Nature Spotting

There have been quite a few cougar sightings again near our home but fortunately we haven't come across one but we have seen TONS of black bears. They just seem to be popping up everywhere! A couple of years ago we had a run in with one we lovingly named 'Dennis the Mennis' which some of you will remember reading about as I chased him with pots and pans, watched him stand on my front living room window and I even had boogers blown on me by his evil counterpart that was caught in the bear trap placed in our yard *grin*. Yes it was definitely something I will never forget or the kids! Cute and cuddly... I think not.



We've also had a pair of barn swallows that decided to take up residence in a fan outlet on the side of our home this spring and have so far successfully raised two batches of babies but I have never actually seen the nest! I'll be in the bathroom doing my hair or brushing my teeth and I can see the parents swooping in at break neck speed followed by the frantic peeping of the babies. It's sort of fun to listen to but all is silent now so I'm sure they have all left the nest again.

While visiting my cousin last weekend though we got to watch the above swallows in the most incredible nests. Just look at the structure of that one! It's amazing, like a mud pillar *grin*. Her entire home was covered in the nests anywhere there was a spot under the roof that would accommodate a nest :) I just love watching birds with the kids but I think now that the nesting spot on our home is vacant I'm going to plug the hole with some chicken wire to keep them from returning. I'm not sure what sort of damage they could eventually cause so unfortunately they will have to be evicted.

The boys have been trout fishing again and they have a bit of a competition going on to see who can catch the largest trout. K was in the lead but I think on their last trip he was topped by Opa and now he must try extra hard to catch that big one that got away *grin*.

They have so much fun going to the lake together and recounting stories of lost bobbers, tangled line, rain squalls that plague every trip and don't ask me how they do it but they have each completely wrecked their rods at least twice. There's got to be some really hard fishing going on in order for reels to fall right off! LOL. Oh well, it's all in the name of fun right?!

How about you, what sort of nature spotting have you had the pleasure of seeing?

~ Rosina

Fishing For A New Door

The boys have been at it again!

Another successful afternoon of fishing at the lake. My dad swears by heading out just before 4pm for the dinner bite... it seems to be working *grin*. K was so excited to share what they caught with me and strung them along the stick to proudly display them for the photo. He claims to have caught the largest one this time :)

We had the chance to head into the city and have lunch with my sister today at her house. It was a beautifully sunny day and we ate on her patio while the kids played badminton and ran around the yard. Just before heading home I stopped off at the re-use store where you can purchase building materials that people donate from houses that are being renovated or torn down. All of the money they make from selling the used building supplies goes to Habitat for Humanity so quite often we will have a browse and see if there is something we need.

I just happen to need a new storm door as the my old one had an unfortunate run in with a disgruntled goat and well long story short he rammed it with his lone horn and left me with no glass or screen :(

So far whenever we've gone looking I can never find one the right size and if there are any they are pretty beat up or missing the framing, but today was my lucky day! They had a newer white one that is all glass with a sliding screen window in the center and all of the framing was intact. The screened part needs replacing but I just happen to have a repair kit already so that can be fixed in a cinch. The downside is that Hubby is still away at work and they wouldn't hold it for me :( I'm a crossing my fingers and toes that it will be there at the end of the week when he should be back home and we can run in with the truck and get it. Oh how I hope it doesn't sell!

~ Rosina

Trout Fishing

The boys decided that they needed a fishing break today so Opa and K headed of to a nearby lake for a little trout fishing :) They were only gone a little over an hour and they were back with 8 nice cut throat trout. The above photo is K showing off one of his :)

It was like watching myself as a little girl. Dad used to take my sister and I fishing all the time and we learned to be masters at baiting our hooks with worms and cleaning fish *grin*. So now to watch my dad take K and to hear all of their funny stories of the big one that got away, bobbers & hooks that got caught up on the snags, or how K's leg shakes uncontrollably every time he catches a fish is just priceless :)

One very nice perk to all of the fishing is the heads left after cleaning. They make FANTASTIC fertilizer for plants!!! You can throw them underneath any flowers that you are planting and they will be bigger and have more blooms than ever before :)

Works great for the vegetable garden to! If you have a spot in your garden that you can spare, dig a hole, drop in the fish guts and then cover it up well. Next spring you will have some very good fish compost just like the sea soil you can buy for fertilizing your vegetables with :)

Now that they're all finished being cleaned we're going to have them fried for lunch tomorrow. So delicious and great brain food to *grin*.

Bon appetit!
~ Rosina