Say what??

It seems that fall is arriving already.  The days are lovely and warm - mid to high 80s - but without the unbearable humidity, and the evenings are cool and comfortable.  We have not used the air conditioning for the past several days, and have all the windows and hatches open to the fresh air.  On our walk the other morning, we actually noticed some of the leaves turning colour, and a few early ones falling to the ground.  

With the more pleasant weather, the dock has again become a much more sociable place.  People are out and about a lot more (not hiding from the heat) and group activities are being planned once again.  there will be a big gathering this weekend out on the water, with a pot luck dinner on Saturday.  The following weekend is the beginning of football season - college football, that is, which is huge down here.  Our neighbours have installed their 50" tv on the dock, and are organizing another party for that first game on Sept 1.  

We took a break from boat stuff to go for a drive along the south shore of the river, and to see if we could see the big dam and lock that we will have to travel through on our way south.  We spotted this new use for a boat.  

They are bass crazy down here, and with good reason, as it boasts some of the best bass fishing anywhere.  This mailbox, however, struck as just a little bit over the top!!

We did eventually get to the lock, only to find that we could not get close enough on shore to really see anything.  In the Trent Severn Waterway in Ontario, anyone can walk to the sides of the locks and watch the boats go through.  Even the Welland Canal, which carries the huge lake freighters, allows onlookers to see the passage of ships and boats into and out of the locks.  You can see the whole operation from anywhere along the canal, with elevated viewing galleries, parkland and picnic spots to attract visitors.

But that is not the case here.  Tall fences and locked gates surround the locks, with dire warnings from the US Federal Government to trespassers.  You can almost see the entrance doors from downstream, if you clamber over the rocks to get to the water's edge, but no way can you see into the lock unless you are actually on a boat going through.  We didn't bother to take any photos, especially after we spied a series of these signs all along the road leading to the dam.  Made us wonder if this is how they deal with trespassers!!