Last Patio Lunch!

We watched the weather forecast, and decided our last patio meal might have to be Wed., Sept. 3! When we arrived we realized we'd be eating with the upper crust!

There was nothing on the car to say what it was, but on the licence plate holder, a Corvette!

Yes, a patio!

It was warm and lovely. I just wish the guy behind me wasn't wearing so much cologne! Whew! 

I went, armed with my camera and my camcorder.

I've never wanted to cottage on an island. It just makes me nervous, especially at our age!

This barge is one of the working boats on the water!

The osprey were busy. Soon they will migrate south. When the river is cold, with ice, it's not good fishing weather!

Spotted at home!

 

 The geese were out and about. The chicks have grown to adult-size! Where did the summer go?

 

It was a good day to go. On Thursday, we had some rain. The leaves are turning, and it's getting chilly!

Trip to Newboro

 Monday afternoon, we had a mission. One last Christmas present. It was a last-minute decision to go there, not made until after lunch. Off we went. We took our masks, and water bottles. 

This is a lovely store, Kilborn's. We popped on our masks. I was really stressed out, and found it difficult to breath. They have no clothes, including winter boots, that fit me. Sad to say. I've wide feet. We fetched a basket, and made our planned purchases. There was lots of sparkle!

We ate at the Stagecoach Inn in the past, but we'd had lunch before we left the house. That is safer these days.

The sun shone. I could see lots of birds on Big Rideau Lake. The problem is where to access the lake view. The Portland Bay Conservation Area wasn't great for that.  

We passed this house in Portland with two suspicious flags. I snapped them on the way home.

I'd seen them before. One can find them online. 

From there, we headed to Smiths Falls for the shoe store, for winter boots for me. They are closed on Mondays, which is the way around here in tourist country. Ah well. It was a nice drive. Back home it was.

I found more decorations. This was a lovely scene. It'd be lovely in the dark, but we don't tend to go out at night.

 We have the same bears, the dark brown pair on the left↓! 

On the way by Rideau Ferry I'd seen ducks as we drove over the bridge. We stopped on the way back for a look. Walking out on one dock, they were not amused. Off they went.

Just as I snapped it, the duck on the upper right rose up and flapped its wings and I missed a lovely shot. You'll have to use your imagination.

This was our view in summer, when we'd eat on CC's patio. They are closed on Mondays, and it was REALLY cold.

Lovely to see them before they fly south!

The snow fell!

That's a cold one! Nothing like out west last week, but at least there is a wee bit of snow to protect us and insulate the critters. In the meantime, the lead up.

Saturday morning, we had a visitor.

Sunday morning we had the same visitor. (I think!) I thought I'd set up the tripod and get better photos. 

 The pumpkins - Nov. 2nd vs. Dec. 12. They are whittling away at them. 

Poor Frosty. He is falling apart. He needs a new hat. He is doing well, all things considered. He's been repainted many times. Compare him to Frosty and Josephine in 2010. I truthfully don't know how old he is or where my parents got him. 

Then there is Felix. He is dressed for the season. My daughter-in-law made him and gifted him to me. It's supposed to be Jesse, my middle kid! She made two of them for their wedding reception in her mom's backyard.

Before the snow fell, the fawn with the sore leg was back. There was a fawn and a buck, too.

 

hurt fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The bucks are dominant, and seem to charge the fawns, who understand the hierarchy, and run off playfully.

buck action from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I took out the garbage about 7:30 Monday morning. I went back out after breakfast to use the snowblower.  It was brisk. I am sore today. Those are muscles I haven't used in awhile. JB is still sore from his fall, so we are a perfect pair of old farts! 

snowblower from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Just after I finished, I heard a familiar sound. 

canada geese from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Dinner out and beach days

We'd had a bit of a day. The doctor has prescribed a new inhaler. It seems to be working. He isn't wheezing as much. I am convinced it is a coronavirus (CoV) giving him bronchitis. It is not COVID–19, nor Omicron. He's had it 6 months now. 

Joseph Brian suggested dinner out. Checking the oncoming storm, with tornado warnings, it looked as if we were good to go.

 

We pulled out of the driveway, and were behind an OPP SUV. This guy decided we were going too slow and passed us. I hope he'd speed up to the cops. I warned the driver that he'd have to stop at the one way traffic at the bridge repairs.  We ended up having to turn left into the parking lot, as he watched us drive by.

Well, favourite table, again. 

Arriving at 4 p.m. for dinner is perfect. There were lots of birds, few tourists. A Vulture, Kingfisher, and an Osprey. The kingfisher zoomed by twice, but I missed it twice. The Osprey circled around behind the tree, and I missed it, too! It was so funny. The vulture cooperated.

This is silly in the water, a DANGER WORK AHEAD sign. It's been there at least a month.

It was hazy, and warm, but there was a breeze. The sailboat was lovely to see.

It seemed to be the day for doggies, happily boating.

Tons of geese:

Canada Geese from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I wonder why these boats need such big motors. They obviously troll in them. It doesn't look like the boat would support them, and I am sure they make smaller-sized motors with as much power. Hmmm.

These are popular in the region. The nearby lakes are terribly shallow, and this is the way to go!

The sailboating done for the day!

Another le boat, sailing into the dock. Well, beside the dock!

On the way home we checked out the beach. Lots of geese. We'll have the girls in August, and I'm sure they'll want to go! The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) have Gary the Gator protecting the beach from the poopy geese. It's been an interesting experiment! They have to move him, and Mackie the Coyote, around to dissuade the geese.

Only a few swimmers. They've wrapped the trees to limit the LDD caterpillars, but they seem to have died off, happily.

Travelers in Chania

While we dined out, Caitlin posted photos of their dining out! They walked along the beach, barefoot, to the restaurant. How cool is that?! The food has been amazing. The REAL Greek salad has been a hit.

They ate lunch on the hotel balcony, just for a break.

There have been wonderful beach days. They wear long-sleeved shirts that block the harmful sun's rays.

They posted a photo of their last sunset in Chania.

Last night, they travelled by plane from Chania to Athens, and are waiting to go back to Istanbul. From there they fly right on to Amsterdam.