Summer Weekend

Another beautiful summer weekend here in the sunny south.....a bit of rain on Friday night, which the garden needed anyway (saves me from watering!), so we spent it at the cinema in Tecumseh watching the latest installment of Harry Potter.

The garden got some much-needed attention over the rest of the weekend, between weeding and tilling, plus harvesting the bounty of green and yellow beans. Cherry tomatoes are ripening daily as well. Also found time on Saturday night for a nice bonfire, and even slept out in the tent - too nice a night to waste indoors!

Bountiful garden

Bickey is showing signs of improvement - still weak and not eating, but he is showing glimpses of playing, grooming and other indications of energy that are positive. He is also looking less jaundiced. Still, we had to add a new high-calorie food supplement to his force-fed diet, this one a thick molasses like goo from a tube. Since of course he won't eat it on his own, we are left to smearing it on his face and relying on natural cat grooming instinct to lick it off.....leading to this obvious moment of hilarity:

The Dirty Sanchez

Finally got the old Cox family van off to Tilsonburg recently.....after pushing it the hard way out of the barn in neutral, then had to boost it several times, not only to get it running, but the battery would not hold a charge. After about the fourth boost, we finally drove it to Wheatley, on fumes mind you, and had a new battery installed. We figured with our luck we would run out of gas AND have to boost it again! After a bit of an adventurous drive along the Lake Erie shore, with Jane following behind in the car, the good ol' 1980 Ford Econoline Chateau was delivered safe and sound to Jane's parents.

Givin' the ol' girl a boost

Happy Canada Day!!!

As a federal public servant, I am required to acknowledge Canada Day in some fashion beyond merely taking the day off with pay (p.s. - thank you for paying your taxes). So I did the first thing that came to mind, and patriotically cut the grass. Sure, the umbrella may appear to have more to do with self-preservation in the heat of the mid-day sun at the 42nd parallel....but really, I was feeling every minute of it.

Even the grass stands up for the National Anthem

The garden is progressing nicely, soaking up the heat wave that has permeated the area for the past week or so. Beans are blossoming, there are tiny tomatoes growing on the vines, and we are already eating the radishes. Corn, broccoli, cauliflower and watermelon are also coming along. I knew it wouldn't look this good for long, right after extensive weeding and the rototilling between the rows, so I had to snap a picture.

The Garden, as nice as it may ever look....

I recently started a batch of homebrew pilsener in the kitchen, a nice light summer beer for this hot weather. Of course, beyond drinking the stuff, my greatest satisfaction comes from ensuring that each and every batch is made safely. With that in mind, I can honestly say that no babies were harmed in the making of this pilsener.

Don't Let Yer Babies Grow Up to Drown in Beer Buckets

Tamarack 2009

This past weekend bore witness to the 3rd Annual weekend at the Pringles Cove cottages on Tamarack Lake, in the lovely Haliburton Highlands. The weather was mostly cooperative, though the drive was long. The bugs only carried off two or three of our group....which is why we bring a few extra people each year.

:)

We roomed with Kester in the newly renovated Pine Grove cottage, and thankfully he tolerated our sick cat and all the feedings and medicatings. See previous blog entry!

Much beer was consumed....and a few Caesars as well. We even squeezed in a few wicked acoustic jam sessions with multiple guitars and Kester's funky drum-box.

Unlike Rawk the Coop, there was no flagrant nudity...oh wait, Jessie's backside....but that's pretty much standard at any party.

As usual, a good time was had by all.....especially when the owners opened their bakery just for us, to make butter tart squares and other goodies!

The Scene at the Beach

When the Children Play

Pine Grove Cottage

Bickey on "Va-cay" beside "acoustic" drum kit

Nursing Bickey

Oh, the irony....Bickey, our large and lovable 20-something pound cat has developed an eating disorder. Somewhere along the way he was traumatized by something, became anorexic and stopped eating.....of course, a cat that big can lose a few pounds before you start to notice. Well he's lost about a third of his body weight, and now has feline hepato-lipidosis, which is a nice technical term for when your liver accumulates fat deposits after converting body fat and muscle to energy to replace the food you're not getting. Then then liver starts shutting down.

So he's on three different medications daily, plus force feeding high-protein food with a syringe every few hours.....but he's gotten rather good at flicking the food back out, so we usually end up wearing more than he gets down. At least he has stopped throwing every thing back up shortly after we give it him, which is how we spent the first week of this ordeal.

He's still pretty jaundiced, but at least he's keeping most of the food and meds down. He even made the trip to the cottage in Haliburton with us so that we could continue his regime. Some pics of the poor guy....

Mummifed Bickey awaiting his daily pill....the ony safe way to give it

Bickey enjoying some time in the grass outside to soak up some Vitamin D

In his Happy Place

What's THAT in your hand? Another syringe??

We're hopeful for a full recovery, but it's 6-8 weeks of the forced feeding and medicating. Fingers and paws crossed.

A Night at the Races

We have been meaning to check out South Buxton Speedway since we moved here, and for one reason or another relating to either plans or weather, we hadn't managed to do so yet. All that changed last night.

It's dirt track racing at it's finest - not only do you get to SEE the action, but certainly HEAR (it's very loud) and also TASTE (a nice combo of dirt and fuel) the action. On an oval with no true straighaways, these crazy mofo's manage to crank things up to over 100 mph anyway while driving pretty much sideways the entire time.

Four classes of racing every Saturday night, from 4-cylinder stock street cars to high-end modifieds that are pretty much a 700-horsepower dune buggy with a thin sheet metal shell around it. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night in southwestern Ontario.

It's easy to lose the cars in the cloud of dirt....

The Checkered Flag!

A lesson in counter-steering with the Modifieds

Dirt Track Stock Car Action

RAWK....

The May long weekend found Wheatley playing host to the 2nd annual Rawk the Coop festivities. A total of 29 intrepid Rawkers made their way to the Coop over the weekend to partake in a fish fry, barbecue, camping, horseshoes, live music and general merriment.

After a grey start, the weather cleared by Saturday afternoon for three solid days of glorious weather. The Shitflowers made an appearance, along with guest rawkers including professional cowbell artist Jane.

Lake Erie provided its usual bounty of fish to fry, and several terrestrial livestock species also gave their lives in support of the BBQ madness. A breakfast feast was also prepared, with endless pots of coffee and one tea, bag most definitely out.

A veritable cornucopia of other goods and snacks completed the table. The beer fridge was filled to capacity......despite being emptied at a constant and alarming pace.

Unless everyone lied to our faces....and I think ya go to Hell for that, people....a great time was had by all.

No police were called. No paramedics were required. Nobody lost an eye....but a few lucky people got an eyeful.

Book yer 2010 May long weekend off now folks....same time next year!

Rawking in the Coop

BBQ Smorgasbord

Shoe Fly, Shoe! Fly Shoe, Fly!

Sun Worshippers

....the COOP !!!

....it still needs more cowbell....
Pickerel, perch and smelt...oh my!!!

Relaxing on the Green

The 2nd Washroom