The Wild Life.........

Some of you are aware of ............

.... all the trapping that Poppa has done this year.  I believe he has captured a total of 11 skunks, 5 raccoons and 2 squirrels.  Once there is a prospective client in the trap, if the client is a skunk, he throws a blanket over the trap (carefully).  This is supposed to disable the inhabitant from seeing him and thus preventing the malodorous explulsion of spray.  Poppa has only been sprayed once - we're not sure if the skunk had unusually good eye-sight or if Poppa was a little slow tossing the blanket on - but the results were extremely unpleasant and long-lasting.  Every time it rained for the rest of that year, there was hint of eau de skunk in the truck.  Anyway, after carefully dropping the blanket over the trap (this is not necessary for racoons - and he just lets the squirrels go right away), he loads it.......

 ...into the back of the truck......

......takes a long drive in the country............where he waits patiently for the critter to make its escape so he can take the trap home......

.... and clean it again in readiness for the next hapless critter who wanders in.  Recently he had set the trap at Aunt Peggy's since she seemed to have unidentified critters trying to make a home under her sunroom.  When he went to check it out, the trapdoor was closed but there was nobody inside.  On closer examination he discovered that the trap was badly mangled and broken and the door was bent.  After much discussion and scrutiny, Poppa and Kev-Inn concluded that a much larger and stronger varmint had been exploring the possiblity of a fish and peanut butter dinner.  Then, not hungry any longer but now wanting a nap - this aforementioned varmint discovered much to his dismay, that he could not get out.  They assume he quickly became angry enough to struggle until he managed to force the door open sufficiently to squeeze through and escape.  There were traces of varmint blood found on the trap, so he did not escape completely unscathed.  Thus, the conclusion was that it was probably a fox, coyote or other larger related species as opposed to the normal skunks or raccoons.  Whatever it was...........

.... Poppa had to do some work to straighten all the wires...........

.... and then he had to take the trap to his workshop and actually weld it back together again!  Eventually, after several hours of fixing and testing...........

.... it was once again ready to re-set...........he placed it carefully in Poppa's park - where he had encountered some evidence of varmint activity..........

Once again....

.... my computer is down, so I am using the old one!  The 5-month old computer is in for repair, and I have purchased a new one for myself - Poppa will get the older one.  Unfortunately, neither of them is quite ready for us to pick up yet....I'll keep you up to date!

Finally..........

.......... the reunion!  I have a few minutes while Poppa finishes getting ready for church, so I'll try to get a blog in.  The reunion - as you might remember vaguely! - took place on the Labour Day weekend.  We started out by picking up Aunt Grumpy at her new condo and when we had finished our tour, we left for the home of Poppa's cousin's home where the big bash was to take place.  We arrived a little late due to the high volume of traffic on the highway - with all the cottagers returning home in time for the little ones to prepare for school.   So......

.... when we arrived there was already quite a gang there!  You can see Uncle Ernie keeping an eye on the children while he is having a chat with the host of the party - Poppa's cousin Don.  Now - here is a surprise... if you look to the left of Uncle Ernie you will see a young lady in a blue dress.  Standing beside her is her husband.  He is a very nice young man named Dave Clarkson.  Yes - for any Toronto Maple Leaf fans out there.........he is the Dave Clarkson who just moved from the New Jersey Devils to become a new player for the Leafs!  His wife is Brittany and she is the daughter of another cousin of Poppa's - an extremely nice young lady and I would never have guessed that this couple was so well-known if I hadn't been told!  A bit of a thrill for all of us gathered there!  It was a rainy, drizzly day....

... but that didn't stop everyone from having a good time.... in this photo you can wee Poppa and Auntie Denise chatting with a gang of rascals......

.... here are a few more of them.  The food was under that red umbrella.  Uncle David barbequed and the food was very scrumptious!

........ here you can see Aunt Grumpy and Poppa visiting with our host, while Munchie tries to convince Poppa that it would be more fun to play than stand around talking!  Yes - our little boys were there with Mommy and Daddy too!  Because of the rain and the transient nature of visiting relatives I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked!  A few of them....

... (including me - when I wasn't taking pictures) chose to sit under this gazebo for protection from the damp weather.  I did manage to .............

..... get these two people (Lee Ann & Kevin) to stand still long enough for a nice photo, and....

.... Liz and Brendan were moving a little slower than some of the other people there!  Yes - that is little Brendan who was just about three months old last time we saw him!  Like most fun events, this one seemed to end too quickly and we headed back to drop Aunt Grumpy off and then home.........

