An Impromptu Picnic Dinner

Who doesn't love a picnic? Ok, so perhaps those who dislike ants, fresh air, and the great outdoors aren't fans of picnics, but really, what sane person doesn't enjoy a meal outdoors on occasion?

Yesterday, like we do every week, my mother and I went to pay my great-grandmother a visit (she's been in a retirement home now for a little over a year). As my dad woke up late, and had his breakfast/lunch/supper a little after 3pm, and my sister was out for supper with some friends, my mum and I, after our visit, decided to grab dinner from the grocery store that's across the street from the retirement home, and stop over at the Grand River to eat our supper on our way home.

There's a place at the Grand River, on Caithness St in Caledonia (right across from McClung) where people park their cars and go fishing. It has a picnic table here and there, a small bonfire pit, and it's right on the edge of the river. That was where mum and I decided to stop for supper. Fortunately for us, there was an unoccupied picnic table, and I swear it had our names all over it.

Our location brought back some childhood memories for my mum. She remembers going to that very spot on the Grand with great gram, and with my great-grandfather, for picnics as a kid. Mum's grampa passed when she was ten, but she still has a memory of him being out in the river with his hip-waders. While he was fishing, great gram would bring out a couple of lawn chairs, her metal card table, and the picnic basket (which now sits on top of our kitchen cupboards with mum's teapots). They would eat, and just enjoy each other's company.

While mum was thinking back to her childhood before her grampa passed, we were also watching various birds dive bomb the water for their dinner. There were cranes, and some other birds that we couldn't identify. They were larger than gulls, but smaller than your average crane/ stork/ heron. They had white feathers, and orange beaks with a touch of black. There were a couple of these birds flying around before going beak-first into the water, and coming out with their dinner.

We could also see where someone was having difficulties casting a fishing line. Perhaps it was more than one person, but mum and I figure it was a child or children at least. In the tree in front of us were four red and white bobbers that you attach to a fishing line so you know how far out in the water your cast went. Unfortunately, they never saw the water as they were tangled out of the way in the tree. It really was quite amusing, almost as amusing as water birds unibombing their supper.  

My mum and I might not have had a traditional picnic, but it was still an enjoyable spur-of-the-moment choice all the same. If you haven't had a picnic yet this summer, there's still time before the cold weather hits. And if you don't know where to go? If you're near Caledonia, Ontario, go down to the Grand River. There are plenty of places to sit with your dinner, and watch the world go by.