I arrived back in town just long enough to catch a few winks of sleep, cut the lawn and head out again. This time, I wasn’t traveling far since for the second year in a row, the annual OVAS BBQ was being held at the band shell of Andrew Hadyn Park. The weather continued the pattern that I had been enjoying for the five straight days of breeding bird surveys in Northern Ontario – nice, bright sunshine, warm temperatures and dry weather. Others were just happy that the many days of rainy wet weather that Ottawa had endured in the previous week had come to an end for at least the one day of the BBQ.
About 50 members and their families showed up for the event and enjoyed the weather, the food and the stories that were being told. For the children, there was a betta bowl aquascaping event as well as the fun of trying to catch minnows and tadpoles in the waters around the bandstand. Face painting, blowing bubbles and a bit of kite flying was an added bonus.
For the betta bowl activity there was a bit of guidance and a group of winners who got to take home their newly decorated betta bowl.
Great pulled pork, salads and desserts were definitely enjoyed by those who were present and enjoying the great weather. There was plenty of food for everyone and when I returned from a walk around the park I kept bumping into members carrying their packages over to the car :-).
Meanwhile, back at the bandstand, Andre continued to entertain with his excellent selection of music and wonderful singing voice while the call of “shall we dance” was finally answered.
 
Another OVAS BBQ was coming to an end. The weatherman had cooperated with great weather, the food was fabulous and plentiful and the day was a great success. Eventually we all headed home and left the park to the ducks and geese to enjoy some more.
For my part, I was heading home to check out my reef which I hadn’t seen much in the past month or so.
