The Front Porch - Seventh of Seven

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the porch is it's arms - outstretched and ready to embrace. Whether friend or stranger, all are welcomed here. And on a quiet Sunday morning, there's no better place than this to relax in a Muskoka chair, with a hot cup of coffee, good conversation, and chickens, eating bugs.

The porch shelters the wood that warms us on those cold winter nights. Sticks - lacrosse and hockey - are stored here, ready for action when the passion strikes. It supports the swing that kids snuggle with Mum on, as they glide back and forth, retelling the stories of the day. Neighbours wander by and settle in, sharing a beer...and their time. And, always, a smile.

Finding shelter from those pesky hawks.

A Cuppa Coffee On Gum-Smack Day - Sixth of Seven

The kids have settled into the routine of school this week and I, adjusting quickly as always, am sure to have mornings running smoothly by early November. Friday's on the bus are a special day. Christopher, our bus driver, has christened it Gum-Smack Day - the one day of the week when the kids can chew gum. They've got it made.

One day last spring, I took a sip of my much-needed morning coffee as the kids boarded the bus. Christopher jokingly asked, "Where's mine?"

I replied, "I didn't know how you take it."

"With milk," he answered with a sly grin.

"Alright."

On the next Gum-Smack Day, the kids and I announced that, from that day forth, Friday's would also be known as Coffee-Smack Day and we handed him a hot cup of coffee. A big smile spread across his face...very much like the one that spread across mine. He thanked us very much and off they went. That day, a tradition was born that continued until the end of school in June.

Today was the first Gum-Smack Day of the new school year and with it came the first coffee delivery of the 2010 season. A wide grin crept across Christopher's face. Mine was bigger.

Skipper - Five of Seven

A couple weeks back, the kids and I made the morning trip to Julie's before I continued on into work. With the van parked, we hopped out and headed up the driveway. Cammy and Ri ran on ahead leaving the two stragglers in their dust. As Nolan approached the turn, from driveway to pathway, he started to skip. I started to grin.

Last summer, I was walking into Loblaws (a grocery store in these parts) when I spotted a little girl of about five or six. She was holding the hand of a gentleman I imagined to be her grandpa. She was skipping and with every step she pulled on her grandpa's arm, swinging it back and forth. I grinned then as I do now just thinking about it.

There's something almost perfect about skipping. At that moment, in that place, the child doesn't have a care in the world and everything is a-okay. Which is, afterall, the way it should be.

Nolan skipping for this unabashedly staged photo

Roadtrips, Dogs, Friends, Dogs and More Dogs - Second, Third and Fourth of Seven

Brother Enos, Dorito and I all took the day off work today. Roadtrip! Dorito brought her car up to the brother-in-law's garage for the day. Enos took a bit of a detour and picked her up around 9 before making his way to our place. I dropped the kids off at daycare at the usual time and came back here to wait. Some time before ten, we loaded into Enos's car and hit the road for the 2 hour trip to Kingston.

This weekend is the 23rd annual Sheepdog Trials. Dorito and I took the kids last year and really wanted to go back. We had decided this time we'd go without kids - but invited Enos anyway. Just before noon, we pulled into Grass Creek Park and, well, parked. After a quick pee break, we made our way to the Dock Dogs pool. There were dogs everywhere. German Shepherds, Labs, Border Collies, Retrievers, big dogs, small dogs, wet dogs, dry dogs - it was canine heaven for dog lovers. We found a spot near the corner of the pool and made ourselves comfortable. Then we watched the dogs do their stuff. Some of the dogs were just itching to get in the water. Others weren't too sure about the two foot drop from the dock. Some of them never did get wet. But the pups that were rarin' to go put on an awfully good show. The three of us wore ear-to-ear grins watching them. A couple of them looked an awful lot like Chimo - she would have been in her glory.

After awhile, we were getting hungry so we walked over to the food tents. We took a seat and shared a mighty fine lunch of, among other things, onion rings, fries and poutine. After filling up on that highly nutritious meal, we took a seat at the trials.

