Sunny Day

Wild flowers festoon our front yard, mostly daisies and buttercups. There are other flowers, something like a dandelion but without the prominent leaf pattern. Small butterflies hang onto the flower as it is pushed by the wind, back and forth, up and down. On the water, there is a cormorant duck diving for some of the fish that I could see on the bottom as I snorkeled on Bounty's standing anchor the other day. 

Walking the driveway, there are now Tiger lilies with their deep orange colors contrasting with the gray limestone bedrock and the brown ground cover peat moss. A small flower on a thick stalk, what I call "Indian Paintbrush" apparently has another name Kathy has found, and it too gives a contrasting deep orange color to the otherwise dull background. I found several varieties of iris on my walk yesterday along the shore and on trails through the bush. Kathy has planted geraniums and another red flower to attract the humming birds; Kathy's plan is a success.

Today is Canada  Day. A time for Canadians to celebrate their disconnection from Great Britain and begin the arduous journey to self identification.  For me, this is three days before my country's celebration for the violent separation from Great Britain and its mercantile system (everything going to GB to be made, taxed, whatever, before an item could be redistributed to the rest of the empire).

It is altogether fitting that Bounty symbolizes the water routes that made that early separation of that bygone era possible and necessary.

Today, after brunch, Kathy and I began the dialogue of where we are traveling to  this afternoon. Will the waves be too bouncy? Should we make a dash for Sandy Beach on the inside passage? Is there enough water over the shoals to make such a run? Is the water too cool to moor Bounty off the shore and we having to wade in? All questions yet to be answered.  Of course, if it is bouncy, then maybe we should head towards the Fishing Islands in their protection from the seas. 

There is an alternative of course, staying right here at the cottage, shaded from the direct sunlight, viewing the bright blue waters, listening to the waves lap on the shore. Yet, there is the magic of riding on the seas, one hand on the tiller and the wind at our backs. I am watching an ant, carrying its prize along the boards of the front deck, trying to reconcile, how to get to the next board. 

Of course, Kathy and I could do what we did Sunday afternoon and evening: drive to Sandy Beach until the Celtic Camp kids came for their water sports, go back to the cottage clean up and get appropriately attired for our trip to Cape Chin, on the Georgian Bay side of the peninsula, to have our lobster, mussels, and shrimp dinner at the Cape Chin Bed & Breakfast. This B&B is a rambling rustic renovated farm house, located in a field with surrounding barns. As we sat down for dinner, we chatted with a Toronto couple next to our table, they found this B&B online, they were looking for a last minute place to go for the weekend. High season but vacancies; a sign of the economic times? The food was great, served in a homey atmosphere. Besides the seafood, there was Chicken Paprikash although made with a tomato base instead of a sour cream base that I like. I did have a sample which was also delicious.

There is more to think about as to what to do on this sunny day.