On The Hunt ...

April 14 - 16, 2016

Nathan, grandchildren and his hunting buddies ... (a group of 5)...

arrived Thursday evening ... for a weekend of hunting Wild Turkeys ...

There was a pot of spaghetti sauce made with fresh pasta and salad for the gang ...

After dinner they dressed in their hunting gear ...

and headed out to locate some Wild Turkeys ...

The guys headed out early this morning on the hunt ...

intending to spend the whole day out in the area ...

They came back once it was dark ... seeing and hearing turkeys ... calling them ...

but were unable to hunt on some of the private areas ...

The guys then cooked up dinner ... Nathan was in charge of the spuds ...

and John was going to BBQ ...

marinated elk steaks ...

Later they headed out to the shop to discuss their day ...

as well as taking the time to relax in the hot tub ...

before they called it a night and headed to bed ...

to get up early in the morning ...

for another full day of hunting ...

 

April 16, 2016

The guys came back from their morning hunt ...

to have lunch ...

Mike and the grandchildren had gathered wood ...

and started the fire in the fire pit ...

to have a feast of hot dogs and hamburgers ...

grilled over an open fire ...

Once their hunger was satisfied ...

they went out hunting with the quads ...

for a couple hours in the afternoon ...

wanting an early dinner so we would not be eating at 10:00 again ...

Mike and I had started dinner ...

wanting to have most of the food cooked by the time the hunters came back ...

The guys were informed that the Halibut fish would not be cooked ...

until they were all here sitting at the table ...

Grilled potatoes ... vegetables ... corn on the cob were ready ...

now it was time to fry up the fish ...

Everyone filled up their plates ...

and once they were seated ... not a word was spoken for a few minutes ...

almost could hear a pin drop ...

well ... except for the mmmmmmm's ...

I continued to cook up the Halibut ... grinning listening to the chatter ...

for dessert I had made a ... first of the season ...

fresh Huckleberry Pie ...

the hunters had never tasted Huckleberries ...

just unheard of for me ... these guys from Alberta ...

The guys ventured out on their last evening for hunting ...

arriving back once it was dark ...

and again going out to the shop for sociables ...

to talk about their days ...

Ending the evening ... relaxing in the hot tub ...

Nathan's hunting buddies left the next day ...

packing up their belongings while I made breakfast ...

Once they were all packed up we enjoyed ...

a hardy breakfast of eggs ... hash browns ... pancakes ... and a plate of fresh fruit ...

It was an exciting ... busy ... fun filled ... weekend ... !!!!

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat ... !!!

 

 

Keeping Busy ...

April 16 & 17, 2016

It was a busy day ... getting the BBQ ready putting new grates ...

for a special dinner this evening ...

The kids figured they needed to help Grandpa with getting the grill top ...

to the shop to be cleaned ...

but first they wanted a free ride around the deck ...

The grandchildren also helped Grandpa ...

cut and gather up some firewood ...

and start the campfire for our lunch ...

These pictures were taken the day that Nathan and the family were heading home ...

spending some time hunting gophers ...

and just playing in the yard ...

Craig still likes to ride his first bicycle ... although I think he is a little to big for it now ...

 

 

Moving The VW ...

April 14 & 15, 2016

Mike & I worked on getting the VW body mobile ...

using the tractor to lift it onto the little trailer ...

so that we could move it in and out of the shop ...

Mike backed the VW into the shop ...

he is going to start tearing it apart to work on the body ...

and get it ready to be painted ...

Nathan and the grandchildren arrived the evening on the 14th ...

they wanted to go in the hot tub ...

then sit around the campfire and roast a few marshmallows ...

before going to bed ...

The next day we met up with Peter and Carolyn ...

they wanted to take the kids out for lunch ...

before Ella had a dentist appointment ...

to have a baby tooth extracted ...

as her permanent tooth was coming in behind it ...

She was a great helper with helping the dentist do his job...

The Tooth Fairy had to come to our house this night ...

 

Spring Clean-Up ...

April 10, 2016

It was so delightful to see the little bushes ...

blooming this year ...

Mike had spent a couple days ... aerating and thatching the back and front lawn ...

then it was my turn to rake and haul the dead grass away ...

The tractor was a big help to do this job ...

 

April 14, 2016

It was an overcast day ... so I ventured into the garden ...

to plant the onions ... and work on the strawberry bed ...

hand tilling in some fresh soil mix ...

and placing the berry barrier around each plant ...

to prevent the berries from touching the earth ....

