Cigi on the beach

Chris, Jason and Cigi came for a weekend and now I am in Toronto, helping with childcare, while Jason is away for work. There is not enough time, or hands, for many pictures now, but I took a lot on the weekend. So this post is predominantly photos of Cigi, first at Port Dover Beach and then at Long Point Beach. 

Port Dover Beach was pretty windy on the Friday

and it looked as if the Youth Sailing School were just leaving after a swim.

Chris and Jason took her all the way in for some wave jumping but there were too many people for me to get a clear shot.

She was a fan

Also of sitting at the waters edge with Dad.

She is so fair, needs tons of sunscreen, SPF bathing suit and sunhats.

"Badass baby" with her AC/DC t-shirt and black leather runners with wings.

Next stop....the Arbor, for hot dogs

and ice cream.

Back home and she was ready to joust with her knitting needle lance and coaster shield. The rocking horses are from the 40's. I think they were Laura's (George's sister).

The next day it was Long Point Beach

Windy, cool and a threatening sky but that meant that it wasn't crowded and lots of places to park.

First some naked time

then into the SPF bathing suit

to explore,

play in the sand,

and walk the beach

with

or without, Mum

Just taking it all in.

Sandy baby feet and Mum's flipflop.

Before getting

de-sanded for the return trip.

Another beach bum.

Sunflower update.

Catch up on photos

I just click away with my camera and often there is no real "story" attached, just something I wanted to take a shot of. This post is just a collection of those.

All the activity next door, related to the work on the sea wall and the bank, has stopped. This guy emerged. Boy is he going to be surprised when that cottage gets demolished.

 

My massage therapist has chickens. I love that the eggs I get from her are all different sizes and colours.

I haven't yet figured out how to get a good night shot but at least in this one you can see the moon reflecting on the lake.

Marketing works - I went to buy a white wine for Nic when she was visiting and came home with this, not the sauvignon blanc she requested, just because I liked the label and that they donate some of the profit to the Bruce Trail.

The pitted sour cherry buckets were available and the blueberries ready so I had a day of picking and freezing.

A while ago I posted a photo of the sunflower that is growing in the front bed, uninvited. This was taken a week after that one.

One day of rain and one day of sun and it emerged.

I am assuming that it is a refugee from the bird feeders.

A Lily after that rain.

Part of the work on the bank was a wall up close to "the edge" and this has resulted in another area that I get to plant. The path was free cement slabs from a facebook ad. I have always wanted a rock garden and that seems to be what I am developing here. All drought and sun tolerant plants.

I finally got the Tree Spirit mounted on a piece of  stained live edge White Cedar (quite light in weight).

He is now in The Woodhouse Gallery in Port Dover awaiting his new home.

Short vacation in Guelph

 Kevin and Broghan were vacationing in Europe and so Rick and I stayed at their place in Guelph for a couple of days. Did a little exploring, ate out and catsat Davey and Cal.

The first day we drove up to Elora

and walked

some trails

beside the gorge.

Then towards the village.

The Tooth in the centre of the falls.

I loved the reflections of the falls in the windows of the Elora Mill Hotel dining room. From here we watched a mink swim across the pool below the falls and run into one of the drainage holes for the hydro generating plant.

Tree of Life, artist Paul Morin. We popped into some of the touristy stores but I really wasn't in to it.

Still tired in the afternoon, I was dragging.

Rick suggested I sit in this garden and he would go and get the car

But I slowly made my way back.

Photo for Nic, the fungi lover.

We walked a couple of blocks to the Woolly Pub for supper. One of the nice things about being in the city is the proximity to restaurants. Not so nice was the traffic noise when we slept with the window open.

The next morning we walked in the other direction, past a row of typical Guelph, old, stone houses

to buy our breakfast at With the Grain. A great bakery and it was difficult making the choice of 2 scones (one lemon, one mixed fruit) which we split and shared.

Then it was off to the Arboretum on Guelph University campus.

There were

some formal gardens

This, in the English Garden was the sun garden in yellows and creams.

The sky garden had blues and purples.

But the focus is not on flowers

but on trees,

most of them labelled.

In spite of my impeccable sense of direction

and various maps (one in a brochure, one downloaded onto Ricks phone and others on boards scattered through the property)

we managed to get totally lost

and inadvertently, thoroughly explored

only one small corner of the property.

That evening we had Nicola's birthday dinner at Lucky Belly and the next day drove home, via Northland nursery, as I have a new flower bed to fill (pictures of that later).