Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh MY!

Still smoky today, wind switched so later in the day the smoke thinned out somewhat, certainly better than yesterday.  Weather man says rain tomorrow but unfortunately not up north but the rain will clean the air here.  Woody sighted our bear twice today; the bear is coming very close to the campground and not running off when we spot him which is different than in the 3 previous years.  First sighting was by the compost pile, Woody was dumping some tree limbs and other compostable material, he shut off the tractor, dismounted and was just at the edge of the trees when he spotted the bear, he quickly got back on the tractor, started it up and the bear ran off, the compost pile is just inside the tree line.  Later walking the dogs on the trail he saw the bear standing up and looking at them, he had stopped walking to allow the dogs to sniff around as they love to do, he quickly returned to the our fifth wheel and told me not walk the dogs on the trails anymore.  The trail he was walking was the trail I always walk the dogs on, and I stop and sit on the bench, sometimes taking our Native Flute with me and allowing the dogs to run free while I play the flute so it is a sad that I cannot walk that path anymore.  Walking the dogs in the campground is kinda boring for me although I am not sure the dogs care.  Woody informed all the folk in the park so they were aware the bear is coming close to the campground.  We do not want any bear incidents that is for sure!

Wildfires

Woke up today to a very smoky atmosphere, there are major wildfires burning 900+ Km (560 miles) north of us and the wind has brought the smoke into this area.  The fire area is sparsely populated, two small communities have been evacuated as a precaution, I cannot imagine what the smoke must be like in those areas, it is bad enough here, especially for anyone suffering with respiratory issues.  The fires were started by lightening June 21^st.  The largest has consumed 155,000 hectares and is out of control at this time due to high winds and very dry conditions. We are praying for the wind to calm down and for rain to help the firefighters extinguish the ranging wildfires.

Family Gathering

Our family gathering this past weekend was awesome just a way too short!  We were blessed with sunny warm weather, actually got through the whole weekend without a rain shower, now in Alberta that is just not normal!  Family started arriving Thursday evening, more on Friday then the rest on Saturday.  With immediate family, extended family and a couple of friends we numbered 16, some camped for the weekend and others just visited for the day on Saturday.  Thursday evening we gathered at our site around the campfire then Friday and Saturday we mostly gathered at Tracy and Keith’s campsite, all cooking our own thing and visiting.   We had a potluck Saturday evening and gathered around the big general campfire for the evening and those that camped gathered in the shelter for brunch on Sunday morning.  Sunday comes so fast, just never enough time for visiting but seeing everybody for a short time is better than not seeing them at all.   We will see more of our kids and grandkids that live close but not the case for those who live a greater distance.  We really do have an awesome family even if I do say so myself!  Our second granddaughter will be off  to England in August if all goes according to plan, she plans on spending a couple of years  working and travelling in Europe, part of me says “no you cannot do that” then the other part says “good on ya, go for it”.  We truly do hope all works out as Dani really wants to go, she promised to keep in touch through Skype and email, etc.  I guess we will have to learn how to “Skype”!

From left to right back row granddaughters, Caitlin, Brooklyn, Jennifer, Danielle
Front Row granddaughter Lindsey, and you know who and our only Grandson, Christopher

Mike, Jennifer, Danielle, Kelly

Keith and Chris

Lindsey

Brooklyn, Jennifer and Mike

Christopher

Brooklyn

Chris

Keith

Gordon

Tracy

Caitlin

Gary

Brenda

Bass Family



Our kids with their kids

Pedersen Family

What can I say!

Posting pictures is a pain, I wanted to add more but really it is so frustrating, posting text is no problem.  Blogger has make some changes and I am not convinced it is an improvement.

That aside we enjoyed our weekend with family and look forward to next year!

Woo Hoo Back Online

We have been having issues with our internet dish since before we left AZ and have been completely off line for over a week. We replaced the modem, transmitter and cables and finally we are connected to the outside world once again. We could download email most of the time but uploading anything was almost impossible, anyway I will catch up on my email and enjoy all the cute and interesting emails you sent while we were off line.

Hope you are having a great day. :)