No new animals sighted except three groundhogs.  Not even the American goldfinches came to visit this weekend, only some grackles and a confused woodpecker.  The blue jays stayed away too, which was good news for the little chipmunks who got all the peanuts for themselves.

We had left Wawa early and arrived in Toronto that night.  It was one heck of a marathon drive.  The kids were awesome and they made it across the country without a dvd player, just books, the DSi, and the camera to take pictures of fast and cool cars, just like on Top Gear.  Jaybird just looked out the window and said “babababababa,” smiling joyously at her secret things.

We made a few stops along the way, including the Wawa Goose and the Big Nickel, quite by accident discovering the startlingly beautiful Old Woman Bay on Lake Superior.  Finding places like this make us wish we had more time.  No doubt my father drove right by it several times without stopping, but this time he was with us there, at least in spirit.  We had our last on-the-road dinner at the Bay Street Cafe on the water in Parry Sound.  We stayed in Toronto for one night and then headed to Toad Hall, where my dad had planned to rest for a few weeks.  We dreaded this last leg.

It was no wonder the birds stayed away, as if they knew something wasn’t quite right.

The ‘homecoming’ was far more bitter than sweet, our grief casting a pall on the place we usually consider our little slice of paradise.  He would have loved it here, with the sun reflecting off of the beautiful river, the deck chairs, the 1000 piece puzzle we’re working on, lazily, the peace and the quiet.  He told me that he would keep an eye on the place whenever we were away.  We’re hoping he might do that for us still.