Sunday, September 24, 2017

The Fishing Islands

On the shores of Lake Huron, part of the South Bruce Peninsula
The mainland of the Peninsula opposite the Islands is mostly low lying and sandy,forming in several places small sand-dunes. 

The area between the shore and the Islands has been filled in with sand, leaving large areas of shallow water, miles in extent, over which people may walk or     drive. At low water great stretches of sand show their rippled, yellow surfaces; and some of the islands become attached to the mainland or to each other. 
So it is, that a definition of an island at Oliphant is “a piece of land with    sand all around it.” 

The Islands in all number over seventy and vary in size from a mere shoal of     flat rock with a few currant bushes growing thereon, to the largest, Cranberry,       containing one hundred and twenty-four acres.
Just north of Hawksnest Island, a picturesque spot, at times a part of the       mainland and at times an island, the “Diagonal Road” from Wiarton enters by way  of Marie Street. The town-plot of Oliphant, laid out at the time of the Rankin      Survey in 1855, reaches from this street northward one mile. Here it was expected that a commercial centre would have sprung up, a hope which has never been real- ized and which has doubtless long since passed away. Point au Rock is a small    peninsula stretching outward from the centre of the town-plot. Westward from it  is a marshy formation of reeds, through which the far-famed Gut Channel passes,  forming the  key of inside navigation between the North and South. The name is   far from being attractive, but it is time-honoured, and will doubtless remain    for all time.
In the few years of Oliphant’s existence as a summering place, it has grown up   rapidly. Pretty little summer houses have been erected here and there along the  shore and islands, some hidden amongst the ever-greens, 
others out in the open sunshine, some on the well protected islands, and others away out where the
great storms of Lake Huron break and almost tear away their moorings. In all there are more than a hundred and fifty camps scattered over the region, and there is scarcely a town in Western Ontario that is not represented in their population.
We may sum up Oliphant’s     varied charms in just a      few  words. It is a place         romantic, historic, and      beautiful; it has many       islands, channels, and by-   ways to explore amongst; it  has some of the finest bass  fishing in the Great Lakes;   it has bathing that for      warmth of temperature can    scarcely be equalled; it     has splendid boating —       sailing, rowing, paddling,   and motor-boating; 
it has an annual Regatta where strength and skill of body and craft are displayed to advantage; it has three athletic grounds, one on mainland, one on Rabbit      Island, and one on Frog Island, the scenes of many ball games and field sports;  it has a church, a government dock now lighted, a spring that never runs dry, and may we add, a post office which brings, let us trust, many joys; it has never had a fatality or serious accident, to mar its sense of pleasure; and above all its  inhabitants are of a high standard of citizenship, from which emanates a spirit  of helpfulness and sociability so necessary in the life of people seeking health, comfort, and happiness. 
The first gathering of the campers was in the form of a picnic held in 1903 at Cranberry, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cross. The next year it was held at Hawksnest Island. In 1907 the picnic was changed to a regatta and held at the Government Dock built the year before. The Regatta has proved an extremely popular annual event in which aquatic sports are keenly contested by all classes of campers old and young.

OLIPHANT AND ITS ISLANDS • LAKE HURON 

HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES 

WRITTEN BY IRENE MONKMAN AND ROY FLEMING 

COPYRIGHT, 1912 
A walk around the Oliphant Government Dock and Marina for Restless Jo
accompanied by a 1912 description of the area

Saturday, September 23, 2017

then shall all of the trees of the wood rejoice

Today is the first full day of autumn.
and it is a sweltering 35C - the first time it has gotten so hot this year.

While I am not a fan of Hallowe'en, I am a huge fan of pumpkins (especially in soup or as in pumpkin spice latte)
or even as decoration, especially when they are all misshapen.




It is still too early in most parts of the province for seeing the fall colours, though in some places farther north I hear they might be over before Thanksgiving (October 9). Going for a walk to see the leaves - and maybe kick your feet through some of the fallen dried up leaves - is a perfect way to work off some of that turkey and pumpkin pie dinner.

Most postcards that show the colours are generic country scenes with no actual location designated
this one is a bit of an exception, 




though the photo on the card could really be from anywhere...

and while getting out to country lanes for a drive among the trees is always a pleasure - except when everyone else has the same idea, then it's just a long, slow trek  - you can get just as much of a colour fix while walking the streets of the city



sharing with Postcards for the Weekend's theme of Fall scenes


Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Wiarton Willie

 It has just been announced that Wiarton Willie, the 13 year old albino groundhog, has died. He lived a long life, being well cared for in his enclosure at the Bluewater Park. Wiarton Willie was an albino groundhog whose image is everywhere in this small town on the Bruce Peninsula. And every year, on Groundhog Day, the town welcomes hundreds of people who come to meet him and enjoy the festivities as he is brought out of hibernation to see - or not - his shadow and give his forecast whether there will be six more weeks of winter. 
there will be a memorial service and funeral procession on September 30th after which his understudy, Wee Willie, will take up the mantle of Chief Prognosticator.

