Oh Canada!

Nothing says Canada more than a stop at Tim Horton' for a Canada donut(sorry I don't have a picture) before heading to the Canada Day Festivities at the Rotary Park.  The kids of course needed to play on the bouncy slide

And the bouncy house

And have their faces painted. 

                                                                                                               
We also got henna tattoos and stood in the sparkle tattoo line up for 45 minutes before being told we still had another 40 or so minutes to wait.  Yeah, we left at that point and got ice cream instead.  Tonight the fireworks go off around 11:00 pm so we're just hanging out at home until then enjoying being Canadian!!

Happy Canada Day!!

Lamb sitting

My neighbor asked if I would feed one of his lambs for a couple days so the kids and I headed up this morning armed with our beer bottle 'bottle' full of milk replacer that had been provided and set to work giving little lamb his breakfast.

The little guy made short work of the bottle and then enjoyed a little bit of affection from the kids.

                                                                       
I'm sure you can guess what the kids want now?  I suggested maybe we could ask if we can feed him every day until he doesn't need a bottle any more instead.  We'll see how that goes!
                                                            

Quote of the Day

F:  "THE TOOTH FAIRY DIDN'T COME AND TAKE MY TOOTH!"

Oooops!  The Tooth Fairy was very busy last night making cupcakes for the kids at school and kind of forgot.  Tonight!  She will remember tonight!

Bull on the Loose

Sir Loin found the weak spot in the fence this morning.  Typical.  My husband K is away right now and I'm not particularly fond of Sir Loin.  Which is probably why the bull gives me a hard time!  I was headed for my shower this morning when I looked out the window and saw this...

I grabbed the lead rope and my camera and ran outside.  He was not really all that interested in being caught but the way to a bull's heart is through his stomach or at least it is in Sir Loin's case so I managed to get the rope around him while offering him a handful of grass.

So I thought I had everything under control.  I led him back towards the open gate crossing my fingers that we would get there before he decided to pull anything.  How convenient that my other cows chose that precise moment to make their way up from the bottom field.  "Hellooooo Ladies!" he called ripping the rope from my hands as he went bucking and kicking across the lawn, through my raspberries and strawberries to greet his girls by the fence.  Then following them up and around the fence line put him right into my newly planted orchard.  Maybe you don't know this about me but things that I work hard on like gardens, trees etc are kind of like my babies.  I get a little emotional when someone or something messes around with them.  

I followed Sir Loin into the orchard hoping to get an opportunity to grab his rope but being that he is a bull and locked away from his girls I was a little reluctant and hung back a bit.  As he was trolling the fence he came upon an apple tree, and deciding that his head and horns were quite itchy and in need of a scratch he used it as a scratching post.  Oh look!  Another apple tree!  That one looks like it might work even better.  By this point I left to call my husband in China, where it was 12:30 in the morning, to cry that his stupid bull was busy trying to destroy my newly planted orchard! 

To make a long story short(er) I got on the other side of the fence, grabbed his rope and tied him to a fence post while I went to get the lawn tractor to tow him back to the gate...

After he was locked safely back in his field I realized that I had left the green man gate open!  Thankfully the brain of a bull is hanging between his legs rather than behind his eyeballs other wise he might have seen that open gate and made a run for it.  Luck was with me and I managed to get to said gate and close it before having to repeat the entire morning!
 

My 2011 Model Chicken Tractor!

As you may recall, I made an attempt at building a chicken tractor last year. It was a sad, monstrous thing that was near impossible to move and collapsed under the weight of a hail we got in mid July. Lesson learned.

This afternoon I started work on the 2011 Model. I only had intentions of building the frame but one thing led to another and four hours later a chicken tractor was born! Thank goodness my kids are old enough to entertain themselves because when I get on a roll with something I really do hate to stop(hence my kids eating mac and cheese for supper...at least it was the organic stuff!)

The base frame. This time I used 1x4x8's instead of 2x4's which is why it was so heavy last year.

The finished frame.
The little house half built. F is demonstrating the top hatch where food and water will be put through.
My little photographer wanted to make sure you knew I actually built the thing. I got over my fear of power tools and used the skilsaw!
Putting the front on the house.
The tractor is done, all it needs is the chicken wire.
Ta Da! Now all it needs is chickens! Tomorrow! I'm too tired to do anything else!
I may put wheels on it for ease of movement but I haven't gotten to that yet... oh and handles too. I'll do that part tomorrow!

So there you have it! What do you think? If you were a chicken would you like to live in there for the summer? ;)

What is that giant yellow orb in the sky?

Yesterday the sun made a brief appearance which sent me running out the door in my gumboots to get a few things planted. The soil is like wet cement and digging in it isn't the most fun thing but I got a good sweat in at least! Afterwards, I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures of the flowers that are in bloom right now. My veggie garden isn't worth looking at, it's drowning in water which is terribly disappointing!

Lilac
Anemone
Jacob's Ladder
(Can't remember the name of this one)
Bleeding Heart
And the next storm front moving in
Today it is back to rain. Yet another inside day which is just as well I suppose; both my kids have the flu.

Ever heard of sportsmanship?

Not much new that I can say about last night's hockey game other than give my opinion on the whole thing. The Vancouver Canucks lost 4-0 to the Boston Bruins in Game 7. Kudos to the Canucks for an amazing season and a wicked run through the playoffs. Yes, it's sad that the Canucks couldn't pull a win out and bring the Stanley Cup home but the fact that a bunch of people felt the need to start a riot in the streets just like in 1994 is appalling. Who pays for the damages when a few jackasses start throwing things through store windows? The tax payers of course. Money better spent on something worthwhile will now be filtered through to fix up the damages caused by a bunch of young people that don't know the meaning of sportsmanship.

With that said, I think the Bruins played an amazing game. Their goalie Tim Thomas was nothing short of stellar. He won the game for the Bruins by far. As well as that, there are 14 Canadian players on that team. 14! So even though the Canucks didn't win it, Canadians still did. Mark Recchi of the Bruins is from Kamloops, BC. where he has a road named after him. He retired after last night's winning game. What an amazing time for him, his family and our country that we produce amazing hockey players!

So, to the asses who tore up downtown Vancouver last night: shame on you! Your behavior is so un-Canadian! To the true Canucks fans: they did it once, they can do it again! Better luck next year! You just have to keep on believing!