Thanksgiving Pt. 2 (or why everyone should love folk music and beware of seagulls)

So in my last post I mentioned that my family spent thanksgiving on the beach and it was wonderful. I shall continue along that vein in this post and conclude this series in the next.

So as I mentioned... I was kayaking and enjoying life. The lake was beautiful- the water was crystal clear and stiller than I have ever seen. As I drifted over a shallow section I was stunned by the clear view of the rocky bottom. (Normally it is too wavy for me to notice.) The view really made me think of the song Your Rocky Spine by the Great Lake Swimmers. I took some video clips and made a nice little music video for the song with them- I shall attempt to load it but it might prove difficult since the file is rather large so if it doesn't work/ doesn't appear in this post you will just have to satisfy yourself with this Youtube vid I pulled from the band's channel. Then if you like what you hear you should go buy their cd because good music should be celebrated and enjoyed.

Anyways while I was taking videos and humming folk songs I didn't notice a more sinister threat looming on the horizon. I must have upset a seagull* without realizing it until I noticed a seagull flying over me... and noticed something falling from underneath it. Like I did, you may have already assumed that the contents of this missile were the digested remains of the birds last meal. (My Dad doesn't call the birds shithawks for nothing.) However as I paddled out of the way of the plummeting projectile I heard the distinct plopping noise of a stone. That is right the irritated bird not only aimed for me, it chose to arm itself with a stone as a weapon. I was grateful the bird didn't have very good aim, and kinda shocked that it happened at all.

They may appear innocent but BEWARE!

*my apologies to my friends and readers with ornithological leanings. I do know that those birds most people commonly refer to as seagulls are often herring gulls or glaucous winged gulls or could also be several other kinds of gulls. I however do not know how to tell the difference. Nor do I at this point in time have an overwhelming urge to learn to distinguish these creatures. You shall just have to be satisfied with the fact that I now know that the speckled brown ones aren't the females but are really just the immature birds.

Thanksgiving Pt. 1

Hello all! For my non-Canadian friends I need to tell you that this past weekend was Canadian thanksgiving. A wonderful holiday when we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. I am a very blessed person and I had a fantastic thanksgiving so I will split my thanksgiving blog posts up into several chunks. Hurray!

Mom and I take some time to get closer.... in the kayak. And yes she is texting!

Americans celebrate thanksgiving too but Canadians like to get a headstart. That and if we waited to celebrate until the Americans did most of us would be knee deep in snow, having long forgotten the harvest. As it was, in my area, many farmers were in the midst of harvesting. The gorgeous weather combined with forecasters calling for rain soon, probably saw many farmers eating their thanksgiving turkey in the form of a sandwich on the combine. My non-cash-cropping family however was able to fully enjoy the beautiful weather and we took to the beach for some kayaking, sandcastle making, Frisbee throwing, and all around fun. I can't remember a thanksgiving where we were able to run around on the beach in our swimsuits and shorts before but we definitely did this year.

Dad and I on the lake

My older sister and brother got up to some shenanigans as you can see in the video I posted. My brother was at it too but he made me promise to not post a video of him so you'll have to take my word for it.

The weather was beautiful and the lake was very calm. Dad and I got in a good paddle and I finally got a good pic of me kayaking!

All in all it was a lovely day!

Finally a good pic of me kayaking! Isn't the water gorgeous!

Dear Holly...

Dear Holly,
You probably don't read my blog but it is good emotional release for me anyways. If you did read my blog you would have known from my previous post "Hello is Holly there.." that I frequently receive phone calls from some of your former friends/acquaintances who still have your old number. For a brief time I thought that maybe you had corrected this problem, since I hadn't received many calls for awhile. However the events of the past few days have changed this perception. In the past three days I have received five calls from people looking for you. I politely informed them that this hasn't been your number for approx a year and a half now and it is time to update their contact information. Sadly one of your more frustrated and flustered acquaintances didn't hear this admonition and called me twice in the same hour. I fear that if you and your friends don't do something about this in the near future you will continue to miss out on important connections and communication opportunities. I am sure you are feeling terribly unconnected not getting the late night drunk calls from your partying friends, and that voice that sounds like a child probably misses you terribly. So to Holly and all of her friends, and to anyone else who has possibly changed their number in the recent past I strongly suggest that you ensure all your previous contacts have your updated contact information- for your sake, theirs, and the person who now has your former number.

Sincerely,
The current owner of your former cell number

ShariAnn does an Independent Thing.

Once upon a time there was a young female scientist named ShariAnn. She set off into the world to have adventures and explore. She moved to a small city where she had a wonderful job and made many marvelous friends. She played in the river and forests and fens. Sadly her adventures were cut short when her job finished earlier than expected. Not wishing to drain all her financial resources while unemployed the sensible ShariAnn decided to move back home where her parents welcomed her with open arms. Home was nice and familiar and warm and safe but the young adventurous scientist longed for adventure. For a brief time she satiated her desire for something new by keeping herself occupied- she read books, watched tv, went for walks and got the mail. However as her siblings returned home, for similar reasons, home began to feel smaller and smaller, and she missed her friends from that far away small city. Eventually the urge to be independent and do something became to strong. Trips the the grocery store and the post office were not enough to satisfy the young scientists need for adventure. So she packed up her bags and loaded up her shiny yellow vehicle and set out on the long drive to the small city to visit her friends, because she was lonely and she missed them and she needed to do something independent. She had a lovely visit with them, talking, laughing, meeting new people, doing all the things she missed and wishing she still lived in the small city with many friends. At the end of the week she would return home to her loving parents and family, and not much would have changed but she would find it a little easier to wait patiently for her next adventure.

The End 

(for now)

This photo is from another time the young scientist did an independent thing: when she hopped in her yellow vehicle and drove to explore Lake Superior Provincial Park and enjoy the beach by herself one fine summer's day.