Campbell's "Indain Summer"

"Indian Summer"    Along the line of smoky hills

The crimson forest stands,

And all the day the blue-jay calls

Throughout the autumn lands.

Now by the brook the maple leans,

With all his glory spread;

And all the sumachs on the hills

Have turned their green to red.

Now, by great marshes wrapt in mist,

Or past some river's mouth,

Throughout the long still autumn day

Wild birds are flying south.

-- William Wilfred Campbell (1860-1919)
Born at Kitchener, Campbell was known as
the poet of the Great Lakes.
He was the author of Lake Lyrics, 1889. 

On route to French River we saw herons in farm fields a bear on the side of the road and The Big Nickel in Sudbury. We were so excited to join our friends Tasha and Darin in French River and Chloe loved the classic rustic cabins. We swam our hearts out, practiced our dives and back flops, ouch! We also got a chance to swim in the rapids and Chloe  fell in with her clothes on.

We arrived in Toronto to stay with cousins Margot, Gibran and the crazy cat Haonzo.

It was great to catch up with a number of relatives in Toronto. They all treated us so well. Ruben loved the Model Ships and miniature firearms at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was wonderful to see the Group Of Sevens Images of much of the area we had recently traveled. We stopped at Malabar’s costume shop where Ruben bought some fake cigarettes. We all had a blast watching peoples expressions while Ruben casually puffed on his smokes. We got all our exercise running around looking for the dog show.  We enjoyed mini donuts and three exciting rides. The kids were troopers at midnight riding the street cars home, tired and sticky.

From Toronto we made our way to Uncle Ken’s beautiful home on King Street. We learned further family history and intrigue, ate some fabulous corn and explored the town. Ruben also got to check out his great, great grandfather’s rock collection We now are on the St. Lawrence River near Brockville staying with Uncle Gregg and Sandy. We have begun are homeschooling efforts in earnest!