Monday, June 27/2011

I am up early despite the fact that I really don't have to be and rather oblivious to the fact that I have to work a night shift tonight.
The laundry really needed to be done so I got it together and was over at the laundromat when it opened.  Nobody else was using the facilities yet so I had the whole place to myself.  Two hours later, it was washed, dried, folded and put away.
Beef and I went for our walk and were blessed with a gentle breeze today to combat the sun that has finally decide to shine!!
Back home at the bus, it was time to iron my uniforms and get that hateful job out of the way.  Then, time to relax before heading to work.
John and Hogan get to have another quiet day!!

Sunday, June 26/2011

Work day again today.  Another good one.  More rain - what else is new!!  Actually there was a bit of hail mixed into today's rain.  Now isn't that something the farmers need?
Back from work and glad that it is a night shift that I am working tomorrow as I can at least get something done tomorrow.  Like maybe the laundry!!
Another quiet day for John and Hogan.

Saturday, June 25/2011

I am up early and off to work.  It is a good thing that it is dreary and looks like rain as it doesn't hurt so much to have to go to work in the lousy weather.
Back from work after a long shift.  It was a good day though and I am always grateful for the hours as this allows me to maintain my RN registration.  I work again tomorrow so I must get my beauty rest!
John had a quiet day today.  Him and Hogan just relaxed and watched the rain!!  I think he should start building an ark!!

Friday, June 24/2011

Dave xing Vimmy 

heading to Jack Lake

Needed a little help

Jack Lake

Heading out

Cleaning

Lily

It rained a bit during the night (what else is new!!) and continues to do so this morning.  I find myself wanting to chant "rain, rain, go away"!!  Now that the gardens are watered it can stop.  The only good thing about this prolonged rain is that the threat of forest fires is really no longer an issue.  The crops have had enough and now we need sunshine.
Beef and I had company during our walk today.  His sister Denise is down for a visit so decided to tag along.  It was a nice change.  We did our two miles then chatted for a while after and then it was time for John and I to get the Sami ready for a trip to the trails.  Dave wants to know how to get to Hunter Lake so we are going to go via the trails.  There is lots of good fishing at Hunter so Dave needs to know where it is so that he can take his brother fishing at this lake.
Once we got on the trail, it started to rain hard making the trail mud soup!!  The windshield wipers had trouble keeping the windows clear, it was raining so hard.  It was nice though that we both had roods and heaters in the little trucks.  It is not so bad being on the trails when you are out of the elements!!
We first took Dave down the trail to a lake that we call Jack Lake.  This was a lake we found several years ago that is tucked way back in the bush and is full of jack fish, hence the name of the lake!!  Dave was thrilled to see this little lake and was pleased that it was easily accessible by the little trucks and a small fishing boat.
Once we showed this lake to Dave he was eager to get to Hunter.  We continued down the trails eventually accessing the Hunter Lake trail.  Initially we thought that the logging operations working in this area may have destroyed the trail but were pleased to find out the the trail had been spared.  The day turned quite sunny and actually, it turned hot!!  The trail was great, offering us a few water crossings and a lot of sand.  We made it to Hunter Lake without any difficulty and Dave was not disappointed.  In fact, there were several large fish carcasses in the water along the shore providing proof that there are indeed fish in this lake - jack fish for sure.
As it was getting late and Dave's shoulder was starting to ache, we headed back down the trail and eventually home via the grid road.  It was a good ride.
Tomorrow is a work day for me so it is early to bed and even earlier to rise in the morning.

Thursday, June 23/2011

The sun is shining this morning and it looks like a good day for a walk.  When I text Beef, he tells me we have an appointment in Mom's garden when we get back from our walk!!  Sounds like it is time to pick weeds!!
It was hot walking today but my legs sure felt a lot better than they did on Tuesday.  I think I may survive this walking thing we have going!!
Once back in the yard, we tackled the weeds.  Beef's Mom was just about to start weeding and we arrived just in time!!  With the three of us doing it, we were done before noon and Gale was so pleased that it was done.  Now all that is needed if for Beef to rototill between the rows and it will look awesome.  Her garden is coming along very nicely and I think that Gale will be pleased with all the vegetables she will get from it this year.   Even the pumpkins are doing well which is a good thing considering last year's disaster with them.
Once back at the bus, I decided that my garden needed a little tending and started weeding it.  Eventually Shirley came over and we sat around chatting and having a few refreshments while waiting for Dave to get back from Saskatoon.
Dave arrived home and soon after that Gary arrived back from a day on the lake fishing.  Soon we had a fire blazing and we chatted until it was time for supper and bed.  All in all, it was a good day.

Wednesday, June 22/2011

Up early and headed to work.  Finally, it has quit raining and I can actually see blue sky!!  Maybe we are done with all this rain.
Back from work and it was a good shift although I start getting tired after the tenth hour and am looking forward to the end off the shift.  Once home, I rest in the chair while I watch the second exhibition game of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.  Football season is just around the corner.
Then it is off to bed for me as Beef will have me walking the designated 2-3 miles tomorrow!!  There really is no rest for the wicked!!

Tuesday, June 21/2011

I started walking again today.  Beef has been more disciplined than I have been and says he has been walking by himself!!  Oh boy, now I have to play catch up and that is not going to be easy.  I have slacked off for over a week and I am sure I will pay!!
Back from our walk and oh my goodness, my legs are so very tired!!  It sure didn't take long for me to get out of shape - again!! I dare say, Beef kicked my ass today!!
Another day of rest and relaxation - I did think about doing the laundry.  There is still wet stuff in the trailer from the weekend!!
I got a call today from staffing and have been booked to work a day tomorrow at the old folk's home so I really have to rest up now!!

