The Royal

We (the gang from the group home) went to the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair. We got there late in the evening and only had two hours to cram everything in, including the cows. We missed the Superdogs but saw plenty of animals. I took a lot of pictures and in some of the pictures there are orbs floating around. In one picture the orb is behind a bar in a sheep stall. I took lots of photo's in quick succession and not all of them show the orbs. Very strange indeed. The Royal was used during World War II as a training ground and later as a demobilization centre. The Royal began in 1922 and it is held at Exhibition Place which has the world's oldest annual fair which started in 1878. No wonder there are plenty of orbs around (that plus we went on the evening of November 10th, a day before Remembrance Day.

Halloween 2006

All went well for Halloween 2006, the night was warmish and no rain. Perfect night for everyone. I had lots of family help and I want to publicly thank all of them for generously helping put stuff up and later taking things down. The hardest part about it all is not being able to sit down and relax. The entire day is a blur of activity with carting out selected items, deciding what stays, what works with our theme and where to put what and the hardest part, doing the lighting. I decided on less gore and more strange this year. My newest addition, The Mummy (he would move his eyes back and forth and moan or scream when someone would walk by) had issues. When I tested him out in the living room, he would constantly perform but out in the porch it seemed rather hit or miss. I could be seen rubbing his belly to activate him more often than not. The fog machine had lots of fun blowing the mist out when you least expect it. Quinton really enjoyed fogging everyone and holds the record for non stop fog at one time. He had lots of energy since he found my Ice Cap in the fridge and finished a great deal of it in a an amazingly short time. The Group Home Gang wheeled in for a visit. I was a joy to see them all there. Thanks guys!
Already I have been asked, “What are you going to do next year?” Maybe I’ll have a contest for ideas for 2007. The prize could be a role as part of the Halloween theme or something of similar value.

Deers and the end of the Cottage Season

I am known for not seeing any wildlife, even after it is pointed out to me in the best of conditions. I rarely see deer grazing in the fields or any other wildlife. I do notice cranes and herons wading on shorelines but that's about it. So keeping this in mind it was a total shock to see a huge deer leaping across the road in front of our van. My ear piercing monkey scream filled the air as the deer hit the front passenger side headlight area of the van. We pulled over immediately and I only found five hairs near the headlight and absolutely no other damage. I think we only clipped its hind end and it did keep running towards the woods. I had to check the internet for insight on deer behaviour. The link above has some good deer tips and why it happens.
We've had the cottage since the sixties and other than hitting a bear (not cottage related but near by brother's farm) nothing like this has ever happened before to us. This accident happened near my brother's farm. This is the second animal bumping in the past year or so. My sister-in-law Elaine hit a deer a few years ago with major damage to the windshield, the deer was killed and all in all it was a very traumatic event.
We closed up the cottage and it is the end of the season again. We might be able to sneak one last time in but the weather is very tricky in the fall. As a side note, Lincoln in this picture is falling into the freezing water as he tried to balance on a pointy rock while looking at a loon that has just ducked under water.

Fog

A fall day on Redstone.
Trying to forget in the fog.
No busy work, no limits.
Just the mist and the quiet.