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

AND AWAY THEY GOOOOO

The boys and their Christmas gifts from Grandma and Pappa aka Rejean and I.
It is very expensive to send anything over to Abu Dhabi so I send Jodie E-transfers for their birthday and Christmas presents.  I let Jodie decide what to get them as I haven't a clue what kids want and she hit a bull's eye with these pedal bikes as the British call them.  As soon as they unwrapped them they were excited.  "A Bike A Bike" was all they could say.  They knew what to do immediately and thankfully they live in a rather large condo so they were able to get some practice in before they hit the road so to speak.  And they knew how to ring the bell on the bike too.  Toys that make noise!!!

I hope they know how to stop...

SANTA!

My My My  What a difference a year makes!  I couldn't find any more Santa pictures of the kids.  The top one is the most recent one and the one below I think is from last year.
I think they are enjoying Santa - Jodie says they love him.   They may realize that Santa brings them treats.