Back to the hospital

 

Yesterday we sent Mary to the hospital here in Bancroft. Turns out the rods in her spine have both snapped.

She is now in Toronto waiting to hear from her surgeon.

Update June 23rd

Mary was told her surgery will be delayed for at least a week. Seems this is a very complex operation and one doctor in the team is off recovering from Covid. They won't let Mary travel so we are searching for options in the city.

challenges

The doctor said Mary can stay in the hospital until the surgery. Not sure if Mary has any other options. She needs care when she walks, uses the washroom or takes a shower. Where else can she get that?

Update July 2nd

Mary surgery has been scheduled for Monday July 4th Yea!!!!!

Update July 4th

Mary was in surgery from 8am to 4pm today. All went well and now she is in recovery. Thank you to everyone for your notes of support and wishes for a fast recovery. You are such an encouragement to her. 

Update July 27th

Mary will be moved to Bridgeport rehab hospital tomorrow afternoon. It will be wonderful to be in a quiet, less hectic place. The staff at St Mikes has been wonderful and we so appreciate all they have done to get Mary mobile again. Hopefully another week and then she will be home. One step at a time. 

WINTER

 

Winter arrived with a wallop this week . I thought you might enjoy some pictures taken this month.

Our chickens continue to give us six delicious eggs a day. After yesterday's storm the snow load was too great on the chicken coops so I pulled off as much snow as I could .

The snow reaches the top of our raised garden beds which are 18 inches or 45.7 cm tall.

Our wood supply is half gone but we still have more than enough to get us through until  April. 

This is next year's supply and I have another 20 logs waiting to be cut split and stacked to dry. I'm never out of work.

This photo was taken January 6th. Thanks for stopping by and stay safe everyone.

SEARCHING

 Property lines are not always easy to determine back here in the bush. 

Yesterday I used Owen's meatal detector to search for survey stakes on a friend's property.

It has a menu that helps identify what it has found. This saves you some digging when the beeping is not for something you want.

I soon found what I was looking for hidden under a blanket of leaves. 

Finding these survey stakes means you are working on your own property not someone else's

We still need to find a few more

Stay safe and well everyone and thanks for stopping by.

BACK IN ALGONQUIN

 This week we spent a few days back in Algonquin Park.

We are ninety minutes from the park and the traffic is light, the area is gorgeous, and the hiking trails are not too demanding for these old bodies.

We wrapped our potatoes and vegetables in foil and cooked then on the hot coals in the firepit. Mary always insists we have a fire. It has been that way since our first camping trip almost 50 years ago. 

Still lots of campers this late in the season. Another two weeks and this campground will be closed but for now we are enjoying warm fall temperatures and perfect camping conditions.

WE use a converted cargo trailer complete with an awning, king size bed, toilet, induction cooking element, propane stove and beds for the grandkids. We are comfortable regardless of the weather we experience while on the road.

Penny was well behaved and stayed close by at all times. Dogs must be on a leash and she is getting better watching people and other dogs without barking. She still needs to work on her walking skills as she likes to wander off and follow her own path.  

She is the best pet anyone could have. We love her so much.

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us.

EAGLE'S NEST LOOKOUT

 

Yesterday was the perfect fall day; warm, sunny and no bugs. It was just too nice to stay at home so we headed out to Eagle's Nest Lookout. From this vantage point you have a panoramic view of the York River and the surrounding hills.

If you look closely at the photo above you can see the Bancroft airport located about the middle of the photo.

We kept Penny on a short leash and she was well behaved.

Happy  CANADIAN Thanksgiving everyone.

MUSHROOMS

 

Fall is at its best right now which means mushroom season has arrived.

Leanne wanted to collect mushrooms so she could make dyes and so off we went to explore our forest and see what we could find.

They were in abundance. Every step along our trails revealed new mushrooms of different sizes, colours, shapes and texture. Leanne was delighted.

By the time we got home Leanne had a bag full. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the collection but I did get a few shots of those still in the forest. 

If you recognize any of the above mushrooms or fungi let me know.

Like I said earlier, the colours are at their best.

Our forest trail that Penny loves to search. 

Enjoy your day. Thanks for stopping by.

PUMPKINS

 It's fall and that means it's harvest time. Yesterday Leanne and Jamie helped us collect pumpkins.

These were not your typical Halloween size pumpkins; these were MONSTER pumpkins. Guess they do have a "Halloween" connection.

Too big to lift and carry we rolled them onto the bobcat for the trip to the house.

Jamie rode "shotgun" and Penny was ready to help if needed.

Up at the house we decided where they were to go and then rolled them into place.

Job done and the inspector (Penny) seems happy with the arrangement.

So far October has been beautiful, much warmer than usual. This is certainly the best time of the year to be in northern Ontario.

Stay safe and well everyone and thanks for stopping by.