Sunday, September 11th 2005
This past week has been hard for the community to deal with the pain created by the senseless loss of life, thirteen years old is just the beginning! The toughest decision was to re-open the school on Thursday after two days of mourning.
Watch groups patrolling all night, while the children were running around trying to face their grief was difficult to observe. Parents seemed at a loss, with lost control over their kids and opening the school seemed the best thing to do. Crisis counsellors were in to help the affected classes deal with the situation, and children were given opportunities to work through their grief. Yet, seeing the kids in school rather than running around unchecked made me realize that the decision had been the right one.


Yesterday was a welcome day of rest, fishing and canoeing seemed a welcome oasis. Fish abound in these lakes, Pickerel, Muskies and Jackfish keep Ricardo busy... Once you get away from the shore, out of the reach of snagging bushes the task becomes much easier.
Here we are about 20 meters out, where there are a couple of rocks that make a good place to anchor. Guess who was the anchor....there's a first!
Moopy the cat is getting a good source of fresh fish, although I tasted the catch and was quite surprised by the pleasant taste and consistency.
By the time we got back home, we were both tired, paddling and fishing can be more exercise than one thinks at the time.
The weather has been very pleasant, more days of sun than not for now. Yesterday was hot, the lake water was enticing until I put my hand in, brrr....not that hot, I thought.

The silence over here is wonderful, no background sirens or traffic hum; it's great to be able to witness the serenity of nature and wildlife (although litter can be seen around town). Another goal for the educational agenda. Children are very sociable, they'll come to visit anytime and enjoy the attention. Here you can see some of our visitors, including the puppy.

Dogs roam free, and the population tends to increase after a time. Unfortunately, they control the increase by shooting strays every so often, not very humane but effective. The band has their unique way of dealing with situations.