40kms in between rain storms

We had a weekend of T-storms (some places even had tornadoes) but I've managed to get a wee bit of riding in - another 40kms this Monday...18km/hr winds though gave something to push through and then take advantage of on the way back - a good 10kms with a speed of over 44 kms/hr. I've been prepping all day for a team-building session this next weekend at Red Rock. Hope to have some more post-worthy stuff then.

A Weekend of Storms

Not much to say about this weekend other than a lot of crashing, booming & zapping with a couple thunderstorms that rolled through. We spent sometime outdoors, I got a 70km cycle in on saturday, spent some time gaming on the wii and a little bit of reading. Some weekends are just more exciting than others - this one just kind of came and went. Still great to relax though and spend time with the kids. Next weekend will be a busy one at Red Rock as I will again be helping out with staff training. We still haven't figured out the logistics of it all. Hmm...I just realized this post is a little dull as well. I can't be all fun & adventure all the time I guess!

Another 70 Klicks

Wow - had a very fast ride out to Richer & back - just over 2 hours and 70kms. On the way there 19 riders and most enjoyed a breakfast but 9 of us headed back to either work or spend time with family...quick pace but excellent conditions. I'm feeling it now though...stiff legs and I've been eating/drinking all day! Rough getting up for a 7am ride though...

Bird's Hill Spin

Considering how close Bird's Hill actually is - it is worth taking a spin out there every now and then. I still prefer the hills of the Sandilands or Whiteshell but it was a nice change to have a fast ride on a hard-packed trail (despite a few rooty & mucky sections) - average speed was over 17kms/hr and a top speed in the mid-thirties which is pretty amazing considering the lack of hills. Total kms was approx. 24 clicks - not bad for an evening ride but Solstice helped out - gave us the sun we needed to finish well!

Latest Pics

We had another fabulous escape to Star Lake and we have full intentions of spending as much of our summer there as possible. Check out explore play for some further photos with more of a nature emphasis.
Zach has made our family more complete and we are totally digging the guy! He's fairly agreeable most of the time although he is a bit of a grunter sometimes...and the boy knows how to fill diapers but we won't blog about that!
Chelsea does her best to not pose and I think she pulls it off - she's loving her role of big sister.

Here's a shot of him asleep on my shoulder...so peaceful!

A self-portrait - I don't look impressed but I'm not a smiley guy when it comes to photos - it's serious business...
Wendy & I feel so privileged to be parenting these kids - Zach fits right in.

Chelsea enthused about holding a giant Luna moth - amazing beauties! I should note that explore play has some more shots of some bugs - enjoy!

My little Aimee - not hard to take a good picture of her!

Amazing shot - captured by my lovely wife Wendy!

Another great shot of siblings - Chelsea & Zachary!

Bug Photos...

Okay apparently there are a lot of insects at the cottage these days and so I have an entire section of photos just focused on them crawly creatures...enjoy?

My favorite bug has gotta be the dragonfly - I'm an aviation buff and they are the equivalent of the A-10 Attack plane...they come in low and eat up mosquitos!

Best time to shoot dragonflies is just after they've left their aquatic bodies - nymphs...
...they spend a bit of time drying out their wings.
They climb onto fingers are very willing to be placed in different settings or in this case plants.

I think this is a wolf spider but I'm not sure...I love their beady eyes - I got a pile of shots of them but again missing my big lens - next time!

The elusive dock spider - again they probably have a more official name but that's how I know them. Chelsea and I found this one on our dock and it was about the size of my palm...big mother!!!

One of the nights at Star resulted in a number of disoriented moths perched on our cabin front. This shot is a temporarily capture Luna moth being held by my darling daughter Chels!
I should note my sister Kiki made the discovery of these Lunesta wonders...

Another mysterious Manitoba moth - to be identified.

An inch-worm makes a daring ascent up a rain-drenched stalk.

Latest Outdoors Pictures

Here's the latest in photography attempts by yours truly on one of my family's escapes to Star Lake:

An experiment with motion via swings & a unique exposure - thanx to the aerobatics of Chelsea!

A classic Star Lake sunset...there will be more!

