Upon leaving the garage and cycling up the ramp early this morning it required no accommodation of the fresh air. It was like having one’s face stroked with rose petals, soothing and fragrant to a fault! This pleasing start to the day’s constitutional bode well for what followed. Along the route (“la Route Précise” as we jokingly call it) I passed a tiny field of crocuses rearing their purple heads through the leafy bed into the sunshine. It said all there was to be said about springtime. Seeing it inspired me to notice the burgeoning leaves on the trees as well. Spring had arrived!

Upon return from my brief exercise and breath of fresh air, I began the ceremony that is my breakfast.  It now involves the stove (steel cut oats) so the strategy is very much heightened especially if one attempts to accomplish timing. With the assistance of Siri and Apple Watch I have succeeded to engineer a clockwork production.

The precision and nutrition of breakfast does not however compete with the mechanical regularity of my Aviator automobile. Expeditiously I launched myself – sans accessories – into the daylight once again, this time for a circular jaunt about the countryside, first restored by a car wash. The boat sailed and the plane flew along the ribbon of highway in the County of Renfrew where the fields expanded like an opening compass upon the horizon. As I marvelled at the clarity of the azure sky I became intent upon doing some afternoon sunbathing. The temperature was now at 22°C and climbing.

There are many places at which one can pause to sunbathe. Certainly those who have their own back yards may have the dual advantage of an unobstructed southwestern view. Otherwise there is Andrew Haydon Park and Sailing Club which affords a meandering walkway along the Ottawa River complete with park benches. Closer to home is a small lookout in the Village of Appleton by the bridge, also with a bench. A short tour to the Village of Blakeney presents a further alternative – though you’ll have to sit upon a rock alongside the River.  The place which captured my attention most fully was the sight of families and children playing beside the roaring waters of the Mississippi River pouring through the 5-Span bridge in the Village of Pakenham. The thrill of the visitors was transparent!

Though I did in fact consider all those sunbathing alternatives I opted instead for our own back yard where there is an agreeable collection of tables and chairs all with the exceeding abundance of sunshine and a southwestern view. Within minutes of my arrival upon the scene I was once again sailing in my mind. I find the one-hour lounge highly restorative. It is yet another of the rewards of old age that one needed bother with bathing costumes or suntan lotion. Besides I have always found there is something dignified about he who momentarily slumps in the sun with other than solely cosmetic purpose. This blessing insinuated my carcass.