July 1. We're on Grindstone

So what is Grindstone you ask? A beautiful island among the Thousand Islands (actually, there are 1800) in the St. Lawrence. We're staying with John and Fran and last night boated over for dinner with some friends of theirs. Came back on the boat, about a 30 minute ride, with Fran navigating with only the light of the moon to light our way. Fran has been coming here since she was a little girl 45 years ago and taught school here in a one room school house which we visited today with 15 K-6 students. We're staying in the "guest house" pictured here. This morning Fran told us a frightening story of a time back in the 80s when she and her husband lived here through the winter. About March everyone goes a bit stir crazy here so she, her husband, and another couple headed into Clayton at night to enjoy some company and good cheer. Along the way they hit an iceberg, the boat flipped and promptly sank, and in the most frigid of waters Fran managed to swim to shore. Of course they all were in winter clothing for the crossing so it was quite an ordeal. The other man got his leg entangled in the line from the gas tank and he nearly drowned. Eventually all four made it to shore, but what an ordeal.
The island is a gem. And there are many of these gems gracing the waters leading into Lake Ontario. So this weekend we rest and on Sunday Betsy heads back (by car!) to Montpelier and on Monday John, Fran and I head out toward Toronto.
Biking here yesterday was wonderful. Great road, beautiful scenary, friendly people. The picture on the upper left illustrates "waiting until the cows come home" at an abandoned farm along highway 37 outside Ogdensburg! If John LaRosa was here he would love the Antique Boat museum in Clayton. I'll try to send article. Corinne you would be proud of my technology usage--am on a Think Pad with my internet connection through a cell phone. Thank God for free minutes on weekends! Love to all.
Lexical speculations: Going belly up comes from the fact that all dead frogs on the side of the road seem to be lying on their backs! How about "until the cows come home?"