Some Summer Stories

 Who would have thought that the best place to go on a torrid Southern Ontario day would be the Detroit Zoo!  Hot and humid as it was with only the polar bear habitat to provide semi-cool relief, it was nonetheless a wonderful day.  Hauling a picnic with us and with Emily stuffing everyone into her car, we moseyed off to look at giraffes, hippos, ostriches, anteaters and all manner of interesting creatures.  Interesting fact:  Polar bears do not get hot lying in the sun because their fur reflects heat somehow.  So that lazy bear we saw right out in the open 100 degree heat was quite content!!  (We were also told that the zoo has cooling pads for them to lie on outside if they so wish!).

Brian joined us for our yummy picnic which included a terrific children's outdoor concert where Cassie danced the evening away!  Great way to forget the heat, especially when you arrive back at Em and Brian's for a lovely cooling dunk in the pool!

The deck continues to grow and look more beautiful.  Alan has done a masterful job "painting" it with a lovely honey-coloured Australian timber oil.  We eat out on it as often as possible.  Our first party was a lunch that I organized with friends, family and kids on the last day of June.  We celebrated an early Canada Day with many people sporting red and white.

Canada Day itself was brilliant.  Alan, Megan and I spent the day at Fort Malden in Amherstburg about 40K from Windsor.  It is a national historic site and important for its key position both in the War of 1812-14 and in the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837-39.  Its location on the Detroit River  is gorgeous and obviously strategic for battling armies.  We spent the day wandering the site, listening to music and picnicking waterside.  The loveliest thing about the day was watching 43 people become Canadian citizens at an outdoor ceremony on the site.  Quite moving and I felt proud to be there.

We also celebrated an early Fourth of July over in Detroit with a low key day of swimming, eating and schmoozing with the family.  Fireworks (or were they gunshots?) are part of everyone's celebrations on both sides of the river.  Alan and I went to a fabulous display jointly presented by Windsor and Detroit.  They start the event with a plane towing the Canadian flag down the river to the huge applause of the enormous Windsor crowd followed by the American flag towed upriver with the same loud applause stateside.  Both sides can hear the other's noise....terrific event!

So, in our garden the roses are blooming, the tomatoes are ripening, the cardinals insanely singing and all's right with the world!