A cool breeze from Georgian Bay to the east was blowing this morning, so it was still toque-weather for me. But those two little ones, and the bigger ones too, were having the time of their lives in the great Hope Ness outdoors.

“Grandpa” at the controls of Mr. Massey Too, with Allie, Asia, Jacob, Mirabella, and son-in-law Scott enjoying a trailer ride.

It was a homecoming for my two youngest daughters, Lila Marie and Kathy, who were both born just around the corner and as little children used to visit Wilma and Cliff Butchart at this very Cathedral Drive homestead.

It’s a kind of miracle this place has survived, thanks especially to Wilma and her son’s love of Hope Ness and this place they called home.

Now we call it home, joyfully, and look forward to generations of our family finding spiritual and physical comfort and rejuvenation here as we carry that miracle forward and honour what they did. The saga continues.

We will look after this good, old house, and the gardens Wilma designed and planted with such devotion. And whenever we walk The Bruce Trail through the nearby forest to the look-out from the cliffs overlooking Hope Bay, I will always tell my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to never forget they walk in the footsteps of giants.

Mirabella is happy