Monday, June 20/2011

Today is a day of rest.  The weekend is over and now it is time for the kids to go home.   Once breakfast was over,  Jim was the first to leave as there is always work waiting for him at home - the hazards of owning your own business.  Next was Casey, Tori and Bailey and finally, the kids from the lake stopped in on their way by.  Finally, there was peace and quiet!!
John and I spent the day just relaxing and having several laughs over some of the antics we witnessed over the past two days.  Crazy Kids!!
It rained off and on all day and now the garden will not need water for at least a month!!  Once the sun comes out and it gets warmer, the weeds are going to need to be dealt with - I can hardly wait!!

Sunday, June 19/2011

In the beginning 

There was a nice trail

Then it turned to this!

Push boys!

More pushing

Jace and Kimmy having fun!

Tori and Bailey in the back

When a tree falls in the forest

You hear it!

Tight squeeze!

I found it!

Water in belt

This water was not there 10 min ago

Time to head back to camp!

I awoke early and to my surprise actually felt pretty decent which was a good thing since I had to get over to the nursing home to pick up an insulin syringe for Jim, get breakfast for the kids, get the Sami packed and get back to the other kids in the Clearwater Campground so we could get back onto the trails.. Today we are supposed to be doing the "Chitek Loop" which historically is pretty muddy and wet in some places. Great - more wet!!
With all the various quads being broke down, there was some scrambling that needed to be done as to who was riding with who but eventually everyone was accommodated and off we went.  Tori and Bailley would be riding in the back with John and I (no dogs allowed today) and Casey would be either in the box of the rhino or riding behind Lance.

We were definitely not disappointed as we came to the first of three mud holes in the trail and I am sure that  the pictures will tell the story of Sami's journey through them!!  The holes were ugly to say the least and several of the quads got stuck.  Once they were cleared off the trail, it was time for us to try getting through.  The first hole, got the girls wet as we stopped with the tail gate in the water!!  The girls were screaming (like girls do) and John was getting a kick out of their silliness.  Neither John nor I are used to the "girly" squealing and carrying on.  It was fun listening to it and as the day progressed, their antics became even more funny.  Funny how a little alcohol can loosen one up!!
Our best "stuck" moment was when we were traveling through an ugly hole and caught a root which  threw us into the bank, burying the winch cable.  Jace managed to get to it and we hookied it up to what we thought as a pretty sturdy tree.  After a few pulls. we adjusted the rope and tried again only this time the tree snapped off and landed on the Sami covering all but the rear of it!!  The girls really screamed at that!!  We took lots of pics and eventually were able to extricate the sami from the fallen tree.  Thanks to the boys and their pushing power!!  We had a lot of laughs over this episode and eventually carried on getting stuck several more times and having the girls get even wetter.  The back of the Sami is definitely NOT water proof.
The quad Scott and Jill were riding got a bit of water in the belt so had to be tipped on its end to drain it as there was no drain plug to be found.  That being done, we were off again.  The kids were having a ball but soon were going into water that was way too deep and ultimately their machines suffered.
I just don't see the point in trying to swamp your ride!!  Lance ended up swamping Chris's rhino as we went around him  on the much shallower water trail.  Once through the water, we continued up the trail pulling over to see what was up with Scott's quad.  It was having issues with overheating.   After some tinkering, it was decided that we would tow it for a while to allow it to cool down and hopefully it would be drivable again.   We decided to continue towing Scott down the trail leaving the other fools to get Chris's rhino out of the deep water and dealing with it.  We towed for quite a ways eventually stopping and waiting for the other kids.
While we were waiting, we heard quads coming from the other direction.  It turned out to be two young men who were soaked to the skin, one riding in bare feet and totally lost.  They had no clue as to where they were.  They stopped and chatted for a while and decided to hang with us to get back to the Village of Chitik Lake.  The way they were headed would have got them lost in the forest for the night - definitely NOT a good thing.  I always marvel at the sheer stupidity of people.  Do they not realize that although it is a beautiful forest, this is nature at its best and worst - one can die in this forest and it is not to be trifled with or disrespected.   Stupidity and ignorance kills.
Eventually, our boys made it to us and now Chris's quad would only go about 20 kpm - which is probably not a bad thing since he is a bit drunk and silly!!  The guys tried cleaning out his clutch and belt but once that fine Chitik sand gets into the machine, it is tough to get it out on the trail.  One can not hurt himself or anyone else when you can only drive 20 kpm - Now doesn't God work in mysterious ways!!!
Scott's quad had time enough to cool down and was running good again and we eventually made it into Chitik Lake. We started heading down the highway to the EauJace and Scott headed to camp riding the only two quads that still ran to get the trailer and bring it back to the junction.  The girls (all four of them) and Jim stayed with us.  It is a good thing I brought my BIG ASS umbrella with me as that is what Jim, Kim and Jill stood under to get out of the rain.  Tori and Bailey did not come out of the back of the Sami!!   Chris and Kellen decided to continue on down the road and would trailer the quad when they met the boys.
Eventually the rain stopped and Scott's quad had cooled down enough to be drivable again and we too continued down the road packed into the Sami like sardines.  Kim got me wet - the little bag!!  We met up with the trailer and we all made it home safe and sound.  The fire was raging and the frozen little girls huddled around it until they were warm.
Supper was great, the boys cooked again and Father's Day was a success for yet another year.