Swimming at White's Rock

Fortunately for us, the White’s Rock campsite was empty so we parked the boat and checked out the rocks on the back of the site. Kerrsen and Lianne had a great swim.

A boy and his fishing rod

The same shelf of rocks that makes for great swimming is also a pretty good fishing hole, so lines were baited and hung over the water.

The one that DIDN'T get away

Kaiden concentrated on making sure his worm looked appetizing on the hook and was rewarded with a really good sized bass - easily 11 inches long and a pound and a half. While he was seriously tempted to take his bass home and eat it, spaghetti and tomato sauce won out and the bass was returned to the lake.

Happy Anniversary to us!

We felt so fortunate to celebrate our 5th anniversary with our friends and family. Barb, Rick, Heather, Patrick and Patty joined us and our Balconville friends for drinks and nibblies on the dock. Carolyn is wearing her skirt from our wedding and I have my wedding shoes on!

Dock Party

We all gathered for drinks on the dock and Richard presented us with a toilet seat made from a tree burl (only on loan - don’t ask) and a beaver cutting inscribed “5 years of bliss” for our “wood” anniversary.

Breakfast of champions

Our final morning we did a full out breakfast with bacon and eggs. Tim volunteered for bacon duty while I made scrambled eggs and Carolyn took care of the toast. Our final meal together of the weekend ensured everyone went off with a full stomach!

Amy and Izzy go camping

This year Godchildren Amy and Izzy decided they were old enough for an overnight camping trip and Marnie and Andrew bravely agreed to let us take them "into the wild" for a night. The girls were bursting to explore new territory and to try something new, so we loaded the canoe with gear and food and off we paddled to White’s Lake for our big adventure.

Gimme shelter!

The tent was plenty big enough for the four of us and after a brief inspection Amy and Isabelle pronounced it a suitable home away from home.

Much to do

Marnie and Andrew joined us once sleeping bags had been laid out, clothes put away and our outdoor kitchen organized, and there was a full afternoon of activities. A nice little beach at our campsite and very warm water meant lots of time wading, swimming and splashing.

Gourmet dinner

Dinner featured the classic wieners roasted on sticks accompanied by hot bubbling beans.

Dessert!

And marshmallows were served in assorted configurations...

...the ever popular smore, or Amy's exciting new invention - the chocolate chip studded marshmallow. Stick the pointy ends of your chocolate chips into the marshmallow and set on fire!

Day is done

Marnie and Andrew headed back to the cottage after dinner and dessert and it was teeth brushing time before we settled in front of the fire to watch the setting sun and the emerging stars.

Bedtime Story

Our adventurous day concluded with a bedtime story before closing our eyes to the sound of the loons gently calling goodnight.

Rise and shine!

After a good solid sleep we slowly woke in the morning, taking the time to laze in our sleeping bags and chat for awhile before it was time to get up and build another fire for coffee and breakfast.

Off to explore

While Carolyn stayed behind to organize our campsite in preparation for leaving, the girls and I set out in the canoe to explore distant shorelines.

Until the next adventure

After a final swim, taking down the tent and packing the canoe, it was time to douse our fire and go back to the cottage to tell the stories of our grand adventure!

We have a visitor

This great big snapping turtle was moseying around behind our dock this weekend. I was out on the lake but my sister-in-law Catherine did some snapping of her own and sent me this picture. The shadow in the picture is Catherine's head, so that should give you an idea of the size!!!

Take your hat off and stay awhile

This weekend my brother and family made a whistle stop for an overnight visit at the cottage. In less than 24 hours we managed to pack in lots of activities, food and fun. Behold the kingsley hats - in order of appearance - mine, Peter's, Benton's and Nicole's.

One, two, three!!!

Carolyn took this fantastic picture of Nicole, Benton and I jumping into the lake.

Bathing Beauties

You can only admire a man who dresses to match his dog - what a fashion statement!

And a good time was had by all

Just before departure we took time for a family photo on the dock. It was a short but very successful visit!

