Busy day yesterday. We went a’visitin’. Again. Then, Peter and Sarah arrived while we were away and were at home to greet us on our return. We had ‘family’ for dinner. A right social whirlwind, it was.

More finger-food and chit-chat tonight when we all go to the neighbours’ for happy hour.

The last twelve logs we have gathered will remain unchopped. Oh well……………

Our first ‘do’ was to say goodbye to a friend and neighbour who was, after 35 years, leaving the area. ‘M’ is 80. Been here for the better part of his life. Built houses, boats, furniture and all sorts of projects and he keeps at it all day long to this very day. They guy is a dynamo. Reason for leaving: “…..the fish have moved north. I came for the fish and I am following them. Bought a little place up past Alert Bay and I’ll keep catching the salmon for as long as I can. You’ll have to visit me sometime!”

And we will. Visiting and being visited is in our genes.

Another old buddy at the party had just come down from Bute Mountain. He had been asked to join the team that was ascending the ‘face’ of it so that some climber-type-guy (Dean Potter?) could leap off of it and plummet 6500 feet to the delta plain below. The ‘alpinist’ was going to do so wearing a squirrel suit, a body glove that puffed up with air and assumes an aerodynamic shape as the wearer falls. Kinda gutsy, if you ask me.

National Geo was filming it and ‘R’, being a famous and local mountaineer was asked to accompany them. ‘R’ is retired now and so he declined the climb and the plummet but he went along as an advisor, colour man and honorary team member. He loved it but it didn’t tempt him as I thought it might. “T’aint no country for old men!”

So, mountain climbers get smarter as they age, it seems.

Can’t say as the rest of us do. Seem to be gettin’ stupider, myself. ‘Course all that finger-food and martini-sipping isn’t helping. Can’t say much for the over-exposure to chit-chat, either. That kind of thing can wear a man down, you know? Makes ya crazy!

Gotta know when to quit. Usually we ‘quit’ at the end of the summer and that is just around the corner. I should be able to make it but I may be a little ‘whacked’. Waddya think?