such a pretty flower...

Took some pics out in the flower garden this morning..  just had to share this tooolip with those who tune into my "exciting" life..

Life is Good.

Our first hike of the season... finally!

The weather was nice and the options were... hike Chester Bowl.. pull weeds in the gardens... drive up the north shore to the Knife River and do a 4.5 mile hike up there.

It was a lovely day on the Knife River.

Actually the trail itself wasn't the nicest we've been on along the shore.. but when we stumbled upon a huge beaver dam along the trail, - well - it got better real fast.  Neither Jewels or I have seen such a large beaver dam up close like this and it was absolutely amazing.

The goal today was to hike up to a small set of falls along the river.. had a nice little lunch overlooking the falls and then headed back home...

Nice nice day...  Life is Good.

Out to Scott's cabin today...

We've had company this weekend.  Cam, Cassie and the kids spent a few nights with us and it was great having them here.  Bad news was that the normally photogenic Cassie decided to show us the physically ill side of her... poor dear was in bed with various ailments most of the time and thus she didn't get to join us in our trip out to Scott's cabin to put in the dock.

It was a funny day with hot sunny weather with the occasional interruption of a windy heavy rainfall.  But, as the rest of the photos show, we had a good day.. the dock got installed and is reasonably straight and level.. and mostly safe to walk on.. it withstood the family gathering photo (with the limited members of the family in attendance)...

A nice day.. sorry you felt so crappy Cassie.... but

Life is Good!

I've been negligent ... AGAIN!

It's finally been a beautiful weekend with lots of sun and a few showers to soak the gardens.  I took some pics today of the gardens out front with our little crab apple tree that is blossoming nicely.

Julie is so very happy with the progress of the gardens.. she and Annie put a lot of thought and work into it last summer and the results are starting to show nicely.

Lilac trees are also in full bloom...  Life is Good.

Back to Duluth...

My trip home took me through Oakville Ontario where I got to visit my very great friends Bob and Jo and spend 3 nights with them.  Took the train into Toronto one day and did some sight seeing where I ended up at the REAL Hockey Hall of Fame.  Of course I had to get my photo taken with the Coupe Stanley which will be awarded to the Penguins in due course.

It was a fun trip.  I got to see places I haven't had much exposure to in the past and of course, it's nice to be back home in spite of the crappy weather...

Life is Good.

Coupe de Grass...

Well, before I got to Montreal I had been bitchin' a bit about the cold weather and the "brown" spring.

As you can see from my photos the past few days, green has definitely taken over from the brown. The folks here have a huge double lot and a nice little ride around mower.  Of course there are gardens and trees everywhere so it's not really that easy to cut with the ride around..

I had decided that if it wasn't raining today, I'd mow the lawn. John and Wendy are back tomorrow so it's time to get the place shipshape.  It was raining this morning but unfortunately, for me, the sun came out for a few hours this afternoon and I was able to crank up the push mower and do the complete lawn.  It only took a couple and a half hours.  I'm beat.. but it looks good.. n'est ce pas?

Life.. C'est Bon!

Hiking in Oka National Park.

This morning I headed out to the Oka National Park which is just outside the village of the same name (Oka).  This park is known for its cultural and religious heritage and the trail I chose was about 5km and passed by four Romanesque - style oratories and ended near three chapels overlooking the village.  These buildings were build between 1740 and 1742.

It was a very pleasant and peaceful stroll even though it was rather busy as there were lots of locals out enjoying the morning.  Unfortunately, the mosquitoes also seemed to like the trail and they were ravenous to say the least.

Now, Oka's other claim to fame came in the summer of 1990 involving  a showdown between native people, Quebec police and eventually the Canadian army. One police officer was killed and the conflict lasted 78 days. The Oka Crisis drew worldwide attention, casting native land rights into the spotlight. 

Anyways, I finished the tour with a lunch stop in the village.  It is on the shore of Two Mountains Lake (also known as a widening of the Ottawa River), and is quite a touristy.  This is such a pretty and peaceful area and I am sooo happy that I was able to visit.

Life is Good.