The dogs are amazing. I guess some credit should go to the handlers too. As the collies run out at top speed, across the field to gather the sheep, you can see that they absolutely love what they're doing. It really is something to watch. The skill and control of both dog and handler is incredible. I can't even imagine the hours of training involved. I'd love one of these dogs to herd my kids.

After watching several of the border collies do their thing, we strolled over to another area of the park to see some pups in a pen with the sheep. It was here that you could really see that herding is what these animals are bred to do. An eleven week old pup instinctively worked the herd. With training, it may find itself on the main field one day going for the big prize.  

Boy, what did we do next. At 4 o'clock, the Canadian Raptor Conservancy put on a really good birds of prey display. Lots of information was given out while showing off a harris hawk, a barn owl, a kestrel falcon, a red-tailed hawk and a great horned owl. Great horned owls prey on skunks among other things. How can they stand the smell, you ask? Turns out great horned owls can't smell and skunks are slow movers. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure all my dogs have found out just how slow skunks can be. Wish I couldn't smell them either.

Great Horned Owl - look at those eyes

I have no idea what time we finally left the park. We worked our way west, taking a little detour by Fort Henry before stopping in Belleville to pick up a gift for Cammy's friend (birthday party tomorrow), grabbing something to eat and then starting the final leg home. 

Days don't get much better than this one. A rare roadtrip with a couple of nuts, um, I mean, with good friends (who may also happen to be family) on a mighty fine day, to a place that can only be compared to heaven on earth for dog lovers. We'll be smiling for days.
 

Pickin' and a Grinnin' - First of Seven

The gauntlet has been dropped. Well, alright, it's not quite that serious. Philip, one of my backward buddies, has written a series of posts about seven things that are guaranteed to make him smile. Now he has passed the torch on to seven others. And lucky for you, I'm one of them. Oh-ho, you can sense your day getting better, can't you. I know. Here goes.

The boys and I headed down to Orono this morning and met up with Dorito at Wilmot Orchards. The blueberries have been ready for picking for a good week now so it's time to stock up for winter. We checked in and were sent out to row 23. After wandering about half way down, we set our stuff in the grass and got to work. Nolan's a pretty good co-picker - he tends to dive right in there and get the berries closer to the ground, saving his ole ma's back in the process. Cammy picked and ate. He may have even set a record for shortest time lapse before whining. We kept picking.

Mmmm, blueberries

The weather's been quite nice lately - mid-20s with lower humidity - but you could feel it climbing out there today. By noon, Dorito had a bucket full, and, with help from Dorito and Nolan, I had just shy of two full buckets of dark blue, perfectly rounded blueberries. Judging by Cameron's blueberry intake, they were awfully tasty. Dorito assured me they were very sweet. I can't really say 'cause, quite honestly, I can't stand blueberries. I sure do love picking them, though. Can't really say why, either. For years now, I've made my way to the pick-your-owns and loaded up on strawberries and raspberries, blueberries and apples - sometimes turning the fresh fruit into jars of summer goodness or, like the blueberries, freezing them so we have the local tastes of the season all winter long. I know I do it partly because I want to eat locally and support our neighbours but there's more to it than that. I think it's the love of all things pioneer (except for outhouses) and growing up watching Laura Ingalls and wanting to be like her - living in a simpler time, doing for ourselves and, I'll go out on a limb here, being happier. Picking does that for me. 

Cammy next to his hockey hero, Mike Cammalleri's, number 13

After we had our fill of blueberries, we paid and dropped our bounty in the cars. Then we headed back to the café and cooled down with a Muskoka Dry ginger ale. Dorito took some goofy pictures - 'cause that's what she does - we said our goodbyes and off we went towards home. Tonight, there's two trays of blueberries sitting in the freezer and a bucket in the fridge. This winter, when the kids are diving into the frozen blueberries, I'll think back on today with a grin. And I'll dream about next summer, walking through a berry field with a basket in each hand.      

Cheers