It's summer, the weather is gorgeous and .. the pool is finally open!
It took a lot of last minute scrambling for the crew that was working very hard to get it done .. that would be James and me .. and it's still not finished by far, but inspections are done and it is usable.
It has been a big hit from the moment it opened, no wonder since the temperatures are perfect, low to high 80's! 
The humidity has gone down, thank goodness, and were not in the 90's anymore, but it's still very warm, especially in the sun.

To cool down a little we drove to Lake Ontario, where it's always a little cooler with the breeze coming of the water.
Actually, we did this on the 4th of July, hoping it wouldn't be too busy, since most people are having their family gatherings and BBQ's on the 4th.



We'd left early and by the time we reached the lake we took a break for coffee after which we explored the quaint little town of Kent at Point Breeze.
It's a peaceful little place with beautiful views of Lake Ontario, a picturesque (Oak Orchard) lighthouse and a charming (Ernst's Lake Breeze) marina .. 

These coastal areas throughout the Great Lakes are often referred to as “The Fruit Belt” and when we continued our way through the rolling hills alongside the lake we started to notice lots and lots of fruit orchards and vineyards. 

  

The Great Lakes act as a heat source during the winter to smooth out the seasonal changes along the coastal areas, and these fewer temperature extremes provide ideal conditions for a very profitable fruit industry. 

Unfortunately we'd just stocked up on fruits, and we had a long day ahead of us on a warm day, or we would have stopped at one of the many 'U-pick's' or farm stands ..

The (various varieties of) cherries are now in season until the end of July!

   

Our next stop, for another cup of coffee (I know, we drink a lot of that stuff), was at the Niagara County Krull Park in Olcott.

Another nice and peaceful little town and a beautiful shady park right at the lake.

                                           
By now, people were starting to set up for their 4th of July BBQ's and most of the shelters had 'reserved ' signs up.

   

We took a little walk through town and it's small, but cute and colorful, shopping area:

 

Time to move on to our main destination of the day, the Old Fort Niagara, at the very eastern, American point of the lake, just before the Canadian border.

The beautifully restored, 300 year old, fortress is situated in what is now a State Park.

There's a nice little museum in the Visitor Center, with a very informative orientation video that gives you some understanding of it's role in the region's history.

We also joined a guide for an excellent, and fun, 30 minute tour. 

After the French cheated the Iroquois Indians out of permission to build a 'house' at this strategically important piece of land, the Fort played a critical role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

 

The main entrance with the 'Gate of Five Nations', in honor of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The 'South Redoubt', with a cannon platform on the second floor

 

The main building is called The French Castle, build like a 'house' to avoid giving offense to the local Natives.

Inside you can visit the Trade Room, the Barracks Room and Commandant's Quarters.

             

Re-enactors in the Fortress gave multiple demonstrations throughout the day. They made history come alive in a fun way ..

       

The Fort has been, off and on, in French, British and American hands which is reflected in the various costumes and weapons that are worn and used.

From the 2nd floor of the 'South Rebound' you have a good view of the 'River Defenses' and the 'Dauphin Battery', a five gun battery to protect the main gate.

That is the Niagara River you see there, with Canada on the other side.

See the tall british and small canadian flags?

Looking towards the lake, you can see the skyline of Toronto on a clear day ..



It started out a little hazy, but got a bit better later in the day ..

We're actually thinking of maybe driving over to Canada one of these days, since we're so close, and get Toronto of our 'to-go-to list' for Canada.

OK, back at the 'ranch', as you could see by the header picture, we finished the pool ..

Would you believe it if I say that this pool has been in the works for 7 years!? Yup, seven Years!
They've only worked on it when there was time and/or money but this year they really wanted it up and running. 
We (James) couldn't have shown up at a better time!

It's still not completely done but like I said, it's 'operational'.
James did a ton of work and afterward I helped .. cleaning, you guessed it ..

He, himself and I, the three people that did the most ..

Other than that, I've been working hard on getting the blogs done from our travels coming up north. I'm about halfway, have all of the pics 'in', but am still working on the text. 

It's an epic work ..

And just around sunset last week, we went for a short walk towards the area where I spotted the beaver-lodge during one of my hikes.

Guess what, he was home ... meet Mr. Beaver his-self .. !

 

It took a while, and 8 mosquito bites later, before he finally turned his butt ..

 ... and showed his handsome profile! Wow, these creatures are much bigger than I thought!

OK, that's about it for this week, I'm getting 'long' again. Hopefully not too boring ..

Time to check on Merl'. He's not been quite himself for the last couple of weeks, I think he has a bout of Pancreatitis again. 
He's not really interested in eating, I had to force-feed him a couple of times lately, has lost a little weight and sleeps the whole time ..
Best way to get through it is eat, eat, eat, so I wake him every 4 hours or so to get something in him, it's like having a baby!
We've discovered that he loooooves Parmesan cheese, so he gets it sprinkled on his food .. I know, salty, but the main thing is, that than he'll eat it .. oh well .. we'll get through it somehow!

Silly cat