Our Delayed Anniversary Extravaganz

Here We Go

Where we were going is shown on the fin of the helicopter.

Yesterday, we drove down to the St Lawrence River for a helicopter tour on the 1000 islands. It was a gift from Shauna for our 50th wedding anniversary. Note: we have been married for 56.5 years. I will explain in a moment.

Of course, our phones were busy snapping pics, but I will just show you a few photos. We were shooting through glass, so they are what they are.

There really are a 1000 islands, over 1800 in point of fact. There can be very small, of course.

reflections on the left

The islands are part of a geological feature called The Frontenac Axis. This is just something that I know from my geographical background. It was not mentioned by our pilot who did give us the typical tourist spiel — which was very nice, actually.

The Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch region or the Frontenac Axis is an exposed strip of Precambrian rock in Canada and the United States that links the Canadian Shield from Algonquin Park with the Adirondack Mountain region in New York, an extension of the Laurentian Mountains of Québec. The Algonquin to Adirondacks region, which includes the Frontenac Axis or Arch, is a critical linkage for biodiversity and resilience, and one with important conservation potential. The axis separates the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Great Lakes Lowlands. It has many distinctive plant and animal species. It is one of four ecoregions of the Mixedwood Plains.

The bedrock is mostly gneiss, granite, and marble, more than a billion years old. The Frontenac terrain is the youngest of the Ontario portions of the arch, dated at 1.2 billion years old. These rocks were once part of a large mountain chain of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia. (Wikipedia)

More islands below and, I think, the Canadian part of the bridge (or bridges) between the two countries. We spent some time in American space on the tour. Miraculously, it's a normal and acceptable thing in the region.

Our tour featured a fly by the two castles: Boldt and Singer. There are stories, of course, including the origin of 1000 islands dressing, and it really was invented here in one of the castles — Singer, I believe.

We crossed the 401 highway several times. It traverses all of southern Ontario from Windsor in the west to the eastern edge of Ontario and even beyond into Montreal although it is not known as the 401 there. It's not very busy here but it becomes up to 18 lanes wide in Toronto.

Highway 401 in Toronto is one of the busiest highways in North America, with a 2019 average daily traffic (AADT) of about 360,000 vehicles. The busiest section, between Renforth Drive and Highway 427, saw an average of over 450,000 vehicles per day in 2019, exceeding 500,000 on some days. The highway is vital for connecting cities like Toronto and Montreal and plays a crucial role in regional and national transportation for commuters and freight. (Google)

my shoes, the 401 and some autumn colour

Now, I shall explain, in brief terms, how it is that we are cashing in on a 50th anniversary gift, more than 6 years later.

It began as a very generous hot air balloon ride gift from Shauna. Over the intervening years, there have been at least 2 reservations that were cancelled at the last minute by the balloon pilot due to unfavourable weather condition. The conditions were not bad really, but they have to be very careful with balloons. There was COVID. There were surgeries. There was general aging and concomitant accessibility issues.

We were able to divert the funds from balloons to the helicopter rides, sponsored by the same company. Due to location, both the journey to the 1000 islands and the helicopter itself was more accessible for us, and we finally got the deal done yesterday.

Now you know the rest of the story.

Jonathan and the Serendipitous Sunset

I drove Jonathan to his part-time job on Saturday afternoon. While I am often called upon to perform this task during the week, parents are usually available on weekends. On this day, however, Mom was in faraway Sarnia (6+ hours) and both Danica and Dad had travelled in the other direction (2 hours)  job— east to Montreal for a concert. 

After I got back home, Sue asked how JJ would be getting home. It dawned on me that he probably had no ride. In point of fact, he probably hadn't even thought that far ahead. Jonathan is kind of like that. 

I texted.

He was a slight bit earlier than 7, and after dropping the boy off,  I saw that the sky was looking good, so when I drove past the park, I scrambled eased myself gently out of the car and sprinted hobbled down to the river.

I'm glad that I stopped.

I also took the next photo, and it is nice enough, but it was the sunset over the river that is the keeper.

On the way home, he had asked if I would also pick him up for work at 9 in the morning. Of course I would.

I texted that I was on my way as I left the house at 8:30 the next morning. No reply. 

A premonition bubbled inside me. Rather than wait in the driveway as I usually do, I went right inside. JJ has a grand space in the basement, but all was in darkness. I switched on the light and called down.

Me: JJ, are you awake?
JJ: Oh shit!

Believe it or not, because we live in a town, we still made it in time.

Upon his exit, we agreed that I should drive him home at 2. It's a good thing we made the arrangement when we did because he had forgotten his phone and would have been rather stuck  

Our Annual Autumnal Pilgrimage

This silly, sentimental ole fella thanks you for your comments yesterday. Now, onto today’s post we go.

On Friday we took our annual fall excursion into the Lanark Highlands: destination Wheelers Sugar Camp, near McDonalds Corners. As you know, we make semi annual treks: one in spring and one in autumn.

We are still just in September, but the autumnal change seems early this year, so off we went. Along the way, the colours often seemed near peak, and sometimes the light was near peak too. At other times,  however, the sky clouded over. In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed our 45 minute drive, but we made no picture stops along the way.

Oddly enough, the sugar bush was not at peak colour. However, we've seen it in top form many times, and it also doesn't matter too much at the camp since the sugar maples turn yellow and not the oranges and reds that are to die for.

We had reservations for 11, and that is when we arrived, so we went right in. They had a table reserved for us, but we needn't have phoned ahead. I think the crunch will begin this weekend and carry on over the next two weeks, which is one reason why we travelled when we did. Once seated, I did what I always do and took a Sue pic followed by an inside pic, and here they are.

As we have done before, we wandered the compound afterward and took a few pics, pretty well the same pics as always. We can see some orange leaves around the fringes near the buildings, but inside the bush the maples are yellow or will be soon.

A blogger recently asked about my camera. All of my recent photography is via my phone. My Canon is gathering dust. The phone is so convenient, and between it and my software, I think I am getting decent results for the most part.

The Original Sugar Shack of days gone by.

Tim Wheelers Blacksmith Shop

Sue waiting for me to be done

On the long driveway to leave the property, I stopped to grab a couple more photos where we can see some more orange colour.

Those boulders in the foreground are erratics: boulders deposited by the glaciers.
They are strewn about erratically and do not belong to the local geology.
Some are much bigger that these.

Caught in the act

I always have it in mind to take the backcountry way home to look for more photo ops, and we have done that in the past. Nowadays, when it comes to it, I always and up making the decision to drive directly home and to be content with enjoying the passing views one more time.

Caturday 91: The Lonely Podium

The Lonely Podium

We called Lacey's little cat tree by my den window, Lacey's Podium. On most evenings, I would remember to place a treat up there for the puss. She would find it on almost every night, and Lacey in her podium was often the first thing that I saw in the morning. If I were sleeping in my chair, I'd open my eyes, peek over, and there she would often be, looking back at me.

Last night, when I thought that I should place the usual treat on the podium, I soon realized that there was no need because Lacey will not ascend to her podium again. Nor will I see her in her bed under the desk, or her downstairs bed on the couch. The blanket on the bed where she would catch the afternoon sun on chilly days will gather her fur no more.

It was late last week that we began to notice serious problems with the old girl. One side of her mouth  swelled up, and she was having trouble eating. We were quite distressed and resolved to call the vet on Monday. We did call but could not get an appointment until Thursday.

Meanwhile, Lacey could sometimes pick up some kibble and a treat, and I offered her plenty of treats. By Thursday, I had figured out how to get her to eat her wet food by dishing very small bits rather than the customary big lump.

On that final morning, Thursday, I spread a dozen small mouthfuls at intervals on her plate, and she was able to consume most of her breakfast, sometimes with AC nudging the bits into place for her. I remain pleased that we figured out how Lacey could eat a good last meal.

On the previous afternoon, Shauna had come by for what we expected to be a final visit. Then, on the fateful Thursday morning, Danica dropped in to bid farewell. She helped us by carrying the cat carrier to the car, but she helped us more by just being here. 

We expected that Lacey would either have a tooth abscess or cancer. In either case we were not expecting her to come home. If it were an abscess, there is no way we would allow an already fragile, old puss to suffer through extractions and life afterward. If it were cancer there would be no remedy. It turned out that she had cancer in her jaw. The vet discovered that Lacey had already lost a tooth or two while the cancer was having its way.

