Okay, it was the last post in more than a week, but my loyal readers could never possibly have believed that I'd actually get back to this journal on -time-, did they? No, of course not. Anyway, here I am, back in Toronto after a marvellous week at my cottage and a few days at my mother's house, ready to get to work and already feeling tired. How burdensome is the daily grind, how quickly our days of leisure pass.

I shouldn't spend too much time describing my adventures at the cottage simply because I am supposed to be doing work right now and have to get ready for a union meeting and a dinner at a friend-of-the-family's place. I've got a torte (a fancy pie) to take for dessert. I saw quite a bit of wildlife while I was gone, deer most of all. Usually, when I'm at my cottage in late August, deer are in hiding, but in the early summer, they're everywhere ! There were does with fawns, a pair of twin fawns (a wonderful story for another time), and an enormous buck with only nubby antlers. Also, there was so much joyous birdsong. The birds are in their molt in August, so they're quiet, but late June and early July has them singing their hearts out. When Ryan was up (yes, he actually came !) we saw deer and porcupine, and while Ray was there for the last couple of days, there was evidence of moose, though neither of us saw it. There's a beaver, but the lake isn't overpopulated as usual, which is good. There's a turtle, we think it's a snapper, in the lake - it kept surfacing in the bay and floating for a bit before disappearing under again. The bugs weren't bad. I missed the blackflies, the mosquitoes hadn't come out much yet, only the deer flies were wicked, but mostly only on the road.

Anyway, I'm going to stop here, because I'm clearly not getting anything done. More to come in the future.