sharing with signs, signs

Monday, September 18, 2017

following the PE&NS RR



At this time of year (after Labour Day) the beach at Port Elgin is very quiet. 
Kids are back in school and most of the tourists have gone.
Even Lake Huron was quiet and calm.














the gazebo where weekly summer concerts are held is a perfect place to sit and read out of the sun if you have a lawn chair with you, which you will also need for those Sunday evening concerts.



the little steam train sits quietly waiting for the weekend when it will run through a 1.6km trip on the Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad around the harbour and park, blowing its whistle along the way. I can hear it from the cottage where I am staying. it has been running for decades, and there are plans to have the station renovated and upgraded, and possibly moved to the North Shore Park at the other end of the waterfront, which led to false rumours that the town might scrap the train altogether.
in the background you can see the newly built Edinburgh Club, the first luxury condominium to be built on the waterfront. there are still 2 units left, according to a sign on the other side.



only three of the boats at the marina have been dry docked that I could see. and, glancing at the petrol pumps, I noticed the price is .20 cents more expensive than for autos (at $1.38 litre)



some Canada Geese were lazily drifting in between the boat docks, 
with others heading in to join them
until something spooked them 
(wasn't me, I'm sure!) and they suddenly all took off
there is an open area between the harbour and the park where this majestic willow takes pride of place. see how I cleverly included the house with my favourite upstairs sunporch? just for scale, of course.
the train tracks are that line in front of the willow
further down, a walking trail takes you through the North Shore Park where you will cross the narrow gauge of the railway near where it turns around
and, finally, another resting spot to view the sunset. 
the water is still at a high level.
from there, the trail continues on ...
(that is Chantry Island Lighthouse in the distance)
sharing with Jo's Monday Walk
and Our World Tuesday
the first pictures were taken in the early morning, the last seven in the late evening

Sunday, September 17, 2017

French Guiana

French Guiana, or Guyane Francaise, is one of several colonial Guianas of South America. British Guiana is now known as Guyana, Dutch Guiana is now Suriname and the Spanish and Portuguese Guianas are now part of Venezuela and Brazil respectively.

A percevoir stamps are postage due, but also any French colonial territory that didn't have their own stamps were issued with these special a percevoir stamps. I'm not exactly sure what chiffre taxe means.

Here we have a 20 centime green border and rose Royal Palms engraved by Abel Mignon. His first stamp was issued in 1925 when he was already 63 years old. He engraved stamps for France and several of her colonies from 1925 to 1933. He died in 1936. This stamp is from 1929.

for F and G stamps
for more great stamps, head over to Sunday Stamps II

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Europa

EUROPA stamps have been issued since 1956
  According to the website, these stamps represent cooperation amongst postal operators and promote philately. They exist to build awareness of the common roots, culture, and history of Europe and its common goals. 
the original six countries of Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy
with the first EUROPA stamps. Each stamp has a tower of the EUROPA letters surrounded by scaffolding, the theme being 'building Europe'.
designed by Daniel Gonzague from France.

By 1964, there were 22 members, which are represented by the 22 petals of this flower
designed by another Frenchman, this time George Betemps
A common design was used for the stamps until 1974, when a common theme was introduced. In 2017, the theme is castles. In 2018 it is bridges, and in 2019 there will be my favourite theme - birds.

see  more common, or not so common, stamps on the theme of the letter E  at Sunday Stamps II

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Morris patterns

I'm not sure I could actually live with a room of these wallpaper patterns. Maybe one accent wall. Or maybe a panel, cut to fit a large picture frame. And many of the patterns for wallpaper were/are also available in fabric, so one could have a screen, or chesterfield also in the same pattern as the wall. If one wished. I'm happy with my postcard samples.

These postcards are three examples of wallpaper designs by William Morris made in the late 1800s. All told, he had over 600 designs for wallpaper and textiles. Morris firmly believed in the designer-craftsman model, where the one designing an item also produced the item, following it through all the stages to completion. He insisted on the use of good quality raw materials, all natural dyes, and hand processing. He had very high standards which could be a reason his designs were fashionable among the Victorian upper and middle classes of Britain. And that they endure to this day. You can still buy them today. (browse though this site for inspiration. it has 784 patterns to choose from. I felt a little overwhelmed.)
Anyway, the above postcard is Harebell, which I had to look up to discover it's also known as a bluebell, although I am a little confused as to why these flowers are yellow and not blue.

Seaweed                                                                               Autumn




















sharing with Postcards for the Weekend
(for patterns)