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Wasps and Hornets

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Numerous and Noisy The external part of the Yellow Jacket nest While we have been away Yellow Jacket wasps built a nest on the soffit of our front door deck.  Although only about 6" in diameter, it had been constructed around one of the recessed down-lighters, so it was twice as big as it appeared.  They probably started behind the light bulb, and the nest grew from there! Our local pest controller pitched up on Monday 21st, suited, booted and hooded and estimated there were at least 200-300 wasps in the nest.  Moving the chairs and cushions, he found another nest, between a seat cushion and the back of the chair.  Glad the kids didn't sit there by mistake.  The wasps are no more; though a  few, rather pissed-off that their home had been destroyed, lingered for a couple of days we are told.  On this side of the country we have been bothered by Hornets.  Larger and noisier than the Yellow Jackets and they certainly pack a bigger punch as they are C...
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Quebec - 'keh-bek' - Exploring Montreal

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Marmite Crisis We have a crisis.  Love it or hate it, we have run out of Marmite!  The Quebecois clearly are not in the first camp as it is not available in any supermarket we have been in.  In fairness there isn't a large British contingent in the province, in fact finding any first language English speakers is rare.   I am not sure we can last until we get back to ' British'  Columbia and its specialist British food stores, actually thinking about it, it's often in the BC supermarkets. Montreal - Quebec We spent Sat 19th in Montreal city, it was not our most successful day out.  It was a culture shock after nearly two months of open roads, provincial parks and few people.   It didn't help that we missed a turning to the Vieux Port waterfront on the way in, and our satnav wanted to take us on a 10km diversion on the underground expressway.  Once we finally found it, it was hot, which wasn't great for Jack, and none of the restaurants an...
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Black Bear, Two Beavers and Lakes

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Bonjour Québec Bay of Quinte sunset - our last stop in Ontario Nous sommes maintenant en Québec -  le Français-parlant centre du Canada.   And it is very obvious.  Unlike other provinces, the signs are in French only, not French and English.  Some of the drivers think they are in Paris, so yes, very French. I started writing this blog from Algonquin Provincial Park (PP)  Ontario , an area we last visited in 2000 when we came for a family holiday from the UK.   On that trip we planned a week in a 'cottage' on Lake Vernon in Huntsville, before driving to Vancouver for the second week.  That journey had we done it, has just taken us a leisurely six weeks and 7300km. It wasn't a couple of days drive.   In the end we used Huntsville as a base and explored Muskoka and the Algonquin PP when we saw our first ever moose, in fact several of them in a herd; if that is the right collective noun.  The 'cottage' was a six bedroom house on th...
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