Providence Bay
Alexia Hannigan
Alexia here with your friendly eco-fly! I reflect at this time of year on the mantra that “earth day is every day” and on the glorious marvel of everything on earth coming back to life. Green sprigs burst out of the thawing earth, waterways gush and ebb back into the flow and source and every living thing that breathes, leans and looks toward the sun. I am reminded of Carl Sagan’s poignant book The Pale Blue Dot. Sagan’s book and excerpts inspired by an image taken, at Sagan’s suggestion, by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990. As the spacecraft was departing our planetary neighborhood for the fringes of the solar system, it turned it around for one last look at its home planet.
Sagans prolific inflection and observations. Planting a seed for all humanity to ponder. Lending us some lens and scope into the absolute fragility and seemingly impossible plight of our existence on earth and on our small place in the vast expanse of the universe.
Earth and life on earth…what an unimaginable concept! And yet here we are collecting cans curbside and counting our lucky stars and blessings!
Congratulations to all the folks who took time to clean-up and cleanse our beautiful Island of all the debris and refuse! The Island always gets a good tinker and tailor before the Chi-Cheemaun’s first sail and it’s something we should try to uphold and adopt every day! Ceilidh and I always make a point of bringing a recycling bag with us to the beach every season so we can pick-up after the litter bugs and keep our sand and surf safe!
Here’s what’s happening! Providence Bay Arena and Fairgrounds: Providence Bay Youth Soccer kicks off again Saturday, May 3 and runs every Saturday at the Providence Bay Arena fairgrounds.
Providence Bay Community of Christ Church Joys and community updates at 10:30 am; service at 11 am.
Providence Bay Spring Bay Lions had a successful pancake breakfast and fundraiser benefitting the Manitoulin Metal Robotics FRC 6865. Thank you for your continued support!
Providence Bay Hall: Exercise classes continue Friday mornings; Tai Chi continues Monday and Thursday.
The Horses: Keep an eye on the Manitoulin Horse Enthusiasts Facebook for events and activities.
PSA: If you see a horse and rider on the road please slow down, give ample room when passing and use caution and don’t honk unless necessary! Horses are beautiful but can be unpredictable if startled. Riders should be brightly dressed (including helmet), single file at the edge of the roadway and be using hand signals.
The Heavens: Next full moon aka the “flower moon” will rise on May 12. Wishing you clear skies and Happy sky-gazing!
The Friends: Happy birthday to all of you late April and early May babies! May the 4th be with you all!
Sincere thoughts and regards to the Simpson family. Eddie will be dearly missed and remembered well.
Quote: “To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal kindlier and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
From Carl Sagan’s the Pale Blue Dot
Kagawong
Team Fergmeijer
Team Fergmeijer is all about the HUSTLE!
Have a nap
Use the couch for napping
Sleep during the day (nap)
Take frequent naps
Lie down and nap
Enjoy a nice nap
Mark your calendars – June 28 is Team Aelick’s annual stroll for liver in support of Liver Canada. This 5k walk through the village starts at the Park Centre at 11 am. You can join the stroll, support from the sidelines, and donate through their team page (bit.ly/teamaelick). Donations over $20 qualify for a tax receipt.
Whether you’re a night owl, an early bird, or a permanently exhausted pigeon, there’s a new exhibit at the Old Mill Heritage Centre this season just for you! The museum opens again for the season in May – stay tuned for more information!
A word of caution as it is the season for farm animals to find weak points in fence lines: if you see cattle on the road, be patient and stay in your vehicle, especially if there is a bull. Wait for them to move, and do not honk your horn. That will only make them go slower. A male bovine’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary.
We are excited to see another fledgling business taking off this summer in the village.
If you or someone you love has a birthday coming up, let us know (fergmeijer@gmail.com). We’ll ‘honour’ the special occasion as only Team Fergmeijer can!
Both ‘libel’ and ‘slander’ refer to defamation and are often confused for each other. ‘Libel’ is a written statement (‘L’ for letters). ‘Slander’ is for spoken (‘S’ for spoken).
‘Label’ and ‘slender’ are different words and are rarely confused with each other.
The neighbourhood is looking great! Thank you to everyone who pitched in for neighbourhood cleanup day this past Saturday.
There’s still time to take part in Manitoulin Streams’ Great Manitoulin Island Clean Up! With awards for the school, community, business, individual, seniors, and group of four who clean up the most bags of garbage, it’s a win for you AND for the Island environment! Check out Manitoulin Streams on Facebook for full details of how to take part.
Steve Paikin recently announced he is retiring from TVO’s “The Agenda.” We can only hope that means exponentially more sightings around the village this year. Have a great week!
Meldrum Bay
Elaine Bradley
On Good Friday, cards were cancelled.
There were lots of visitors for the long weekend. Rose’s sister was up and brought flowers to decorate the tables for the Easter Sunday breakfast. We had a sunrise service followed by a delightful breakfast. There was a wonderful variety of food plus fresh fruit. The best part was sitting around and chatting with the people who came out.
The maple syrup is boiled and the pails and equipment are cleaned up. We hear that everyone had a good year. We bought some maple butter from Dave Lloyd and with fresh buns it’s fantastic. I had never eaten maple butter before. Bud Hartle had maple syrup for sale too. The VanEvery’s and Peggy have collected and bottled their syrup but mainly it’s for family and friends. If lucky you may get some as a prize at the upcoming quad run on the long weekend in May.
