We had another great summer on Wellesley Island in 2019. We were blessed to have several good friends join us for a few days including the Barones, the Bakers, the Marschiloks, and Alan Callaghan. It was a great time with all of them and a chance to catch up. Simultaneously, we had the 3rd edition of G2 (Grandma/Grandpa) Camp. In addition to the 5 “grands” and Pete from previous years, our son-in-law Luke and our newest grandson, Wes joined us for most of the summer. It was one happenin’ place, particularly on the weekends when the rest of the extended family arrived.
We had a few challenges to deal with, the biggest of which was the water level. Two years ago we hit the 100 year flood level. This year we topped it. However, we didn’t panic. We sandbagged the shoreline. For the dock we bought longer dock legs, scraped up some 55 gallon drums, and put it in the water in stages. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our lifts in, but we made do. The other problem was geese. Lots of ’em. Every year there seems to be more and 2019 was a bumper crop. They were relentless in their quest to eat and poop on our lawn. It got to the point you could not walk from cottage to cottage without serious shoe problems. I took up the challenge and after several attempts at constructing a fence that the varmints couldn’t get through, I succeeded. I was just like Bill Murray in Caddy Shack, but I’m ready for them next year.
Perhaps the most entertaining problem we faced was our pet goose “Loony”. Loony showed up on our property and simply would not leave. We kept putting him in the water and he kept returning. He would follow the kids wherever they went and would hangout by, sleep by, and poop by our front door. When we ate dinner he would watch us through the windows and honk his objections to being left outdoors. It became pretty clear he was “human imprinted” – he was raised by humans and thinks of us as his people. It also became obvious that he had to go before all the kids became to emotionally attached. Suzanne “boxed him up” and Luke and I took him in the boat to the other side of Grindstone Island and released him. He chased us for quite a while before giving up from exhaustion. We half expected him to show up again, but he must have found a new home. The video below shows the “escape from Loony” filmed by Luke. Kinda sad actually.
Finally, we had an eventful September that included time with the kids in Connecticut, the marriage of our nephew, Jack Hereford to the amazing Christina Acocella, a couple of weeks in Portugal, and the purchase of a newer RV. Otherwise it was pretty dull.
