Huey The Woodpecker

So years ago we had to get a big 40 or 50 foot dying tree cut down in our back yard

but we asked the tree guys to leave like 15 feet of the stump and here's why...

Huey our woodpecker.  He comes every year and he chips away at the dead stump

and finds lots of food in there.  It's so satisfying & amazing to watch him, he works so hard to live.

Paddling In The Forest

This was a paddle down one of my favorite kayaking routes, super close to where we live. 

We were able to paddle into the forest, usually not accessible because the whole river was flooded.

Owl Moth?

I am always finding these amazing guys in mornings in the summers

when I go out to fold laundry that has been hung to dry outside.

His awesome little precious face looks so much like an owl to me...an owl moth?

Does anyone have any idea what kind of moth this is, I can't find a match up anywhere!?

A Favorite Paddle With Bald Eagles!

This is the lake by our house.  We launch our boats here on days that we want to stay close to town.

This day out kayaking was AMAZING because guess what!?

We actually saw TWO AMERICAN BALD EAGLES....holy #(#*!!!

We've never ever seen these kind of birds here, apparently they do come this far North now & than.

It amazes me how different each time out paddling can be.  All the beauty we see.

(check out that super cool orange lichen covered island...magic...and the water lilies...magic again!)

Unfortunately the water was quite choppy that day so we couldn't get super close or super clear photos of the two eagles but it is going down for sure as one of my favorite paddles ever.

Garden Extension

We didn't get as much done outside as we normally do...

BUT we did get our sweet front garden extended and I am so happy with how it turned out.

Every single plant etc in this space, I worked on and we worked on together...

Our whole neighborhood is open clean front yards etc but we like privacy & trees and greenery

so we don't care what our neighbors think of our yard, we do what makes us happy...

 

We took out lots of grass and put in two new beds (which we'll fill next season)

We built a little garden bed around our big front tree.

I've never been able to bear tossing our old gazebo top (because my honey made it for me)

so we moved it to the front and used it as a garden feature (I LOVE it there)

The front really has become a sanctuary as much as the backyard now & I am so grateful for that.

Adventures In Kayaking With A Big Red Dog

A few days ago we ventured out during the week long heat-wave for a paddle...

I needed to clear my head from a busy and confusing week in the studios.

I wanted to sink my eyes into deep greens & reflective blues & take a breather from all my color.

This day we chose to venture down the Mattawa River.

It was so hot that I think even the fish were laying still and quiet,

all you could hear was the buzz of the crickets...

That is however until we heard the frantic barking of a dog

far off on the other shore in the middle of nowhere!

When we started to head towards him to see what was going on,

he got extra worked up and than jumped into the water and started to swim to our boats,

still barking like crazy, sputtering water, it was obvious he was looking for help.

He tried to jump into my boat, the poor thing, he was so tired from swimming,
I tried to haul him up but he was just too big and heavy but I didn't like how he was sputtering water

so whiles my honey flagged down a house boat for possible assistance,

I decided it best to steer him to the other shore which he was clearly intent on getting to,

I patted his back now and than and kept my boat pressed gently against his side,

and like that we eventually reached the other shore

where he shook himself off and peeled off into the bush at sonic speed.

It seemed like he knew where he was going after that because he stopped barking so we are
hoping he found his way home, atleast we steered him to the side of the river that was inhabited!

Kayaking is never dull that's for sure, ha ha!

Spectacular Beauty

It amazes me, how different each and every sunset is, the beauty is so much I can't take it all in...

I hope I never ever ever become the kind of person who doesn't notice all the spectacular beauty!

Gorgeousness & Waves

I get my butt to the beach as often as I can, sometimes it's daily, if my head cooperates enough...

besides the incredible beauty of it all...I also sit there and appreciate that gorgeous guy of mine XO

Suntastic Sunset

I am just beyond words that I get to have this kind of beauty in my everyday life.

This is the lake near our home, just a 10 minute walk away, there are plenty of public accesses.

 We keep our eyes peeled from wherever we may be and if it looks like it'll be a decent sunset

we head to the water (when my head allows).  My heart fills with gratitude for all this beauty!

Woodsy Walk

One of my favorite things about the place where I live
is that there is a 90+ hectare conservation space right in town...

Here you see plenty of beaver activity, damns, felled trees, something you see deer
and pink lady slippers blooming...hopefully we'll never see a bear!!!

Part Of A Lake

We spend a lot of time exploring the big lake closest to our home, we grew up around/on this lake
(we now take our niece with us and I think I see her slowly falling under it's spell too).

With our four beautiful seasons and how it changes with each one, I don't think we'll ever tire of it!
(P.S. Can I just say that these are some of my very most favorite new photos).