This Saturday is a ham and scalloped potato supper in Silver Water which we are looking forward to attending.
Our rhubarb and garlic are growing and I am watching for asparagus but no sign of that yet. We have a new resident in our vegetable garden, a porcupine. Yesterday he was curled up in one of the raised beds.
There are lots of deer around. They are very active so be careful driving.
We are being extra careful because two weeks ago we bought a new Tesla. A model Y long range all-wheel drive. We loved our old one but got stranded on a snow drift last winter late at night. We got ourselves off it and got home successfully. We decided that we needed one with more clearance. Our GMC truck may get a bit jealous, but it has been a great vehicle and we depend on it for truck things.
Barrie Island
Enid Runnalls
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for our tiny population on Barrie Island. The grass is greening up and calving has begun. The Spring peepers have been singing since Easter Sunday. If you’re out here for a visit, wear your rubber boots!
Micah Runnalls had an exciting Easter. He visited Reece’s camp and painted a ceramic bunny there. The next day he found a dozen-coloured eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden in the front yard of his grandparents’ house at Goldenbrook Farm. There was a chocolate egg inside each of the eggs and Micah thought they were quite yummy. Later, Micah hid those same eggs around the house for his grandpa to find. On Easter Monday, he decorated eggs with his cousins Isaiah and Eli Miller. It was lots of fun.
At Grandview Farms there have been quite a few twin calves born. Six surviving pairs, in fact. Micah Runnalls and the Miller boys have been on hand to help at the corral where the twins are thriving with their mothers.
Richard Runnalls has made his return from Down Under (Australia) and might still be recuperating from jet lag. His first stop was to spend a few days in Durham with son Aaron and family. He should be here soon to get his agricultural operations started.
Garth Baker crossed the southern border to get back to the Island and visit with sister Lonnie. His van-life in the desert is full of adventure between the sky diving, birding and interesting characters that he meets. You will see him here and there on Barrie Island as he checks on the Kestrel population. He is a respected source of wildlife knowledge.
There will be Celebration of Life ceremonies at the Barrie Island Hall on May 10 for two of our beloved Barrie Island citizens: Rod Greenman in the morning and Grant Baker in the afternoon.
Carolyn Lane-Rock is back and forth between her homes, here and in Sudbury. Our condolences go out to her for the loss of her nephew, John Rock.
Cameron Lane and family were here over the weekend, celebrating his birthday with Doug and Linda at the family home at Lanevale Farm.
Bob and Barb Norrish have returned to their causeway cottage. Daughter Krista was up with her two dogs for a visit over the Easter weekend.
Scott and Enid Runnalls had a delightful dinner over in Massey, at Earthfast Farm, the home of Charlie and Rhonda Smith. Charlie recited some of Enid’s favourite poems and Scott took home a jar of Rhonda’s salsa.
Enid was down in Toronto for a brief visit with Katie to hear all about her trip to Milan, Italy for Design Week. While there, she went out for lunch with friends Lynn Patterson of Williams Lake, BC, Helen Scott of St. Catharines and Becky Devlin of Toronto, and then to the Art Gallery of Ontario for their show on Modernism.
Laurie Yeates was here on the weekend, visiting from her home in Cochrane.
Helen Scott made the journey north to visit Scott and Enid Runnalls. She enjoyed the birds and peaceful views but when the quietude started to get to her, she headed back to the hustle bustle of the banana belt.
If you have any news to share, please contact Enid or Lil Greenman.
Silver Water
Karen Noble
Euchre was cancelled in Meldrum Bay on Good Friday.
Saturday, I cooked a turkey dinner and fed nine people.
Keith and Iris Clarke invited me for six-handed euchre on Saturday night and I helped the men’s team win. They had their daughter Sara, her husband Jeff, daughters Ellen and Abigail for the weekend. Their grandson Hayden was also there.
Monday morning, GFL picked up the garbage.
Monday evening, we went to the Burpee/Mills complex to play euchre with eight tables of players. Congratulations to Myra Duncanson who won the money jar with 94 points.
There continues to be exercise class on Tuesday afternoons at the hall.
Tuesday night there was fire practice at the fire hall with 14 team members attending.
Thursday morning, GFL came to empty the recycle bin. It is ready for Saturday’s collection.
There were two police vehicles just across the corner from our house on Friday morning. There had been a single car accident in the early morning. When the police were done investigating, a tow truck picked it up.
Thursday there was euchre at the Silver Water Community Hall with 16 players.
We have up to three deer arriving in the backyard every evening. There is also a large fox passing through at the end of the yard some days. Albert says a blue bird has returned.
On May 3 is the Snowduster fish dinner in Silver Water starting at 5 pm.
On May 4 Tehkummah holds its euchre tournament in the afternoon.
On May 17 there is the ATV run in Meldrum Bay with lunch for the participants and anyone else.
May 24 it is the fashion show at the hall starting at 2 pm.
Condolences to the family of Aaron Farquhar.
Condolences to the family of Ken Bentley.
Condolences to the family of Ron Campbell.
