Honey Harbour - Leaving the nest

I drove up to Honey Harbour, Greg and Aimee's cottage, on an island, on Saturday. As we came in to the dock I could see that there was an Osprey in the nest. Last year a young couple had produced one offspring but Aimee and Greg thought it unlikely that it would survive as it was still hanging around the nest when they closed up in September and the parents had already left.

This year, again, 1 "baby" but he looks strong

and on the second day (while sitting on the dock, reading and watching the grandkids swim and play) I could see him frequently jumping up into the air

flapping his wings and trying to fly.

Periodically one parent or the other would fly in, bearing fish.

The days are "bookended" by coffee on the dock in the morning and watching the sun go down from the dock in the evening. In between time is spent between the cottage, deck and dock.

The Ospreys (in a dead tree across the bay) are a constant source of entertainment

but they are not the only wildlife, there's loons, swans, geese, ducks, water snakes, turtles, herons

and the constant sounds of a variety of frogs in the bull rushes.

Aaaaaah.

On the third day we saw, from the deck, the young Osprey take flight and he landed on the old flag pole next to the dock

I grabbed my camera and crept down the stairs and along the walkway towards him.

He kept a close eye on me the whole time

sometimes weaving his head back and forth as if to get a look at me out of each eye

It wasn't until I looked at these photos on the computer that I realized he only had a good grip on the post with one foot.

He let me get right in front of him down on the walkway to the dock

before he started fussing.

and eventually

flew away to land on a post on the other side of the bay. He flew around and to and from the nest most of the day.

Again ....

aaaah.

Pakenham - hot day at the river

Sarah and Fiona rode bikes down to the 5 span bridge in Pakenham and Heather and I drove down with our painting materials.

It was a hot day and the river lured.

Being careful to stay in wading areas, the girls cooled off.

Sarah sat with her feet in the water and painted

I had a go at painting the bridge while sitting uncomfortably on the rocks.

Fiona was set on getting a good Instagram photo

Heather took the job of photographer seriously.

Afterwards - some tomfoolery.

Heather marching to her own drummer.

A quick sketch,

back on the bikes

and the required stop at Scoops.

Neice Week 2018 - Pakenham

Fiona and I drove to Pakenham last Saturday to spend the week with Heather and Sarah while Mark and Emma are vacationing. As usual there are a wide variety of activities.

One consistency is walking the dogs a couple of times a day. In this instance they neither noticed the chipmunk while I had time to take a picture of it.

So cute and the woods here are over run with them.

At least one walk a day we go as far as the pond. I was going to crop Monty, in this inelegant pose, out of the shot but the girls insisted he stay in (it is one of the purposes for the walk).

Caesar in a more appropriate pose. Caesar is less enthusiastic about the walks than Monty. Going up hill I am spread eagled between energetic and curious Monty and Caesar acting like a sea anchor. Until we turn round and then they both trot happily back.

On one walk a fox trotted across the road and stopped at the edge to look back at us. Of course I had no camera with me on that walk but I couldn't have taken a picture anyway as Monty was going ballistic and eventually Caesar also clued in that there was something going on and joined in the general hulabaloo.

What is it with cats and suitcases? Rasta always sleeps on my suitcase if it is around.

This is Chloe, one of 3 cats who meow and mill around twice a day at feeding time. You need 5 arms to deal with 2 dogs eating the cat food and 3 cats eating the dog food and each others food (as the 3 cats have different medical issues, therefor different diets)

One afternoon we spent at a nearby beach, with Sarah's boyfriend Josh. Here they are eating chocolate, chocolate chip banana muffins (there were an abundance of over ripe bananas when we arrived).

I am a bit of a beach snob but this was quite nice, on the river, so no wind or waves,

peaceful and not over crowded.

One day we spent watching the first Mama Mia movie in the morning and going to see the 2nd at the movie theatre in the afternoon. Can't have too much Abba music!
Another day the girls were invited to a neighbours house for a watercolour class. I asked if I could come too and Heather opted to stay home and relax ( and clean her room?)

We all started with a still life of pears. These are Fiona's.

Sarah's. Afterwards we learned about landscapes, water, skies, reflections and trees and we composed our own pictures. Quite a variety.

My pears.

Fiona has run three times so far. Today it was on the track in Almonte as we had to go in to take Sarah to work.

Even so she was game to go for a bike ride with Heather this afternoon, though she was a little nervous (she hadn't been on a bike for a couple of years and didn't feel very sure of herself)

Heather is a confident bike rider and started of riding down the hill while Fiona walked. They rode to Pakenham and back (over 10km) Upon returning Fiona biked back up the hill, full of confidence now, and Heather walked up (said her legs had forgotten what it was like to ride that far). It wont take her long to get her fitness level back to where it was last year.