Walkin' in the rain

It was pouring rain the other day and Smudge wanted to go out and play. Jboy was down for his nap, and it seemed like a warm rainy day, so we hunted up her rain gear and out she went. She wandered around the back yard for a while...
then came up on the side deck near the door which gave me lots of opportunities for some close-up pics. I think she liked the sound of the rain on the umbrella.



It didn't spend much time over her head though.
She used it to catch the raindrops...
then used her tongue.
Studied the umbrella some more...
and decided that maybe this was a better way to hold it.
AC asked me why I wanted to post all the pictures instead of just one or two. I said if I was the Grandma who lived out of town, I would want to see them ALL. So these are for you Grandmama!

Jones Falls

When we left Davis Lock, on our travels over the Thanksgiving weekend, it was well past lunch time and we were feeling rather peckish. The lockmaster at Davis Lock recommended we eat at the Hotel Kenney at Jones Falls Lock stations, about 20 minutes away, so we set off in that direction. Too bad we were 15 minutes late for lunch and the dining room was CLOSED! Groan. Next time we will make sure we are there before 2.
In spite of the growling hunger bears, we walked across the foot bridge by the Inn (seen to the left in the pic below)...
and toured the locks at Jones Falls. I don't think you get a true picture of the height of the third lock from the lake in the picture below, but it was a fair climb let me tell you.
We toured the grounds around the highest lock and greeted a few friends waiting for us there.
The two pictures below were taken off to the side of the third lock, looking back at Sand Lake.

We couldn't ignore the hunger bears any longer so we walked back to the car and set off for Westport for lunch. It is the pretty little town were D1 was married over six years ago. We stopped at the Cove Country Inn for some sustenance...
then toured the waterfront there before making tracks for home.

Mmmmm, great day!

Thankful for new-found family member

This year we had something extra special to be thankful for. Meeting a new family member for the first time. MC is a delightful, fourteen year old, young lady that just came into our lives this year. Here we see Daddy and his new-found Daughter working together in the kitchen.
Half-sisters getting acquainted.
Grandmama with oldest grand-daughter.
Family gathering around the table waiting for apple pie and ice cream after the feast of turkey with all the trimmings.
Sisters
Family all together and enjoying getting to know each other.
Time together...
is a gift to treasure.
Welcome to the family MC!

Davis Lock

From Chaffey Lock we took some really pretty country roads over to Davis Lock
We parked the car on the top of a hill at the entrance of the lock, and looked down at the water through the trees.
The sun was dancing on the water and...
I had to go down to the water's edge for a closer look.
I am so glad I did because I got this beautiful view at that spot.
AC went to the water's edge to take pictures too.
While he was doing that, I climbed back up the hill and continued to explore.
I found the original Lockmaster's house on the top of the hill...
and would have loved to get inside to look around, but it wasn't open to the public. I think it was empty and just used for storage now. I couldn't see much past the front hall through the glass in the door. Sigh!
I did enjoy the view of the lake from the front veranda of the house though.

From that vantage point I also took the picture below, looking back through the trees around the house, down at the lock.
We eventually found our way down to the lock and strolled out on the dock once we got there.
This is the view looking back at the lock from my vantage point on the bench in the pic above.

Chaffey Lock

On one of our day trips this past weekend we set off to investigate some smaller locks along the Rideau Canal waterway. Our first stop on this day was Chaffey Lock Pretty area huh?
Lots of boats were coming and going along the canal on this beautiful fall day. The boat with the green roof was exiting the lock going away from Opinicon lake and the white boat in the distance was approaching the lock to enter said lake.
In the picture below we see the gates locked and Lake Opinicon in the distance. The white boat will enter the lock, and...
once the water has been lowered to the same level as the lake the gates are opened manually by two lockmasters (one of which you can see in the white hat on the right hand side of the picture below). He spins a metal wheel and it pulls a chain attached to the gates and they open and shut as smooth as silk using these chains and pulleys. Amazing how simply it works.
I am not sure if we are opening or closing the gates here, but this very pleasant lockmaster allowed me to help even though he usually does it all by himself.
The white boat is entering the lock in the picture below...
and will soon be heading out towards this lake.
After the boats had cleared the lock the lockmaster directed us towards this little path that would lead us down to the lake.
We ventured out onto this little point of land, took some pictures and then turned to go back to the car.
AC was taking pictures all along the way and he happened to capture...
this beautiful creature fishing for his lunch. Yes a heron was doing his best to blend into the scenery, but we spotted him when he moved ever so slowly on the far bank of the canal leading out to the lake.
Time to climb back up to the area where the car was and continue on our way.
These pictures might give you some idea of the difference in the elevation of the land between the two bodies of water connected by the Chaffey lock.
Next it is on to Davis Lock and Jones Falls. See you tomorrow.