner, buzzing over the water looking for fishies. 

They have a wing span of 180 cm (71"), and are so impressive floating on the wind.

I have lots of Osprey photos, in case you wonder what they actually look like! This one landed on a tree beside our driveway. We have no fish in our frog pond, although they eat snakes, as well. I think it was a young one, spreading its wings.

You can guess what he did here! I like seeing its feathered legs!

Ah, this is the life! 

Across the water, a pub. We've been there, as well. It's a little noisier, and primarily bar food. Joe needs food without dairy, yeast or eggs, as well as oily foods. It can be tricky. 

The food arrived. I had a salad for dinner, later. No cooking involved for me on Friday. Joe had the pickerel.

This pair were quite something. While they waited, the older man took out cards. He presented a pair of cards, and asked the youngster to pick one. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. There were match sticks involved, as well as money. The young man paid for their lunch. After their lunch I saw the older man put a $50 bill down under the container holding the matches. I realized it was a $100 bill. I have no idea what game they were gambling over. The young man had an Aussie accent. I hope he wasn't getting ripped off!

When we arrived I scanned for Great Blue Herons, one didn't arrive until just before we were leaving. Good thing I have a ton of heron photos!

This was in Bala, 2008 or so.

The Osprey is still flying overhead. Can you spot it?!