The first guest to arrive was Janine, who travelled for 33 hours by Greyhound from Manitoba. That is one very special friend. She insists that it was not torturous and she got to meet some interesting people.
I harvested the first item from the garden while she was here. We shared the harvest:
The order of strawberries (7.5 pounds) arrived the day after Janine did, so we ate strawberries - a lot of them:
Janine and I explored the land, walked in the sunshine, and ate her delicious cooking. She chose the plane to return home, so we said farewell on the hot tarmac in Castlegar.
The next day Elizabeth arrived from stinking hot Lethbridge and set up camp at Kokanee Creek Park. Her timing was a bit off; she landed there during the mosquito convention. We ate hot dogs around the campfire, and when she tired of the mosquito visitors, she came to town and we dined.
Josh and Aimee arrived on July the 4th; Julie and Ryan arrived on the 5th. On the 5th we had our last hot dog campfire with Elizabeth, and Josh taught us all how to make Smores. One of those goes a long way.
We hung out a lot on the back patio, ate barbecued food most evenings, and we had many daily delights. One work day I took a vacation day and we all went to the East Shore to the beach, as I learned last year that this part of the lake has considerably warmer water. Indeed it was true! We had plenty of sand, and had a picnic feast. Along the shore, a Kaleidoscope of butterflies. Yep, apparently that's the name for a group of butterflies.
Ryan bought a new car a few weeks ago; while in Nelson, he spent a good deal of time in my backyard close to the sprinkler and vacuum cleaner. Here is the masterpiece:
I celebrated my birthday having fun - first was Spanish lessons, then a facial (my first in my life - I think everyone ought to do something for the first time on their birthday), went to the Six Mile Beach with both of my children (how perfect is that!), and then had friends over for a feast. The mastermind behind the food event was Josh - we had many courses with many taste delights. Here is dessert, peaches grilled on a cedar plank. Before those peaches were grilled they were marinated in a lovely sauce. The only ingredient I remember is Jack Daniels. Curious. They were AMAZING!
Alas! Ryan and Julie were only able to stay a week; they left the day after my birthday. Aimee, Josh and I continued our forays to the beach, and on my next day off we went to Queen's Bay, another part of the main part of the lake where the water is warmer. No ferry this time. Josh gave the water a rating of +10 and the shore -10. There were lots of rocks. Still both did the celebratory summer dance:
Everyone has scattered now back to their homes. The back patio is ready... for their return.
