So Much

For a guy who has bad lungs and runs out of breath just putting on his shoes, I did so much over this Victoria Day long weekend, but I regret nothing.

I might feel it for a few days but I regret nothing.

The big thing that I was preparing for was Saturday's CT scan at the hospital in Renfrew, which I spoke about yesterday. But what I didn't mention was that, since I had lots of time on my hands, after my hospital visit, that I thought I'd take advantage of it and explore a bit of the town.

I had thrown one of my D-SLRs into the trunk of the Niro, before heading out, and so I thought I'd head into the downtown core and walk along the main street. Coming directly from the hospital, you drive along Raglan Street North, toward Bruce Street, and you can see the main street and all of its old buildings, town hall, and shops.

When I crossed the street, Raglan dipped downward and I soon saw that a river separated the north part of this street from the south one. If there had been a bridge at some point in the town's history, there was no sign of it now.

I parked the car and walked down a footpath, toward the river, and came across an old mill. This was the perfect spot to start taking some photos before making my way to Raglan Street South.

After wandering the town for about an hour, I got back into the car and decided to head homeward. But I also decided to stop in another small town on the way home—Arnprior—to take some more pictures.

I was tired from my visit to Renfrew so I spent no more than a half hour on John Street before getting back in the car and heading straight home.

Saturday night, DW and I wanted to see the sun set so we drove downtown, stopping on the way to pick up some food and having a little picnic at the parkland near the Chaudière Falls. It was so lovely.

Sunday, DW, Kid 1, my mother, and I made our way to Carp for breakfast. It's a bit of a hike but not much farther, time-wise, than heading for breakfast downtown. And it was great to spend time with my mom, while my father was off with some of his friends.

Back home, we did some yard work but I then fitted our Niro with our kayak roof racks. I was a bit winded after loading up the kayaks, with DW's help, but I knew that once on the water, it would be relaxing. I'm rarely winded by paddling in my kayak.

We met up with some friends, in Spencerville, and paddled a 12-kilometer, round-trip stretch of the South Nation River, where we saw and heard all types of birds and other wildlife. We also met some other kayakers along the way.

Afterward, the four of us drove to the St. Lawrence and had dinner on a patio that looked out toward the bridge that leads to the US. It also looks out to the large, concrete grain elevators that are a bit of an eyesore, but the weather was so nice and the company even better.

Before heading home, we drove to the Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site to catch the last bit of sunset and the start of blue hour. This was where the four of us were supposed to be to watch the solar eclipse but we ended up driving to Granby, Québec, instead.

The lighting was great. (The bugs, however, were not-so great: you can see them in some of the photos.)

On holiday Monday, DW and I headed out early to check out the flowers and birds at Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Not many flowers have bloomed yet but there were folks working in the gardens and mowing the lawns. We hope to return in a few weeks and see how things progress.

There were a few birds and I took some photos but nothing worth sharing, yet.

We then went for breakfast in Little Italy before doing some grocery shopping and returning home for more gardening, but my energy levels were waning. I had to stop and take several breaks through the afternoon.

We uncovered and started up the barbecue for the first time this year, and as soon as dinner was out of the way, I only had enough energy to sit on the front porch and admire the lawn and gardens while the sun hung low.

I actually had to rest and recharge before I could find energy to write this post. If you've stuck to the end, I appreciate you doing so.

We did so much on this long weekend. Likely, more than I've done in a while. But if I could do this much with bad lungs, I can only imagine what I'll be able to do once my doctors figure out what's wrong with me and fix it.

Here's to the rest of the week.