We knew what had to be done, but we shed tears. When she was sedated, we shed more tears as she drifted into faraway land. We shed more tears as the final dose was administered, and Lacey was soon crossing that rainbow bridge. And now, I shed a few more tears as I write about her parting. 

The litter box is being emptied. Her beds will be cleaned and put away. Her food will be passed on. But, the podium will remain in place for the time being, for we are not in a hurry to forget our Lacey. 

===============

I will drop a few pictures. The first is Lacey just a few days after she came to live with us in February 2019.

Shortly afterward, we purchased her podium: April 2019.

Sue was kind with Lacey during the vet visit, stroking her and talking lovingly. In this final picture, we are both touching her comfortingly before the vet came in to examine her.

Sniff.

Colour at Riverside Park

The fotos are coming fast and furious these days. I know that they are always plentiful here at The AC is On, but autumn comes so quickly and gloriously that an old AC can't help going even more overboard than usual.

That said however, I wasn't expecting to do a photoshoot when we dropped by the park on Wednesday. We had run some errands and, almost as an afterthought, had picked up coffee and decided to consume it at Riverside. But we were hit by colour immediately upon exiting Hermione the Honda. I took this photo about 6' away from the car.

And we weren't much farther in when I took this one. How could I not?

We sat on a bench consuming our coffee. The view on the far bank was good, and I sneakily photographed a few passersby. While I wouldn't put sneaky photos on FB, they are really anonymous to all of you far-flung folk, and they aren't really recognizable from the sideview anyway.

Then I saw this funny, old lady with her call phone.

Once we had finished our drinks, we decided to stretch our legs and saunter to the western edge of the park. Benches were occupied, and I like people on benches. If nothing else, they are useful for the Monday bench theme that I sometimes post to on Flickr.

Back to the Woods

On a dull day, it was time to head back up to the woods to check out the colour, which was not outstanding by any means. Much green remains in the woodland although a fair bit of it is yellowing. Any orange we saw lay in the distance and up higher. It was pleasant enough but a long way from spectacular. Maybe it won't get brilliant in there at all, and that's okay because it is still peaceful and enjoyable.

Orange in the distance and up higher.

It was pleasant to walk the trails.

In places there is old fencing. It's just there and serves no purpose now, but I thought I would note it as a bit of a curiosity in passing.

An oval of low branches and leaves by the trail caught my attention. I like the contrast with the vertical trunks although it doesn’t show up as well as I would like  

We were surprised to see skis marking the entrance to a side trail. I suppose that tells us that it is a good spot for cross country skiing in winter.

And that was our outing for one day. We must check it again in the next week or so. If nothing else, it is a very nice place to stroll about.

Downtown Fog

On a day that could be drizzly, downtown seemed to be a good choice for a walk. If the skies were to open there would be stores to duck into. I am just as glad that didn't happen, though.

It's also a good place to be in the fog — down by the river, I mean. I am very pleased with this pano crop.

Here is one that we took for Sue's photo of the day. Her prompt was guard, and Sue was prepared to guard her hair under the umbrella. I like the background that Sue chose.

I took another of her later — just because, no prompt required. The night light was on shining up from underneath and lighting the tree trunk. I wish that I had gotten that in focus too, but portrait mode just cared about Sue. 

We passed two signs as part of the downtown fall decorations. I like the whimsy and wordplay. I thought there was something wrong with the choice of grate and not great, but if you look at the street below the sign, just maybe there was method in the madness. 

Sue's Crochet Projects

Some of our bloggers wanted to know more about Sue's newest crocheting project. It's The Snow Queen Blanket from Mary Maxim. Unlike all of the previous throws, it came as a kit with all of the necessary wool. For previous projects, Sue had to source the raw material.

Although Sue has envisioned Snow Queen to be a winter project, she has jumped right to it. The markers that you see are for counting stitches, especially useful to keep track when one must do long rows of similar stitches.

It will look similar to last year's triumph, Winter White, but it is a different pattern.

Winter White

For newer folk, this is the first afghan, Peppermint, that Sue crocheted back in 2017. She subsequently made four more versions: two for our daughters, and two for the cat lady to auction. If you are interested in more details they are here in The Afghan Explained by Sue, herself.

