Sylvia's Simple Shots

A nice walk in nature on a Saturday morning with my aunt. We walked along the Sturgeon River.  The wildlife was mostly missing from this day.  A few ducks on the river, no insects to photograph and a few flowers along the path.

I did get a wicked bite on my hand when we walked through a couple hundred feet of bush to get from one parking lot to the other. 

We stopped at the Farmer's Market for fruit.  I picked up some freestone peaches and her some blueberries.

Of course, the main event was the Rock'n August car show.  I wanted to go before the festivities started so I could be gone before the crowds got too large and the noise was at a fever's pitch.

Car show participants were setting up early so we saw a lot of beautiful vehicles.

]This one reminds me of a car my Dad had in the early 70s.  Ours was white and we piled 8 kids and Mom and Dad into it.  No seat belts in those days.

There were hundreds of vehicles on display, a lot of loud music, fundraising and generally a good time being had by most.

We walked out at about 10:30 am which was half hour after it opened.  We only saw about 1/4 of the cars on display.

My sister and I were joined by my cousin this year on our annual Saskatoon picking adventure.

The price was very good as it was nearing the end of the season.  It must be a different variety than we have picked at other farms. 

I picked 2 ice cream pails which gave me 4 bags of frozen berries for this winter.

I have purchased cultured blueberries at the grocery store.  They were 2 lbs for just under $4 which was a great price.  I have 3 bags of those in the freezer.  I did manage to defrost the freezer so that is all in hand.

I read this book this week - The story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.  The story is of a mute book growing up in Wisconsin on a farm where his parents Gar and Trudy, raise "Sawtelle Dogs". 

They use signing to communicate which is a hybrid of the traditional and a bit of their own unique way of doing things. 

Things are going very well until the Dad's brother Claude comes to stay a while after being released from prison. The brothers still don't see life in any way the same so discord rules the day.

The day comes when Gar is killed, Edgar knows more than he is aware and when the work load is too much for the two of them the brother Claude comes in to fill in the gap in more ways than one.

Later, another death occurs at the farm when Edgar is about 14 years old. Trudy sends Edgar away to keep him safe.  He takes some of his litter with him.

He roams the Chequamegon National Forest with the dogs.  Scavenging food from summer cabins along the lakes, eating berries that grow wild, and making do with very little some days.  He decides to head for Canada. When one of the dogs get hurt he receives help from a man Larry who lives in one of the cottages.  He exchanges labour for food and a place to lay his head.

The story has a very sad ending.  There are mystical aspects to the story which are intriguing.  

The story does leave some questions though for me.  

Edgar goes to school but I don't know how he manages communication there.  There are several times in the story where he is unable to communicate with those outside the family which causes problems.  There is a lot of written about raising dogs in the book. Processes, procedures, documentation, etc which at times becomes a bit long. 

Forte is a mystery dog in the story - Edgar has seen him, there is a connection with Claude. He plays a vital part but we don't know much about him.  Was he a Sawtelle dog? 

Again, Claude is clouded in mystery.  He has been in the navy.  Is that related to the bottle with oriental writing on it? 

For me the time Edgar spending in the forest and with Larry was the best part of the story.  The early part of the book was good as well. Edgar's relationship with the dogs is so good.

There were birds at the car show.  A lady brought her exotic birds to interact with the public.  I don't believe they were restrained in any way.  They sat on their perches, walked around on the ground and returned to perches as they wanted to.

She had African Grey Parrots, Cockatoos and Blue and Yellow Macaws.

On the left, are African Grey parrots who live from 40-60 years in captivity.  Often a succession plan is needed to ensure their care beyond the life of their owners.  Love the red tails.

The Macaws are huge birds.  

I have seen them at zoos before but to see them sitting outside along the river was wonderful.

It's been a good week with a bit of very hot weather but not overwhelming.