A LITTLE PROJECT

I helped Rejean instal a little addition to one of the deer blinds on the mine side.  We loaded up the generator and all his tools and headed across the highway.  The space is for the heater in the fall which will free up a lot of room for the person sitting in the blind.
Now if only they can get one this year...

FIRST ROCKS OF THE YEAR!!!

I was helping Rejean with his project and spotted a rock I liked.  So I took it and put it on the foot rest on my bike to get them home.  I need new rocks like a hole in my head but I can never ever have enough.
And I threw the last of the black oil sunflower seeds to the squirrels this morning.  I went thru two garbage cans of seeds this winter.  I don't know who ate more - the birds or the squirrels.  But I must admit I am entertained by these guys all winter so I don't mind feeding them.

GETTING THERE

A good day for the ice to go.  It is a bit breezy and the sun is shining so the lake is slowly getting back to normal.  No fish yet but we do have some ducks on the lake.  We saw two beautiful Mallards - a male and female - and a male Golden Eye.  No Buffleheads yet but then again, it is early for them.    Still some snow in the bush to go.

LET THE CHORES BEGIN...

The nice weather has finally arrived up here and we are quickly getting to our chores.  We put the snowmobile away and got out the quads and the boat and we got the trailer (aka the spaceship) to the garage.  We need to work on the furnace in the trailer and the boat also needs some work.  Rejean thinks it is just a blown fuse for the boat problem so a new fuse was purchased and is in place.  Now to wait for the ice to be off the big lake to try it out.  We also have to get the left over split wood remaining over to my woodshed to make room for the double bunk of logs we got last fall.  It all has to be blocked and split before next winter so we have all summer and fall to take care of that.  We can work on it in our spare time.
As of today we have got 5 trailer loads over to my wood shed.  After the winter, it is a bit tiring doing such manual labour so we are taking out time.
And another sure sign of spring is the removal of my Just Say Snow stone and the 4'oclock Yet Cocktail stone in it's place by my sun room.  Right in front of Charlie's log.

  

WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THEM

We had been talking about how we never see any Elk anymore and then this happens.  Rejean and I were on our way to Blind River to give blood and we spotted these guys at about 3pm in a field along the Iron Bridge road.
Nice to see a few of them.

BUNCH OF STUFF

I got to drive the tractor the other day.  That is always fun.  We had to get some trap rock down to make the driveway safe.  It was icy.  The loader is full of trap rock that I loaded and Rejean spreads it with the shovel.  It takes two.

  And 

the Hooters were out last night.  Ginny, myself, Diane and Mary (replacing Ute) headed out after a delicious Mexican meal at my house to see if we can hear some Owls. I think we all have about 20 layers on - I could barely move!! The pictures are from our starting point.  I call it The Burn because it is where the controlled burn got away from the MNR and almost burned the forest down.  It is coming back tho.  The northern skies were amazing at 8:30 pm when we started.  There at 10 stops in all and we play a tape with some Owl calls on it and then listen for any replies from native Owls.  We heard some - or should I say they heard some.  As I have mentioned before, I can't hear Owls.  Got home at 11:30 pm a wee bit tired and chilly.

And today Rejean is plowing the snow into the other property to get at some stuff.  If we wait for the snow to melt we could be into June!!  Too wet to blow so he has to use the loader to clear the driveway.  

The joys of living up North...

HAPPY SIBLINGS DAY

What would I do without them?  They are my joys, my best friends, my partners in crime, the ones I turn to when I need cheering up, my fishing partners, my vacation partners, my quad buddies, my rock hounds, my cocktail drinking team.

They are my everything.  They are my family.  They are my Sisters.

BREAKFAST WITH FRIENDS

It is that time of year up here that the maple syrup is running and all the Legions and churches and community halls have their pancake breakfasts.  For the past few years we have visited Gilbertson's on St Jos Island but have always said we should hit the Legion on the island.  This year we did.  We met Linda and John and Doug and Diane there at 11:30 and headed on in.  It was crowded to say the least but the lines went pretty fast.  When you first entered the dining area, there were pitchers on each table.  I at first thought it was beer and then thought maybe ice tea.  But it was the maple syrup!!  Each section had it's own pitcher of maple syrup!!  And to refill the pitchers, it was on tap!!  Never seen that before.  I grabbed a plate and filled it up with 3 pancakes (I gave one away) and 4 sausages (I gave one away) and smothered it all in maple syrup.
There were vendors selling maple syrup and their cost was 2 litres for $40.  I have already put in my order with a friend who makes it.  6 litres on order.  I give most away as gifts but manage to keep enough to do me the year.  Everything is better when it is dipped in maple syrup.

SOME MUCH NEEDED R & R

I have been in a kind of "funk" lately - maybe because of the weather or just some of life stuff so when I heard Jessie Cook was coming to Sault St Marie in concert I booked me a couple of tickets.  He was appearing at the Sault Community Theatre Centre on March 31st.
I like his music - hard to define his style - a little bit of rumba, flamenco and jazz and his band members are just as talented.  A song you may be familiar with is Fall At Your Feet.  Google it and enjoy it on Utube.  Chris Church, a band member, does an amazing job.  It was their final song last night at the end of two encores.  The audience was on their feet and you could have heard a pin drop. They sang it with just Jessie on guitar and no microphones.  I had goosebumps and it did bring a tear to my eye.  One of my favourites.
I must admit it did improve my state of mind - it was such an enjoyable night.  I can't remember when we last went to a concert - I think it was the Rankin Family years and years ago at the Cleary.
Today, business as usual.
Joanne and I booked our flights to Abu Dhabi in June.  And I made some reservations at a hotel in Dubai for our 3 days of sightseeing.  Three nights, breakfasts, a drink when you first get to the hotel, transportation to the Burj and malls and fountain, 20% off your meals and drinks and room on the 26th to 32nd floor for the amazingly low price of $320 Canadian for all three nights!!!!  Bargoon!!!  And it is a 5 star hotel to boot.  With a pool!!  I am good!!