Lots of wind

This entry doesn't have too many pictures. Reasons? Well, too busy, too hungry, and whatever else you can think of that would be a good excuse.
September has been interesting. We thought we might get some nice sailing in, but that was not to be. The winds were ferocious and if it wasn't blowing like stink, the rain would just come down. The local stores and the municipality of Gore Bay did good business though.  The marina was filled with American boats waiting for an opportunity to head back home.
We discovered during this month that Stella does not like rain! She would stick her nose out of the door and then make an hasty retreat, unless nature really called.

It was also time to to invite some friends for dinner, that had just returned to Gore Bay after a pretty wild sail in their Bayfield. These are friends from when we lived in Lucan. Marian was Tim's flight instructor, Willie renovated our bathroom.We became friends and they attended many Indonesian dinners hosted by us for the Christmas parade. The two of them were very instrumental in getting us to move to Manitoulin. They convinced us that Gore Bay has the best marina ever (true). They have their boat here, and are in the process of building a house here. They really miss those dinners though, and asked if I could make some nice spicy food. I said "yes" and then thought "I might as well cook a few more dishes, make a rijsttafel, and invite other people as well". Had planned to take some pictures, but by the time the food was on the table we forgot and just started to eat.

Looking at the weather for the coming weeks, we decided to call it a  season. We had been on the water for most of August and felt pretty good. There were also some jobs waiting to be done at home.

Off  came the sails on the first nice day with no wind, and then later brought the dinghy home and the outboard.

Definitely fall.

Also harvested a puffball and cooked it. Tastes like mushrooms but Tim nor I liked it much because of its sponge-like texture. Will give them away from here on.

Then the weather changed and suddenly had 5 days or so of beautiful sun and temperatures in the mid-20s. We just shook our heads and then went on with chores.

As you can tell from this picture, where Tim is fixing the roof of the shed, we're still waiting for the builder to build the foundation.

What else can you do?
Well, if your name is Bice who likes colour in her gardens, but you're not quite ready to start digging up the lawn to create a whole new garden that would get a lot of sunshine, you start fantasizing about maybe planting a few flowering shrubs and then  in the future dig around them to get some flowers in there as well.
Even though there are some nurseries on the island, I had heard really good things about one just outside of Espanola , a 2 hour drive. I decided to make this into a shopping day trip and get some groceries in Espanola as well. Off I went with a friend to the nursery. Came out of there with some lilies for an established flower bed and a dark purple lilac that blooms in spring, and then again in summer and fall (goes by the name of Boomerang), a red honeysuckle, a mockorange and a ninebark summer wine.
The nursery was really well stocked, the owner knowledgeable and very helpful, and because it was  the end of season I got a good discount. The owner's parents were Dutch with his mother being from the south and his dad from the north. They met here in Canada. Those Dutch, they're just all over the place.

Also time to assume some of my hall duties as a board member. A pork roast dinner as a fund raiser had been planned. I peeled 10 pounds of potatoes,  cooked them to be mashed by somebody else, with a whole many more potatoes peeled by others. Also set the tables, cleaned them and then set them again for the next round of dinner guests . Others made  pies and applesauce, and cooked the toadts. We made good money though, so it was worth it.

Then the elections for the Local Services Board took place ....
Have a look at the new member and Chair of the LSB and one of his favourite passtimes.