What a splendid weekend Cathy and I had at Greig Lake.

Mel & Sharon Genge invited some friends to their cabin at Greig lake in Meadow Lake Provincial Park for an Art in the Park event.  Park staff had arranged for local craftspeople to sell their wares from 10 to 4 on Saturday.  We arrived to the sound of chopping wood as Mel was busy dealing with the aftermath of a wind blown tree.

It had snapped off in a major wind a few days earlier and damaged the roof on the neighbours cabin.  Mel arranged for tree cutters with a fancy self driving hydraulic lift and bucket to cut away the broken tree. He was left with the a mess to clean up and lots of wood to chop.

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After a delicious supper prepared by Sharon and Mel I headed out to check for birds and soon spotted these Common Loons swimming by.

Later we all sat on the deck overlooking Greig Lake and waiting for the sun to set.

The next day we filled up on a magnificent breakfast of porridge, toast, homemade jam and a fruit salad with an additive that kept you coming back for more.  We had plenty of time to load up and head to the Park Interpretive Center to set up for the sale. Deb McLeod, Elio Menis, Mel Genge and myself had no trouble filling the sale table with a selection of our turnings.

Mel had brought his lathe so we could do some demos and show aspects of wood turning to the visitors.

We took turns making spin tops and showing how a lathe works. This was a great hit with the kids that were hanging out for the day. 

It was a beautiful day with no rain or wind and a lovely temperature.  I was intrigued by birds hanging out in the trees just by the center. This Red-eyed Vireo was busy locating food for a young fledgling.

An Eastern Phoebe was also busy flying around and routinely returned to the same spot on a branch.

I was fortunate to spot a Pileated Woodpecker searching for food in a dead poplar tree.  You can see the woodpeckers tongue as it pokes it into a hole in the tree.

You can see a video of this large, strong woodpecker breaking away bark and searching for insects in the holes by clicking HERE.

After the show and sale we packed up and headed back to the Genge Famous Restaurant for a feast of grand proportions and a visit with the neighbours as we sat once again looking at the sun setting on the lake.

A huge big THANK YOU to Mel and Sharon for sharing their little bit of heaven and working like dogs to feed us fantastic food and treat us like royalty.