Elk Mountain hike

I have only ever done Elk on days when the view was

nothing to write home about.. AND only with a bunch

of school kids who really push you to overexert yourself

(you CAN'T be the last one up on a school

outing with KIDS!!).. Needless to say, I have always

had it in my head that Elk is a terrible choice for a hike..

I remembered it as brutal compared to the

Mt. Cheam hike, but now I believe it is because

of the pace we kept while hiking it..

 It isn't even actually that bad this time!

I was very thankful we went:)

(So was Aneira:)

That dog ran 10x what we walked - up 100 ft ahead,

back to 25ft from us, up another 100, back to 25 - not

sure if she was insulting us or encouraging us:)

And the amount of people who take their dogs hiking!!!

I bet we met close to 20 other dogs throughout those few hours...

The beauty of temperate rain forests:

Aneira cooling herself off in the snow up at the top:)

The view is awesome up there!

Thanks to another couple who came by we have a pic with all 3:)

Mak was weary after his day off:)

As was Aneira...

Friday..

..was a wonderful day!

Nathan is experimenting with 4 ten hour days a

week at the shop, and then Friday off..

Seeing how he likes it.. I know I do!!

It is awesome! He always has work projects 'on the

go' at home here anyways, so not really like he is 'off', but...

Right now he is welding up racks for materials

in our shop at home.  When that is completed,

 he will move onto tool storage/set-up carts with everything

tailored to the machine it belongs to. 

It is great to have your hubby right outside the door!!

He has been eyeing up the tall grass

down the road for a while already;

perfect pig food he reckons:)

After a call to the owner of the property,

he was granted permission to 'go nuts'

with the scythe there..

He wrapped the welding of the racks, and took

Aneira and me hiking up Elk Mountain

after that! It was a glorious day to hike..

as can be seen in the NEXT POST:)

Thursday..

..was Courtney's recital at the BNRC Church Hall;

this marks the end of another season of lessons.

She did a wonderful job! (If the video was

short enough to upload,

I'd let you hear it for yourself;

however, it isn't - hence, only pictures:)

She did a duet with her Aunt J as well.. Lovely to hear

all those students and their talents!

She ran into a few issues with all the loose

papers falling off of the piano, so

her cousin had to go up there and help

her out:)

WOW, did it EVER hose overnight!!

Unbelievable.. inches, I'm sure!

Few pics of our livestock around here:)

Chortles and Chuckles are growing well;

they get 'fresh scythed' grass brought to them a few times a week,

as well as bins of peppers and cukes from the greenhouse:)

There will never be another weed in that garden I don't think..

It is no wonder organic farmers use pigs to clear/prep their plots!!

Romi is doing VERY well!

Her kittens are absolutely gorgeous:)

They will look like little tigers in a few weeks..

their coloring is beautiful!

These are the puppy-dog eyes that

meet me in the morning when it rains like this:(

'PLEASE can I come in the house???'

On days like these,

we think of Opa Neels...

Last time he was here, he said to us,

"When you can't see the mountains..

you KNOW it is raining...

When you CAN see the mountains..

you know it is going to rain soon..."

He is right (unfortunately)!

At least lately that is how it seems to be!!!

Just came back from a Ship Happens run...

..up to SIX baby kittens now!

And she is such a wonderful MOM!

Thought she would be a skittish & scared

first-time Mom, but she is purring away

and has it all under control so far:)

No idea if there will be more at this point!

There are some definite gray striped ones..

guess PAPA had some gray in him:)

Once they are all cleaned up, I will try get some

individual shots that will show them a bit better..

YES!

ROMI IS HAVING KITTENS!!

One tweensy black one so far..

will post pics when we can get some without

disturbing her too much:)

Spot the difference-lol:)

Pretty sad, hey?

Every time we look outside we are hoping

for SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!

That would mean in regards to the weather..

not actually what the above pictures illustrate:)

This June is something else!

Actually reminds us of last year..

same scenario - beautiful May days, so we

clean and fill the pool, only to have

it sit and overflow with the cover on

and no swimming action for the month of June...

WAH!!