May 20, 2007:

Not the nicest Victoria Day Weekend we have seen, but not the worst, either. It was cool, windy, and the sun didn’t shine for most of today, but on the other hand we didn’t get any precipitation as they did farther north of us. The Park wasn’t very busy, though I understand there were a couple of evictions Saturday night (liquor) – that was the people’s own fault – they knew the rules.

We took part in a multi-family yard sale at Miller’s, a mile south of the Park. Did pretty well, too, though we won’t buy a condo with the proceeds. Mainly what we wanted was to get rid of stuff we didn’t need any more, not to make money. We tried our best to sell two pairs of cross-country skis, but despite the threatening forecast, didn’t get a bite.

Everything is geared up for summer. Rose opened the park Store on Thursday, which is her normal opening time.  The Mini-Golf and Arcade are open as well, and seemed busy.

I remember when it was de rigueur to go swimming on the Victoria Day weekend, even if the ice wasn’t all gone. I’ll bet it didn’t happen this weekend!

The fishing boats and paddle boats are in the water at the Offshore Marina, with freshly painted motors and “Offshore Marina” decals, which look great. Orrin has a temporary fuel tank in place as the old system has played out; he is going to revamp the whole fuel delivery system. He will be offering gas for cars as well as for boats, welcome news to those of us who depended on the Cove for car gas.

The Park maintenance crew has been hard at work cleaning up the core area, hauling away fallen trees and mowing the grass, getting it looking good for the long weekend. I took a drive through Hilltop Campground and it looks pretty good. By the time summer comes and the underbrush thickens a bit, you won’t even be able to see the stumps.

There was a cottage down near the end of our row that has seen a lot of activity. They stripped the shingles, gutted the interior, hauled away outbuildings, and then one day the cottage was gone. I don’t know if they finished knocking it down or hauled it away. There have been some big white poplars felled as well, a smart move while they had the room to do it. We don’t know what happens next but suspect construction will begin any day on a new cottage.

A cottage in the old Greenwater subdivision has a “Sold” sign on it; we suspect it was bought for the lot. There are four more cottages for sale that we know of.

We had a successful Open House yesterday, with half a dozen couples touring the place. Our place doesn’t look big from the front, but everyone is amazed at how big it is. We’re having another Open House tomorrow morning.

There is some action on Mary Kehrig’s lots over north of the Cove, with footings being laid for a new cottage. Mary graveled the road around the development and when we talked to her she was picking stones to make it look better. She tells us she has sold five of the eleven lots, and has several interested parties on the list for the other six.

Lots of deck construction going on, as usual, including at the Beach Café.

No action on the Cove that we know of. We are pretty well resigned to it not being open at all this year, though that could change if they should find a buyer. I doubt if either of the owners are interested in running it.

Connie and Gary at the Beach Café are doing a good job, though; they make super coffee (some say it makes us see mirages) and serve excellent meals. They are busy building a deck on the east side for people who prefer to sit outside. Did you know they are licensed? They can serve beer, wine and liquor with meals – I’m not sure what would happen if you just wanted a beer.

That frost in the wee hours of Wednesday morning caught us by surprise. Doreen had quite a few plants out, most of them in pots, but we got off lucky – all she lost was some coleus and some impatiens. The rest were close enough to the house to be protected.

Friday was horrible – cold and windy, and constantly threatening to snow. We played it smart and brought the potted plants inside, and covered the others. There was four degrees of frost but it didn’t bother us. It looks like the Saskatoon crop is going to be near nil again this year, though – the leaves are all hanging down. More frost Saturday night, but only a couple of degrees, and no problems.