Perth walkies

 We walked around for a bit after visiting the music festival. To answer your question, Elizabeth, the ducks are actually thrown in the river, <= they made the news. You don't keep them, just buy tickets with numbers on them that match the rubber duckies. They earned $5100!  

It is a lovely town.

There are lots of lush gardens, this one designed to attract wildlife. 

We took a walk on the bridge. It is pretty.

Aren't these lovely? 

Well, YAM, this one is for you! 

Kids in Crete

The kids continue being beach bums, in Chania. Pool bunnies, too!

A panoramic shot! 

Dinner on the patio!

 Thursday, July 14th – it was dinner, I guess, not lunch. But we didn't actually eat on the patio last week! 

I was sitting out back, having just weeded out some thistle from the yard, bend and stretch/bend and stretch, and put my feet up. As I sat there, the clouds rolled in. It was a light scattering of rain. It spit on my computer, taunting me to retreat, but I stayed there. Yes, it blew over. We'd planned to go out to dinner in Rideau Ferry, and I was still hopeful as the clouds passed over. Popcorn clouds, with pop up showers, gradually they moved on.

We debated the timing of it all. When we took the family out to CC's Rideau Ferry last week, we had to sit in the screened deck. The patio was full. We debated Thursday's lunch or dinner, and decided that 4 p.m. would be good timing. We both had lunch at 11:00 in order to be ready.

The Approach

There is new signage on the highway. I like it. I am often tailed driving here, where the speed reduces from 80 km/h to 60. It is a village. There are bridge repairs going on, and it is single lane controlled by the system. The drivers can be irritable, and gun the engines after being released from the traffic jam. 

Arriving at 3:50, I could hardly wait. I was prepared to wait for a patio table, too. Late for lunch, and unfashionably early for dinner. BINGO! We scored my favourite table! Happy Jenny! There were two other tables with patrons, and they left as we sat there in the sunshine. 

The View

We sat and enjoyed the sun and wind and water. Eventually, as predicted, the clouds rolled in. In the meantime we had spent a lovely hour and 10 minutes on the patio. JB with his virgin ceasar, me with my white wine. 

In the meantime, there was lots to watch, with the clouds blowing by.

It was lovely! The clouds rolled on by, the boaters came and went. The breeze blew, the afternoon was sweet. Across the way, there were people swimming, dogs playing. It was so peaceful. 

 We used to see this when we lived by the lake: a parent driving the watercraft, with the kid in front. This is illegal, as the kid is too young to drive, and shouldn't be there. OPP Marine patrols will nail them if they see them.

   

The Storm

By 5 p.m. the clouds rolled in. It was exciting! The geese slowly moved towards us as the weather changed. 

There they are! They aren't very close, but their lines are epic. (Reminds me of school field trips!) When the winds really blew, the geese headed back into the cove.

They have come a long way from wee goslings. (Archive photos)

geese at rideau ferry from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo:

Around 5 o'clock, the rain began. It was epic. There were, I think, vultures floating on the winds. dark clouds from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

People moved into the restaurant. The screened deck was full, with a big party. We never even thought of face masks, we were eating outside where we felt safe. Dinner done, spicy chicken tacos with a lovely tangy sauce and veggies. We hustled on home.

Traveling Family: Crete 

 Sunday morning we did Facetime with the kids. They are in a lovely airbnb in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. Jos explained that they had to get up at 5:30 in order to be ready to disembark. They'd done laundry and were ready for more adventures.

The shower was quite different, they took us on a tour. There is only a hand held shower, in a small tub. They posted a photo of it later.

They visited Knossos (wiki)!

     "Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete."

There were about 18,000 people living here around 2000 BCE, but it was abandoned around 1300 – 1100 BCE.

Walkies, frogpond, Crete

I haven't done walkies with Cinnamon in awhile. Cinnamon was out, and wouldn't come in. I thought I'd take him down to the forest, and wear him out. These days he is content to sit on the front deck and refuses to come in, just watching the yard. His sister is a different story.

As we approached The Point, a piece of land that juts into the wetland, I could hear what I think was a deer. That's why Cinnamon sat and stared. 

The swamp is slowly drying up from the spring thaw. Here is the water at the dock. It's not deep, but enough for the critters. The second photo, below, shows the path through the wetland that the critters take.

The foliage is so rich and green. The bird songs lovely.

As I finished up at the trailcam, I realized I'd lost Cinnamon by that point. I found a doe. I think the deerflies drove Cinn back to the house. 

Clover, the doe, and the frogpond.

doe & frogpond from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I finally found Maple, the tree frog, she's been hiding under the goldfish plant.

Onward to Crete

Meanwhile, I know some of us are living vicariously through our intrepid travelers, they took the overnight ferry from Athens, Piraeus port to Heraklion. You can see the ship in the harbour.

It is a huge ship. Sadly, the pool wasn't open. That, in the 35˚ C. heat, was going to be amazing.

They arrived at dawn, to the island of Crete.