She Hit A Rock With A Big Bang And A Neighbour Was Helping Out

Even though the grass is growing somewhat slower now it still requires to be mowed from time to time. The day was good enough for that, the grass had dried after last nights dew and I had already done a good deal with our old no, make that “ancient”, push mower. Bea had taken over for another part when I suddenly heard a major BANG outside. At the same second the motor noise of the mower stopped. What the h…. did she hit a big rock?  When I looked out the window I saw her scraping the underside of the mower. 10 minutes later Bea was coming up the stairs. The mower didn’t start!  I went down to try my luck, but all I heard was a mighty clatter and then it died. There was no further signs of life in the old Tecumseh engine. It was stone dead. Alright, we needed a new mower and quick! While I went on the internet looking for mower deals, Bea went to the pharmacy to get her medication. When she returned she had talked to a neighbour who had told her about 2 older lawn mowers in their garage and whether I wouldn’t want to get up there to have a look. I grabbed the gas can and was gone in an instant. Her is what I found:   It started right away after I had filled up with fresh gas. It has a Briggs&Stratton engine and by Golly they are good – as long as you don’t hit a rock. My offer to buy the thing was declined. I could either just take it or it would remain in the garage. Talk about having super nice neighbours!   Want to know the real good part of it?  It is actually self-propelled. It does run by itself and we don’t have to push it uphill like the old ancient one. Thanks for dropping by!

Boondockers Goodbye

It all started with the bluest sky you can imagine. The air was still morning-fresh, and Pete and Sherri were busying themselves around their rig. We knew they would be leaving today. They came as strangers and left as friends. What a wonderful thing this Boondockers Welcome really is. Last night we had a last dinner together and kept talking until dusk settled all around us and mosquitoes started moving in. Their lights went out shortly after, and I knew they planned for an early departure tomorrow. So we didn’t sit much longer either. I’m getting tired quickly when a day is over. Well, we got clouds and a few sprinkles of rain later, but it remained a nice Sunday. Fired up the Weber in the evening and had us some good Brats with home-made potato salad and garden-grown veggies. Forecast for tomorrow speaks of rain – we’ll see. Hopefully it isn’t getting that bad as on Friday when St.Stephen received unbelievable 160mm (6.5inch) News had it that several basements in town needed to be pumped out. It occurred to me that we’d been pretty fortunate out here, and after all the water runs out into the sea without causing damage. That is we don’t count Bea’s beautiful Peonies. Their flowers just died in the rain and there’s nothing left of them. Take care and thanks for stopping by again!                                                                                                                       Time to say GoodBye

The Three Ladies From Texas

I was pretty much all set to spend the day indoors today. The rain was coming in sheets filling buckets in a record speed. But then the telephone rang. It was from the local Motel. They had three ladies who wanted to get on a sightseeing tour today.  SIGHTSEEING???  I looked out the window and all I could see was the street and the nearest house. But of course we won’t let 3 ladies being stranded in a motel room on a rainy day, so we agreed upon a time where I would meet them in front of the visitor centre at 12 noon. They had booked the “Tea With Eleanor” in the Hubbard Cottage at 11a and probably would be done by noon. As I pulled up at the visitor centre a couple minutes short of 12 the rain had just intensified sending down gallons of fresh water. My van was standing in a little lake. People hustled in and out of the building, they all got wet feet. I had the engine running to keep the mist off the windshield. Time was crawling by but nobody showed. Finally I stepped out getting my feet right into that lake. I was going to ask at the reception counter whether they were done with the tea at the Hubbard Cottage. Apparently they were not, so I decided to take the van around to the Hubbard Cottage to possibly pick them ladies right off the door. If they would walk that distance they would look just like coming from a swim in the ocean. Sure enough, just a minute after me arriving at the house they stepped out from the doorway ready to clamber aboard. I took them on our usual route, but leaving out Friars Head Viewpoint. There was simply no point to get them up there as they would just be standing looking at the dense rain. When we finally had made it to Raccoon Beach I told the story of the round rocks – and showed them a few I keep at hand. Their eyes caught fire and before I knew it, the first one was out the door heading towards that stairway down to the beach. And the next one followed right after. The oldest lady, however preferred to stay dry – what a wise person! For me there was nothing else to do but to follow after them.  After all one of them could slip and fall on the wet steps. Before I ever reached the top of the stairs the first one was out between the rocks heading right for the waters edge. We had a hefty swell today and waves were crashing onto the beach. When I finally was on the beach, my pants were soaked to my skin. Quickly i found a few round rocks and brought them over to the two explorers. I could tell that they had all intentions to spend the rest of our tour looking for rocks, but finally I hustled them back up the stairs. They deposited their treasures in their hand bags and off we went to see what else we could do to keep the girls happy. Later we all had lunch at the Golf Course, me, I took only a piece of pie with ice cream and a coffee. It was still pouring down when we were done an hour later, but the show had to go on. After more than 3 hours I dropped them off at their car in the park. They carried their beach treasures to their rental car and I just hope they’ll find room for it in their flight baggage.

It’s Pouring Down And A Few Pictures

They had predicted lots of rain and boy did we get it. The inlands of New Brunswick are expected to receive about 90mm (almost 4 inch!) while we might be looking at a little less than the half. It is such a blessing that our house stands high and on slightly sloping ground. Our basement has a drain, so whatever runs in runs out. I can hear the steady hum of pelting rain outside. The sky is dark, our boondockers who have enjoyed themselves tremendously are still sleeping in their camper, and I’m just considering a second mug of coffee. Yesterday ended with a mini potluck, Sherri had made a delicious chilly and Bea had prepared a spaghetti-squash. Instead of staring at a TV, we look outside and a mighty fine show is going on. SUNSET OVER EASTPORT We have probably hundreds of sunset pictures, but everyone sunset is unique and triggers a new series of pictures. I will keep it short today and instead let the pictures speak.