August 21st: Fenelon Falls

62 ft. boat at Fenelon Falls

We left Rosedale early trying to get a power spot at the lock. There are more and more very large boats so there is room for less boats than when the locks were designed. The picture shows an example. The cruiser behind the big boat is 26 ft. long (only 2 feet shorter than ours) but it looks tiny in comparison.

Things worked out worked out well for us and we were able to get two spots next to each other.

We arrived early enough that we decided to ride to That Place on Cameron. It is located at Fenelon Falls Marina and they serve a great breakfast. They also have a lot of funny signs hanging on the wall. Here is an example.












Fenelon Falls is home to Peter's Sun Ming Chinese Restaurant, our favorite. Peter makes the very best won ton soup. He explained to us years ago that he makes the broth from scratch every day. Of course we went for lunch Wednesday. (We knew they were closed Tuesday or we would have gone the day we arrived, Tuesday.)









I took a walk down to the bottom of the lock. I like to walk the stairs around the lock for exercise because we seldom are someplace with stairs. These stairs are big rectangular rocks that have been in place for years. At the bottom is the Fenelon Falls shrub sign. It has been here for as long as we can remember. It's been a long time since I was on that side of the lock so I walked around a little.

Chimney Swift tower

I found a nice little park. The horticultural club provided nice flowers and a Chimney Swift tower was built in the park. Chimney Swifts are becoming endangered for lack of appropriate nesting places. They really do make nests in chimneys as well as dead trees. Given all the deforestation they are having a tough time. I didn't see any Chimney Swifts but hopefully they are using it.

This tower is very similar to the one Tom, Linda's brother built on the farm in Loudonville. We did see Chimney Swifts at the farm. They are very pretty birds that are very shiny when flying.




There was a plaque in the park that reminded me how long ago this area was settled. I had never heard of John Langston before seeing the plaque.

Fenelon Falls

I climbed the stairs back to the top, went across a bridge to the other side of the lock. I was able to get a good picture of the Falls. I reminisced my taking the kids behind the falls in a little rubber paddle dinghy. There was a rock overhang that the water pours over and it was possible to get behind it at one end. It was a lot of fun to be behind the falls.

 We decided it was time to move on to Bobcaygeon. With the weekend coming we wanted to try to get spots there, 16 miles away. I was able to get a good picture of Margariteville leaving the lock. As you can see it was another beautiful day.

Giant Pickerel on a flag pole

On the way out of town we once again saw the giant Pickerel I've been watching for years. It was always fun to see it as we came into Fenelon Falls. It used to be painted and looked quite lifelike, just huge. Unfortunately, it is still not painted and looks quite ghostly.  It has been there so long that it is faded and pure white. Maybe next year it will be restored.



Last blog's wild flower: Goldenrod

Many  allergy sufferers believe that Goldenrod is one of those specific plants responsible for their late summer, early fall miseries. But this is not the case. Goldenrod does not pollinate through the air. Rather, it relies on insects to pollinate. Ragweed is the true bane of hay fever sufferers. 

One particularly unusual feature of this plant is the 'gall ball' phenomenon. During late summer, a certain fly will lay its eggs on the plant. The larva burrows into the stem forming a bulge or gall ball in the stem of the plant. It will winter over in this ball and emerge as an adult in the spring. Wildflower enthusiasts will note during early spring that almost every Goldenrod plant harbours a gall. But not all galls harbor a grub. If the gall has a tiny hole in it, it means that some bird, like a chickadee or woodpecker, has extracted the grub during the winter or the grub has wormed its way out on its own. Goldenrod blooms August through October.

This blog's Wildflower: