Sunshine Relief!

On Saturday we picked up a pool and decided it was definitely hot enough yesterday to warrant setting it up in the back yard.

The kids couldn't wait to get in it, even though the water was freezing.

It took me 5 loads of water to fill the thing!

The kids were in heaven!

Some of the neighbour girls came over and they migrated back and forth from the pool to the trampoline...

... while the adults enjoyed food and drink in the shade on the back deck.

Even Sugar took advantage of the shade.

After our company left we went into town for church, on the return home the kids were excitedly talking about swimming in the new pool when the get home from school the next day. When we pulled into the yard this is what we found; the pool had sprung a leak and all the water had run out!

So disappointing since I had to haul water for the cistern today because I'm leaving for work tomorrow and won't be back until the end of the month! The pool with have to wait.

Carolyn and I enjoyed another beautiful sunset from our back deck and noticed this guy out for a flight over the ridge; we thought we had the best view!

Super Saturday!

Yesterday we went out to our friend Colin & Rhonda's so Kirby could get her fill of horseback riding.

Kirby and Sam.

She fit him just right.

What a natural, takes after her dad of course!

Erinn riding Gus. Kirby still riding, she didn't quite get her fill!

Colin, Carolyn & Blair watching from the sidelines.

Rhonda leading Gus around for Erinn, she loved it almost as much as her big sister.

Me leading Blair around on Gus. Blair doesn't take after me, when I was walking him around he asked if I could go a bit slower!

After an afternoon of riding in the hot prairie sun the kids went for a dip in Gareth's pool.

Erinn cruising around in the Arctic Cat.

Blair enjoyed riding this motorized scooter way more than riding the horses!

Zoo Trip

On Friday Blair took me along on his school field trip to the Calgary Zoo.

It was a lovely day, lots of sun and not too terribly hot.

Blair riding with his friend Tessa on the bus; dad rode with her parents in their Expedition!

Blair looking a little nervous by a Boa that was 10 times the size of him!

The Rays were the coolest animals we seen.

What's that? Like I haven't seen or dealt with enough of these guys in the last several months!

Blair with his group, Colten, Tessa and her little brother Ian.

The Next "Dottie" Wiltse Collins!

Our little baseball player!

A short short-stop waiting for the ball, note the pink ball glove.

With that toothless grin she looks more like a hockey player than a ball player. Really, what's the point in making her wear a cage? Its not like she could get her teeth knocked out or anything!

Snow in June!

So much for the theory of Global Warming!

The kids woke us up this morning, totally shocked that it was snowing out!

Looks more like April than June!

If nothing else this should make my yard nice and green.

I love Winter!

The Next Dwayne De Rosario!

Blair is becoming quite the soccer player!

Rushing in for a line change.

Winding up for the big kick.

Playing "mids" with Cameron; these two make a good combination.

Blocking Red!

Clearing the goal.

Just missing a save.

Covering the net.

SAVE!

Getting set for another save!

Bears, bears, bears!

Last week I was dealing with bears, this week I was dealing with bears, almost every day now we are getting a call about a bear causing problems; either they are in some one's backyard, in town, in a rancher's grain bin or chasing cattle across a pasture.

So on Wednesday, for a break, Perry & I went out and retrieved a camera from one of our carcass intercept feeding sites. This particular site was way back in the Gladstone Valley, we first hauled our quads to Beaver Mines Lake then quaded for about an hour, as far as we could go with them, then we got off and hiked for another hour into the site.

It was a warm day so we stopped to fill our water bottles in the Gladstone.

Gladstone Valley! We were probably farther than most humans have gone in this valley, it was a hard hike, there were lots of dead fall in the bush that we had to climb over or crawl under.
When we put the camera out here, the first of April, there was 5-6 feet of snow! This day there was a bit of snow on the other side of the creek and it was 25 degrees out; the water in the creek was about zero!

Here's some of the bears I dealt with this week...

This guy looks like he's reading the "DO NOT ENTER" sign above the door of the trap, he was coming into this guy's backyard and eating out of his bird feeders. I wasn't able to catch him even though he went into the trap, he was able to engage the safety stop and the door only went halfway down before it stopped and he was able to get out.

This was the same trap a few days later, I ended up catching this little bear cub and his sibling, mom (who, as you can see was a beautiful blond color) was not very happy. When Perry & I arrived he covered me while I lifted the door and let the little guys free!

My last day of work we got a call about a bear in a tree in an acreage owner's shelter belt, when we arrived we found this guy hanging out, literally! I had one of the dog guys from Blairmore with me so we decided to haze him out of the area instead of capturing him and relocating him. This turned out to be a big mistake since a couple of hours later he ended up in a tree in Cowley - a small town along Highway 3, just west of Pincher Station; this time he was captured and relocated!

Hot Weather Fishing

Last Saturday Kirby & Carolyn went to Lethbridge shopping so Erinn, Blair & I decided to go for our first fishing trip of the season. We went down to our hot spot in Strathcona Park at the mouth of Ross Creek and the South Saskatchewan River. The temperature went up to 32 degrees!

Erinn trying to catch some red-nose suckers in the creek.

Blair trying for a big pike, although nothing in there will probably top the 16 pounder he got this past winter.

Dad caught this one, a nice 3 pound walleye that was bang on the size limit. This was the only fish we caught so it was a fight over who got to eat the most!

Our 1st Teenager

We celebrated Kirby's 13th Birthday on Friday!

Mom & Dad sprouted several more grey hairs!!!