A quick "work" trip to Maniwaki

Headed up to Dave's cottage near Maniwaki on the weekend to help him get things set up for the season. Always lots to do when you own a cottage and while it’s not my cottage I’m happy to give him a hand and lighten the load a little. Besides I’m well “paid” with beverages and there's usually (always!) a good meal on the table in the evening so I’m not complaining. Water pumps primed, docks shoved in the lake, a few odd mending jobs and then a wander up and down the shore to help out other neighbours struggling with the same tasks (and a few more beverages offered) made for a full agenda. The weather wasn’t scheduled to be too good but the heavy rains forecast seemed to hold off for the most part. When it did shower it provided some welcome relief from the blackflies who’ve made an early appearance. Perhaps no surprise that they’ve arrived early as everything else seems ahead of schedule this year so why wouldn’t the “hatch” be early as well. In truth the blackflies weren’t at full force. They clouded up around your face (which was annoying) but they didn’t seem to fully understand the biting and bloodsucking part of their life cycle. My guess is a few more days and they’ll have the procedure down and be quite the horror show.


A little drizzle made for comfortable working conditions
After dinner we took the quads out to tour around the backcountry a bit (blackflies had gone to bed) and stopped by a local bog to enjoy the frogs chorus. It was nice but absolutely deafening so we didn’t stay long. If the blackflies are active I suppose the frogs will have a good season as well. Was certainly nice to get up here and relax (albeit being put to “work”) for a bit. April has been particularly busy getting ready for Race Weekend with the modified courses. Lots of meetings, measuring and changes of plan all of which seemed to fall at pretty much the last minute has made things somewhat chaotic. At least the course is now set and we can focus on the regular chaos in the next few weeks. Some one posted on Trirudy that the maps for the courses haven’t been posted on the Run Ottawa website. Not sure why that hasn’t happened yet (they should be up soon) but – for my tens of readers – here is an exclusive look at the courses. Marathon - half marathon. A bit of a change from previous editions which was primarily a result of the Alexandra bridge being closed for repairs. This year’s marathon course even runs through a small (hill free) piece of Gatineau Park. If you’re running, these will be interesting. If you’re not you might want to know where to go to see the spectacle. If you’re really uninterested you might want to know where to avoid! All I can say is trying to cross the Ottawa River on the morning of the 30th may be a challenge.


Natural flower beds
On Monday, after a few errands on a rainy morning the sun cleared up so I headed up to the park for a little walk. Toured around the MacKenzie King estate checking out the flower beds. Tulips were nice but looking to be on about their last legs. Might not be too many tulips for the Tulip fest. Again the blackflies were out but nowhere near the strength I had encountered an hour north of town. Not much biting either but like their northern brethren I expect they will organize and gain strength over the next few days. Hopefully an early spring doesn’t mean an extended blackfly season… of course the mosquitoes and deerflies won’t be far behind so accepting/coping with the bugs is all part of the summer round these parts.


Even with all the rain the birdbath was dry... but this bird seemed to be enjoying the flowers none the less.