We got back earlier today from camping at Carson Pegasus Provincial Park. We tried a new site this visit, one that was right on the water. It was further to walk in, but the view was really lovely.
Here are some of my photos-
Blackbird Jr tearing down one of the walking trails.
View of the lake from our campsite.
The ducks wander up to you in the hopes that you will feed them.
Bananaboats! I loved these when I was a kid. You wrap them in foil and warm them over the fire.
Photos of a sunset, all taken from our campsite.
We packed Saturday and traveled Sunday, which worked out really well as the campsite pretty much emptied out Sunday. We collected lots of firewood people had left behind and were the only people camping in the walk-in area part of the campsite so it was really quiet and private. Blackbird Jr loved camping and wanted to stay until Christmas.
No, I'm not pregnant or babysitting, I got a new digital camera!
The great thing about it? I can drop it from a distance of 7 feet and it will be fine. The shatterproof camera was Mr Blackbird's idea and I was whining about it in the store when I dropped the store model I was holding. So we got this one.
By the way, K- you said I was rubbing off on you when you forgot your wallet at the cash register? On Monday I forgot my debit card at the cash register of Ft Edmonton park. YOU RUBBED OFF ON ME.
When I typed it in caps it sounds kinda dirty. Sorry 'bout that.
it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back it's back
I know this will shock everyone, but I broke my digital camera. It was on a high shelf and I bumped it taking something else down and kaboom, it's broken. Plus the only craft I've really been doing is my christmas stocking cross-stitch and updates on that aren't very frequent (or interesting).
I'm currently reading Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, which I picked up at Goodwill (goodwill on 51st ave is my current my favourite thrift store).
In 19th-century Chile, a baby girl is left at the doorstep of Jeremy Sommers, director of the British Import and Export Company, Ltd., and his spinster sister, Rose. Rose raises Eliza to marry well and is understandably nonplussed when as a teenager she falls passionately in love with a poor clerk in the company. Eliza possesses all the feistiness and passion that Rose herself has suppressed, and when her somewhat indifferent lover heads north to San Francisco in search of gold, she follows, pregnant, disguised as a boy, and assisted by Tao Ch'ien, a Chinese doctor forced to work as a cook on a ship captained by John Sommers, brother to Jeremy and Rose. Not surprisingly, Eliza has some trouble locating her lover, but through a host of richly detailed adventures, she does find something more precious: freedom.
You can read an excerpt here. So far I've enjoyed reading it.
I am currently listening to Barbara Kingsolver's (author of The Poisonwood Bible) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life on CD. At first I thought it was a bit exaggerated and I was rolling my eyes a bit when she was talking about how disconnected we are from our food and that people don't know where or how it grows (literally, how food grows) and she gives examples of a chef friend of hers not knowing that potatos have green plants that grow above the ground or kids thinking spaghetti grows in the ground. But as it went on I realized that what I would think most people would know is knowledge I've likely taken for granted having grown up in houses with gardens and having farmers in the family. The book is along the lines of current reinterest in people growing their own food and buying food produced locally. I'm not ready to give up bananas and fruit that isn't canned in the winter, but it's an interesting read. She and her family move from Arizona (where she notes all their food and water is pretty much imported) to the Appalachian mountains to try and feed themselves off their land and with local food.
Free Pancake Breakfast Sponsored by the Strathcona Industrial Association Centre Rundle Family Centre 10 AM-4 PM
* Check out MEC's Paddlefest. An urban celebration of canoeing and kayaking. Come out and test the boats, take part in a clinic or attend a paddling session. All skill levels welcome. * Learn to fish at the cool "Pathways to Fishing" program sponsored by Berkley and The Fishin' Hole. * Experiment with a neat water quality testing kit. * Ride in a voyageaur canoe. * Try your luck at the "Pooter Pond". * Watch water rescue and boat safety demos. * Take in some of the new river related displays for 2008.
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We went to this last year and had a good time. It's much more low-key (and less busy) than a festival but there were fun things to do and Blackbird Jr is looking foward to the boat rides this year. Rundle Park also has a nice playground, frisbee golf, walking trails and other activities.
