Temperature, that is.  Quite a switch from the heat and humidity of the past couple of weeks.  It is a welcome change, nonetheless, although not exactly beach weather.  On days like this most tourists check out the attractions, go exploring, or do some shopping.  There is certainly no shortage of things to see on our beautiful island.

The wild roses are blooming in our maze, the green is awash in pink splashes of colour.  This year we are planning to harvest our rosehips.  Besides the wild rose bushes we have rugosa roses, which apparently yield the highest quality and flavour.  Did you know that the rose is a relative of plums, blackberries, raspberries and apples?  The fleshy bulbs which form after the floom dies, especially on the rugosas, supposedly taste like an apple.  This is a new venture for us, but we plan on drying them and possibly making some syrup.  From there, we can make soup, wine, jelly and tea.  The rosehip is very high in vitamin C, bioflavinoids, B complex vitamins, pectin, vitamin E, selenium and manganese.  Come mid-September we will be busy harvesting the hips.  Why don’t you drop by and give us a hand? We have a cottage or room just for you!

One of our beautiful rose bushes!

Just so you can get some sense of how our guests have felt about their experience with us, I’ve added a new page under “Just a note…” called - you guessed it, “What people have said”.  Good title, what?

Yes, hard to believe, but it is mid-summer 2010!  Not much time left to book your dream holiday with us!

I have posted some new links that you may want to check out.  Howarth House is located on the beautiful Points East Coastal Drive.  This link gives you all the information you will need to make your vacation the best ever. 

You will have noticed the tab on our website called “Helen’s Haven”.   Well, Helen now has her own website and I have provided the link.  We are still managing Helen’s Haven but you may contact her directly by clicking the “Contact” link on her website.

The East Point Lighthouse is a must-see attraction while visiting us.  It was built in 1867 and has served to help ships avoid the dangerous reefs offshore.  This is the place where “the sun rises and the tides meet”, three tides to be exact.  The Atlantic ocean, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait all come together at this point.  Amazing!

And finally, while you are here, we highly recommend a meal or two at the Sandstone Restaurant.  Located in North Lake, the Bluefin Tuna Capital of the World, this large, airy food emporium offers excellent service and some of the freshest seafood available on this end of beautiful Prince Edward Island!

Yes, it is mid-summer, but there is still lots of time left to experience the quiet beauty of our estate.  We’ll see you soon, eh?

Okay, enough with the rain already!  Seventy some odd millimetres is more than enough to water the garden!  I was ready to get the kayak out.  We have a lovely, big sunroom but with all that rain, the skylights sprung a couple of leaks so Murray was up on the roof, hard at work sealing them as soon as the rain stopped.  Hopefully, good as new, well maybe not new… Anyway, we’ve had enough moisture for awhile.  Now just waiting for the humidity to lift. 

This place is for the birds!  Last week we heard a scratching in the living room stovepipe so assumed it was a bird.  Well, it would have to make it’s own way out, right?  It did, about three days later.  The latch wasn’t on the door, so it managed to push the door open, unbeknownst to me.  I heard a thudding sound, like a bird hitting the outside of a window, only much louder.  It must have knocked itself out because it was lying on the floor in the sunroom.  I picked it up and proceeded to go outside and try to find a place to put it.  Of course, the dogs wanted to “help”.  Not happening, so I secured them in the house.  I went down into the maze and found a secluded corner with a bench.  It was starting to rain, which I thought was a good thing because that would help revive the poor thing.  I set it down and it was able to lift it’s head, but was still dazed.  I found out later that it was an immature starling - we have a couple of families nesting in the eaves of our house.  When I checked back the next day, it wasn’t there so I’m thinking good thoughts and hoping it flew away.  Yes, that’s it!  Now for the chickadees.  We seldom see them, they spend most of their time in the woods near the property.  So it was quite unusual to see one nesting in a birdhouse near the cottage clothesline.  Every time I go out to hang laundry, the mom flits around, chick-a-deeing at me.  They are SO cute!  Anyway, a few days ago I was going to hang laundry as usual when I noticed something in the grass.  There was one of the babies, no bigger than the size of a chicken’s egg, and with few feathers.  I don’t even think it’s eyes were open!  I got some latex gloves and a ladder and carefully picked the little guy up.  He struggled a bit and I hoped that I wasn’t holding him too tight.  Gingerly I moved him into the birdhouse hole and nudged him through.  Success!  Then a couple of days later I decided to start checking regularly to make sure everything was okay.  Well, sure enough, another one!  This one was a little bigger and had more feathers.  I can imagine how hot it must be in there so they were probably moving towards the cooler air.  Anyway, same process only I had left the ladder there just in case.  This fellow was a little stonger and struggled a bit more but I managed to get him back in.  I checked again today, but no little birdies.  They must have heard me because all of a sudden the babies started squawking.  Mom must be out hunting for food.  Can’t wait until they start to leave the nest!  With any luck I’ll get a chance to see it.  As a footnote, the same house last year housed a squirrel family and I had to put one of the babies back in there too.  It was pretty young, eyes closed and little fur.  I don’t know if it made it but hopefully I’ll have more luck with the chickadees!  Until next time, stay cool and dry.

