Outpost Week 33 ~ Still Waiting

The weather this week has been anything but “springlike”. Cold mornings, rainy afternoons and windy evenings have been the norm although there was one evening that hinted at the things to come. I know it can be nice, I've seen the evidence in Ken's summertime blog. Guides wearing t-shirts while out on the water tell me it must get warm here ......eventually, and the fishing is not bad either!

The fact that I'm still wearing sweats, socks and several sweaters hasn't stopped me thinking of shorts, skirts and swimsuits which I may have the chance to wear this summer and this leads me to think – DIET. Along with all the millions who make that 'new year' commitment to shed a few pounds Mike and I always join in. The cookies and cakes, fudge and french toast, liqueurs and other liquid libations that were consumed with gusto and nary a thought of the end result or a thought of where the results would end up, were of no consequence.

Several months ago we decided it was time to pay the piper, as they say, so the cookie jar has remained empty, the ice cream maker put back on top of the cooler – way out of reach. Cake pans, tart tins, and muffin trays are starting to collect dust. You can see the trend here of our vices....sweets. Well as I said it was several months ago now that our will power had been put to the test and we are now seeing some results. Can't say......

now it's not that I won't say but we don't have a scale here to determine our starting weight or how much we've lost but we use the next best thing..... a pair of jeans.

Sweat pants (our daily attire) should come with a warning: Continual wearing of this product will result in a false sense of yourself.

Finding that our jeans could be zipped up once again was obviously a milestone to celebrate and what better way than to enjoy something we haven't had in ages!

....but Man cannot live by bread alone.

Since I seem to be talking a lot about the weather (how cold it is) the water is also still on the cooler side which keeps it clear, and that is a good thing especially for taking pictures.

Our one spectacular sunset for the week.

It happened in the blink of an eye and the moment I straightened up I knew what I had done. We've all picked up something the wrong way, leaned over when we should have bent down or turned our entire body instead of twisting around. I seem to do this once a year and pay for it by being hunched over and in pain for 3- 4 days. My last few days have been spent mostly laying on the couch with short periods of sitting up. I've had to be content with reading, surfing the net, looking at magazines – all on my computer- watching movies, napping or listening to the radio. I really can't manage to stand long enough to make meals so I have to sit back and let Mike cater to me. I'm sure I'll be up and around soon but you really don't want to hurry these things.

Till next week,

Heather & Mike

Outpost Week 32 ~ A Peek into the Past

For the last couple of years Mike and I have called the 'Outpost' in Port Louis our home but there is evidence that we, WCFC, are not the first to have found this little bay a welcoming area. I have tried to find any reference to whom they might have been in the books we have here but have come up empty. I wonder how they came to be here, what type of dwelling did they live in, how did they get supplies such as coffee, flour or gas for the boat they must have had, why did they choose to live in such a remote location, when did they leave.

There must have been children – a thin worn moss covered swing still remains as a reminder that a young family had once also called this bay, home.

The sun has a hard time reaching us as we are almost entirely surrounded by hills that rise to 300 feet and 100 foot trees but in the south- east corner of the bay the sun touches the ground early in the season. It's here that years ago a garden was planted and tended too. What type of vegetables would this pioneer woman have chosen to cultivate in such a small patch? I haven't an ounce of a 'green thumb' so I can only imagine the basics like lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes if those items were even possible with the soil conditions here.

 

Our friends Sammy, Norm and Al constantly keep us amused showing up when you least expect to see them or peering in the windows of the lodge but they and their relatives must have been a constant source of agitation to a gardener. Remnants of netting lay draped over fallen and rotting stakes which once would have been a fence, enclosing the small plot in hopes of keeping out the ever present looters.

......and possilbly other vandals.

This is a picture of a photograph I found in one of the bedrooms. There is no information written on it, not even a date. I'm hoping someone from the WCFC or maybe even a long time guest can shed some knowledge about this piece of history.

Today the crew shack sits in the exact same spot.

I have to use a picture I took last week as this one has been a bust as far as the weather is concerned but I know evenings like this will return....but when?