Some random posts on how the Blackbird family is doing:
We are busy. No wonder summer freaking flies by every year. We've been to the children's festival, Elk Island, to the lake house (my, doesn't that sound fancy!), spent afternoons in the kiddie pool and mornings in some of the river valley parks. The baby I look after is moving away soon as well (sniff) so I've been doing extra days to help her parents out while they get ready for the move.
Mr Blackbird is building Blackbird Jr a playhouse which is probably going to turn out nicer than our actual house. So far the plan is for a tower, balcony, a special window for playing store (which may have an awning, natch) and a place to later add a slide. Oh yeah and secret entrances. Maude, I wish I were 5 years old again; I'd be consumed with sheer joy.
Speaking of Blackbird Jr, he was under the slide part of his climber today and told me "mama, I have a chrysalis in my house!". I peeked under to see not a chrysalis but a wasp nest 2 inches from his face. Eeeek!
I am so excited for some of the summer movies coming out, lots of fodder for pure brainless entertainment. I'm going to go see this one tomorrow, which looks sweet and fun:
As always, still reading and crafting. I am actually working Blackbird Jr's christmas stocking *again*, as I started it a year and a half ago. Maybe it will be done for Christmas 2008. or 2009. Right now I am looking forward to reading "Food, Not Lawns" as part of my investigation into edible gardening. I know zip about gardnening, but I'm interested in replacing the front lawn with some xeriscaping and berry bushes. I have no idea if that's going to work or not, but I want to do something about the lawn next summer so am starting to look into it now.
We're also doing some home renos and I look forward to eventually getting the bathtub that's been in my living room for a month transferred into the actual bathroom. That's right, the bathroom reno we started 2 (or was it 3?) years ago is once again moving ahead! It's a miracle, really. Once the tub and floor is in, I am going to redo our bedroom, which I am looking forward to. I painted it a dark blue years ago, wanting to create a cozy atmosphere but now it's become more dark and dreary so I want to lighten it up.
I also want to recommend my new favourite cafe- Wild Earth Cafe on 99st and 89 ave. It's just north of Whyte Avenue by the Wild Earth grocery. I have been digging their coffee and tea and have been sorely tempted by some delicious-looking nanaimo bars the size of my hand. I've resisted thus far, but the bites I've had of Blackbird Jr's berry tarts and Mr Blackbird's ginger cookies (their faves) have been very, very yummy. It's so nice just to wander around old neighbourhoods again looking at interesting houses and enjoying being outdoors.
I've been a bit baffled by the dominance of the bird theme in crafting right now, but once in a while something with the theme catches my eye, like this mobile. It's a print-out craft, easy to make. It'd look really good done with some vintage wallpapers or other creative papers as well.
On Saturday we headed out to Elk Island to go for a walk and check out the more isolated group camping site along Oster Lake. If you look at the map here, we followed Trail #3 from Tawayik picnic area along to the group campsite and back.
It was a really lovely day for a walk, sunny and breezy so it wasn't too hot. We saw many different species of butterflies, some caterpillars and tiny frogs. No bison or other mammals spotted this trip.
Mr Blackbird and Blackbird Jr heading out along the path:
It took us about an hour or so to make it to the campsite. Blackbird Jr did a great job of walking almost the entire walk and riding on Mr Blackbird's shoulders occasionally.
The campsite is basically a big grassy field beside the lake. It's a group site but there aren't any marked camp areas. By the lake there is a small area with picnic tables, campstoves and firewood as well as outhouses.
No beach but non-motorized boats are allowed on the water, it would be really peaceful for boating.
The nicest thing about it was how quiet and peaceful it was. As it's quite a walk in, we only saw one or two other families the entire walk and picnic out there. Once we got back to the Tawayik picnic site the parking lot was full and they picnic tables there were busy.
We drove to the Sandy Beach campground area to check out the walk-in tenting but were disappointed. There were only a few sites and they were not really private at all. It might be nice if a group of people wanted to go tenting together. We walked near the RV campsite area beside the walk-in and it wasn't much more than a parking lot with firepits and picnic tables. We didn't walk through the Sandy Beach campground area, just the RV camping and walk-in tenting.
