May 28..........When I woke this morning I felt very nervous about the day. I have to admit that, though I knew Rennie was looking forward to seeing his family and friends again,I did drag my feet terribly packing up the camp. Rennie, bless his heart, knew what was going on and let me get ready in my own time. We did finally have everything ready and with Badger in the lead as usual, set out on the next part of my adventure.

Today, just after noon, we caught up with Rennie's people.We decided to walk into camp and made enough of an entrance for everyone to stop what they were doing and stare. Now I know just how they all feel when they come to a town and turn into its main attraction.We must have been a sight.....me leading a big horse,loaded down with chicken cages,and hampers, and the patio umbrella, and Rennie and Ranger,his horse, by my side. Badger was trying to guard all sides of me at once and generally getting in the way. The children came running up to us and Badger was fine with them, but when the others came over , he got a little testy. I still have no idea why he thinks I need to be guarded and finally I had to be quite stern with him and order him to lay down and be still. That got a few surprised looks, as he is supposed to be Rennie's dog and refuses to take direction from any one else.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur. People to meet and things to sort out. It turned out that Rennie does in fact have a wagon of his own. His brother drives it while Rennie is on his wanderings, and Rosie and her mother look after their family wagon. Nell will be glad of a break in carrying all the awkward things I loaded her with. We got all our things loaded and since the Roma had stopped in this camp for the day there was a chance to look around properly.

The Gypsy wagons are not the romantic caravans that I grew up believing them to be. In actuality, they are a collection of farm wagons and cast off milk wagons and the like. They are not terribly comfortable to ride in and are crowded, but they have been modified to provide shelter in bad weather and to afford some privacy to the families who own them. In good weather, most of the Roma prefer to sleep out near a fire, and each group has a camp fire going for cooking.

May 29....... The Roma decided to stay in this camp for another day. That gave me a chance to meet some of the people I would be travelling with.......or more to the point,it gave them a chance to meet me. There are about sixty people in the camp, including twenty or so children from infants to late teens. I shall never remember everyone's names,though I noticed that there were none of the names from the movies and soap operas, that people of my time use. They have "old fashioned" names like Sarah, Catherine, Jeremy, Martha and Ruben. Rennie's name is Randolf, though he has always been called Rennie except by his Mother. She was quite distant when I met her and though Rennie told me she would come around, it's a little discomfitting.

As the day went on, I noticed a few long looks from some of the older girls and women and wondered if they had had plans for Rennie that my appearance put paid to. Not a very comfortable feeling. I can't help wondering what they would think if they knew where I came from. Everyone seemed to have a task to do, and not to appear too much out of place, I set to work to make proper camp at our wagon. I had changed into a long skirt,cotton peasant blouse, and my high moccasins,before we came into camp yesterday. I had noticed before, that none of the women wore jeans, and though Rennie never mentioned my attire while we were on the road,I didn't feel comfortable wearing something so out of place among them.It isn't as easy to move around, but luckily I have always liked wearing a dress, and since I won't be riding as often, I shall get used to it.

One amusing thing has happened and it has to do with Badger again. When I set out the chickens under their umbrella, everyone had to come around and have a look. In general they thought it a good idea, as they cannot travel with chickens and must needs buy eggs and cooking birds at farms we pass. The children are very interested in the little birds, particularly the rooster who is handsome in his bright feathers. He is however, very fierce and will fight at the drop of a hat, and I was concerned that some of the little ones might get badly scratched by his spikes should he get it into his head to attack.Badger has been sticking to me like glue since we got into camp, and I have had to order him to go and lie down several times. When he saw me trying to keep the children from lifting the net, he tried to guard the chickens as well, and just about wore himself out running back and forth. I finally moved the umbrella closer to the wagon and set him to guard the birds from a place that he could keep his eye on both of us. He has decided that the children can come close enough to look at the hens, must not touch the netting. If they do he growls quite menacingly and they scamper away. I do not think they are afraid of him exactly but they have enough sense not to try his patience too far. The adults just stare at him and shake their heads. So does Rennie,who still can't get over the dog's behaviour towards me. I can't decide whether he is jealous or just amused.

May 30........I must write down about the party the Roma held last night. It was apparently in honor of Rennie and me joining up with the band, but I suspect that they just like any excuse to play music and dance. The word went around camp just at dinner time and the ladies put extra on to cook in preparation for tonight. The kids all went out and collected firewood for a big bon fire. While the ladies were getting the meal, the men were tuning up their instruments. It was all quite exciting, but nothing compared to what happened later.

