Blog Archives - DICK MACKENZIE

DICK MACKENZIE

Take me to the river

4/30/2014

Five years ago, April and June 2009, our area was featured in an interesting documentary. I took the production crew out on my boat for a few hours on Pelican and Abram lakes. My small part in this video starts at about the 8:17 minute mark of Part 1 - the first half.

The entire production is a small, but fascinating, glimpse of this part of Ontario. I'm glad I chose, more than 40 years ago, to make this my home.

New seasons

4/26/2014

What a wonderful spring day in Sioux Lookout!

As I sat at the rail bar on our deck this afternoon, overlooking the lake, my wine chilling in the glass between sips, I marveled at the marigold skeletons in the flower box standing guard over the fading ice of Pelican Lake.

Each spring I ruffle the ol' pods and a new bunch of glorious golden marigolds unfolds to grace our little garden. Soon this cool April vision will transform into the warm contentment of the 2010 mid-summer bouquet in the other picture.

I do love all of our seasons and squirm in anticipation, like a kid at Christmas, as each new one comes into sight.

Vernon, British, Columbia

4/19/2014

Robert and a couple of his school mates made a fine Easter breakfast for us and a few of our friends.

Charm and romance

4/18/2014

This Okanagan Valley country in British Columbia is something pretty wonderful to experience.
We continue visiting friends - usually for no more than two days. I think a fish analogy is written somewhere about fish and friends and two day visits.
Today we spent all afternoon at the Gray Monk winery between Vernon and Kelowna. After a tour of the working plant we spent about three lovely, leisurely hours in the dining room perched on the hillside far above Okanagan Lake, enjoying spectacular views, food, wine, and conversation with dear friends.
This is surely a valley of charm and romance...

Bird watching

4/17/2014

I drive a pickup truck. The side mirrors stick out a fair distance from the truck body. I take some pride, when approaching the pickup window of a drive-through, in sliding gracefully and smoothly with my mirror an inch or so from the building, to minimize the distance the bag of burgers has to be handed through.
The side mirrors on Mary's car hardly extend out at all. I never thought of that until I drove up and stopped at the customs booth at the border coming back into Canada. I smiled proudly through my open window, passport in hand, at the officer and yodelled out a happy "Good morning."
Officer, frowning, bluntly, "Why did you pull up so close to the building?"
Me, air out of my balloon, puzzled, "So you wouldn't have to stretch to reach our passports."
Officer, gruffly, "How am I supposed to get out of here?"
Me, leaning slightly forward, peering out the side window, attempting my best Stan Laurel face while biting my cheek to keep from laughing as I saw the three inches of air between us, "I can pull forward a bit and manoeuver around a bit."
Officer, still gruff, not needing to bite the inside of his cheeks to maintain a straight face, "You're almost hitting the building. Just put it in Park."
A few questions and we were on our way. No big problem.
As usual, we had a few "Oops. I'm wearing the fox hat" moments (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNHXFviVb8I ) but we did eventually end up where we wanted to be, with good friends from Sioux Lookout who moved to British Columbia 11 years ago. Some of you will remember Bill and Robin Dawes. You may notice that Robin is quite an avid bird watcher, so I ended up buying a high quality set of binoculars (holy cow - what a difference from the ones I've been using) and we spent a marvelous afternoon in the Okanagan spring air seeing at least a dozen birds that don't come to Northwestern Ontario.
I do look like a tourist with my binoculars and my camera dangling from my neck. Very nerdy. Fun.
After seeing my bare face in pictures and the mirror, and telling everybody, "This isn't really me" (actually, I tell that to the face in the mirror, too) I believe the beard may come back when we get home.
As I sit in the shade of the Rhododendrons, peeking at the snow on my webcam at home (www.dickshideaway.com) I wish I were there.... ha, ha, ha

Smelling the flowers

4/15/2014

Stopping to smell the flowers. Spring in Port Townsend... wonderful!

Old friends

4/14/2014

My old friend Jim Buckley and I. Today, on the waterfront near his home in Port Townsend, Washington, and in 1965 toasting marshmallows over the gas range in the kitchen of the apartment we shared in Columbus, Ohio.
Some friendships were made to last forever, even if the partners can get together only every 25 years or so.

Port Townsend, Washington

4/14/2014

We had the most marvelous ferry crossing to the Olympic peninsula and Port Townsend last night right as the sun was setting on one side of the boat and a nearly full moon was rising on the other.
After a long day of travel, the reuniting with my roommate from 48 years ago under this beauty was an amazing delight.
Today Jim and I walked down, early, to his rowing club and enjoyed a glorious visit over Breve on the waterfront.
This is sure to be a remarkable day, in many ways. At the moment I am sitting in his garden of blossoming flowers and fruit trees. The snow covered Olympic Mountains are a perfect backdrop.

Okanagan friends

4/13/2014

Look who we found near Oliver, British Columbia!! It's our wonderful retired friends - the Thornetts and the St. Amands, past residents of Sioux Lookout.
After a long and beautiful drive through the Rocky Mountains, so gruelling a guy couldn't drive and peel his banana at the same time, we descended into the Okanagan Valley and thoroughly loved a couple hours rekindling old friendships.
Heading out today for Port Townsend, Washington and a greatly anticipated reunion with an old roommate from the mid 1960s.

Starting a vacation

4/9/2014

All day we drove west, across the prairies, on clear, dry roads. Traveling was a dream. We made good time, and I fantasized all the way about a nice Alberta beef dinner when we stopped for the night.
Well, here we are, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, eating a green salad in our motel room, with a bottle of wine and a nice candle on the table. We must save some excitement for later on the trip. (Already I can hear the gulls and smell the salt air as we cross a bit of the Pacific between Seattle and the Olympic peninsula on a ferry boat...)
We had wondered how my surgery would fare on a long trip. So far, WONDERFUL!!
I have not yet mastered the art of pissing gracefully beside the highway with a Saskatchewan Whirling Dervish of a wind storm blasting the landscape. It is not a pleasant situation for a squeamish person or a man in tennis shoes.

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