A mother & fawn - I'm still kicking myself I didn't bring my telephoto lens for a second weekend in a row!
Playing with light, exposure & motion...a little experimental.
Some mushrooms lit up by a flash & a setting sun...shot at ground level obviously.
The rain fills the stream that runs along the border of our property and of course is game for exploring photography.
Our transportation to the cottage is ironically via the Ford Escape we've had for the past few years. For more photos & brief write-ups check out musings.

11th Anniversary!

One year ago, we celebrated our ten year anniversary in Costa Rica. It was definitely one of our highlights as far as trips go. Much has changed in the last year and so I thought it only appropriate to post a few pics.Obviously the most significant change has been with the addition of our son Zachary on May 12.
He is a sturdy guy who recently tipped the scales at 12 lbs - pretty good considering 4 weeks ago he was 8 lbs 15 oz. He was our biggest to begin with and he seems to enjoy life!
Zach's sisters Chelsea & Aimee simply adore him and enjoy their new role as big sisters!
We're enjoying our summer thus far...lots of time spent outdoors and at the cottage and looking forward to our future together!

Star Lake Weekend

Here are some experimental shots from last weekend - hopefully I'll have some more time to do some more this weekend. The shot below is of some "lady slippers"? at sunset just after we arrived at Star Lake. I lit up the flowers with my flash from the front and of course the sunset lit up the subject from behind somewhat.One of our "projects" was to remove a few dead or dying trees and set up a play structure for the kids. This an experiment in motion utilizing Aimee as my reference...turned out kind of surreal!
We have a bizarre pine tree seedling that thinks it is a flower or something? I took a shot of it from directly above and I think I used a flash on it.
Playing with light in the underbrush near the edge of our property - utilized natural lighting & shadows provided by the sun & the presence of some tall trees nearby.
Added a little motion to the shot and I bumped up the saturation somewhat...kinda artsy but fun.

The Role of Shared Experience in Relationship

When I used to do more whitewater kayaking - it was always cool to meet up with other paddlers - you were instantly connected because well - we're a rare breed and engaging danger somehow bonds people. A shared experience in dealing with any obstacle somehow builds or cements relationships. Climbing rock or ice is the same thing, once you've trusted another person with your life - there is a connection that stays with you. What does danger do to relationships?

The previous quote actually comes from a response I submitted from a previous blogpost. How does a shared experience of going through struggle, trouble, or danger if you will unite people? If you think of the significant friends you have developed over the years, there is always a story that captures that relationship. Something that makes you laugh or cry when you recall it or share it with another.

Remember when...you broke your arm? you wiped out over that jump? I lost control of my dad's truck two days after passing my drivers' test and ended up going through a ditch full of snow & water? When we traveled to Israel and our bus window exploded because of some Palestinian throwing a rock at us? When we paddled the White River? When we climbed Mt. Jacques Cartier? When we paddled the Ocoee River? When we mountain biked Tsali in North Carolina? When we saw those northern lights at Red Rock?

Each of those queries are real stories about my life that I share with someone else. Each of those stories helped shape who we are both as individuals but more importantly as friends. There is a camaraderie that exists on a heavenly plane it seems when we go to war together as soldiers, when we take on a wild descent with a bike or kayak, when we face danger head on together! Band of Brothers is my all-time favorite mini-series which captures how men become brothers through facing the trials of life & death on the battlefield of world war two.

What events took place in your life to make you the man or woman you are today?

My guess is that other people were involved in those events.

What stories & what relationships have shaped you?

One of my key aims in life is to live a full life! A life marked by adventure, by passion, by relationships, by stories, by wide-eyed wonder! Isn't that what explore play is all about?

The "Facebook Family" Revolution

I originally posted this as a note on facebook but thought it was blogworthy as well with a few minor edits to make it likewise blogger-related:

This whole facebook "thing" is a unique sort of a revolution. Although I suppose all revolutions are unique...The curious thing about this particular revolution is that it is about connecting people into relationships, into community, into conversation. I suppose blogging does this as well to those "connected" to ones' blog but somehow facebook is more relationship-oriented.