Sue and Carolyn go to the G8

So we got up on Saturday morning and it was a gray and crummy day. Hmm what to do? With the G8 less than an hour away, Carolyn and I decided to run into Huntsville to see all the excitement. Who knew - maybe Obama would notice the sign on this chip truck and stop in to share a french fry or two with us!

Get your G8 [insert item] here!

Stores on Main St. had all found their G8 twist!

Protesters, what protesters?

Listening to our car radio we heard non stop stories about police and protesters in Toronto - these lonely protesters in front of the Huntsville Civic Centre were friendly and eager to chat - and underscored the small-town charm of the Huntsville G8 in comparison to the events pictured below in the Toronto G20.

A newsworthy event!

A cameraman staked out Main Street and a CTV news truck parked behind Algonquin Outfitters in hopes of spotting someone or something important.

It must be someone important!

On our way out of town police stopped traffic in all directions to allow this motorcade through. We couldn’t see who was in the motorcade but whoever it was rated a helicopter overhead, soldiers in full battle gear in accompanying cars and motorcycles front and back. We watched from just outside the ice cream store along highway 60 just before the turnoff into town, so Carolyn and some police officers cooled off with some ice cream while we waited.

Police and fences and tanks - Oh my!

After the motorcade passed highway 60 was opened up and we were able to drive by Deerhurst. Security measures to protect the G8 leaders were in evidence everywhere.These fences by the side of the rode were installed for several kilometers in either direction. There were blue tarps every 110 meters that allowed guards protection from the sun and port-a-potties so that none of them had to go far from their posts.
A little further down the rodeCarolyn spotted and managed to fire off a shot of two tanks in the woods just back from the highway outside of Deerhurst.

Meanwhile back at the lake...

The lilies are beginning to open. This was the first lily to open outside our cottage.

Measuring

OK, sign along with me....
Inchworm, inchworm
Measuring the marigolds
Seems to me you'd stop and see
How beautiful they are

Silver Strings

Despite a weather forecast which predicted a day of thunderstorms and rainfall, the sun broke through the clouds mid morning on Sunday and turned this spiderweb into a gossamer sculpture.

Is this a celebrity??

Nope - just our friend Chris soaking up a few rays of the welcome sun!

How lucky we are!

While the water is a little lower than usual on Cache Lake, we’ve been lucky compared to other lakes on the east side of the Park. A winter with very little snow has left many lakes with record lows, including this one just outside of Madawaska. Normally there is a good sized houseboat tied up to this dock!

Anne Holford and kids

We were fortunate enough to cross paths with Anne Holford and two of her kids - Michael and Holly. Anne is now living in Ireland but was in Canada to see daughter Holly graduate. She and two of her kids managed to squeeze in a little cottage time before Anne headed back to Ireland.

A weekend for the birds!

That was the theme of our weekend. If it had wings, it dropped by our island this weekend. Through rain on Saturday and Sunday morning, and sun on Sunday afternoon we were visited by all things winged! Our first visitor was this seagull who squatted on the dock for awhile and then flew off to Ted Morris’ to dine on fish.

Dinner date

Rob Durnan emailed us in the middle of the week to let us know mama loon was nesting a few metres away from the dock so we spent the weekend tiptoeing around so as not to scare her. Here she takes a break from the nest to do a little fishing with papa loon.

A big flap over nothing

One of them put on quite a show

Twins!

While Mama was off the nest, I snuck over to see if she was sitting on an egg. Looks like she’s expecting twins!

Little robin redbreasts

But loons weren’t the only “breeders” on the island. We’ve found several robin’s nests on this ladder over the years, and this year was no exception. These little lovelies (actually not so lovely until they get a little older) were so newborn that they barely had any down and their eyes were still closed!

Dragonflies are free!

And last but not least, our final winged friend on Wahbahmimi this weekend. The air was practically alive with dragonflies, and this one touched down just long enough for me to snap a picture.