They all waited until after dark and then everyone but the kids gathered about the pile of branches and logs, and from behind the wagons came the kids, all in a line, with lighted sticks which they threw on the fire and the party was on. I hadn't seen much of Rennie since dinner and realized that he had been organizing the children, for there he was beside me and it was so nice to be here with him.

Most of the men played violins, though a few had harmonicas and two had flutes similar to the one Rennie had made me. I shall not call them fiddles again.......these people know how to play!!!! And dance!!! Rennie played his harmonica and he danced with me and only with me to the apparent disgust of a couple of the older girls.I briefly hoped that I wouldn't have enemies here but was enjoying the feel of Rennie's arms around me and didn't dwell on it.The children were having a wonderful time too and I wondered if they would stay up as long as the party went on. It didn't look as though anyone was in any hurry to call it a night.

Then, there was a bit of a lull as the ladies passed around plates of food and wine, and Rennie stood up and held out his hand to an older gentleman, who after a bit of hesitation handed him a very well used violin. I didn't know he could play that too!! He stood a little away from me and without taking his eyes from mine for an instant began to play. Group by group, the people fell silent and the only sound was the violin and with a start I realized that the tune was a favorite of mine. He was playing Franz Lehar's "You Are My Heart's Delight", and he was playing it for me alone.

I have to admit to being quite shy at coming out of the wagon this morning, but everyone was very nice and if there were a few sly grins, I didn't really mind. I had the chance to have a good look at the ring in the morning light too. I wondered when Rennie had made it, for it is obviously one of his creations. A fairly wide silver band,carved around with apple blossoms. The top one is inlaid with what looks like pink and white quartz. It is absolutely beautiful. The apple blossom has apparently become the trademark he has assigned to me.During our travel I finally had a chance to ask why he has always called me "Blossom" and found out that the first evening so long ago, I happened to be wearing a pink and white shirt and my perfume reminded him of apple blossoms,which are his favorite. Well, I certainly don't mind......new life, new people, new name. He has introduced me as "Blossom" as well, so no one here knows that is not really my name.

June 4......We're back on the road again, and we have got into a bit of a routine. With so many people and wagons to get on the go every morning, it is no wonder that the band moves at such a slow pace. Most of the folk walk beside the wagons, for ,as I mentioned, they are not very comfortable to ride in. Rennie and I have made it a habit to either go out ahead of the rest , or wait until they have all got underway. By going ahead, we can stop whenever there is something interesting to see. Rennie's silver sculptures are patterned after things in nature and he is ever on the watch for interesting subject matter. If we travel at the end, things have been trampled on and any wild life is long gone. I don't mind staying behind sometimes.......I can think of a few reasons not to be in any hurry to be travelling!!!

I have asked Rennie about one of the families that always seems to keep apart from the rest.The mother is very shy and is not unfriendly, but certainly not at all as outgoing as most of the Roma. There is a little boy about seven who has a bit of a limp and is usually left behind by the other children. They tease him sometimes......I guess kids are the same wherever they are. The father is not at all nice and I wonder why he is tolerated by the others as much as he seems to be. Rennie told me that the girl.....she is hardly older than that....is his cousin Polly and he worries that her husband ,Jake, is abusing her, but by the laws of the band he must not interfere with another family unless asked directly and from what I see of Jake, that is not going to happen. It is one of the many reasons that Rennie often travels apart from the group. It doesn't matter what place or time......people are the same everywhere. Rennie says I can try to be friends with Polly, but not to be disappointed if she would rather not. I would not want to bring any hardship on her if Jake should object.

Tonight after the dinner was cleared away I thought to dig a book out of the pack that I had put together "just in case".I have noticed as we travelled that there are many things that I would like to collect to look at more closely. Rennie teaches me much about living off the land and I need some sort of basket to collect things in. One of the books I brought is about weaving baskets from willow, vines, or reeds, and I think it is time I tried it. I had collected an armful of willow whips as we passed a stand of the trees, and when I spread them out and started trying to figure out the instructions, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Jemmie,Polly's young lad, was creeping up and trying to see what I was doing. I started muttering something about wishing I had someone to help me and needing three hands to hold everything to see what he would do. He didn't say anything, but when I looked up and pretended that I had just noticed him and asked if he could give me a hand, he nodded. I showed him the illustrations in the book and while he can't read, he did a fair job of interpreting the pictures. Together we managed to make a pretty good basket and I offered it to him as thanks for his help. He was delighted and went off to show Polly, who looked across at me and did actually smile and I waved back.Well that is a start and I hope it doesn't get them in trouble with Jake.

