Food, fund raisers and a day of birding.

 I have been busy since getting back from Edmonton so this is a "catch up" blog post before the month is over and we are into the different busyness of September. The summer seems to have flown by!

My first weekend back was the Port Dover Yacht Club Sailing School Fundraiser. Rick and I helped set up in the morning .... tables, auction items, corn shucking, tents, whatever was asked of us. I got there early to register people for the silent auction and then enjoyed a lobster dinner with Rick, Corrin, Brian, Mark and Angie.

The following weekend Rick and I tried out Nonni's, the restaurant on the lakeside lawn of David's Restaurant. Pizza, grilled zucchini, beer and Sangria. It was lovely and quite reasonable.

I think this is a young Oriole in the Rose of  Sharon.

Silver lining.

Sitting on the Edge, with storm clouds rolling in, Rick and I watched this waterspout form and then disappear. There were far more dramatic photos of it, on Facebook, taken from Turkey Point.

The next fundraiser was for the Selkirk Fire Department.

The rain hit at just the wrong time but they

moved the firetrucks out

and set up in the fire hall. It was very well attended with the lineup stretching all the way around the hall.

No-one seemed to mind the wait ... the locals were chatting

and there were things to see,

including the follow up rainbow.

Well worth the wait .... a huge helping of perch, fries, coleslaw, roll and all the corn you could eat. We bought half home for dinner the next day.

The nights are getting cooler. I can feel Fall approaching. So it is time to check out the Long Point Banding Station.

It was a Sunday and there were lots of families there so I don't have good photos of the birds. The ones we watched being banded were Flycatchers and Warblers but we were told that it is early in the migration and will get busier. We also checked out when the Owl banding will happen and some info on Hawk Cliff. Future visits.

We followed up with a walk in the Crown Marsh

where the Phragmites seem to be under control and now the Purple Loosestrife is back.

Osprey.

Next we walked the Big Creek Marsh area, along the north loop (which I had never seen open before).

I thought it might have been a stick but I took a picture anyway and then it moved...I think it is an American Bittern, which is a first for me.

There were so many Great Egrets that it was difficult to look anywhere and NOT see one, or more.

Even more of them than Great Blue Herons and there were plenty of those.

We were told at the banding station that there is an estimated population of 300 Great Egrets in the Long Point area and that the assumption is that climate change has bought them North. When I lived here they were very rare and that was only 3 years ago.

There was also a Kingfisher, fishing, as well as

A Caspian Tern.

We had planned to do the 2.6km loop but it was longer than advertised

and I was in sandals, so we turned around.

Mullion and some defiant Phragmites.

A Northern Leopard Frog. I yelped and jumped when I nearly stepped on him.

Another sign of fall - Goldenrod.

The following are Rick's photos from the same walk. He has a much better camera that can fire off multiple shots and he is good at following the trajectory of flying birds.

I love this shot, of the Tern just before it hits the water

and this one, just after.

He flew back and forth

fishing the stretch of water

right beside us.

It was after lunch time, and it was a long walk, and, what the heck, when was the last time I had a banana split (I can't remember). From Twins Ice Cream Parlor in Port Rowan.

A couple of clear nights and Rick indulged in his other photography hobby.

That little dot of light is him setting up his equipment on the Edge.

My shot of the moon,

his of the Milky Way.

Grandkids - week 3

 After having them for a week, I drove Avery and Maya to Toronto for 5 days with their cousins. There they did city things and played together.

I picked them up again for the flight back to Edmonton. We had supper at the airport where the server and another customer, both commented on how well behaved they were.

Maya stayed awake for the whole flight, watching the I-pad and scrounging cookies. Avery fell asleep on her.

For one day Chris, Jason and Cigi were also in Edmonton. They all went to the Science Centre (I begged off) and then we all went out for Sushi.

We made marmalade (from the can of Seville Oranges I gave Mike for Christmas)

We went for some walks in their neighbourhood, a bike ride to the library, a community fun fair (I rode the electric scooter home) and on one of Mike's days off, we went to the river valley.

Mike caught a Grasshopper and Maya held it

Avery didn't like the feel of it so he passed but Maya became an expert catcher.

It was very hot so they waded in the river

while River and I looked on.

The walk through the woods was very buggy

but there were lots of things to see.

Osprey hunting over the river.

Out of the stroller, River ran up and down the footbridge

with Mike in hot pursuit.

With River confined to the stroller again

they cooled off once more.

So hot that ice cream melted before you could eat it.

Back in Port Dover, Rick got up to check out the meteor shower but just got photos of the marina

and the lights of Erie silhouetting Long Point.

The next day he and Gord came first in their fleet, in the Chaos Race.

Still hot in Edmonton so we went to Wabamun Lake where Mike took the kids on a long paddleboard ride

and they played in the lake.

Mikes pride and joy, lemon trees, started from seed, during Covid,

and his tomato ghetto. He has already been harvesting, some in the freezer, BLTs and a large batch of tomato soup. Mine are all still green at this point. He has plans for spaghetti sauce and ketchup.