.... where Poppa had other things to deal with!

Amenities........ Galore!

I promised to show you some of the amenities at Aunt Grumpy's new condo building.......finally I have a few minutes to follow up on that promise!

As you may recall, we began by admiring this wall of glass in her unit.....

After we left the unit, Aunt Grumpy kindly showed us around some of the other area in the building.  There was an exercise room where Auntie Denise tried the eliptical machine whle Poppa looked on.....

.......... there was a fitness room where a yoga lesson was in progress, and a weight room which I obviously missed with the camera... and....

... a common room which an owner can rent for a party - complete with a small kitchen area.....

... an open area and a sitting area.  Away down at the far end is a library,  where you can remove books to read and/or leave any books of yours that you've already read, so others can enjoy them too.  It is complete with chairs for sitting and a lovely view....

.... out to the adjoining patio/balcony area where there are several large stainless steel built-in barbeques which are also available for owner use.  Looking over the balcony....

... down at.....

... the greenery which makes one forget that they are in the middle of a large urban area.  There is a road down there and a bicycle/hiking trail as well!  We couldn't get into the theatre since it was in use, but there is actually a theatre in the building should an owner wish to rent it for a night "out" at the movies!  We were totally taken with the building and Aunt Grumpy's share of it.  Congratulations on your latest purchase Aunt Grumpy and many happy years there!

Bear Tales

I received this photo the other day from Mommy.  The little guys in the photo are Patches and Buster.  You might remember about two years ago I made Buster (who is looking a little the worse for wear!) for Munchie , and Patches is a newer bear belonging to little Curtie.

Accompanying the photo was this missive:

Hi Christopher & Curtis:

We are no longer lost but found and safe with Gramma.  We are having fun at the beach and playing with Wylie.  We sure do miss you especially at night in your warm embrace cause we cannot sleep cause Gramma snores!  We are taking a trip and will cya soon. 

Love the BEARS

XOXO

It turns out that during a recent visit to Gramma's house - the bears were inadvertently left there......and they were kind enough to send the boys an e-mail to let them know their whereabouts!

Aunt Grumpy's...........

............. new condo...........

........ is on the sixth floor of this tall building.  We parked across the road in the grocery store parking lot, since we weren't sure where to leave the car.  In this photo you only see the top portion of her building as we look over the roof of the grocery store.  Auntie Denise had been there before (and this is where she parked)....... so......

..... we followed her up the street towards Aunt Grumpy's building..... and .....

.... through the front door........

... and into the foyer....... complete with..........

... a concierge who agreed to let me take a picture with Aunt Grumpy.  We travelled down the hall into the elevator and up to the sixth floor.  Let me give you a pictorial tour........

......... to the left as you enter the condo there is a huge closet and then a laundry unit hidden behind doors - convenient and neat!  Turning left ..........

... past her compact kitchen which has all kinds of amazing cupboards with doors that open by themselves and all those other conveniences we all wish we had!  On the other side of the hall from the kitchen is.........

.......... is a delightful two piece bath - one where the whole back side of the sink is the drain, and Aunt Grumpy has created some fabulous storage space underneath.  Proceeding down the hall towards the front of the building.......

........ where Aunt Grumpy\s new dining room suite was on display.  I love the simplicity and style!  The other end of this room...........

........is the sitting/living/TV room.  As you can see the whole area is backed by windows - a whole wall of glass.........

....... with awesome views of buildings, roads, and natural areas.  This picture was actually taken....

....out on the balcony ..... where it was a tad breezy - a nice breeze on a warm day!  We went back inside for a peek....

...... at Aunt Grumpy's bedroom...... a spacious room with more gigantic........

.... closet space and...........

.......... her own private bathroom with another ultra-modern sink!  The whole place was impressive and lovely and perfect for a special person - like Aunt Grumpy!  At the end of our tour.........

......... we headed once again to the elevator, but before we left the building......oops!  That's a whole blog in and of itself..........bedtime............back soon!  Good Night All!

Reunion....

..........is today.  We are off to church, then to pick up Aunt Grumpy (Auntie Denise will already be with us), then on to the reunion.  I will take the camera and try to get some pics for you!

Meanwhile, here is Poppa fine-tuning the position of the grandfather clock he chose from my father's clock collection.  It just barely fits in the space where he wanted it!  You'll notice Squeegie was ........ helping???