Blow winds, blow!

The rain started on Tuesday, coming in fits and starts but ending before the day was out to leave us a lovely evening. During the afternoon, daughter and I ventured out to find my sister's place north of the river. It was the disappearance of the Bangor Lodge welcome gate that had stumped me on my earlier search. It had come down after the demise of the old lodge. But a search on my maps app had provided me with the roads I needed to follow. It was still a rainy ride along the up and down and winding road but we found the place. My sister and her husband were at home after their golf game had been rained out. They have one of those great old Muskoka cottages: the main part built before 1930, with subsequent sleeping cabin and bunky having been incorporated at some later date. They have a great story about adding the master bedroom and arranging for rock beyond it to be blasted so they could install an en suite. They crossed their fingers and the only consequences were a few popped nails in the new drywall. It has that wonderful old cottage great room that spans the midst of the house with a huge fireplace on one wall and a sunroom on the opposite wall overlooking the lake. We sat there for a good chat with them and came back to clearing skies.

That night the wind began to blow and blew for two straight days, right out of the west and directly onto the cottage we are in. It made for some interesting water and skies as dark clouds scudded in above the waves and rain came down every few hours. Wednesday morning was then a lazy one as we all hung out in the cottage. The landlord and his family went back to the city for a couple of days so our granddaughter was on her own to draw, colour, read and play games. Her grandfather taught her to play Casino, a good card game for two. She drew a character from the Fantastic Five and created a card for her missing playmate. Thursday dawned a little brighter but the wind kept blowing and brought colder temperatures with it. By last night the sky had finally cleared and the wind calmed down enough for a campfire and the rituals of toasted marshmallows and s'mores. Our grandchildren built sandcastles and filled a toy dump truck while their dad got the fire bright enough for roasting. After dark, when the kids were all in bed we sat out and watched an almost full moon rise. I had hoped that the meteor showers would give us some falling stars, but to no avail. Finally, I was too tired to stay up but also found it very cold away from the fire pit. I went to bed with my socs on!