The Sandilands Fire

Okay, so I know I mentioned the fire in a previous post but I haven't posted any pics as of yet. I'm still not sure what the outcomes will be from this fire. Obviously forest fires can be a natural thing and clear out the old to allow for new growth to occur but when fires happen through careless means (like ATV derbys held in provincial parks?) I get a little steamed. I already was upset from all the erosion caused by ATVs - especially in soil as easily disturbed as some of the sandy areas in the Sandilands.

The pic below is taken courtesy of my friend Pat at a section on what call the Race Trail as that is where our local mtn bike race association has held cross-country races. About 70% of the trail has been effected by the fire - some sections completely charred, other sections not as bad but I'm assuming with time - most of the trees will not recover & eventually be pushed over by winds.

Below is my lovely steed - with a backdrop of a burnt stand of pine trees & some curious "sand-boils" - which conveniently made a great place to stand up my bike in.

This is the trailhead to the race area which isn't as damaged but the heat cooked the needles of the pines and thus they are changing colour.

A close-up of the coloured-needles.

And this last shot is a picture of a different trailhead - we call the black single-track - it actually is a trail that comes of the black ski-trail.I'll post some more pics in the future...including some melted ski-signs.

To Bike is To Explore

I'm super-stoked that my daughter Chelsea has finally mastered the art of cycling...she was really close to it clicking last fall and would go about 10 or so feet by herself. But now she is able to start on her own, safely do circuits and come to complete stop without wiping out! We've had a cold spring so far but we've taken advantage of plus temps.
I went for a nice 36km loop myself on the road bike with Pat & Paul - strong wind but it helped a bit on the stretch home. Gotta love two wheels for exploring this planet! I still remember my dad teaching me to bike on our front lawn and that feeling of freedom once I got the hang of it. I'm so proud of my daughter in how she is confident on her bike as well. The girl is fast - and I've taken up running apparently to keep up!

Trick or Treat!

I just made it back from a few days of teaching outdoor education at Red Rock in time for our annual trick or treating on Halloween. I still have fond memories of being a kid growing up in Riverside and biking around wearing army fatigues & facepaint in my efforts to collect candy with my buddy Grant. I think one year we actually did a couple rounds in different outfits. I also seem to recall getting Easter eggs at one house...old candy! The other gross-out was getting homemade toffee popcorn or a healthy snack like apples.

Zachary - our sleeping dragon!

My princesses getting candy from Mrs. N. across the street from us!

Another brave visit to a neighbour's house to get some sweets.

My camera lens is a little fogged up for this shot after coming in from the cold.Wendy's annual tradition is to carve pumpkins and she goes full-on with it: here's this year's theme Super Mario! I guess the Wii influence is strong in our house these days.

Bats and other freaky animals

This past Sunday, the usher at our church greeted us with gesture to look at a bat that was clinging to the brick wall of our entrance. My girls were obviously enthralled and by the time the morning service was done, the bat ended up in a nearby tree for further inspection. Bats are one of those creatures that just are mysterious eh? I once caught one in a net at Red Rock down by the beach - it was perched upside down beneath the eaves of my lifeguarding beach house. They aren't the prettiest animal out there when you see them in daylight. In fact, they look pretty menacing up close - which why I suppose the comic hero Batman is the Dark Knight!

The Sucker-Footed Bat - you'd think it'd be unique enough with the radar headgear - but no this little guy was created with suction cups!!!

So to make an interesting random musing yet more unique, I came across the following freaky animal pictures on another site and I figured why not post some of them here and tie them to wikipedia for further inspection? This blog has been a bit stale as of late, so maybe this will give some inspiration to any other writers or readers that lurk in this part of the world wide web!

The Axolotl - strangely happy & friendly looking with just a touch of creepyness?

The Aye Aye - personally I think just some rat that had a really rough night!

Don't you just wanna give this thing (Star-Nosed Mole) a big smooch - NOT!

The Saki Monkey so should have been in the Planet of the Apes Movie.

The Blob Fish - quite possibly the ugliest living thing ever! Remember the cartoon Ziggy? Well it kind of looks like a Ziggy left out in the sun too long...!

The appropriately named Yeti Crab - yep it's a furry crab - who wouldn't wanna cuddle with that bad boy!

The Tarsier - gotta love those alien-like eyes!

Some August Holiday Pics

This month has blown by and is practically over. I thought it was wise to post some pictures before I'm in the midst of teaching this September.

Aimee's third birthday with a cake decorated by yes - candy! Her request!

Aimee opening gifts with her aunt kiki & grandpa observing her enthusiasm. We had both sides of the family over for her party and she is still talking about it.

Zach chillin' on the living room floor..he's growing & talking more and more!

Aims & Chels enjoying some swimming at the pool
My two princesses - love dressing up (& dancing) when ever they can!

Chelsea stepping back in time and posing in front of "The Heartbreaker"


Chelsea loves dressing up with some of the costumes that her Grandma has stored away in their Riverside home.My dad "gobbling" up the oats - both my girls loved their time on the field. The hours are crazy for farmers this time of year but there is something special about working the land. Gotta love the green - it's in my blood apparently - John Deere!

Uncle Blaine, Chelsea & her dad on the combine.

The reason why my allergies are acting up as I load these pics up and why I'm not a farmer!

When the wind is blowing the same direction as the combine driving it turns the sky dark with dust & straw...makes for some neat pictures but I can't imagine being outside the cab.Gotta love the golden color of this oat field in the midst of harvest.

First week of July Pics - Holidays!

One of our favorite aspects to our place is the backyard and of course the inflatable kiddie pool is a must with our Manitoba summers of heat & humidity! So here's a few shots of the kids enjoying the backyard pool!Zachary's first plunge with his doting sisters Aimee & Chelsea.

I'm not convinced the hat is a great fashion choice but it kept the sun off his head.

Zach's surf shorts are pretty rad from my perspective!

Aimee with her gorgeous eyes!
Zee chillin'

Chels & Zach

The pantry at the Star Lake cottage has this cool glass door that I discovered the girls playing in when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed. It just so happened there was some cool light shining into the cottage from the sun setting & it just illuminated the girls well - so a little artsy but I think the results are cool!Chelsea peering out in discovery mode!Another more artsy shot of the girls in the pool - they play with water while I play with light!

Nature Pics from Long Weekend

A random collection of pics from the last few weeks - most from Star Lake and a few from home.

My flower-collecting daughter Chelsea.

I'm really bad at remember names of plants but amazing colors that just pop like fireworks beside the busy bee hunting for pollen.

I have no idea how old this can is but finding litter like this in the park after so many years is a little disturbing - so I changed it into art.

I liked how the sunlight caught this wild grass - interesting greens & oranges.

Using the same light as the shot above only with daisies - playing with the lines of the stems somewhat to.Another daisy shot with a special guest using it as a landing strip.

Sunsets at Star Lake are never dull it seems - great time to play with the camera!

A shot taken after a T-storm from the park behind our place - some cool clouds!
A closer look at those wacky X-File'ish clouds - a flying saucer would look perfectly normal with that apocalyptic skyscape.

An alien-looking caterpillar taking strides up grass - extreme sports perhaps?

Another great Star Lake sunset...

I picked some daisies and threw them in the lake to play with my camera during a sunset and this is one of the results...a little surreal & yes pretty artsy - no apologies!

Another shot utilizing the floating daisies - no tripod - used the dock which due to all the rains is almost the same level as the dock.