The month of June catch-up

Has anyone been wondering what we have been doing during the month of June? Well, let me tell you the weather had been fantastic in my opinion. Blue sky every day, sunny and hot throughout with no rain, or I must have forgotten a light sprinkle because our lawn is brown and looks dead but I am sure it will eventually recover. So here is a little recap. The dogs and I have been on several walks every day around the neighborhood enjoying the outdoors.

Staying by the bridge

On one of our walks I pointed out the Heron further down the creek while Elsa and Reggy were looking down into the water from the bridge as they often do.

 

I told them to look for the bird at the far end

Zoomed in at the Heron

We visited the beach every so often and I watch for interesting ship or boat traffic on Lake Erie.

 

Always fun at the beach

Boats traffic

Most of our local bird population finished their breeding and we enjoyed the fledglings hopping around our yard following their moms for some morsels. 

 

One of the many chicks

I thought this butterfly was gorgeous

The neighboring Hike Metal has been fabricating more Coast Guard and other aluminum vessels and we can see them in various stages sitting outside in the yard when we drive by.

 

New Coast Guard boat and catamaran

Another Coast Guard vessel ready for sandblasting and paint

The town of Wheatley, which is adjacent to Leamington, held a town wide yard sale. We are a bit on the outskirts but thought we would participate anyway and put out some tables with our stuff at a crossroad close to Wheatley. Right early as we set up we had some customers and sold several items. Then it got a bit slow and that is when I took this photo and posted it in Facebook. Later on a few more things found new homes but we packed up in the afternoon. There will be for sure more opportunities so lighten our accumulation of treasures.

 

Some stuff found new owners

My sister and husband came for a weekend stay. They live in Mississauga, a good 3-1/2 hour drive each way and so we hosted them and they got to experience the camping life while overnighting in our travel trailer.  No photos as we were way too busy talking and forgot to take any.

 

The dog days of summer

Benno has been working in the engine compartment of the boat. That is, he is modifying the engine room/compartment and updating it for better serviceability. When it came to painting the lower area under the engine, I helped him out and did the job for him because I know how much he loves paining and the cramped position. It took three coats of white epoxy paint to cover the space. 

 

I am really not ready for photos!!

When you don't know your picture is being taken

Later Benno made aluminum channels that will house the wiring and cables so they will be neatly run and hidden from view and protected from fuel and oil spray during mishaps in the engine compartment. That job required also a trip to get the materials and lots of sawing, drilling and filing etc. The new diesel engine is still in a spring delivery timetable, but the promised May delivery is now slipping in to a July date. It can happen any day now Jwhen all is done there will be more photos. 

 

Benno is in his element

Oh, and the annual fish flies, or May flies as they are called came visiting. They come when the weather is hot and rise out of Lake Erie at night flying to any light source. The surprise is in the morning as they all sit in huge swarms all over the place, especially at lit windows etc. Thankfully they only live one day, don’t sting or do anything, and drop dead the next to be swept up and disposed of. Just a bit of a nuisance.

 

For comparison a quarter to show how big these fish flies are

On Canada Day our son, daughter-in-law, our three grandkids and their little dog “Dot” came for the weekend. They live in Grimsby, a 4+ hour drive with pitstops. The parents and our youngest grandkid got to enjoy the travel trailer while our two granddaughters stayed in the guestroom. What a wonderful visit we had and although I wasn’t sure about how the dogs would get along, they were good together, so in the future I needn’t worry.

 

Wheatley had a three day Fish Fest at the harbor with lots of activities and on Saturday we decided to visit the Market and watch the Tug of War across the harbor entrance. I took Elsa and Reggy to walk over. Hans, our youngest grandson, his mom and dad and Dot decided to take the car but had a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the site. That was a fun event and I took a video, but it’s too long for the blog. On Facebook I saw a video someone took of the Tug of War. Our son and I am can be seen on it as well as we were sitting at the edge of the quay wall. The team on our side won!

 

View of the other side of the harbour channel

Hans in the foreground and the guys are getting ready

Waiting for the start signal

The fun of tug of war

Look at those muscles. The other side had no chance!

Meanwhile the teenage girls decided they wanted to stay in the air-conditioned house playing with their electronic devices and skip the local festivities but I showed them my photos and video of the event just to rub in what they missed. 

 

I popped in unannounced

We are happy to got to host our family here in our house and hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. Now Benno and I have to eat up all the leftover food!

 

Thanks for dropping by again.