The Summer of My Discontent

I have neglected my blog this past summer, I was too miserable, upset, cranky....

Mark and I live with my mom in the house I grew up in. My family moved here when I was in high school. We have enjoyed a view of Lake Superior and the Slate Islands, until this summer. The hospital is building a new long term care wing, it will take our view from us. Never mind the chaos of having major construction in your back yard, but this loss of view has devastated me.

This wing could have been built in a different place or in a different way. I live on Lakeview Drive, my family paid for this view..the hospital is being a bad neighbour.

I am not a happy camper, and my little world has changed.. is this progress? I am not so sure.. my bubble has been burst. I am not sure I want to live here any more, with a building so close to our yard. At the moment we do not have another option. Yes eventually I will get used to it, but for now I am upset.

the view from my backyard..

Freezing Rain

We have had freezing rain most of last night and all of today. The ice is building up out there, very slippery underfoot. Not a good place for me to be, as I do not have much balance to start with! I am really quite worried about our frail little pine tree, it is heavily coated and the branches are hanging low, I sure hope they do not snap. A friend from St. Joe's Island, gave me the tree quite a few years ago, I traded some white dahlia bulbs for it!

close up view from our ice crusted kitchen window

view from kitchen out to the back yard

Bonfire in the Backyard

Tonight we decided to have a fire in the backyard, brrr! We cooked our dinner over the fire. I was chilled to the bone, it took me hours to warm up.

Megan, Thomas & Mark

Megan & Mark

Thomas & the moon

toasty warm fire

Foggy Morning

Yesterday I woke up to the snow falling heavily. The day warmed up and the snow turned to rain. Rain on snow is not the best thing to happen in the winter. I am already dreading to go out the door, it will be very slippery. It rained most the night, not heavy rain but steady. I woke this morning to pea soup fog, it has lifted a little but it does seem strange at this time of year. Eerie.....

view from my back door

I will have to go down to the basement and see if I can find my cleats that slip onto my boots. I do not have very good balance on the best of days, I really do not want to fall.

Quiet days here.. Mark is back to work... the kids sleep in... I am feeling a deep urge to weave... but it will have to wait a week or so.. 

Lake Freighters and Mountain Ash berries

Yesterday I went for my daily walk uptown to check the mail. As I came down the hill home, as our town is built on terraces, hence the name Terrace Bay..., I spied a lake freighter out between the Slate Islands and the mainland. Always a treat, I get excited.. I ran in the house grabbed my camera and took a few photos. I had to zoom, as it was about 5 miles away, and would have looked quite small. The fall is the season when we see the most lake freighters, as we get big winds. They come in closer depending on the direction of the wind.

lake freighter, Terrace Bay

mountain ash berries

I have also been wanting to go out and take a photo of the mountain ash berries. the tree are just hanging with berries, so pretty now that the leaves have fallen. The birds will have a feast! The berries are gorgeous, the ends look as though they have been stitches into a star. So pretty.

my back garden

I took some photos of our back yard through a screened upstairs window.

We are still in work mode getting the gardens weeded and planted.

Rock patio, dog kennel, raspberry patch...

Crooked view of rock patio, rock planter....

Brick patio and greenhouse....

Greenhouse, back garden, sidewalk, and side flower beds, these flower beds wrap around the house.

Greenhouse, copper planters, flower beds......