PARTY ON THE BIG LAKE

It was Ute's birthday party held at the Lake House.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and we got a chance to sit outside and bask in the beautiful sun.  It was a fish fry with fish Mitch, Roger and Roger's brother had caught in Amherstburg.  It was delicious plus all the other treats that they prepared.
Happy Birthday Ute!!

THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGIN'

Got up to Hinkler for the opener on Sunday.  We went up Sunday and got out to hunt on the Sunday evening.  One of our favourite trails we found has been altered to say the least.  It is in the process of being widened by that huge machine operated by a single person.  And altho I don't agree with what is being done, I was amazed at his progress and skill to make this road thru the bush following only a narrow trail.  But what a trail it once was.  You could always count on at least one bird from the trail and we did get 9 on the Monday morning hunt.  But when we went back after one and a half days, we didn't see one bird as this road now takes up over half of the distance of the trail.

And during our stay we discovered other trails that are being turned into roads.  Not the best for birds.
Progress has it's price.

MORE PICTURES

Some more pictures of our adventure yesterday.  We did take a wrong turn and came across some campers so we stopped to chat.  They were in a wonderful spot along the Little White River.  All the comforts of home - solar panels and a satellite dish.  We were soon on our way back to the correct cutoff.  As soon as we came around the corner and that mountain was staring us down, I started scanning for rocks.  Before I was even off my quad I spotted one but I was in the middle of trying to take a picture when Joanne swooped in and grabbed by rock!!!  You snooze, you loose.  I tried to steal it back but she had her eye on it at all times.  It really didn't matter because there were tons more treasures everywhere you looked.  It was fun.  Just when you think you couldn't carry any more rocks, you spot another one.  My floor boards were filled.  We even came across a small memorial for a man among the stones.  The leaves are changing already and they are beautiful.  They still have a long way to go but what has changed is very vibrant.  There is a picture of me on the way back where I successfully crossed the beaver pond.  My bike was very dirty after and I had some of the Beaver's dam stuck to the bottom my quad.  Sorry Mr. Beaver.
We all gathered at Don and Marlene's for beer and cookies after our afternoon of fun.  What a great time we had with them and their friends and family.  I am sure it is not the last of our great adventures  together.

A NEW ADVENTURE

Today 10 of us went on a new adventure to an abandon quartz mine that we just heard about a couple of weeks ago.  I mentioned it to Don and Marlene about 2 weeks ago and they were on it in an instant.  They asked around and got directions and led our convoy right to it today.  What a trail!  The picture is of Mitch flying thru the beaver pond that gave me a bit of trouble on the way in.
I will post more pictures tomorrow of the actual mountain of rocks.  Needless to say, I have a lot of new white sparkly rocks in my garden tonite.

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY MONTY AND CHARLIE

Five Years Old!!!  How did those years go by so fast???

Happiest of Birthday wishes go out to these two beautiful boys who make my world go round in a much more "funner" way!!

IT'S MY PARTY

It was the inaugural smoker event yesterday.  We finally got our new smoker going and smoked two pork butts for a pulled pork dinner.  One butt was fine but the other was almost all fat so I had to cook up a couple of pork tenderloins in order to have enough food for the approximately 30 invited guests. It was the right call because I had very little left over.  The party was a success!!  The weather was perfect.  Not too cold and not too hot.  We had the fire going and everyone gathered around as it did get a bit chilly in the evening.
Sorry I didn't get a picture of the food table before the masses swooped in.  Joanne made her famous beans and people brought snacks or salads or desert.  We had Linda's world famous rice krispie squares and Lisa made her popular butter tarts and blue berry tarts.  Linda and Sandy brought some watermelon.  It was a great dinner.
We sat by the fire (using my indoor firewood I might add) and survived a bug hatch on the lake.  These tiny little winged bugs swarmed us for a little while - more of a nuisance than anything else.  But this morning I noticed that our clothes had all these little bug bodies on them.  They were everywhere.  One of the hazards of living on a lake.
People cleared out by 10:30 and everyone made it home safe and sound.
It is always fun to have friends over for a party!  A great time was had by all!

ALL SET UP

Made the trip up the highway to get the trailer set up at Hinkler.  Continuing his habit of scooting past the exit point, Rejean missed the Hinkler road.  We had to travel up the highway to find a road to turn around.  I must admit I missed the gravel pit which is a signal that the road is not too far beyond that point and I did see the Hinkler sign but it was about 2 1/2 feet before the road and with a big 5th wheel trailer behind the truck, you couldn't just slam on the brakes.  All was good and we got the trailer placed and ready for our first adventure in a few weeks.  Over the winter our little roof over the fire wood became unhinged on one side.  A project for the guys on our next trip.
It is a beautiful spot to escape to every once in a while and bird season opens September 15th which isn't that far away...