Mike also pruned this apple tree ... as the buds were already starting to bloom ...

The other apple tree still needed a few more days ...

before it would be ready to prune ...

 

 

Taking A Break ...

April 21, 2016

 

Earlier posts will be added after this one ...

Just couldn't resist posting this day ... it was so beautiful ... perfect day to go fishing ...

We had been extremely busy with getting things down around the house ...

We headed up to Premier Lake ... on the water by 9:30 am ...

and I believe Mike caught the first fish within 15 min ...

once his fish was in the boat ... my line was hit ...

and I brought in little over a 1pound fish ...

I was fortunate enough to have caught a Brooke Trout ...

These fish were almost to big for our bucket ...

The water was crystal clear ... you could see the fish swimming in the deep water ...

We kept catching fish ... hardly having time to eat ...

We had caught our limit around noon ...

only losing a few and released a couple into the water ...

Once we were home ...

it was time to clean up the fish and package them up for the freezer ...

Leaving the Brooke Trout out for dinner ...

We decided to BBQ this fish ...

stuffing it with fresh parsley and lemons ...

placing it on the grill to cook ... along with a few mushrooms ...

It took about 12 minutes to grill this fish ...

It was done to perfection ...

a lovely dinner to end our perfect day ...

out fishing on a beautiful lake ...

 

 

So Much Accomplished ...

April 6, 2016

We left for a whirlwind trip to Calgary and back on the 5th ...

We spent the day taking out the old washer and dryer ...

took it to the neighbours as they bought them for their son ...

Mike then installed the new washer and dryer ...

which took him longer than he thought it would ... but well worth it ...

I love them ... !!! What a difference from the old standards ...

We had also gotten a new freezer as the old one with lots of food in it ...

had stopped working ...

 

April 7, 2016

It was another busy day ...

my garden was on the agenda today ...

getting the raised beds topped up with ...

horse manure ... vermiculite and peat moss mix ...

Shovelling a wheel barrow full into each of the beds ...

then tilling it in with my little cultivator ...

I was thrill when Mike made this watering system for my potato boxes ...

a piece of rebar ... with a soaker hose attached ...

placing it in the centre of the box ...

to keep the soil moistened ...

 

I had filled the first part of the potato boxes with the mix of soil ...

then planted Caribe potatoes in one of the boxes ...

(which are an early season variety)

and Russet potatoes ...

(fall harvest potatoes)

in the other ...

I also planted my Walla Walla onions ... !!!

It's hard to believe that I am able to work in the garden ...
this early in the season ...

 

Happy Days ...

March - April 2016

Celebrating St.Patrick's Day at a parade ...

getting lots of beads ...

then an exciting Easter Egg hunt ... just look at those baskets ... !!!

Daigen got a job to sharpen 50 pencils .10cents a piece.

He earned $5 for new batteries ...

he was given this job by friends of Kendall's for their Bunko night.

Oh ... happy day when the new dirt bikes arrived for the boys ...

The boys were so excited ...

they helped daddy in the garage ...

to build the dirt bikes and get them running ...

love the training wheels on Nixon's dirt bike ...

and seeing Daigen working on his bike ...

The boys are ready to ride ...

they sure look happy ...

Now daddy will have to take them to the country ...

for Daigen and Nixon to learn how to handle these machines ...

Nixon out in front of the house ...

getting a feel for his new dirt bike .....

with daddy by his side ...

Looks like he is having no trouble riding ...

it was great to see a video of his experience ... !!!

Two very lucky little boys ... !!!

Thank you Kendall and Ian for sending all these pictures ...

 

Fixing Quads ...

April 1, 2016

The gang worked most of the morning ...

to fix a couple quads with the parts from the ones ...

they picked up at the landfill site ...

Amazing what these guys can do ... !!!

The grandchildren are learning a lot with helping out ...

 

Two quads up and running ...

Nathan and the kids went to visit a friend in town ...

who has a small track for the kids to ride around on ...

All loaded up and ready to go ...

 

April 2, 2016

 

While Nathan was working on the white quad ...

the kids talked Grandpa into working on the tree fort again ...

They gathered up all the supplies needed ...

They wanted to close in the other side of the tree fort ...

so measuring ... cutting ... and hamming the board in ...

this part was completed ...

