The weather was spectacular here today in Parry Sound. We enjoyed lots of sunshine, a mild breeze, and temperatures in the mid 30s °C (90+ °F). However, this was cool beans compared to the heat wave hitting the US right now. New York City registered 37.2 C ° (99°F) today with a heat index of 111°F, and power outages were widespread.

Ian and I went water testing yesterday, and Ian was of much assistance. We incubated the samples overnight and read the results together tonight. All sites showed slight increases in recorded total coliforms and the only perfect samples were those of my control blank sample and another sample I took directly from the water tap in our cottage sink. The full results should be available on the South Channel website in the next day or two.

Today we relaxed and mostly stayed out of the direct sun, and in the afternoon we went for a little swim. Ian fished off our dock and caught a nice smallmouth bass, which we released. A group of 12 or 15 geese were playing hide-n-seek in the reeds in our cove, and eventually they came out and waddled around on the beach, stopping every now and then for a snack. Courage the dog was very interested, but wisely kept his distance. He had been following and intently watching a duck family paddle around the cove yesterday, but he seemed to know that the Canada Geese were in a different league in terms of size and attitude.

Yesterday afternoon, Ian and I spotted a large fox snake near our pump house where we conduct and record water tests. It was strikingly patterned in brown and a beautiful shade of yellowish-green, and was about four feet in length. I have seen larger specimens in the past, most notably a six footer that was swimming smack in the middle of the bay near Sans Souci not closer than a quarter mile from the nearest land, but a four foot snake is still a pretty good sized snake.


Ian was very impressed with the defensive tactic employed by the fox snake when we startled it. Fox snakes will vibrate their tails producing a rattling or buzzing sound, especially when rubbing against dry leaves. This behavior often causes them to be misidentified as Rattlesnakes, Bullsnakes, and because of their copper-colored head, Copperheads. Unfortunately, they are often killed because of this. Fox snakes are terrific swimmers and can grow to about 7 feet in length, and they are common here on the South Channel. In fact, I saw another approximately 18” long example as I walked on the cottage path tonight.