Into Summer

     Silly to think that my last blog post was way back in April and still has photos of that cold white stuff. Especially since we are already making it part way through summer! Well it's been a busy time since then, as this time of year always is. Fuzz is back to working long hours doing landscaping, while I had the pleasure of babysitting two super cute little girls for a few days a week. Farmer's markets have started up again and we spend many Saturday mornings serving up hot coffee and fresh roasted beans at the Goderich Farmers Market (if you haven't checked it out you really should! Local fruits and veggies, honey, soaps, breads, meats, and a chance to talk to the people who grow, raise and make it). Even in the busyness we've been able to get away for a couple days camping.

    Inverhuron is a Provincial Park on Lake Huron near Tiverton, Ontario. It's fairly small in comparison with some other parks but it's worth the visit.

Brother Isaac and Hunter walking out on the rocks.

Isaac and I thought that the water was deep here. He jumped in and discovered that it wasn't.

Little crevices along the rock.

  

Every so often you come across Inukshuks at Inverhuron. Isaac and Fuzz built this giant one. It took a while and the rocks were really heavy.

Inukshuk at Inverhuron

Ok so maybe they didn't build a giant one. Just a fun camera trick. Really it was just a small one and they didn't build it. But Fuzz did build this one.

 

Penelope liked camping too. 

There were lots of flowers blooming around the park as well. 

 

Then Dad took me took me on a bike ride to an old pioneer cemetery that's in the park. It was really neat to read all the names and see the dates marked on the headstones. Finding them is part of the fun too. They aren't lined in nice neat rows, but all over the place, some hidden deep behind over grown branches, others covered by sand over time. 

 

Pioneer cemetery at Inverhuron

Fence around the cemetery

Weathered headstone.

There is a very nice trail for walking or biking that surrounds the park.

Even though a thunderstorm went through over night and the fog rolled in, it was a good time camping.

Fog at Inverhuron

 

Lake Huron Sunset

     In all it was a fun weekend. A good way to start off the summer. I'm looking forward to more summertime adventures ahead, getting outdoors and enjoying the warm weather while it last!

A Winter Escape

For the last four or five years, my family has been making the trip up to Steenburg Lake in the summer for vacation. Over the years it's been getting harder to get everyone together at the same time. Summer is a busy time and for some and it's harder to get off work. This year, to be sure that everyone would be able to make it for the full week, we decided to go in the winter! 

 It was a beautiful week! We had pretty much every kind of weather while we were there. 

There was a thunderstorm the first night, then the temperature dropped for a few days down to around -30°C. We still all bundled up to enjoy the outdoors though. 

Here's just a few shots of the winter splendor we beheld there last week.

 

Now today it's supposed to reach 14°C and all our snow here at home has melted for now. I already can't wait until next year to head to our winter wonderland! 

Summer...

So I think I've come to the conclusion that summer is for working. It seems that for us it's the time of year where we see less of each other and have less time to do anything apart from work. None of this summer vacationing happening here. In Fuzz's case, landscaping can only be done when the weather permits it so he packs his yearly work hours into 8 to 9 months, working longer hours while the sun is shining. I just seem to by chance always work more in the summer and less, if at all, in the winter. I guess that's what happens when you live in an area based largely on seasonal tourism. 

This year I got a job at a new gas station that opened in Exeter. I happen to be the lucky one that gets every weekend off, however I am up by 4:30 each morning to get there in time to open for 5:30 everyday during the week. I was not a morning person before this. Well maybe an 8:30 or 9:30 type of morning, but anything before that made me pretty miserable. I think I've adjusted alright to the early mornings now, with the addition of afternoon naps and early bedtimes (somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 is best). This schedule means that I pretty much go to bed as soon as Fuzz gets home, but just until the sun starts setting sooner and they aren't able to work quite as late. 

With all the working (and napping) going on I pretty much only used my camera twice this summer. Even then I only ended up taking a few pictures of the occasions...

One was Leah's Birthday! On June 21st this little cutie turned one!          

She learned what presents are and did a pretty good job at opening all her new things. 

She also learned what little red shovels taste like...

 

As well as the deliciousness of iced cupcakes! 

The second event that my camera got brought out for was a short weekend camping trip Fuzz, Hunter and I took to MacGregor Point Provincial Park. We drove up on a Friday night, spent Saturday relaxing, and packed up early Sunday morning (thanks to me getting sick) to come home. We've decided that camping trips need to be more than just a weekend affair. It wasn't near enough time for relaxing and exploring the park. We did have a good time though. It was Hunter's first time camping and I think he wouldn't mind if camping was his life. He got to sit in the back seat of the car and stick his head out the window, come with us everywhere we went, and even sleep right beside us in the tent. People kept telling us what a well behaved dog we have. We just kept thinking "ya right."

We did get a chance to head down to the lake for a little. The weather could not have been better. Both the sky and the lake were super blue that day. 

Fuzz took this shot of a lonely seagull out on a rock... 

Then we released the hound, who had also spotted the lonely seagull way out on the rock.

This dog could very easily live in the lake I think.

Most of our time was probably spent here, in the hammock. We had the perfect campsite for it. Two birch trees just the right distance apart with little brush (or poison ivy) underneath made the ideal location for it. We spent many hours gently rocking back and forth in the cool shade.

But that was it. Those were the only times I got my camera out this summer. I brought it along with us a few other times to markets, or a corn freezing weekend at Ash and Darryl's, but didn't take any photos with it. Hopefully things will start to slow down again though, and maybe work won't be quite as crazy. I'm looking forward to a few more weekends with the warm weather and maybe a couple more campfires to visit, but will welcome the fall with it's cooler nights and slower pace when it gets here. 

To the Beach!

Last week, seeing as it turned summer and all, I went to the beach! I'm fortunate enough to live only a 10 minute drive to lake Huron. Every year over winter the beaches change. You never know until the ice melts (if there is any ice), what the shoreline will look like. Sometimes it's just sandy while other times, like this year, it becomes littered with interesting pieces of drift wood and smooth stones. 

It can make it difficult to walk on but it sure is pretty. 

My sister, brother, and I went for walk. 

Hunter liked it very much when M'lynn threw sticks way out in the water for him to retrieve.

Isaac was gathering beach glass and finding cool rocks and sticks. Notice how I now have to look up to take a picture of him because he has by far surpassed me in height. 

The water was very calm and clear and blue on this particular occasion.

The grasses are just starting to grow back, ahead of schedule this year.

I even stuck my feet in! It was chilly of course but not as cold as I expected for March!

Unfortunately today we are back to regular temperatures for this time of year (a high of 3ºC today) and so I'm wearing my long johns, hats and mitts again. So far I have refused to turn the heat back on and am baking instead. Far from the summer like breeze of last week!