Facebook is not about simply exchanging facts or ideas, but rather exchanging our lives. Don't you wish real life was more like facebook? Where you actually engaged people in real conversations over a coffee or coke? But we don't have time for that because of the busyness of our life - do we? So we wait (typically) for the hours after most have gone to bed and blog, post notes, poke people, or send private messages to our facebook family. How many of you check facebook (or your blog) throughout the day to see if someone has left you note?

The other thing that strikes me about facebook (which blogging did to a point) is that I've reignited so many relationships from my past, from my college years in particular - the time in which my relationships didn't have a lot to do with who I was related to but with whom I actually had something in common with. Facebook in many ways has brought that past back from the dead to life - or at least an online version of life. It has also reconnected me to friends from all over the world.

I still believe that a face-to-face conversation still trumps anything that facebook attempts to do but I will say that this networking has the potential of bringing such a face-to-face conversation into life as well!

So know that you've endured my meandering musings - consider yourself poked and feel free to dialogue or be in conversation whether you like the topic of facebook or not!

Some questions for further conversation: What joys has facebook (or blogging) brought to you? How is blogging like facebook? How does it differ or is blogging unique?

More Houses: The Bubble House

Pierre Cardin's residence by Antti Lovag is one part house, two parts hallucination, here's a site with lots of photos and another that describes the house further.

Extreme Houses

I came across this cool article from Popular Science about how some researchers are looking into designing a house that grows.

"Architects Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona, along with environmental engineer Lara Greden, have designed a house that will grow from a few seedlings into a two-story, water-recycling, energy-efficient abode. The Fab Tree Hab, a mix of ancient and ultramodern technology, isn’t merely environmentally friendly. It is the environment.

Instead of building a home out of green materials, the trio figured, why not construct a living, breathing house? “Something that’s alive and thriving,” Joachim says. They hope to plant the first house within five years, but for now, they’re working with Israeli arboriculture firm Plantware, testing techniques for growing the lattice-like weave of vines and roots that will form the walls." (Popular Science)

I still have fond memories from all the tree houses I built as a young boy - it is amazing how creative a guy can be with a few 2X4's, hammer, nail, & rope. I remember even construction a fireplace with some derelict brick I reclaimed from a neighbours refuse pile. So to imagine a house made from living trees fascinates me still!

Another alternative home design is underground and I came across this site which describes the home of a fellow Canadian William Lishman - very creative! Somehow reminds me of Hobbiton though...not quite as a original as the grow-your-own home idea above but still cool! The other interesting thing about Lishman is that the film Fly Away Home is about his adventures - remember the film about the guy flying the ultralight and leading geese on a migratory route?

Another take on tree houses - is the Free Spirit Sphere - basically an orb that is a small living space that you hang between trees. The Canadian company designing them is marketing them world wide including epic places like Costa Rica!

Quote of the Evening

"Adventure is the invitation to common people to become uncommon." - Warren Miller

Red Rock Reunion & Quick Escape on Monday

It was great to be back at Red Rock on Sunday - I don't get out there as much as I used to other than for staff-training in July. We decided to go for the day and got there to join their chapel service at 11. It was in part to celebrate the cyclathon but also from 3pm on was an alumni reunion. It was good to see some former campers (later on staff) - especially my mountain bike/out-trip campers! Also some CIT's that Wendy & I directed, along with the CIT counselors from Summer of 99. The girls had a blast down at the beach even though we'd forgotten to bring swimsuits. We just let them play in the water with what they were wearing and I think it made it more exciting. Zach did awesome and seemed to enjoy being handed off from female to female. It was his first significant road trip other than to Winnipeg - I can't imagine us having that mobile after three weeks with our first two. Back then we basically stayed in our house for a month.

Monday, I had my first conflict management class which I'm auditing at a graduate level - it should make my interpersonal processes class even more substantial. Then I escaped for a good but short mtn bike excursion with Pat & Paul - 9.8kms on the Suicide Ridge trail system. We explored that extra loop that I found a few weeks ago and found some pretty steep ascents/descents that made for some whoops & hollers & a few wipeouts. Lots of ticks though - although for some reason I didn't have a lot - helps to stay on the track.