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summer play
with strangers
melts fear
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After Rosehall, I hit the Sandbanks and Chadsey’s Cairns wineries, where the daughters of the owners of both establishments spoke English and French…
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There actually seem to be lots of French people here in Prince Edward County. No worries about the loyalists getting in the way of culture, although I am eating deep fried bread with a full English breakfast in Wellington right now. This is a very pretty, historical town and the people are exceptionally friendly. I left my bicycle unlocked in front of the grocery store and didn’t worry about it at all. Things are moving slower around here, and everyone has to have a chat with you even if you’re just buying a drink and a chocolate bar…
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The owner of the small campground in Wellington reminds me of Katherine Hepburn from “On Golden Pond”.
“It’s usually thirty dollars… oh, just give me twenty-five…”
“Can I buy some wood for a fire?”
“No, no… just help yourself. It’s over here…”
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matron
always says “we”
although husband passed
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I am blissfully happy here at Ray’s Cottages. Reflecting, drunk on Rosehall estates cabernet franc. -No mosquitoes. -Cool breeze off of the lake. -Sausages cooked on a stick over the campfire. It’s about nine o’clock and it’s super quiet. I’m eating a carrot and raisin salad! It has a dressing similar to coleslaw. I forgot a fork, so I eat everything with my knife…
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Seeing empty cottages, I compose something poorly in French…
“Un maison qui n’avez pas un resident?”
“Trop bourgeois!”
My mind is going all over the place, -picking on waste…
“The worthlessness, or wallowing state of great discoveries.”
I propose that unless an invention or innovation is implemented in such a way that it gives, at least, just as much back to the earth as it takes, it will wallow in a fluctuating state of worthlessness, until it achieves that balance and makes up for the environmental damage it has done with benevolent service to mankinde…
For example, -cars, coal fired power plants, microwaves, and batteries…
-And don’t fucking ask me where I would be without those things because the answer is that we would have implemented something else and have been just as happy with it… fucking asshole… ha! Good and drunk!
Ha! Good morning… long stretches to relieve my cramped muscles. A steamy shower followed by a cold one. I’m not forcing anything today. When the rain and lightning came at 1 am, my knees flared up in pain but everything’s fine now. I’m not even bothered by the really bad pop music being played above my head here at the Sandbanks bar and grill. Another friendly waitress in this bafflingly friendly town…
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Lots of fishing going on even though there is no pickerel or salmon yet. I’d like to try some fishing here. I love pan-fried fresh fish. Mmm… butter…
I passed huge mustard fields that were breath-taking, and then turned off of Swamp College onto Chase, where I rode through a patch of swamp that had such a high concentration of oxygen, that after a few minutes, I felt like a had taken the world’s most advanced aspirin and someone had squeegeed my eyeballs…
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I arrive at Closson Chase vineyards and the grounds are gorgeous. I’m surrounded by the fragrances of the flowers in the courtyard. The chards are solid and the pinot is… well, let’s find out… mostly very sour cherries, glycerin and some flabby mint. Twenty-five a bottle? Sorry… no way…
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The disappearing honeybee problem keeps coming up in my mind because of how incredibly important they are to our environment. I realize that it is quite simply explained by the meddling of genetic engineering, urban sprawl and extreme weather fluctuations. Bees are one of the most communal examples of order, harmony and balance that exist, and will be shocked by disorder and disharmony and things that become unbalanced…
On to The Grange! Beautiful grounds surrounding the main building that was built around the skeleton of a barn that was over a hundred years old. You can tell from the wood beams. They’re so long and large that it’s obvious that they came from strong ancient trees…
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One of the reps left word that i’m to be taken care of. Great service. Solid chards. We’ll see about that pinot… oh yeah, I stopped at a cute little lavender farm/bed and breakfast on the way from Closson and bought my wife Terie some soap. It will do well with the tourists (which are fairly plentiful already), as there will be five wineries in this neck of the woods within two years…
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Ah… the pinot is middling… a lot of the grapes trucked in from Niagara. No one seems able to approach what Dan at Rosehall is doing with the reds. Well, no matter. This is young wine country. It’ll find its feet eventually…
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I sort of floated into Consecon after all of the wine (and water) I had today. The little general store has a mini-liquor-store (three shelves) and a mini-beer store (two coolers). I tell myself that four tall boys will do me and then go to the Legion. The sign outside said “tonight, steak dinner, -$10”, so I went for it. A lot of the locals were there and my plate was heaped high with food. Consecon’s not picturesque like Wellington, but the people are nice…
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I’m very happy here at Bob’s Campgrounds. -Very quiet and scenic. The cottages are painted half white and eggshell blue, -like buoys…
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dreams bridged
by coyote calls
and their pups
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…continued on part 3 …click here