Cypress HIlls Camping

We went on several beautiful hikes.
Mal enjoying being a grandpa.

On top of Bald Butte - the highest elevation between Banff and the Laurentian Mountains.

Hold everyting! It's snack time.

Jess using Jon's monster maul.

Nature pics below.

Nature Pics

Red-naped sapsucker

Eastern Kingbird

This beetle came flying out of the pine trees after dark with a horrible whirring sound and had us all (well, almost all) screaming in terror. It was described by Darrell as being capable of taking large chunks out of your leg and leaving you writhing in pain.

The next morning Tim got revenge by chopping its head off. This one will never whir again!

Hailstorm

We returned from vacation to find massive hail damage. The storm began at 2 a.m. The neighbors tell us the lightening was so continual it was like strobe lights. There was a big roaring sound and many went to the basement fearing a tornado. The hail was the size of golf balls. Mal was glad we missed the storm. I kind of feel like I missed out...!

We have damage on the north and west sides. One of our front windows will need to be replaced, several window screens are wrecked, and our eavestroughs and drain pipes have big pock marks. Most of the town is in the same situation. There is still stuff that looks like snow lying on the ground in places.

This is the house behind us.

The plants really got hit hard. This is one of Mal's tomato plants. The rhubarb was unrecognizable. The beans totally flattened.

One of my sunflowers. Many of the leaves were stripped right off the shrubs, the marigold blooms cut off. However, on the east side where it was protected our climatis were blooming beautifully, and they weren't when we left.

I will blog vacation pictures later.

It's Down!

One major branch of our Russian Olive in B. C. came down in a windstorm a few weeks ago. As you can see, it's the branch we were all sitting in!
It fell against our Blue Spruce and the top 5 feet broke off. We hired someone to take it down, cut it into firewood and make chips of the small stuff. He will also cut down a major portion of the part that's left, because of some cracks in the highest branches. It's sad, I always loved that tree, but we knew it couldn't last forever. The tree cutter felt it was worth leaving the main trunk to grow again. He said he'd never seen a Russian Olive that big.

My macro in my new camera is definately not as good as the old Konica Minolta. I really lucked out on the old one. This one is fine, but it sure doesn't have the depth that I grew accustomed to. Takes a little of the fun out of taking pictures of bugs.

This Osprey was guarding a nest in Enderby. We could see at least 2 heads in the nest, which was on top of a power line.

This is a Bakers Rack built by Jeff Trickey. It is beautiful, as so much of his work is. He has a blog displaying it, so I recommend checking it out at http://millavenuewoodwork.blogspot.com/

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Tim and Juanita!
Hope you're having a great day.

Olds College Gardens

Last week we went to the Olds College to see their grounds. They put a lot of effort into their gardens. It was one of the few nice days we'd had, and we really enjoyed it.

A climatis with an extra long stamen.

There was good variety, from a pond to a herb garden, a rose garden, huge old trees, and even a vegetable garden. It wasn't exactly Buchart Gardens, but it was worth seeing.

It is so refreshing to actually be comfortable outside again, to see green, and to enjoy the growth of plants. I love the long days. And to be able to talk with neighbors over the fence, go for walks without putting a coat on. It all seems healing to the soul.

The Zoo

We hadn't been to the Calgary Zoo for 25 years, but we went with Jon, Magan and Jack yesterday. We had a beautiful day weather-wise. We were lucky because we're back into a rainy period again. We really enjoyed it. My one disappointment is that they are redoing the conservatory and the butterfly house so I couldn't get pictures of butterflies. Next year...

I hadn't seen a giraffe for a long time, and I was very amazed at what incredible, but also what handsome animals they are. Africa has got to win the prize for their unique animals.

This koala bear was snoozing, so I couldn't get his face. He did look as fuzzy and cuddly as a teddy bear.

I'm not sure whether this baby monkey was cute or not.

There were peacocks loose all over the zoo mingling among the people. It was nice to see them close up. What incredible tails!

All in all it was an enjoyable day, and we enjoyed seeing the fun that Jack had. He's definately a zoo-lover.