No ... Grandpa was not sleeping on the job ...

he was pushing and holding the board in place with his feet ... !!!

They continued to work ...

to put in a half wall on the front ...

James getting a lesson on using the skill-saw ...

I do believe I heard them say they were going to cut a window out ...

on the side of the fort ...

Once the guys were finished working on the tree fort for the day ...

they all helped out with the quad they called "Rex" ...

Granada was switching the seats and re-upholstering the good seat ...

with the other cover ...

Nathan was working on the front headlight ... fixing up the cracks in the body ...

This was going to be the last day of working in the shop ...

as they were heading back home the next day ...

No more time to start another project ...

 

Still Cleaning UP The Yard ...

March 31, 2016

Finally after quite a few years of the satellite dish not functioning ...

it was going to be removed ad hauled away ...

It took the tractor to lift out the pole that was covered in concrete ...

Loading up the dish on the trailer ...

to haul it to the landfill site to be disposed ...

James and Ella were playing at the fort ...

while the guys were working ...

We later went out into the field to have lunch ...

The kids made a small campfire by the large pile of ashes from the bonfire ...

Oma and Joe came for a visit later in the afternoon ...

it was a good time to take a break ...

Grandpa took the kids to the dump ...

and Grandpa had strict instructions not to stop at the store ...

to buy anything to eat before dinner ...

The kids brought home a few treasures from the dump ...

An umbrella ... pruning shears ... Dolphin picture ...

and a quad ...

Someone had left two quads there that were not working ...

and they brought one of them home ...

The kids were so excited with their treasures ... !!!

Grandpa got scooped when they got back home ...

because he had bought himself a drink ... and I knew he did not have one when he left ...

the kids and Grandpa said they did not get anything to eat ...

hmmmmm ... I had a puzzled look on my face ...

as I could see the kids chewing on something ...

The kids and Grandpa figured that chewing bubble ...

was not eating ...

and apparently this view was verified by the salesperson at the store ...

They all thought they were pretty sneaky ...

with this one ...

We had a good laugh ... and grateful that they hadn't eaten ...

as dinner was ready ...

We were invited to go to the movies with my friend Tammy ...

and her grandchildren ...

so after dinner we headed into town to go to see Zootopia ...

It was a really cute movie ...

When we arrived home ...

the kids noticed that the other quad appeared to have been picked up and brought home ...

Nathan and grandpa went back to the dump ...

while we were at the movies ...

I wonder what the gang is going to be doing the next day ... ???

 

Work ... Play ... Fun ...

March 29, 2016

Craig and James continued to haul the trees to the fire ...

Nathan unhooking the choker from the stumps ...

We were finished hauling the trees for today ...

Craig wanted to do an experiment of tossing a plastic bag into the draft of the fire ...

to see if the updraft would take the bag into the air ...

It worked and up to the sky it went for quite a distance.

The wind had picked up a bit ...

James And Ella decided to try and fly the kite ...

the wind was not consistent so it took them awhile to get it into the air ...

Nathan and Grandpa were sitting back ...

watching the fire and the kids playing ...

 

March 30, 2016

Early morning enjoying our breakfast before heading outside ...

for another day of working ...

The kids remembered that Grandpa had received a bib years ago for Xmas ...

and they thought Grandpa needed to put it on to protect his shirt ...

James had gotten some food on his shirt ... so I pulled out a bib for him as well ...

they all had a good laugh about that one ...

Ella piped in and wanted one as well ... I knew I had another one just for her ...

It was another beautiful day ...

before we started to work ...

we opted to go for a family quad and dirt bike ride ...

touring all around the properties ...

We also ended up hiking up the trail to Opa's resting place ...

what a beautiful view ...

Nathan was enjoying riding on the trails ...

that him and his brother Ian rode on during their childhood ...

He also tested out riding up the steep hill again ...

then Craig being of age that his dad was at the time ...

took the challenge to try out the hill ...

He did it ...!!!

Nathan went up to where he was on top ...

and guided him on the technique to make his way down ...

Craig was proud of himself for conquering it ...

just as we were all proud of hime as well ...

After our touring venture ...

we headed back to the bonfire to enjoy a well deserved lunch ...

James & Ella worked on creating their own little fire ...

to roast hotdogs and marshmallows

The clouds were moving in ...

it was getting dark ...

Ella took the picture of the mountains with the fire in the forefront ...

Beautiful ... !!!