Saturday May 9th 2020

This has to be a conspiracy! Who is to blame? Should I blame the installation of 5G, or maybe Bill and Melinda Gates, or maybe it’s the energy producers, or maybe it’s just a byproduct of Global Warming!

Well global warming is a poor choice of words, as we are experiencing this blast of Arctic cold, with below freezing temperatures. There is even the chance of snow flurries, like seriously snow flurries in May! I’m not impressed, in-fact I was mowing the grass on Friday with my winter parka on … yea as if I still have a winter parka anymore. No I just had multiple layers of sweatshirts to try to keep warm. Yes the world is a changing, here in Ontario we have always worked on the unwritten rule there is a chance of frost anytime up until the 24th of May weekend, a little frost is one thing by snow was never mentioned.

It seems so ironic, the farmer has worked one of the fields on the side of our lane already, last year it was June before it was planted. But by all accounts from talking to some locals (using proper social distancing) it was a very easy winter, not a lot of snow, what could be called an open winter. And I know the difference in the park this year has been amazing so dry compared to spring last year, but it has been a cold spring, we have not had a lot of rain, but the trees are still just at the budding stage, right now it seems like a very long stretch to think that there will be to leaves on the trees in the next two weeks as would be normal here in Ontario.

With Sunday being Mother’s Day, it will be a difficult time for many, with social distancing, and it’s not just families not being able to be with family, it’s also the restaurants that will miss out on the Mother’s Day crowds, for most of them this is a huge boost to the bottom line. Yes these are different times, with this pandemic still totally out of control in most states, I don’t expect the US border to reopen until late summer at best. The reality is that this virus has dealt our economy’s some viscous blows, with many businesses having been forced to shut down, many of which will never reopen as the spread continues, and it continues because of the ignorance of some. Yes there are still some that think this is just a hoax … and that is their right to believe that, and if it was just themselves that they were putting at risk, I’d say go for it, call it a cleansing of the gene pool if you will, and with my very low tolerance of stupidity, I look at it as a bit of a bonus. The problem is, if they are carriers of the virus and they have a better chance than most, but they will most likely infect people around them because of their ignorance, and that’s just not fair.

But as I pull myself back from the brink of a full on rant…

We are trying to keep warm here on Ontario’s west coast, and as chilly as it is, the lake seems to be quite a moderating factor with both the temperature and snow, as there has been snow reports all around us yesterday, although there is still some in our forecast.

As Always: Please Stay well and avoid the crazies!

Thursday May 7th 2020

Yes we are still alive and well, the Covid virus has not gotten us or anything like that. We have been working hard getting the park prepared for our guests, the most recent information on the park opening is on the Tuesday after the long weekend. And to be quite honest that was what I expected to happen, this avoids most of the pandemonium that is the May 2-4 weekend. It would have been a real nightmare for us with opening day being the Friday, with all the new rules and requirements to allow us to open with the pandemic still taking lives.

The park is ready for our guests, the water is on, the power is on, but it will not be back to normal for some time! To open we have to close all common areas, so no washrooms, no laundry, no playground, no snap court, no events or gatherings. Everyone will need to keep proper social distancing rules in place, so no group campfires or groups of kids playing. Each family has to stay on their area, which will be difficult to police but will just have to done, the last thing that we need is an outbreak traced back to the park, that would most likely see the park closed indefinitely. There are guidelines laid down by the province that has non essential services closed to the 19th of May, hopefully we will get a go ahead at that time, then we have to meet requirements set out by the local public health department here in Huron county.

Our seasonal guests will not be able to have any visitors, so we will have to have an entrance gate to control the flow, we have needed to restock in Goderich, which is the closest shopping, and it is a slow difficult process right now, so I can only imagine the craziness when multiple local parks open … so we are telling everyone to shop at home and bring your supplies with you. The gate will be closed in the evening and not open till morning. A totally different feeling all around the area, Goderich was never came across as a friendly town before and it’s even worse now. Outsiders are kind of looked at as if they are going to infect the residents, they want our business under normal conditions, but right now it’s not very warm and fuzzy.

We are working on the look out areas, with more fill having been added over the winter. But now the benches that everyone has enjoyed will either need to be removed or taped off to force social distancing. As well as all the common areas being taped off, to try to keep everyone safe, this is where the local public health boards get their say as to what we must do, it looks like no more dog walking on common areas. The rules seem endless, but as you just sit and listen to the waves rolling in, it all seems to be OK. We will get through this if everyone co-operates, remember don’t shoot the messenger … we are not making the rules we just get stuck with enforcing them.

Please be safe, and stay strong and well!