Perfect weather for doing "stuff".

Talk about the temperature having a direct effect on ones energy level.  Sad to say,  anytime it's hot and humid,  I have the motivation of a sloth.  Which of course,  made working in a hot school somewhat problematic.  Glad those days are far behind me.
Anyway,  'nuff of that talk about that four letter word.  Don't want to get all maudlin.  Or whatever emotion it is that comes out when talking about wo...well,  let's not even mention it.

So,  Travelling Companion and I had a golf morning.  It wasn't much of an early morning,  since I had to call the club and tell them that we'd be late.   Our t-off was for 9:30,  and I noticed on my receipt that we did manage to at least pay our green fees at something like 9:37.   I don't like being "late" though,  and they appreciated that I called.  One needs to be civilized,  after all.
Getting ourselves out the door this morning was somewhat akin to "herding cats",  and don't get me wrong,  I was just as disconnected from any kind of time pressure as T.C.

Anyhoodle,  we had a wonderful time.  Never really broke a sweat,  except for maybe when we got back into the hot car.  Even then the temperature was something like 25º (Celsius)  We've made plans to go back next week.  Providing of course,  that the weather cooperates.
That's the key.

Not easy taking pictures of the two of you,  and not totally cock it up.

T.C. is never overly thrilled at having her picture taken,  so the fact that she's slightly out of focus back there is probably a good thing.

Of course,  I sucked.  But hey,  like I said,  it was such an awesome morning,  it didn't really matter.  There are plenty more golf balls in the store.  Or at least that's the way I look at it.  It's best not to get too emotionally attached to any particular type or set of golf balls I find.  Much easier to handle to inevitable losses.   And trust me,  there were a few of those.

*ahem*

Moving on,  I managed to have the energy in the afternoon to get started on a pergola that my nephew and I are contemplating for my sister-in-law.

These are pieces I had left over from when we did the front of the house.  I'm in need of a third sixteen footer.  We'll fetch that tomorrow.   The posts and other cross members will be pressure treated,  but the main bits will be cedar.   Only because I actually had these three pieces on hand.  Initially we talked about making the whole thing from pressure treated,  and simply using an opaque stain to dress it up.  It's a colour that's very similar to what you see around the garage windows there.

That was the big excitement for today.  There's other "stuff".  I have pictures.  But maybe that'll be for another time.

Don't you just hate this sort of "click bait" thing I have going on?  A few words are better than none.  At least that's the story I'm going with.

Thanks for stopping by.


.

Got the bug.

And by that I mean,  the Emerald Ash Borer.

And we're not alone.

The chap I hired to come today and cut down one of the "three sisters" as we used to call them,  has been way too busy cutting down ash trees as fast as folks can hire him.  Not his favourite thing to do, as he'd much prefer to be trimming trees and other general arboreal upkeep.

This was the beast.

 We estimate at around 75 years old,  which would have meant maybe another lifespan of 25+ years or so?  Needless to say,  no plans to cut it down in the foreseeable future.  Not my future anyway.

There was a certain amount of studying going on even before climbing the tree.  Best to try and plan these things while on the ground I suppose.

I took a mess of pictures,  but you know the drill.   Climb tree.  Tie off.  Cut chunks off.  Lower them to the ground.

Preferably without coming into contact with that expensive roof we had installed a couple years ago.

You can see all the dead branches.

Anyway,  that last pic is early afternoon,  and they're just about done.  Gonna miss the extra shade,  but that particular tree had this one dead branch that extended out precariously over the driveway.  No bueno.

Now,  in case you don't feel like reading that wiki article,  I'll show you first hand what these little buggers do.

More or less self explanatory.  They bore into the "cambium",  and literally choke the tree to death.  Seems to me the cambium sends nutrients down the tree from above, and ultimately makes a new growth ring.

Almost as bad as putting down an ageing pet.  Well, maybe not quite.  But we're seriously running out of trees around here.   Since we moved in over twenty years ago,  we've cut down five mature trees due to disease,  as well as another two as a result of poor location.  (Between the two houses.  Not good.)

So,  that's all I'll be 'sharing' today.   Last week we were in Vancouver.  Maybe I'll go on about that in a day or two.

Thanks for stopping by.

It's been a good month.

Just realized how long it's been since I uttered a peep.   Erp.

It happens.