If you’re coming to PEI in the next couple of days, bring your cool kits!  It’s going to be 28 and 29 today and tomorrow - perfect beach days.  We went with the dogs yesterday and they loved it.  Unfortunately, they aren’t “water” dogs so they take some coaxing.  Throwing a stick usually works, for Seamus anyway.  Mollie, being the wise one, always waits for Seamus to get it and bring it back.  Then she would try to take it from him - now that’s a smart girl! 

Lots going on here this weekend, the big event being the Cavendish music festival.  Keith Urban, Taylor Swift… and next week it’s Regis and Kelly.  Here’s hoping the weather will be great for them, and the island hospitality warm and wonderful as always.

Big news!  We have another video available, courtesy of PEI Hotels and Cottages.  Check out the new link and please consider making us part of your travel plans.

Howarth House PEI Hotels & Cottages

Just a quick note to say Happy Independance Day to all our American friends!  We both celebrate our nations in July, and that’s not the only thing we have in common.  You are our closest neighbours, our people and our economies are closely linked, and we both love our countries!!  Hope you have a wonderful day…

July 1st 2010 is Canada’s 143rd birthday!  We are still a young country but aging gracefully.  I can’t think of any other country I would rather live in.  Having lived in 7 of the 10 provinces and visited 1 of the Territories, it is clear to me that Canada is THE BEST place in the world in which to live.  So wave your flag and take in some fireworks - CELEBRATE our great country!

If you’re lucky, you already have your tickets for the Village Feast at the Souris Arena on Saturday July 3rd.  They have been on advance sale for the past while.  Check it out at http://www.ekpei.ca/VF.html. 

The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm this weekend, so why not spend the weekend in Eastern PEI?  Need a place to stay?  Give us a call.

It’s kind of like Christmas, we wait for it all year - summer is here!  Not only that, the “shoulder” season is almost over for us tourism operators, and we are on the threshold of the active tourism season.  We are still plugging away at the myriad of jobs that go along with owning an older home and cottages.  The vegetable garden is in, except for the tomatoes, and I planted my annuals today.  I think we have too many planters and not enough in the ground.  That’s my next project; perennials and weeding.  Planting late has it’s advantages, mostly that you have to water less!

Most of our summer friends are here now, just waiting for a couple more.  We love the variety of living here.  Summer means friends we haven’t seen for several months and a busy social time.  Winter means time to catch up with the full-timers, the ones who brave the “northside” year round.  Soon the Priest Pond bridge will be finished, and that will make things easier for everyone.  It also means that there may be some people driving by, looking for a place to stay.  That means business for us and hopefully, a restful stay for those who decide to stop and bide awhile.  Might that be you?  We’d love to see you - give us a call or stop in!

We are absolutely thrilled to be LIVE with PEI Cottages and Hotels!  Our first on-line booking site… Check out the link on the bottom right of the screen.. in alphabetical order, of course!

Check out our latest link to the story of a shipwreck that happened right here off Priest Pond!!  Click on the link on the bottom right of this screen.