ON THE TRAILS AGAIN...

Ron picked another beautiful day to go snowmobiling again - sunny and cold but when you dress for the conditions, you are fine.
I was ok going across the lakes this time - there was no slush in sight and it was probably too cold for it anyway.  We visited Pineland,  Highland Lake, Caribou Lake and Damm Lake and Wakamata and Jobam.  We did the tour.  The trails we were on are Wilderness trails and not the groomed ones that you need your trail pass for.  They are just single lane trails through the thick bush so you have to go slow because of all the turns and dips and dives and bridges over streams as the 4th picture shows.  I got off the machine and walked across it - I was a bit scared to go over riding on the back of the machine.  Every time I got off the machine I fell into the snow - it was a bit deep once you get off the trail and I had so many clothes on I couldn't move too gracefully.
We came across a few people fishing on the lakes - a few fish were caught but not many.  But it was too nice a day not to be out on the lakes.
The next time we go out we will be fishing.  Ron is getting a new auger so we will be testing it out.

The second last picture is of Stacey and Andrew's place on Jobam - looks different in the winter...

JUST PLAYING IN THE SAND...

Just the boys playing in their "sand box".  This is  the Rhub Al Khali Desert in the United Arab Emirates where Jodie and Dave just let them go to climb these dunes.  We were there in 2016 and the sand is just a beautiful shade of red and gold and very fine so it gets into everything and is very hard to brush off.  It is the largest continuous sand desert in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula.  It covers over 250,000 square miles and is part of the larger Arabian Desert.  It is beautiful.  And Star Wars - The Force Awakens was filmed here, too.

These little guys are so fortunate to get to experience that part of the world's culture - they are such little dare devils.

ICE FISHING WITH THE GUYS

The fishing was not hot and heavy but enough were caught so that there was a fish fry on their final evening in Bear Creek Cottages.
I gave Rejean my camera - all charged up - and asked him to get some pictures.  He took 4 on the last day probably their last few minutes in the huts.  No fish pictures and no pictures of the cabins.
The first picture is of Rodney, Shelley's boy friend who was along for this trip.  Then there is Jack on the left and Cam on the right in the next picture.  The last picture is outside of their hut looking at the other huts.  You can still see shore altho I was told they were 5Km out on the ice.  The owner drove his pickup truck hauling a trailer with all the guys (12 of them) out to their huts every morning and picked them up at the end of the day.
A good time was had by all!

...AND A PARTRIDGE IN AN ASPEN TREE

Walked by the dining room window and noticed this little guy out on a limb munching on the buds.  I grabbed by I-Pad and got some pictures of him.  I had to steady my hand on the window frame as my tremor was pretty good.  When I am excited or trying to do something you have to be steady for, it acts up a bit.  But I got a pretty good one I think.
I was surprised at how small a branch he was hovering on.  We get them around here sometimes.  We had one hang around for a long times last year but it may have been the one that hit my window and - long story short - we ended up eating him.  He was delicious and it was Marilou's first Partridge and she enjoyed it.
I came back a bit later and he was gone.  But I am sure he is hanging around here somewhere...

FEARLESS

The Boys' school had a petting zoo the other day.  All sorts of creatures for them to touch and hold.  As you can see, Charlie and Monty both have no fear of the snakes or lizards and sweet Charlie gets to hold his beloved tortoise in the bottom picture.

I have a feeling this summer we will be looking for snakes and more turtles for them  We really don't have any lizards like that here - but maybe a salamander or two will do.

CLARESHOLM

Joanne sent this picture to me.  It is from one of the morning news shows where people send in pictures of their communities.
It is special to Joanne and I because we were both born in Claresholm Alberta.  It is not a place you hear a lot of so when we do, we take notice.  It was an air Force base bacon the 50's when we were born - not sure if it still is.
I would like to get back there one day just to have a look around.  It looks beautiful.

HAPPY TRAILS

We went on a short (6 hour) trail ride with Ron and Mary today and what a perfect day it was - bright and sunny and not cold!!
I was a bit apprehensive about crossing water so we started out by just zooming across the narrows on his lake and taking the trails - we did hit a bit of slush and I have to be honest I freaked a bit.  Ron had given me his "ice picks" before we left his place.  They are to be used if you accidentally find yourself in the water - you jam the pick ends into the ice and pull yourself onto the ice.  I felt a bit safe with them around my neck.
We stopped on a nice little lake along the trail and there was an ice hut set up.  We followed Ron who travelled up and around the hut but we noticed he was waving us around.  We continued up to the ice hut and found ourselves in slush again.  They had drilled a hole in the ice and the water had come up and made it slushy around the hut.  The people in the hut must have heard me yelling at Rejean to speed up out of the slush - that was twice I saw my life flash before my eyes.  But we made it and stopped for our sandwich break.
We put over 100 Kilometres today on the trails.  They haven't been groomed yet as there isn't enough snow and a lot of trimming needs to be done.
Coming home it was getting late and Ron decided to take the lake way home and I knew he was going to do this because it would cut at least 1/2 hour out of our trip home.  Coming down the little hill I could see the slush on the lake and I just closed my eyes and grabbed Reagan's shoulders and again watched my life flash.  I could feel the machine bog down in the slush and Rejean gun it to keep us going.  I let out a couple of screams (ok, a lot) and I didn't open them until we got to Ron's.  I needed and got a nice cold beer to calm me down.  We laughed about it but it was scary for me.  I really don't like slush.
It was a very good day!

KEEPING THE FIRES GOING

With cold weather we have been having up here, this is what I do everyday now.  I fill up the wood boxes to keep up with the fires we have going on most of the day and evening.  I have to fill that wheelbarrow about 3 times to top up the wood box and the wood stand in the workout room.  I wheel it to the front door and then carry the pieces from the wheelbarrow to fill the box and stand.  Plus top up the kindling too.
It was cold today.  My fingers froze when I took them off for a quick picture of the wood shed.  And it was quick.  The wood is frozen - you can feel the ice on them even tho they have dried for almost 2 years.
Currently a balmy -15 compared to -30 this morning.  But it is sunny...

WHO WHO

Ute shared this picture with her Facebook friends - a picture one of her friends had taken of a Barred Owl who had come a little close to them and she managed to get some nice pictures.
In April of every year, 3 or 4 of us go out one evening and count owls.  And we hear this guy more than others - he has a "who cooks for youuuu" kind of call.  Ute does a grand impression of one.
I, for one, can't hear owls and I need an amplifying device that allows me to hear them.  Kind of like a big hearing aid.  But it works and to hear their call is amazing.

COLD SPELL

The skies are so blue today and clear which makes for a very cold day.  Woke up to -30ish and right now it is -18ish.  Very Very cold.  I walked out to get the mail and it was frosty.  It takes your breath away when you first inhale outside and I took a glove off to take pictures and my fingers quickly got very cold.  This has been quite the cold spell.  Too cold to snow!!
But we have had enough snow for the bird house to get a bit snowed in.  It is a replica of our house and I can see what my house would look like after a monster snow storm.  All puffy like that.

...and I am thankful that my car has a remote start.

2018 - A VERY GOOD YEAR

To all my friends and family, a very Happy Healthy New Year