Life is but a dream

It has been a slightly more typical October the last few days - still warm, but more overcast, and today it is windy with the odd rain shower, and even sunny periods. Still nice to be camping!

I've been taking the dogs down the road to the group camping areas. It is a nice walk that I can make it as long as I want to. This morning I met Trudie and Leo (camping across the road from us) at group camping area 1 - they had been there yesterday and discovered 2 heritage apple trees begging to be picked.

The deer had eaten all the low hanging fruit so Leo tucked the truck up against the tree so we could shake it. It didn't take long before we had a good bag full of russet apples - tart and firm. The next tree was some sort of red apple, also tart and firm. Both are good cooking apples; I think I'll put some in tonight’s supper.

The group camping area is along the river and is an open, grassy area, dotted with large shade trees. Really pretty. There was a little beachy area that would be good for swimming with the dogs. I’ll hope for some unoccupied periods next summer so we can spread our beach towels. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me as it was spitting a bit of rain when I left the camper.

Carm left this morning for his dentist appointment, and to have a visit with his mother. It is a long drive for him, but it is worth it to have these few extra days of camping! (I hope he feels the same way)

Last night at dance class we learned the Samba. I think we can practice this one in the trailer - if we can remember the steps.

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

I lie in bed beside my little sister, listening to the singing in the yard. Life is transformed, by these voices, by these presences, by their high spirits and grand esteem, for themselves and each other. My parents, all of us, are on holiday. The mixture of voices and words is so complicated and varied it seems that such confusion, such jolly rivalry, will go on forever, and then to my surprise—for I am surprised, even though I know the pattern of rounds —the song is thinning out, you can hear the two voices striving.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream.

Then the one voice alone, one of them singing on, gamely, to the finish. One voice in which there is an unexpected note of entreaty, of warning, as it hangs the five separate words on the air.

Life is. Wait. But a. Now, wait. Dream.

~ Alice Munro, The Moons of Jupiter

Sunshine is Music at the UC Bird Sanctuary!

It rained on and off through the night, and when we woke up the sky was a dark grey. We'd been thinking that we might camp a few nights at the UC Bird Sanctuary (UCBS), but gosh, it was so grey...

Either way we had to pack up and vacate our site so we got busy and were out by noon and in line for the dump station. It was a reasonably long line up as today is the last day for all but the Bird Sanctuary, plus it was the end of a long weekend to boot. As we were finishing up at the dump station we could see tiny bits of blue in the sky. It wasn't long before there were huge blocks of blue sky. It was sunny again!

That cinched it and off we went, down the highway and then the long washboard road to the campground. We stopped in at the registration office to get the list of open sites and then drove around picking our spot. By 2 pm we were sitting in the sun, shading our eyes with our hands :-)

Minutes later the little kids from next door were over (for the first of two visits) with their dad to see the dogs, and to their delight, Grace. She was a big hit and even whistled a bit to further entertain.

 

Unfortunately it seems these kids have one of those mini motorized atvs and were driving across the grass and along the road. Those things are NOISY!!! They have a loud, high pitched whine that grates on the nerves... and the decibel level increases exponentially when driven on gravel. This was not our idea of an idyllic afternoon in the sun ... With any luck it has a weak battery ;-) And maybe their sound system will crash as well.

 

I escaped to take the dogs for a walk while Carm set up the "dish" - it was a long shot through the trees (somewhat like Gas City Campground in Medicine Hat) but he did it. And better still without my help. Although he did have the help of the pretty young mother... hummmm.

The park is pretty and has some nice walking areas. The down side is that these areas are far from the camper. It will be a long walk first thing in the morning to get the dogs away from campsites - as they are desperate to pee! Apparently the park is also crawling with deer and other wild critters - hang on tight!

Music is sunshine. Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose. ~ Michael Franti

One might also say that sunshine is like music.

precious as autumn sunshine

As incredible as it may seem, the weather for the last two days has continued to be outstanding. It was up to 22C today and sunny. Another shade seeking day, Hurrah!

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

This morning we were scheduled to meet up with Trudie & Leo at the buffet brunch at the Mac. I ended up skipping out as I wasn't feeling all that great after eating a big steak dinner the night before - no wine involved!

I did get up in time to make them coffee when they returned just after 11. From there Carm and I went to the flea market for bargain haircuts, Canadian Tire to see if there was anything good on sale (there wasn't).

The rest of this incredible afternoon was spent catching some sunshine, and visiting with people in neighboring campers. I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't just a little easier to meet up with people without our fancy fence... I'm conflicted - it is great not to tie the dogs up, but it is also nice to wander out to the road to talk with passers by.


We watched a program on CNN with an interview of Malala, the young Pakistani girl that was shot by the Taliban - what an incredible young woman. Despite, or perhaps because of, the attack on her life she has a resolve and an insight rarely seen in adults, let alone a 16 year old. I think that her attitude towards life as she overcomes her injuries can be an inspiration to us all.

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. ~ Malala Yousafzai,