June 10.......We have come to one of the areas I find most interesting on the way to Ottawa. It is several miles long with many beaver ponds tucked into several rocky hollows. I call it Beaver Run and when I realized where we were I told Rennie that I had always wanted to see how far from the road the ponds extended. That resulted in a field trip and very interesting too. There are many more beaver now than there will be in my time and the water is much higher. We are staying here tonight and will catch up to the others tomorrow.

June 15........I have begun a bit of a habit that amuses the band and probably embarrasses Rennie a bit , though he doesn't say anything. He is often gone on one of his walk-abouts and I decided to leave a lantern burning on the tongue of the wagon to light his way home. I think he is probably happy that someone is waiting for him and is glad to see him. He is a very solitary person and seems to be happier exploring on his own. I made sure that he knows that I would be glad to travel with him, but I think he is just used to being alone, and likes the peace and quiet away from the rest.

While he was gone tonight, I rumaged in my crafts basket again and came up with the tatting shuttle. Several of the girls are quite interested in learning how to do it and I have promised to show them how. First I must ask Rennie if he can make me some extra shuttles. I am still working with Jemmie on the baskets and he is learning to read.He is a really nice little boy and I enjoy his company. I am not sure if Jake knows that the child is spending so much time with me. Polly seems relieved that he is learning to do something and has thanked me for taking an interest in him. I hope the two of us can be friends since the other women are ..... not unfriendly exactly.....but quite reserved. I suppose I have a lot of proving to do.

June 25.........We are very close to Ottawa now and Rennie has gone with Ruben, Maria and their children to secure a camping space near the market there. We will be at Byward Market which is a familiar place to me having gone there many times with my sister for a day's shopping. I wonder how much it will have changed. Ruben and his family will stay there, and Rennie will come back with directions. Knowing how he feels about going into towns makes me a little worried about him, but he is supposed to be back this evening. I am also not fond of being apart from him......too much time lost to us already.

This is an annual thing, from what I can understand. There seems to be a circuit that the Roma follow fairly regularly from year to year. They start in Toronto very early in the year and travel to Niagara and then to Ottawa and back to Toronto for the winter. All along the way they trade and buy and sell at the towns and cities. There are often times when they are driven off, as they are not trusted in many places. I have found them to be a very trustworthy people with a very strict code of behaviour. Yes, the children do run a little wild, but they all have their tasks to do and the older ones look after the little ones. Because the band is on the road, there is a lack of schooling and most of them cannot read at all. I suppose that because they are so different, people look upon them as foreign and unwelcome. The townfolk certainly don't mind coming out to look and often come to Josephina's wagon to have their fortunes read.

Rosie came by the camp this evening to let me know that Josephina wanted to see me, and I knew it was not to be a social call, or she would have come to my wagon. When I got there, she offered me a cup of tea in a most exquisite china cup and we chatted about things that were happening in the camp. She is interested that I have been teaching Jemmie to read and asked if I had plans to teach the other children.I said that it had occurred to me if they were interested and if the parents wanted me to. There is not a lot I can do to contribute to the group and thought that this might be of some use. Then she read the tea leaves in my cup. My own Grandmother used to do that when I stayed with her when I was very young.

Josephina looked at me for the longest time and I got quite uncomfortable. She finally said...."You don't belong here". Well no kidding ..... except, that this is where Rennie is, so as far as I am concerned, this is where I am staying. Then she just about floored me......" Neither does Rennie. He is in danger here". I had no idea what to say to that....and then...."You must go back and take him with you". I asked her if she knew where I had come from and she nodded. I told her that I didn't think Rennie would want to leave the people and she said he would if I left first. First???? Without him???? No way on earth am I about to leave without him!!!!!!

I just looked at her for awhile and she finally nodded and told me that it would come to pass and that I would have no choice. I wanted to ask why she thought that Rennie did not belong and what the danger was, but couldn't get my thoughts together enough,and then I was dismissed. I stumbled back to my camp in a daze.

Rennie was back and when he saw my face must have realized that something was up. I told him everything that had happened except the danger part, and he looked a little troubled, but said not to worry about it. He said that we would both go when the time was right, and I believe him. As long as I am with him I am not going to worry about it, but I certainly can't help thinking about it and wondering what she meant when she said I would have no choice.