Safe

 I've had two messages today confirming that my aunt and uncle are safe and sound. They were without power for awhile, that is all. Their former residence was for sale, but it's gone. Estero basically doesn't exist any more.

Hurricanes

 There is hardly a family in my circle that doesn't have a relative impacted by the two hurricanes that ripped through the US and Canada in the past week.

I had a cousin in Newfoundland that recently sold their ocean front cottage and moved to the mainland. They learned that their old place was swept out to sea.

My elderly aunt and uncle near Naples Florida moved to Long Term Care two weeks ago. The street where their former home was located was wiped out. I heard horrific stories of other family connections being stranded and nearly losing their lives. The storm was just too big. There was nowhere to run.

My relatives on the East Coast seem to have weathered the storm. I'm still waiting for an update from some of them. Cousins in Orlando and Miami are okay. My very elderly auntie in Miami is going to phone this evening and tell me all about her adventure.

I was on the phone or texting to cousins in a round robin of reports until 3AM. We were passing on messages and looking for our relatives. At that point we just had to call it quits and try to get some sleep. 

There are hard days ahead

Sadness

 It's really difficult to watch the news out of Florida. Naples is a disaster. I have close family there and the area. I'm praying for their safety.

I think it's Tuesday

 When the days are so bloody gloomy, I have a tendency to lose track of time and space. It just won't stop raining! It's supposed to get really cold tomorrow night. Will we wake up to snow on Thursday??? Wouldn't be the first time.

Himself is working in the shop this week. No one is cutting grass so the service calls are pretty much done for awhile. He has snow blowers all lined up on the floor though. He's really busy doing firewood too. We had two cords delivered last week with another yet to come. That lot is already cut and split. It arrives in a dump truck. We also have a great pile of logs needing to be cut and split. He'll likely get back at that when it gets colder. The wood in one of the sheds needs to come into the basement. It's so much work, and with this buggered up back I'm absolutely NO help. We need to get some oil in too.

I have quite a few cousins in the area of Naples Florida, as well as one last uncle. We're worried sick about their safety. Someone said to me, why don't they just leave? That is impossible for some people! My cousin on Canada's east coast had recently moved inland, which I didn't know about. They were okay in last weekends big blow.

Yuck

 It has been another grey, wet day. I was hoping to finish putting the gardens to bed, but that didn't happen.

Despite sleeping in this morning, I bound out of bed with energy and enthusiasm. The sun Was shining when I woke up, after all! By the time I got the coffee going and the "children" fed, it was raining. 😕

I got out my window cleaning supplies and got to work. The screens came off, had a wash and went back to the basement. My clothing got washed, dried and put away. I mostly spent the rest of the day reading and knitting. After trying to relocate a bin of fabric, my back went NOPE! so I was useless anyway.😣

My heart goes out to the folks on the east coast. This household has been the victim of mother natures wrath in the past. I still feel the anxiety at the memory of the storm that did so much damage to our home and property. An event like that will give residents long term ptsd. They will have a long road to recovery.

Brrr

 We're having a couple of quite chilly days, and BRRR nights! I covered what remained in the gardens, but yeah, no frost last night!

When it's blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs, it doesn't take much to fill the SD card in the trail camera with absolutely NOTHING.

Just the Princess and I walking up to change the chip

A nice bright day around the shack. Lots of activity down in the wood yard in the front field

Wandering the paths in the woods

Yes, it's darn chilly today, but the sun is out. I found my fall jacket and bundled up and took a small walk. My fibromyalgia is really bothering me today so I'm not getting up to much as far as chores go.

Another visitor

 I believe this bear is older than our previous visitor. I was surprised that he was hanging out at high noon yesterday

The Princess and I make a lot of noise when we walk up the path these days. This fellow is only about 100 feet from the house so we must be alert and cautious. 

It's a wet, clammy day. I"m getting a "thunderstorm" headache so I know something is creeping up on us. I picked tomatoes and checked the squash. The darn chipmunks are taking bites out of everything so I have to keep it picked.

Rest in Peace

The end of an era

I love this last photo 

This photo was taken about 48 hours before the passing of our beloved Queen. 

Always smiling

A twinkle in her eye

My parents were Monarchists, so do I believe

 

Visitors

 

I don't know if these are two different bruins or the same one coming back from the other direction

Friday has arrived!

 Yesterday we were out to D's for a bbq. Mount MacDonald is across from them off the Opeongo Line. We noticed maple trees turning color that wasn't there last week when we stopped by.

Our neighbour across the road STILL has a big ol' bear hanging out at his place. He figures it will hang around until the berries are all cleaned up then go off looking for more. He hasn't shown himself on the trail camera here. All we are seeing for a couple of days are the neighbourhood cats and a regular fox. Early in the morning there are a lot of robins. I think we might be moving it again. Maybe across the road??? The neighbour either phones or comes across every day to see what's here.

These two come by every night

Remember my previous post about the new area rug?

It rained all night and a bit this morning. It's very damp and chilly today. I'm having a lot of pain in my back today so I just had to bite it and take a naproxen.   (The gastro doc told me NOT to take them)

Photos from the last couple of days

 

 We meandered along Scenic Road

I saw this scene framed across the valley. WAY over behind the barn is St. Mary's Wilno. This is the first time we've seen this scene from the other side

Unfortunately it was very hazy in the heat, but I did zoom it as best I could

The famous Wilno Tavern. I believe it has recently changed hands and had a nice paint job

 

We ditched a too narrow side by side refrigerator when I finally found my black, bottom freezer model! This one is driving me crazy too. There is not enough space!! Now I'm longing for the "all fridge" I had back in the 90s.  

And who are you looking at Missy??

The lilies are putting on a show. The Star Gazers, which are daughters of the mother, are finally showing up. The bright yellow in the background is the first new offspring this year. Having them dormant last year made a difference.

More Old Stuff

 My maternal grandfather, Andrew Pearson, and his siblings

My United Empire Loyalist family line is through Elizabeth Cole

Mom's school photo circ. 1930. She is the wee girl, third row right

Did your family enjoy picnics by the side of the road as much as we did?

 

Saturday

 Thank goodness it is warming up a lot. We have three feet of snow on every roof which needs to melt off asap!

Yesterday was a lovely respite after that storm, but darn it all if it isn't snowing again today. It's going to be nice and warm this afternoon so we will get out walking.

I've been spending snow days going through old SD cards looking for some old photos. MyHeritage has this feature where they can animate a photo. The face will look at you, blink, look side to side and perhaps smile. I want to find a decent photo of my grandfather to try.

I found these lovely photos of my maternal grandparents. 

Their engagement photo

Their wedding in the garden of the home where I grew up

Grandma and her siblings

Enjoying their retirement  at our family summer home in Cobourg Ontario on Lake Ontario