Bachelor Days at Big Bras d’Or

My Jan flew west for nine days to renew adoring acquaintance with granddaughter Lexi in Coquitlam. I headed to Halifax principally to commune with Doris. At first appalled at my dear old Mum’s shrivelled form I saw enough improvement over three days to convince myself that her above-ground prospects are significantly better than 50-50. Her first order of business was to show off the fleet of cards and letters that have flowed in from her friends and admirers across the country. Thank you again, those of you who cared to write or call. We played cribbage. That seemed to engage Doris’s red corpuscles; when the cards didn’t go her way she threw a familiar unmentionable epithet at me. My heart soared.

Halifax refreshed awareness that I am a country mouse by nature. After three days of crowds, noise and traffic I was happy to be back in the woods. At Bigadore the decibels are slight, provided mostly by hummingbirds, squirrels and jays.

Jan’s absence increases her stock and enhances appreciation of what she shares with me. I do the early morning 7 km Dalem walk without her but with reduced enthusiasm. In her absence Jan provides a good weight loss program: in the first 36 hours I shed five pounds. I feed when I’m peckish but sometimes projects distract me from awareness of hunger.

Big Bras d’Or is sublime in mid-late August. Nature's bounty is peak: mushrooms, blueberries, blackberries. Conditions for the August 12 Perseid meteor shower were ideal: no wind, no clouds, no moonlight – perfect viewing. Under blankets and tarps seven of us lined up on the bank, two of them strangers to the night sky. Some years ago I introduced Lynn and Louise to the joys of astronomy. As with all their other endeavours the twins took to it like politicians to fresh graft; now I eat their dust. They introduced the night-sky tyros to the northern constellations, explained why the panoply appears to rotate around the pole star, regaled them with arcane details of the luminosity and power of the Summer Triangle's mighty stars – Vega, Deneb, Altair. While at it we counted 104 meteors.

Yesterday The Darlings were both kind and cruel. They took pity, delivering a meal on wheels after work. Then mercy turned to malice. Bananagrams is another thing I introduced them to. Against mere mortals I am a player – I hold my own. Yesterday we played two dozen games, Louise winning five, Lynn 18. That left me with one win. One. The ego suffers mightily.

Jan returns Sunday. I will be at the airport in plenty of time to welcome her with open arms.