August brought friendly visitors, hours of paddling, warm evenings, gorgeous sunrises and wildlife sightings to the swinging screen doors of Camp Lumsden! Simply spectacular days and nights in the cooler confines of Eastern Nova Scotia. Generally, we can subtract 8 degrees from the temperature experienced when leaving Antigonish. We made good use of the fresher air staying a solid 25 nights this month at camp.
I have some super photos/vids from this month, capturing the bird, plant and animal life that frequented our tiny corner of Smelt Lake. So far the summer of 2021 has offered some surprises, with up close deer encounters, beer tracks in several surrounding locations, daily partridge sightings on the trimmed path and less movement in the commute overhead of loons from adjacent lakes. These interactions have been a real treat!!!
Speaking of “Wildlife”, the Lumsden Boys Weekend went off without a hitch. Highlights included “washers”, Auction 45’s, grub off the Weber Smoky Mtn, “Just Us” coffee fuelled mornings, 80’s Playlists, campfire 🔥 and craft ales for the after hours! It seems that an annual event is making its way into everyone’s calendars!
In terms of chores, we tackled both Camp Lumsden as well as some neighbourly tasks. In our yard we took on landscaping/rock wall projects in back around the wood bin, beach cleaning, brush removal along NW corner of the property line, grass upkeep/maintenance, boat haul off adjustments/clearing and even some “squirrel relocation”! We also put the Stihl brush cutter to work for a couple of neighbours that could use a boost in giving their properties a little trimming!
Maybe our best decision this month happened out of the what might be best described as “pure laziness”. We decided to portage the “Old Town” through to Cooeycoff Lake for a day paddle. Instead of the return lug, I got permission to lock the boat up at Bert’s Camp in the next lake. Worked out awesome… as Janie and I spent almost every weekend after in the Cole Harbour chain of lakes exploring, exercising, and sucking up some really extraordinary outdoor views & experiences. Already planning to do the same in 2022!
Beyond Smelt Lake we got a couple of trips in, including a few very enjoyable nights in PEI with the Grahams. Had an amazing time! Built around what was to be an awesome “full on” Matt Andersen concert, our trip included hiking trails in PEI National Park, great dining in and around the Stanhope area, an evening in Charlottetown and of lots of “catching up” with friends. We also managed reciprocal trips with the Chittys, where we made our way to beautiful Mattatall Lake and their new cottage/home in Tatamagouche and they dropped down for an evening at Camp Lumsden. Thanks to our hosts during both our August summer visits for taking such good care of us and putting up with our shenanigans! Bring on the fall…