The beginning of the season today at Mississippi Golf Club in the Village of Appleton along the Mississippi River could not have been favoured with more agreeable circumstances: brilliant sunshine, cloudless blue sky, a Sunday weekend morning and ideal temperatures. In preparation of our departure to the club for breakfast – we briefly sat at home on the balcony absorbing the astonishingly radiant heat.  Looking upriver over the placid water, the southern shoreline reflected like a mirror.

We sent an email to Chef Wendy MacDonald, Caterer – to which she replied – requesting the reservation of a spot overlooking the greens.  Though we were half-expecting my partner’s nephew to join us at table, he did not make an appearance. No doubt he was otherwise more profitably engaged on this magical weekend interlude.

While munching our very agreeable breakfast we connected with Susie McLaren, bartender, who shared with us her winter holiday on Roatán Island off the coast of Honduras. She spoke approvingly of the resort – while laughing about the early evenings which are reportedly common. Her testimony regarding the beach and sea was convincing, including the prospect of seaside meals (which made me reminiscent of our jaunt years ago to the Dominican Republic).

Sitting at a nearby table was AJ, a resident of our apartment building. We briefly chatted. Like us he had ordered a full breakfast; unlike us he was booked for a tee-off time at 11:48 am. We subsequently gathered intelligence concerning our 19-year old server who, she advised, was studying English literature et al. at Bishop’s University.

Bishop’s University is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who also served as the first principal of McGill University. It is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in English, with the others being McGill University and Concordia University, both in Montreal. It began its foundation by absorbing the Lennoxville Classical School as Bishop’s College School in the 1840s. The college was formally founded in 1843 and received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1853.

It was not lost on us that our server – who is commingled with the celebrated Sonnenburg clan in the area – joined the son of our former neighbour (of the equally highly reputed Scott family) in attendance at Bishop’s University. In brief, it is a useful reminder that Almonte is home to many honourable luminaries, including R. Tait McKenzie (artist), Dr. James Naismith (inventor of basketball), Macintosh Bell (explorer and geologist), Sir Edward Peacock (governor of the Bank of England), Leonard Lee (founder of Lee Valley Tools and Canica Design), Noreen Young (puppeteer and producer), Stephen E. C. Brathwaite (heritage developer and internationally renowned artist), Robert W. Morton (deputy commander of NORAD) not to mention General Juan Almonte (Mexican diplomat and politician after whom the Town was named in 1856) and Kent Huskins (born May 4, 1979 a Canadian former professional ice hockey defence man who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers).

Robert Tait McKenzie (May 26, 1867 – April 28, 1938) was a Canadian physician, educator, sculptor, athlete, soldier and Scouter. Born in Ramsay Township, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada, he attended McGill University in Montreal as an undergraduate and medical student, and was an instructor in its medical school beginning in 1894. In 1904, he moved to the United States to teach at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 1930s, he returned to the county of his birth, retiring to the Mill of Kintail in Almonte.

After chauffeuring my partner to and from the local grocery store, I culminated the day’s unrivalled lethargy by motoring up and down the Ottawa Valley before finally landing at Hummingbird Chocolate Maker in town for an espresso and sweets.  In my defence, I had interrupted the drive and the coffee with a moderately energetic tricycle ride about the neighbourhood. I hadn’t planned the need to expiate my guilt but I am pleased to have done so – especially now after having consumed three of the sweets (1 pistachio date square and 2 apple butter tarts).

Coincidentally at Hummingbird I met up with Joy and Gary with whom we had caffeinated ourselves yesterday at Equator Coffee (across the street). We were in turn united with Donnie who is most popularly celebrated as the avid ski pole walker. Donnie amused us with tales of his shared communications on X with the Israeli government and Elon Musk.