Motoring along

Though it was unplanned, I got an invite from my brother last Saturday to visit the farm (and the she-shed). It is about a 30 minute drive from my home in the city, the day was perfect, mid-20's C with a few clouds in the sky.

We relaxed on the veranda with a cold drink, visiting with my niece L for about an hour. P arrived from a grocery run to the nearby town, and brought snacks out to us.  When we'd caught up on the latest news, it was time to walk out to see the transformation.  You've all seen photos so I didn't take more than couple.  It is in a lovely spot with young trees growing around it.  Someday I expect they'll provide some much needed shade.

I was most impressed with the height of the interior. My niece is almost 6 feet tall; the roof at the back (the lowest point) is about 7.5 feet and the front closer to 9 feet.  It's bright and the fixtures and finishing make it a great spot to hang out.  She's been doing some creative work out there but has been bringing back to the house.  It is in the bush, and there is definitely mice potential so I understand why she wouldn't want to leave anything out there. 

On the way home, I stopped on a grid road to take a photo of a canola field. It's represents so much of Saskatchewan. When I was a child, canola was referred as rapeseed or simply rape.  There was a town near my hometown that had a sign that read, Tisdale; the land of rape and honey.  Some really bad connotations there...thankfully the name of the crop and the sign have been changed!

Sunday afternoon I drove out to visit D and Eli for a couple of days.  Again, the day was perfect for driving and I missed the holiday crowd heading out to the lake.  There were a number of vehicles on their way back towards the city, and I have to think there was a vintage car show (or at least parade) as I met a number of older vehicles on my drive.  Don't ask me what they were, I was never a car aficionado, but I believe many were from the 60's or 70's and some even older.

Our visit went very well.  D, Eli and I went walking twice a day.  The walks are shorter than the ones I would do on my own, but there is a three year old to consider.  So, of course, every walk ended at the "pawk".  He has begun to identify the parks by the equipment and his favorite, the closest to their home, is the green park.  I have to think it is because of the color of the big slide!

Say "cheese"!

Ready, steady, go!

D had asked me to bring some boxes with me, as she is tackling the clutter in her home.  While I was there she took out 5 large bags of garbage, two plastic bins of items for a garage sale, several boxes of items to donate, and multiple bags of books to be sold, donated or recycled.  We pulled all the furniture away from the walls, swept, vacuumed, and dusted the entire main floor. She sorted Eli's toys, with many ending up in the donate/sell bins.  Some, like those darn things McDonald's gives out with children's meals ended up in the garbage.  

We tackled her bedroom where she sorted books and clothing.  Some furniture was moved around and the old crib taken down and stored in the garage (she'll give it to a friend once they make arrangements to pick it up).  With it removed, and the movement of furniture she was provided a spot to sit and read.  

By the time we finished, most of the house had been gone over and much of the clutter removed.  I'm proud of my girl, this wasn't an easy process for her, as she likes to collect stuff and letting go can be hard. But she was definitely happy with the results, mentioning how much more open and clean the house felt. I did mention to her that less stuff makes it easier to keep it clean and tidy, and find things when you want them too.  

I drove back into the city Wednesday morning, after our walk and visit to the green park.  The temperature was forecast to reach near 30C (86F) so I wanted to get home before lunch.  On the way, I stopped to get some photos of an old house off the highway. 

I'm having issues with my zoom lens, as the zoom focus feature seems to wearing out, so I argue with it as I try to get it to focus where I want it to.  Most of the photos didn't work out but standing on the side of the highway looking at the small screen I thought they were okay.  

It's clear that no one has lived in the house for many years and it is beginning to fall apart.  I'm always sad when I see this, I'd like to think that at least part of it could be salvaged and used elsewhere. 

When I arrived home, I immediately went searching for another zoom lens.  I checked locally and on Amazon, and guess what, Amazon won again on price and availability.  I had a $50 gift card from another survey site so it was a no brainer.  I ordered it Wednesday and it shipped Thursday!

On Thursday morning, I went out for my solitary walk.  I didn't take the camera this time, so you'll have to take my word for it when I tell I saw, one pelican and three cormorants on the Riverbend pond, along with multiple ducks and later in the walk along the creek I found the pair of marbled Godwits, more ducks, and even spotted a gopher.  The latter have been heard but not seen on previous walks.  Later, at home I spotted the bunny on the road out in front of my house.  I suggested it should get off the road...it eventually did. I've tried to insert a video of a pair of young ducks having a disagreement.  If it isn't accessible, I'll remove it as I couldn't check it in the preview.

I woke on Friday to the distant sound of thunder.  There was a bit of rain, but not enough to satisfy my containers.  It stayed cloudy for most of the morning so I got a bit of housework out of the way. I ought to have gone out and done some weeding before the heat of the day but I just wasn't in the mood.  Instead laundry was taken care of, I made a potato salad for this weekend, and the kitchen and living room floors were swept.  I have to say, after being away for three days, my son does not make much of a mess.  I'm the one who seems to drop or spill things on the floor.

It was a pretty chill day, I watched a lot of hockey and did some knitting on a scarf for my daughter.  While I was visiting I'd crocheted up a water bottle carrier for her, but hadn't taken anything else to work on.  Luckily she had some yarn and a set of needles so I started the project while we watched television in the evening and brought it home to finish.  D has been working on a knitted dishcloth for several months now so chances are she wouldn't get to this yarn for a long time.  I'm not making fun, she has a hard time focusing on anything for very long.

Overnight the temperature dropped to a cool 11C (52F); I'd left the sun room open overnight with the window open to let the breeze into the house.  It felt lovely to get up to!  I puttered around a bit, had my morning coffee and call with D, before heading outdoors just after 9 a.m.  The lawn was mowed before I headed off for a walk.  What a perfect day!  Lots of sunshine, a few clouds, and a breeze to keep the bugs off. I walked my usual loop (without my camera), and it appears the ducks are starting to gather perhaps to start their trek southward.  Riverbend was swarming with ducks and several geese.  The biggest surprise was seeing five cormorants on the pond.  Some looked to be a bit smaller than another so perhaps they were this year's brood.  The sole pelican was there as well. 

Back at home, I've done some prep cooking for the week ahead, and now I've settled in to watch some more hockey, and do a bit of knitting.  If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be watching the NHL and knitting a scarf in August of this year, I'd have said they were nuts.  But here we are and I am. 

On that note, I'll sign off for the week.  Take care everyone and stay well!