Hello all! Thank goodness August is gone. It really was a bit of a low point for me, got quite fed up with my own company, but that's over now and there's plenty of activity to look forward to. But first, let me tell you about our Weird Week. First, on Sunday 21st August, a terrific storm blew over Ontario, blasting us with wind and very heavy rain. We were lucky because a tornado hit a town, 3 hours away, on the shores of Lake Huron and destroyed its centre. Then on the following Tuesday, I was relaxing on the sofa, feet up after my lunch, when I felt a really peculiar sensation under me. I immediately thought I was having some kind of 'episode' and was scared I'd pass out, so I jumped to my feet and took a good breath. Then I put on the tv for the news and they were reporting an earthquake down in Virginia! It was just the sofa vibrating! It seems that because of the geology here the vibrations travelled all the way to Quebec. Then on the next day a fantastic storm descended on Toronto. We get quite a lot of storms here because of the high humidity so we could feel it coming. There wasn't much rain or thunder but there was a fantastic lightning show which lasted 3 hours. We sat in the dark mesmerised by the forks of lightning going in all directions; we'd never seen cloud-to-cloud lightning before. These pictures give you some idea of what it was like:
To those of you now back at school - good luck and have a good term. Everyone's back here too so I'm hoping to get some voluntary work in a local elementary school. Because uniforms aren't so common here you get fashion items on tv for back to school outfits - how to make a good impression on your first day! - and there was an ad at a local health spa offering facials for teens returning to school! 
One weekend we went to an area west of Toronto called St. Jacob's. It's an area farmed by many Mennonite families who originally came here from the Low Countries, Germany and Eastern Europe. There's a pretty village and a huge market. We were there on a Saturday and the place was heaving with families buying all their fresh goods. They are obviously a very hard working community. They seem to have achieved a good balance between maintaining their own way of life while not becoming a theme park for tourists. We had the most fantastic brunch there: a full Canadian breakfast which includes fruit and pancakes. We actually have to be careful what we eat as it's so easy to keep going for the carbs so a big meal like that has to balanced out with exercise and salad! I'm dreading everyone at home saying how much fatter/greyer/older we look when we come home! We're still trying out local eating places. One is a French restaurant which has an excellent reputation for its food and we had a lovely meal but it's in an old house which is really shabby - a bit off-putting.
One Saturday we went to some Gardens in town with glasshouses based on Kew but that was another disappointment; the park area was unkempt although the hothouses were quite well done. But on the following day we joined a nature walk in a large park which was very interesting and we learned a few things, including how to spot 'poison ivy', which many people are allergic to. I don't recall coming across it at home. There were Kentucky coffee trees and lots of different oaks. Between the bugs and the weeds this is quite a tricky place in the summer.
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| Obedient birders, looking at wild turkeys! |
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| Black swallowtail caterpillar |
We've joined a couple of birding groups and got up really early one Sunday to join our first field trip. It was a full day going to 3 locations. There were about 40 people in 25 cars travelling in convoy. We'd stop, all get out and set off walking, following the leader. There were quite a few expats in the group and a retired doctor looked after us. He explained what to do if wood ticks burrowed into our flesh! So I'll be wearing long trousers tucked into my socks from here on. I was able to take some bug pictures for a chap who wanted to identify them which was fun. There was a nice elderly chap whom I quickly recognised as a Yorkshireman although he'd been here quite a long time, so I asked where he was from. He said: ' Northern Islamabad!', and he was pleased we knew what he meant. Anyway, our bird list is growing nicely but I couldn't help smiling at the 'geekiness' of some of the twitchers.
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| Martyrs' Shrine, Midland |
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| St. Joseph Ptron Saint of Canada |
There's interesting history in the area as a Jesuit mission was built in the 1600s but the priests all died as they got caught up in the fighting between the Huron and Iroquois peoples. There is now a shrine to them and a reconstruction of the mission site. As you can see from the photos the outside of the church looks fairly traditional in stone but the inside is lined with birch panels, reminiscent of long houses used by the First Nations people and the ceiling is shaped like an upturned canoe. The church is surrounded by gardens with quiet areas for prayer and there is a Way of the Cross to follow. We went back there on Sunday morning for mass on our 35th Wedding Anniversary. That's just a ridiculously big number!We had some lovely meals, one on our anniversary, in a place called 'Mad Michael's' which we had to try of course. The owner makes all the furniture from found wood and bits and pieces so to say the place is eccentric is no understatement. We also had a couple of great fish meals at this marina:
We had a walk around Midland which is known for its murals. Many buildings are painted with scenes from local history and they have been lovingly restored. This statue, in Penetanguishene, is of a giant from First Nations myths called Kitchikewana. He was broken-hearted by a woman and, in his rage, gouged the earth with his hand, creating the Great Lakes and then he threw the earth far and wide, creating the 30,000 Islands in Georgian Bay.  |
| Ste. Marie Among the Hurons, Jesuit Mission |
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| Stainless steel sculpture of a goose in Midland |
We took a boat cruise around the islands on a cold, grey afternoon for 3 and a half hours. We were the only people who stayed on top! The commentary was very entertaining; the captain seems to be related to everyone in the area. We saw a pair of trumpeter swans which were almost wiped out here by hunting so are still quite a rare sight. People are still building homes on these islands, a very expensive, time consuming task. The waters here are completely frozen in the winter. A group of Mennonite women were on the boat and weren't really dressed for the cold wind but they were impressed that we managed it! I hope they don't mind me taking this picture:
Eamonn's doing fine. Someone left Carillion so he's been asked to take on some extra roles and he's been volunteering at a local neighbourhood garden but he forgot to spray himself and is now covered in bites - ugh. I'm going to try out a choir this week and also join a CWL group nearby, so we'll see how that goes!
We're off to the Last Night of the Proms this afternoon at a local cinema so that's going to be a new experience!!
'It's so flat in Saskatchewan if you stand on a tall milkcan you can see the back of your head.'
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Lots of love,
Mary and Eamonn xx