Till next week,
Heather & Mike

Outpost Week 31 ~ Re-Freshed

We had the Easter Bunny, of sorts, visit us this past holiday weekend. He left behind eggs although they weren't of the chocolate variety. We didn't mind, in fact were quite ecstatic to be getting just plain old regular chicken eggs. This particular Easter Bunny also left behind lots of 'rabbit food', lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers plus apples, oranges and bananas to name just a few. It was my first Easter ever that I didn't miss the chocolate but indulged in a super sized BLT.

Our request for a possible 'food drop' - maybe it could be delivered in a silver parachute. For those who are wondering what they heck I'm talking about, I started reading 'The Hunger Games' this past weekend and couldn't stop until I had devoured all 3 books in the trilogy – back to the food. There were no planes heading down our way, I was told but I'll see what we can do, was the message from Ken. As luck would have it a new employee was heading over to the Clubhouse from Masset with one of their boats so he could pick up our grocery order and than pick up Roger at the Clubhouse and weather permitting make a run down to the Outpost. Sounds iffy to me. One look out the window Friday morning and I was pretty sure the game was on. An email confirmed just that with a ETA around noon.

 

The weather and seas being so co-operative Roger and Beau felt they could spend an hour or so before having to head back, which was nice for us. Roger has been with WCFC for quite a few years now and we met last year when he spent some time at the OP, so we had some catching up and gossiping to do.

 

Time to suit up and make the 30 mile trip back home.

We spotted our first hummingbird of the season. I wasted no time in mixing up a batch of sugar water and hung the new feeder that I brought in this year. As far as I can tell there's only 1 but there must be more, right?

Now you see it.....

Now you don't. It's been a week of highs and lows.

Another first....2 eagles.

I'm not the only one never to pass up an opportunity to lay in the sun

A quiet evening at the Outpost.

Till next week,
Heather & Mike

Outpost Week 30 ~ Everyday There's Something New

Late one afternoon this week enjoying a glass of wine, watching the ever changing sky we were commenting on how much different the weather has been this year when I decided to look back to the blog I had posted this time last year. Funny how we forget things, for that post could have been written this week it was so similar. Rain, hail, some sun and even waves that caught my attention were all mentioned as to what was happening here a year ago.

Sunday morning, April 1^st and look who's decided to take in the scenery from the vantage point of the front deck.


 

Snow, hail, some rain and even the sun...all at once.
  

Now that the sun is out, it's game time.

I was standing at the counter in the kitchen, Monday, putting some lunch together when I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I hollared out to Mike, “Look out the window!” We can kinda judge what is happening beyond our sight in the ocean by the size of waves or swells that we see roll by out at the furthermost island but this was something different.

These giant waves continued all day but something else that was rather strange was our bay was calm and showed no signs of what was going on just on the far side of Port Louis.

I'd say it finally looks like the rains have past and nicer weather is on the way, but I don't want to jinx it so I'll just say I took advantage of the nice day and went exploring through the woods to see what has changed over the winter, surpriselying nothing much but we did get lucky and have one perfect size tree (not too big, not too small) fall which we can cut up and at least have a small stack of wood for the summer guests.

Who pulled the plug?

We had company Thursday morning. We'd just caught sight of the Coast Guard vessel making her way into the bay beside us but we knew that within an hour or so we'd be welcoming someone down at the docks. I popped some cookies into the oven and got a pot of coffee ready to switch on just as we saw the dinghy heading our way. Sadly the visit was brief as they had work to do but even 10 minutes of chit chat is nice.

It was around 5 pm that Thursday afternoon and I was just reading through my blog, one more time, when I spotted another vessel coming into our bay. More company!! We immediately recognize the 'Silver Dawn' and rush down the dock to greet her crew. My first thoughts are of what can I fix for dinner should they take me up on my invitation of spending the evening up at the lodge. It's as if we're all old friends, the conversation picks up from where we left off a couple of weeks ago....they have lots to tell. We were disappointed to hear that they were only going to be here for a couple of hours to harvest some more kelp and than be on their way. Well we had about 45 minutes of catching up waiting for the tide to recede a bit more and than they had to get out on the water. Most likely this will be their last trip into Port Louis for the year if all goes well but there is a slight possibility we might see them again. Mike and I would certainly enjoy their company for another evening.

I remember lovely evenings like this last year, indeed spring must be here

Till next week,
Heather & Mike