Fun/day

I think that Fun/day is what you get when you have fun on a Sunday along the Fundy. In short, we had a great day yesterday. One of the few since last summer that actually made me feel glad to be here.

We started out by meeting up with a small group of other transplants at someone's house in New Maryland. One couple moved from Toronto with their young son almost two years ago. Another family with three girls came from the UK. And one woman has lived all over Canada and I can't recall where she lived last. Anyway, we headed off on the Trans-Canada and picked up 7 to head toward Saint John. First we passed a porcupine walking by the side of the road and then a ground hog that made it across the road. This is a stretch of highway that is one of, if not the, worst for vehicle-moose collisions. Last August, in the fog of early morning, we saw two dead moose. A good deal of the road has had fencing run alongside the trees. But, yesterday... we had our first live sighting of a moose! And, it was a juvenile, just strolling along the fenceline - on the other side, thank goodness. And, 8YO saw it too which is even better because he often can't spot things when one of us says, "Look!"

We got down to where you go left to Saint John or right toward St. Stephen and turned right. Our first stop was the Musquash Head Light. On the way to the trailhead I even got to have my first Subaru moment. Our fearless leader was driving her great, but two-wheel drive, Mazda 3 and was having trouble negotiating a point where the gravel was very uneven. We just rolled on through. We were prepared to ferry folks to the trailhead, but she persisted and made it in the Mazda.

We parked and walked the trail to the lighthouse, perched on the edge of some pretty steep cliffs. It was very foggy, but nice. I'd like to go back when we can actually see more of the water than a tiny slice at the bottom of the cliff.

This is the group, strolling down the trail, toward the fog!

Here you can see a little bit of the water down below.

From there we drove into Lorneville and stopped at a little public park/playground for a picnic. As we sat, we looked out across the salt marshes of the Musquash Estuary. The kids had a blast running and running and the adults got to visit. 8YO, of course, ended up in a ditch with his shoes covered in mud. First change of the day. Swap the shoes for clean socks and rubber boots and the jeans for shorts.

From there we drove over to Chance Harbour and stopped at Cranberry Cove. Our fearless leader had checked the tide tables before organizing our little jaunt and the timing was perfect. The kids were able to walk quite a way out on the mud before getting to the water's edge. 8YO - true to his zodiac - loves, loves, loves the water. Of course he was advised not to go so far as to have the tide wash over the top of his boots, but, c'mon, that just made it more fun. So, off came the boots. Then, off came to t-shirt so that he'd have something dry to put on later. By the time we were packing up to leave he was riding back in a towel and the dry t-shirt and later his rain pants and the t-shirt. And. That's. It. I had brought more extras and then had forgotten I had done so! Funny thing is that, when he heard we were stopping at a beach, he asked if I had packed his swimsuit and I said, no, that it was too cold to go in the water. Guess I've learned my lesson.

The kids playing when we first arrived.

8YO, near the end of our visit - no boots, no t-shirt, wet shorts...
and having a blast!

We headed back to Fredericton and even made it home before the rain came. On the drive back we saw a juvenile deer on the other side of the fence, but no moose.

The day was fabulous. P even re-connected with someone in the library system here and will be following up, per her request, with her resume. Not bad for a lazy Sunday!

This morning has been busy, too. Our realtor stopped by to see the deck, we had two cord of wood delivered, and the new contractor's guys are putting up sheetrock in the basement. Maybe we're turning a corner...

While I'm here, a few more photos before I sign off -

Our Green Cone digester and Earth Machine composter.

The beginnings of our square foot garden.
Still have to make Mel's Mix and then we'll plant with the moon.

The deck! Well, part of it anyway.

The house, from the back, sans snow!

That's it for now. Little by little...