Peppermint Afghan

There have others over the years. The Celtic Cable (top left, below) and the Poinsettia (right) afghans are shown in the following collage along with the original peppermint throw. The cable stitch made the Celtic Cable the most difficult pattern of all. It involved much ripping and redoing to get it right. It became a gift to her sister, Heather.

She has crocheted two other blanket-size creations that she made without patterns. The two images on the left, below, are one throw, the two on the right another.

If I am counting correctly, Sue is currently working on her 11th afghan after beginning the first in 2016 and completing it early in 2017. I expect that she will have completed 12 before next summer rolls around, but what will this 12th one be?

Point Form: From Shorts to Afghans

•  I came across a new term from Jenn at Crumbly Acres:  Shoulder Season. I'd never heard that term, but it speaks to the reality that although the days warm up nicely, the nights also cool down. There's more to it, below.

It's called shoulder season because spring and fall act as the "shoulders" on either side of the "head" or peak season (summer or winter), referring to a period of lower travel demand situated between high and low demand periods. The term also suggests the milder weather in these transitional months, when one might wear just a light jacket over their shoulders. 

• As soon as I got into the car to head to the store, my sunglasses fell apart. I headed off regardless, but immediately and forthwith, the rearview camera monitor fell off the dashboard. It's not as traumatic as it seems because it is a freestanding add-on to our old Honda and not set in the dashboard. I was able to secure it back in place once I arrived at the grocery store. However, one has to wonder if this falling apartedness is somehow a a portent.
  

• In the grocery store, I purchased cat food, which is not unusual. What was unusual was the purchase of dry cat food from there. For more than 6 years, I have been purchasing a certain dry food from a certain pet store. But Lacey recently stopped eating that not-inexpensive item. Go figure. 

• In the grocery store, I became a typically miffed old codger because they had changed the order of things. They do it just to torment us, you know. Not only that, but they have stopped stocking the specific mouthwash that we use. Life is hard. Thoughts and prayers please.

• Some of you wish to see inside the Wool Growers Coop, and in the fulness of time ye shall. But you may be disappointed. Primarily, what you will see will be hundreds of bales of wool all wrapped and packaged for shipping. Still, it is interesting enough in there, and I shall comply with your wishes . . . when the spirit moves.

• Speaking of wool, I've been asked if the recent picture of Sue crocheting was current or from last year. Indeed, it is current. And since you have expressed curiosity about this new project, I shall show you what I can at some point, maybe even tomorrow.

• What else? Oh yes, a dear reader has mentioned that she can knit but not crochet. With Sue it is more or less opposite. It is also true, that to a large degree she has taught herself how to crochet by following step-by-step, video tutorials for making her last half dozen or so afghans. This particular kit, she ordered from Mary Maxim, and she has become adept enough to follow the pattern sans tutorial. She's clever that way. I know that you all wonder what a clever woman is doing with the likes of AC. It's a mystery, I tells ya.

The New Medical Centre Plus Autumn Colour

I dropped Sue off at the coffee shop for a date with a friend. My intention was to also get a coffee and then take it for walk around that corner to check out the new medical centre that will be ready for occupancy in a few weeks. It will house all of the town’s doctors as well as some other medical related offices.

I used the wide angle to capture what I could, I should have done better, but I was running out of room 

For a comparison, I drove over to our somewhat shabby and small current medical centre. 

Another pathetic photo on my part, but it was cold and windy,
and it is is a rather unimpressive  building.

That's quite a contrast, but it's just where Sue and I go to meet our doctor. There are also other doctors scattered about in town, but come mid-October, they will all be located in that impressive new building.

While at the new centre I spotted some changing vegetation off to my left. The photo developed much hazier than what I saw with my eyes, but I like it well enough.

That inspired me to drive about just a little bit more to see if I could find any more colour to photograph. I was in the car, so the photos would be different than the ones we see on our walks. This next photo is quite close to us but where there is less development.

Tree by the cornfield with a communication tower in the distance.

I really wasn't having much luck finding photos, so I drove up to the cemetery where I found this scene, looking along a line of tombstones with a couple of colourful trees at the end of view.

If you don't mind, I am going to tack on two more early autumn photos from our walk yesterday. The first is a view across the river from a narrow gap in the bramble on our side.

I went a little off trail for this photo while Sue waited on the trail.