There's been sailing,  which is not that unusual,  along with a couple cottage visits,  which is also not that unusual.
One place on Sturgeon Lake,   the other in Wasaga,  on..... *thinks*  Georgian Bay.  Drew a blank for a second there...

Now,  don't misunderstand,  the place in Wasaga isn't really anywhere near where all the commotion is in the "downtown" area of Wasaga Beach,   We took a little drive down that way on one of the afternoons (it's all a blur)  and we were reminded of just why a fellow could be known as a "Wasaga Head".  There were some "sights",  let me tell ya!  But over on Shore Lane Drive,  it's a much more sedate sort of experience.  And that's quite alright with me.
This place is not on the beach side,  and that also fine,  as it's really only about a 50 meter walk to the beach by way of a right of way...

And I should mention that,  there are quite a few places that are a carry over from the days when a "cottage" was just that,  such as this place,  and then there are what I refer to as the "monstrosities".  One of these times I'll have to take photos to show a few examples.  One doesn't want to offend,  of course,  but there are a number of places that are truly big and hideous.  I'm of the opinion that the town/municipality/whatever allows this to happen,  as a way of extracting higher and higher property taxes from these people who have more money than taste.


My sister-in-law and hubby have made a couple minor changes in the last little while,  but they're not really looking to do anything to dispense with the rustic nature of the place.
Just a little paint.

I never in a million years would have figured that that shade of blue would go with that colour of siding,  but then again,  I have no skill when it comes to picking colours.

They're not going to bother with the frieze boards (up at the roof line there) until such time as they do the roof.  We got some heavy rain one evening when we were there and the roof doesn't leak,  so a new roof might not happen for a time.  There's more pressing talk of building a shed in the back,  which would later be added to in order to have a "bunky".    It's not a terribly big place,  and there were five of us,  which meant putting a mattress on the sectional seating area for two of the nights.  Not a terribly big deal,  but it's always nicer if a person has a place to keep their "stuff", instead of having to shuttle it from place to place, let's just say.

Anyhoodle,  as it always pays to be "handy",  (never short of invites to a cottage!)  we did install a couple extra electrical outlets while I was there.  It's a job that's usually always better done with two bodies,  and especially depending on ones skill set.

 I'm the one with the "skill" it so happens, (not that I have gobs of it or anything) so I elected to be not the one to crawl around under the cottage.   Plus,  I'm older.  And a guest,  and....OK, never mind.

They're planning on having a bit of counter space on the other side of the kitchen,  and also moving the fridge.   We just made sure we tied into the fridge circuit,  so that when they're not there in the summer and want to keep the fridge running,  it'll still be on the same circuit.

Never hurts to use a little bit of common sense.

And I only mention any of this since I remembered to take some pics.  Mostly I forget.



The other cottage that we went to a couple weeks ago is,  if you recall any of our Thanksgiving visits, on Sturgeon Lake.  There is a totally different "feel" to the place,  as I find that Sturgeon Lake can be rather rough at times.

Hence the reason for having a boat lift.

Anyway,  for that particular visit,  I had decided to take along a power planer (I don't have need to use it that often,  as it's rather aggressive)  and take about three eights of an inch off one corner of the bathroom door.   I didn't get a single picture,  but suffice to say,  the door finally closes now after I don't know how many years that it's bugged the hell out of me and everyone else.   One of those things where,  I keep meaning to "sort it out",  but then of course forget to take along the proper tools.
It's all about the "proper tools",  and I'm afraid that neither of the owners of these respective places have quite figured out the "proper tool" situation.

That's fine,  I got it covered.

Oh,  and of course there was a brief trip in to Bobcageon for a visit to Bigley shoes.

T.C. managed to find a couple items.  Like that's a stretch.
I have been passively looking for something to replace an aging pair of sandals,  but wasn't willing to pay over a hundred bucks for something that ultimately is going to get wet and abused on the boat,  among other places.   I'll eventually find something I would imagine.


Meh.  What else?

It's been bloody dry around here,  that's one thing.  We've had snippets of rain,  but we really need about a solid week at this point to get everything green again.
I mean,  we water the gardens and such,   but there are sections of the lawn that are parched.
No biggie.  It'll come back.  It always does.

I think that's about it.  I see you starting to glaze over.  I'll stop now.

Keep those sticks on the ice.

Thanks for stopping by.