Illusions and Reality

Well, the illusion of summer is over, and the reality of another school year is setting in.  Actually, it set in a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to acknowledging it now.

And this year's school realities stretch from this--

First grade, to this--

Southern Maine Community College, where our senior high school student is taking classes this year.

This is our "hump year" in that we've added the last one to the mix and have all five kids officially being homeschooled, but since all of Zac's classes are elsewhere...I suddenly found myself over the hump, and nicely on the other side without even having realized it.  And that's a reality I can live with!

Squeezing in Summer

It's been a crazy summer, but what other kind is there really?  The idyllic days of summer that I remember from childhood were just that--childhood.  As a parent, I've come to realize that vacations are actually a lot of work when I'm the one packing suitcases, planning meals and finding some kind soul(s) to take care of feeding and watering all the assorted critters that we've accumulated along the way.

But-oh-so-suddenly, school is upon us, along with the mad scramble to freeze, can, jam, ferment or otherwise store everything that managed to survive in the garden despite my neglect of it in this crazy summer.

So, in a last desperate grab at some fun family time, we've managed to squeeze in as much summer as we could in the past week.

Perhaps it was the pressure of so few remaining days, or maybe it was the beautiful weather (or just being home?) that got us moving, but in any case, we finally managed to get to a local baseball game and then one of the summer concert series hosted by LLBean.  We got to see America last Saturday night.  So far as I can tell, they still haven't named that horse...


Then we got onto the boat for the first time this summer as well.   We sailed out of Freeport harbour into Casco Bay as far as Bustin's Island, peeking into Mere Point for a glimpse of Birch Island before racing back ahead of the thunder clouds.  And speaking of Birch Island, we just spent an afternoon there with some good friends a few days earlier and left Lydia and Moriah to spend the night with them on the Island camping out under the stars...with the mosquitoes...

Zac-up to his usual tricks

Gus, playing in tending the fire.

a rare sighting of Birch Island monkeys  

Rachel--making grass dolls for the little girls

the camp-out quartet

(Photo disclaimer:  since I discovered my camera battery was dead on the ride out to the island, I used last year's photos from Birch Island.  So, if everyone looks a bit younger, now you know why!)

So, now that our schedule has evened out and we're keeping closer to home by the necessity of being back into school , I'm looking forward to grabbing those remaining afternoons and weekends of great weather to squeeze some more summer fun into.

How did we miss this?

Only six miles from our house is this great swimming hole complete with rocks to jump or slide from, (although that's a bit hard on the swimsuit) and miles of meandering waterways for kayaking.

Add to that fishing and turtle hunting, and I really have to wonder how we never discovered this place earlier!!

Now that we have, however, I'm sure we'll be back many times!

Grammar Musings

Recently, I have been impressed with the misuse of the English language--and really--most of the misuse is coming from those of us who speak ONLY English.  Proper use of grammar and punctuation seem to be disappearing at a rapid clip.  How about substituting the verb "are" for the pronoun "our"?  Seriously, I've seen this more than once.

Then there was the sign I recently purchased which had a misplaced comma.  Everyone makes mistakes, right?  But still, I  felt badly about asking if the (misplaced) comma could be moved. So much so that I didn't have the heart to point out that the seller had shortchanged me by $2.  Maybe she was still flustered by the comma.

But the real clincher was the billboard I saw in Boston today.  It was a panel of medical-type-people encouraging us to donate to a blood bank, and the caption read, "You'll never know when you need some".

Really?
You will never know when you need some? 

So, you will be unconscious of your need for blood?
Hmmm...
I think if I saw arterial blood shooting from some vital part of my body, I might realize that it would need to be replaced,  or if my doctor recommended that I have a transfusion, I'd be conscious of that as well.
I think what the blood bank and all the professional looking models in lab coats meant to communicate was that you never know when you might need blood...
How does this stuff pass the proofreading process?

That's enough of my pet peeves for the moment.

Oh, and if you find errors here, then feel free to comment...Fair's fair after all.

Fort Louisbourg

 A highlight of the trip to Cape Breton had to be the day we spent at Fort Louisbourg, an 18th century fortress that spanned the French-British struggle for supremacy in North America.  It was well fortified from the water,

(although they probably should have had some bigger artillery men)

 but not so much from overland.  It was leveled twice in its functional period, and has now been partially rebuilt as a living museum where we spent a fantastic day learning more about that period of history and how it played out in this area of Canada.

I know, we homeschoolers have strange ideas about what constitutes a fun vacation...

We entered at the gate where we were told to leave our "Canon" outside.

View of the waterfront of the fortress

cookie break--thanks Nan!

This fife and drum corps marched around the fortress several times in the afternoon, and sounded remarkably good!  I love these back-in-time visits, where we get a (very) little idea of what life was like.  I often wonder what it would have been like to live at this time period.  Life must have been very difficult--at least for many people the struggle to survive was all encompassing, yet I wonder if in some ways it wasn't a simpler time as well?  

Vacation Boot Camp

 Our first outing in Cape Breton was to the Highland National Park up in the northern part of the island.  We were vacationing with friends and all of us brought bicycles, so we decided to take a ride in the park.  Some of us probably envisioned a quiet leisurely ride on a nice shaded level road with breaks along the way to enjoy the views, or have lunch, or an ice cream...  some of us, I might add, had never vacationed with my husband before.

I've actually recommended our vacations as fitness programs in the past.  

This particular road seemed to be uphill both ways.  I always thought that was a silly cliche, but now that I've actually experienced it, I have more respect.  Our breaks were less to admire the views, and more to check pulses and let our hearts settle back into our chests...

Rick, of course, remained cool throughout.

 Gus was a trouper.  At six years old, he biked  the entire 13 km of hills.  I have to say though, he did get a bit warm--as evidenced by the hairdo.

Rachel grinning and bearing it!

Lydia turning an alarming shade of red as she does under exertion.

Moriah, as quietly determined as ever.

              And at the end of the road, we didn't find a restaurant for lunch, or an ice cream stand, but this  waterfall to cool the feet, and shade to rest in, and that seemed like reward enough.

Rachel and her good friend E. relaxing at the waterfall.

And with the promise of finding food and ice cream Somewhere, the kids all turned around and did the hills again.

Cape Breton

The only place I know to see signs in Gaelic besides Scotland, (at least I assume there are Gaelic signs there) is Nova Scotia.  We just spent a week in Cape Breton vacationing with family and friends, and enjoyed many things, not the least of which were views like these:

This is the Cabot Trail which winds along the coastline for 300 kms with views like this all the way.

Pretty Stunning.

The reason for the destination-- if more than the views is necessary-- was that Zac was enrolled at St. Ann'sGaelic College of the Arts for a week of bagpipe school.  While our week was filled with vacation, his was filled with lessons and band practices, but then again, that IS vacation to him, so it all worked out.  Here's a video to leave you with a taste of his week.  More on the vacation-for-the-rest-of-us in a later post.