Monday, September 28, 2009

Fall is here

The summer has flown by so quickly I cannot believe it is now the end of September.  We have had a wonderful summer visiting with friends, family and looking after the park. Woody kept very busy, doing a couple of renos for friends along with park duties. Over the summer and fall I have captured some photos of wild flowers that bloom in the fields and along the trails and also caught a great picture of a moth hanging out on the tree right in front of our little deck.   

Above you can see how well he blends in with this colouring and below he is clinging to the tree, he stayed there until the dogs bothered him. . 

The bush area was alive with many flowers, Saskatoon bushes, wild Raspberries, Currents and Bunchberry plants.  There were also tons of wild Strawberries which did not produce well this year at all.  Cookie and Muffin loved the Raspberries and would eat the berries as we walked the path.  When they had cleaned up berries off the low branches they would stand on their hind legs to get the berries from the higher branches, they looked so cute but I was not able to capture any pictures.

Bunchberries in bloom, they cover the ground in areas of the bush.

Later in summer, each plant has at least 3 berries in the center that last until the snow flies.  

Tiger Lilies bloom throughout July along trails and in the bush. 

These little Asters bloomed in abundance throughout the summer.

Part of the field of Asters, they don’t look like much but were actually very pretty, I just did not capture the beauty.

I took this a few days ago this Aster was still surviving in the bush. 

I liked the variety of colours and shapes all intermingling.  

I love the way the sun is shinning on these plants.

 

These plants have bright pink blossoms and bloom most of the summer, when they go to seed they produce the fluffy white seed pods with very pretty curled tendrils wrapping around the stem, very pretty and interesting, I just did not take a close up picture of the tendrils but will next year!

There are coyotes galore every year here which serenaded us many evenings and this year for the first time we had a couple of bears hanging out in the bush. Woody and other hikers saw lots of bear scat along the trails, Woody spotted one Black bear and we had reports of a Cinnamon coloured black bear as well.   We posted Caution signs so all users of the park would be aware of the bears presence.  I always stuck to the one trail that did not have any bear scat present or walked the field when walking the dogs, I had no desire to see the bears, not that there was much chance of that, the dogs and I make too much noise!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

New Look

We had new carpet installed in the living area and the garage which is now a combo office, storage area and Woody's work area.
After saying goodby to Will and Sean we got busy and moved all the furniture, cupboards and other stuff out of the fifth wheel. We were just about finished when Norm arrived at 10:00 am and lucky for us it was a nice day as everything had to be outside during the installation. Woody opend the large drop door at the back of the fifth, propped it up so we could move my desk, chairs, cupboards, and othe stuff onto the door. The other items had to sit on the ground, wished I would have taken some pictures but we were so busy, did not think of it. Anyway the carpet was installed, good quality berber with industrial underlay so should last awhile. We had to hurry and move all the stuff back in as it had started to sprimkle, lucky for us it was just a shower and not a downpour. It took several days to get everything back in place again, as we have to secure all items so they do not bounce around while travelling. Here are a couple of pics of the new look!

The new carpet is extended to the cupboards which creates the look and feel of a larger living space.
We also got rid of the dinette bench, we had tossed one out while in AZ and bought the two chairs and now decided we like the extra space, so did not reinstall the bench and will stick with just 2 chairs. We will pick up some small folding chairs for extra seating for company though.


The carpet is so nice in what was the garage, this space is warmer and feels more like part of our home now.
My desk on the right and Woody's bench on the left, sorry couldn't get a better pic of his area due to small area.
I really do like my space now, better organized and feels so much warmer and brighter.
Thought we would be finished with renovations when we sold the house but I guess we are addicted eh! LOL
Sure worth it though, better use of space and suits our needs much better!
My dear husband has more plans to improve our living space but that will wait until next year or maybe happen while we are in AZ this winter!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Huck and Sean Visit

Huck (Will) and Whip (Sean) stopped by at the Rolling Castle Saturday afternoon, they were on their way to Yellowknife, NWT and from there they will fly north to hunt Musk ox. We had a great visit, ate, shared some Adult beverages, and left around 8:00 am Sunday for the remainder of the drive to Yellowknife (about 15 hours). We were so happy to see Huck again and meet Whip, great guys both of them!!! They are interesting, pleasant and fun to visit with, time flew by so fast, we were so busy enjoying our time with them that we only managed to snap a couple of pictures. They do plan on stopping again on their way home and we are looking forward to seeing them again. If you ever get a chance to meet either one, do not pass up the opportunity, you will not be disappointed. They are first class people!





Huck (Will), Woody and Whip (Sean)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Patsy's 65th Birthday

I had a wonderful 65th birthday! During the day a friend (Carolyn) I used to work with dropped in, we visited for a couple of hours, Myrna, my friend since we were 9 years old called, we yakked on the phone for over an hour, she has always been my soul mate. Woody was gone all day working on an ongoing reno for a friend. When he returned home he said he was so sorry he had not had time to get a card or anything, and then he totally surprised me with a delivery of a dozen red and white roses and card delivered to our home and then a gathering of about 20 friends and family! I was totally surprised as we had discussed my birthday previously, I had said a get to together with Tracy, Michelle and families on Monday would be just great, not to worry about anything on Friday!





The gorgeous bouquet from my beloved husband!














Friends, Stan and Deb, with guess who in the middle eh!




Friends, Harvey, Karen, and Linda








I am so blessed to have received many cards, which I have displayed in our home, lotto tickets (didn't win any money but had fun dreaming), wine (saving for another special day) and these beautiful flowers from friends.






A group in the campground were having a sing song in the shelter next door and a couple graciously came over and sung Happy Birthday to me. Standing to the left is friend Carolyn!



Allen, our old friend and former neighbor, Janice and Dale.

Granddaughter Caitlin, Brooklyn, sitting on Tracy's knee and Michelle.






Dale is the friend Woody is doing the Reno for. He is a great guy!





This was so much fun!




Ron, Frank, Pat and Jill!





Christine, her Mom Karen and our grandson Christopher!





Son-in-law Keith, Tracy, daughter Brooklyn, and me ole Grandma!





Back of Frank's head, Jose, husband Norm, Myrna and husband Ron. Jose, Norm, Myrna, Ron and Frank are members of Onoway Fish and Game Assoc. Norm and Jose manage Imrie Park along with help from other members.




Granddaughter Lindsey in the foreground,







Dave, Norm, Jose, Myrna and just caught Ron on the right.










Jill with her back to us, Dave, and Jill;s husband Scott. Scott is one of Woody's hunting buddies and I totally enjoy both he and Jill, great people. Scott is part owner of the Wild TV channel, the only Canadian hunting channel.
It had rained all day, was very cool but the sun blessed us during the evening so we were able to enjoy the outdoors for awhile then retreated to the kitchen where we had a warm fire in the woodstove! The evening went by so fast and thanks to all our friends and family I shall remember this day forever, I do belieive it was one of my best birthday's ever!
Thanks to my husband for organizing it, and our friends and family for helping us celebrate!