Today is Dominion Day, more commonly know as Canada Day, which celebrates Canada’s independence from British rule on July 1st, 1868. On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st. The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day. Happy Canada Day, Canada! The town of Parry Sound will be sponsoring a fireworks display over the harbor this evening, which we plan on attending in our boat. To Ian’s and Elijah’s delight, I also picked up a small fireworks kit at Canadian Tire (affectionately referred to in Canada as “Crappy Tire”) and we will being doing a little bit of celebrating of our own on our beach at the island as well.

It’s a very pleasant day here on the channel, with hazy sun, a temperature of 23°C (74°F), and a light breeze. Many of the rocks from the paths around the cottages have been overturned, almost certainly by a black bear passing through and foraging for insects and grubs for food. I’ve noticed a higher than normal amount of this type of activity this season and wonder if it’s related to the Ministry of Natural Resources installing an electric fence at the transfer station, forcing the bears to wander farther and work harder to find food. It also could be related the decreased dog activity here, as my parents and their two dogs have been absent for a longer than usual period. You can see photos of the electric fence at the transfer station that Pop posted earlier this spring by following this link Transfer Station Fence, which references his blog post from the cottage on Sunday May 7th, 2006. You can also view all of the past South Channel Blog posts by scrolling and following the reference links to the blog archives, which are located at the lower right in the panel on the right hand side of this web page. You’ll find some other pertinent info and few handy web links there too.

Pop continues to slowly improve today. The doctors removed his Quinton catheter yesterday, the port used for dialysis, and feel his kidneys are functioning well enough on their own that treatments with “la machine” are no longer necessary. Any of the catheters or lines into the body are possible sources of infection, and the doctors can always reinsert the Quinton to resume dialysis treatments if needed. Pop’s blood pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation are good today and the goal for the day is to reduce the PEEP setting on the ventilator to 14 to see if his body can tolerate it. He is on very little medication now and the treatment strategy at this point is to give his body some time to rest and recover. Go Channel Man, Go! You’re going to miss the fireworks! (I can see Pop rolling his eyes right now, as in recent years he has graciously declined attending what is in his words is a “zoo of boats”, all descending on Parry Sound harbor in anticipation of the big show)