THANKSGIVING 2015: THANKS MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE FULL

The year turns. The days shorten. The leaves change colour. The wind comes thin and cold with promises of snow on its back. The geese begin to fly south. And some of them fall out of the sky and land in ovens and we stuff them with bread and cranberries

OK, mostly its turkeys and they don't really fly but you get my point. Thanksgiving is here and for us, that means Thanksgiving on Nares Inlet

And for the girls, it's holiday time too of course. This was Panda's second trip up to Springhaven Lodge and it's fair to say that she is fitting in just fine

We've discovered how much she enjoys the water but she's a little bush baby too. She loves going off and exploring and proving that old girls still know how to do some rock traversing.

Terra, of course, is a Springhaven pro and although she also loves the bush, there is nothing better than hunting frisbees on the beach

Back on the human front, the family gathered for the annual Thanksgiving tradition of boating out to an island to enjoy food, games and the environment. The day was sunny and warm but the wind was up and Dennis determined it was too risky to go out to the open bay. Instead we invaded, I mean, visited a public paddle tennis court built on it own rocky little island

A bit of food (OK more than a bit) a bit of game playing, a bit of beer (OK more than a bit) then it was time to go back to the lodge, more food lay ahead in the form of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Yeh, I'm gonna need a nap

Play the video but keep the sound down, I'm still napping

Thanksgiving on Georgian Bay 2015 from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

THINGS I LEARNED AT THANKSGIVING

This past weekend we celebrated our annual Thanksgiving up at the lodge at Nares Inlet with Collette's extended family. Always a fun event, packing up the clan on the boats and going out in the bay for some food and for some family friendly games.

This year though, our couple days up at Springhaven taught me a few lessons. So, here are THINGS I LEARNED THIS YEAR AT THANKSGIVING

1) MY DOG HATES ROCKS

Terra hates rocks. She does. She always has. I don't know why. But she hates em.

Collette took Terra for a walk in the bush. They found, as one does back there, a rough little inukshuk made from loosely laid stones. Well. A pile of rocks. Artfully done. In Terra's eyes, that means war

See, I was not exaggerating. My dog hates rocks

2) SPONTANEOUS TRICK OR TREATING

You think you know when Hallowe'en is. You know that it does happen on Thanksgiving. Think again! And be on high alert! Always have candy at hand because you never know when a Princess will show up at your door, demanding candy. And when a princess asks .. well , you know .. fork it over

3) KEEP YOUR FAMILY IN A CAGE

Well, who can argue with that. Normally Dennis and Dave et al take us to the Painted Rocks for Thanksgiving but the bay was feeling a tad .. frisky. So for safety sake we went out to the Archipeligo paddle tennis court for the snacks and games. And hey, who can argue with these images

For more lessons, refer to the video.
Thanksgiving Nares Inlet 2014 from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

THANKS TO GIVE, GIVEN TO THANKS

What were you thankful for this past weekend, this past Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada

Were you thankful for the holiday itself? It's a day off and there is turkey. Seriously, do we need to search for something better than that?

Do you use this holiday, here in Canada an extension of the harvest tradition, as an opportunity to reflect, perhaps on this past year or even years previous, thinking of the benefits from that time or perhaps you even pause to thank to be alive, to breathe, to just be here ... Well if you're thankful for being here and eating turkey then you and I are on the same page

Actually this year, this Thanksgiving, I did not eat turkey. Don't worry, I intend to make up for that shortly. So I actually did do a bit of interspection but being me, it really extended to just that day, that moment, that occasion

Yeh, I'm thankful for Thanksgiving.


I was thankful for being in Pointe Au Baril Ontario at Nares Inlet, thankful for the water and the sky and the ancient powerful rocks and the trees twisted and shaped by the wind

I was thankful for a crazy border collie who looks upon the north as her own personal playground and why not, it's the world's largest dog park, not to mention the world's largest water bowl

I was also thankful for family and friends and a sunny day on a rock island in the middle of the day where no one had anything better to do than eat, play together and enjoy a warm autumn day

What are you thankful for

THE COLOURS OF THANKSGIVING

A pink sky at sunset, red leaves twisting in air, water sparkling blues as the sun hits it, ancient rock rippled with colour from ages of transition; this is autumn on the Georgian Bay.

For our annual Thanksgiving sojourn to Nares Inlet, Collette and I were able to squeeze in an extra day for the visit. That meant more time for the family and more time for me to explore the bush with my intrepid explorer and amateur (very amateur) animal tracker Miss Terra. They say dogs have a limited perceived colour spectrum, well so do I but we were still able to enjoy the fall colours

There are many critters in the bush around Springhaven Lodge and if you are patient and quiet you may be able to entice one of them to come right up to you ... or just have her daddy bring her into your cabin.

We had excellent weather over all. At one point Terra and I got caught in a brief rain and sleet storm; I'm not sure she even noticed. With the inlet right outside our door and many bogs and culverts along on the road, she spent very little of the weekend actually dry. All worth it of course when you can wake up, step out onto your porch and see the inlet, still as dark glass and wreathed with early morning mist.

A big part of this weekend is always gathering together as many people as possible (this year it was over 50) loading them into boats and going out to a rock island in the Georgian Bay to nosh, have a few beers, explore and play a silly game just for the fun of it. So many people and so many boats, one wonders if it showed up and was flagged on certain NSA satellite feeds. One wonders what the analysts made of this floating shoe box .. what we all like to call the house boat

Once we moored on the island I demonstrated my enthusiasm for the upcoming Aquaman movie by doing an impression of the aquatic superhero ... well, something similar. No need to dwell on that, let's move on

Ahem

It was a cool yet sunny day and the infamous north offshore wind was fairly sedate, making it a perfect idea to crack a few beers, share some food, tell some tales and explore this island that is like the expression of Canadian Shield machismo, thrust up as it is from the cold deep waters of the Bay

All in all a good day and a great weekend but it's always nice to fold up the plastic tables, load up the boats and head home. By the end, even Terra was tired, and that is always saying something.

So while she's napping and I'm wringing out my jeans, enjoy the video.