Okay...drumroll please..updates and photos!!!!

Okay...I'm back..I think! As usualy, just click on the photos to see the whole picture, I don't know why this is messing up! I am hoping to be posting more regularily..but summer is upon us and so is a mountain of gardens to weed, gardens to build, trees to cut, would to burn, and that is not mentioning anything INSIDE!!! So, what has been going on around here?? Well, in May we decided to tkae a trip back to Ontario for 2.5 weeks. The stress I was suffering before we left was huge, just huge! I do not like long drives, and I am a home body..I am happiest and most content being at home. No hankering for trips to Tahiti for this girl....being home is best! We stayed at my in laws for the first week. It was also when we all came down with a terrible cold, Jeremy and Robyn got the worst of it. Robyn spent much of her first weekend at her friend's house in Guelph. We poked around, and opened up Mike's parents pool. We also took a drive up to Creemore to buy a keg of beer for Mike's dad..he will only drink Creemore beer when he is home. I love old houses - this is one I have been eyeing for a very long time now! This is a wind farm in Melancthon County..there were so many wind turbines, I lost count, these were just a few of them! After visiting with my in laws, we went to stay at my mom and step dad's house. The first few days were fine...but my mom and I ended up in a big fight. I got the standard horrible daughter routine, then she branched out and attacked my husband and children. It was bad enough what she said to me..but dragging my family into it was not okay. Long story short..we said sorry ( I said sorry even though I didn't do anything but defend myself) and went on with our stay. I can't say anymore, as I am trying to forget about it, I am really, really hurt! Devin and Jeremy stayed at my sister's house across the street from my mom's. They had a blast! My brother and sister in law manage the local cemetary, and have lots of property to ride ATV's on. So, I got taken for my first ride! Driving with my sil was okay! Driving with my brother..was scary!! His ATV went fast. He tried to do a wheelie with me on the back. Then he drove me throught a bunch of swamps. I had flip flops on.......when we got back I had mud in places you don't usually have mud!! Here are my feet after... Here is my brother driving Jeremy (Jeremy nearly fell off the back of the ATV,and they DID do a wheelie!!) Sarah and I watching the boys play. The boys playing. My dad, brother and Jeremy blowing cans off the top of my brother's hit and miss engine. Here's a video of the ride I took with my brother...if it works!

We took advantage of the time we were there to have a family photo taken...




That's my nephew Dylan sitting beside Jeremy!! They look like brothers! I got to spend some great time with my sister and her kids too!




We spent the last few days at Mike's family cottage, and it was so relaxing and nice!!




First big fish for Devin!



Whew, one for dh too!




The trip home was long, and it was so good to be home! And we also got to bring back the old canoe that Mike's parents no longer wanted, yippeee!!

A long climb up mountains in New Brunswick!




Driving through the moose mounds in the St.John River valley...these are fenced areas with gates where moose and deer can get into the forest if they get on the road, but they can't get back out to the road again. I think! There have been loads of accidents in this area, and so this was all fenced off to protect people and critters alike.




Some kids will be really glad to be home!



A wee bit sleepy!



Home!!!!! And a gorgeous sunset!

Where on Earth have you been?

I have not posted in ages it seems! I have been away for a few weeks visiting family in Ontario...a bittersweet time for sure! I am about to start school and need to get the important real life stuff done first, but will be back with photos soon!

Trespassers will be eaten!!!

I know it has been ages since I have posted! Life has been busy and I haven't had time to blog much. It seems like spring has finally sprung around Nova Scotia! It has finally been sunny for more than 15 minutes, and it has been a real treat after a long winter of snow and dreariness! So what's up in my life and why the odd titaly of this entry???

Well, I have had 3 encounters with ATV riders who think our driveway is a quick and easy route to the gravel pit on the other side of our property, and they have not been pleasant. 2 weeks ago, I was almost run over by an ATV and a dirt bike as they raced down the drive to cut through the trail at the end of the driveway. Clearly people before us have moved huge boulders there to keep this from happening, but there is one tiny smidgen where they can squeak through. So last week I piled up huge logs and brush to get my point across that they need to stay out. The "No Trespassing" signs are in the process of being created..so I only had one metal sign ( in English and French) which I put on top of my nice big pile of debris.

Last night, I heard someone coming from the back of the property. I met them at the big pile, and they started out saying they needed to get home one street over ( adult men, I should point out). I said it was my property and they were not going to go through it any more, as a select few have ruined it for those who are polite. He When I told him to go back the way he came..he said he couldn't because someone else didn't want them in his yard!! What the...so he thinks it is okay to go through mine?? He told me to move the pile!!! Uhhhh...no....... He then proceeded to tell me it wasn't my property ( we have the survey we paid for to prove that it is) It is also illegal to drive through rivers, streams or waterways. Well, they drove right through a river and a wetland to get up here, and they denied that too.


So after arguing about it with me, the one guy left at first. The other guy drove over one pile... and told me he was coming through and nothing could stop him..he got stuck in a wheelie on the second pile and at this point I walked away. He was stuck in mid air for half an hour while he had to remove the logs. In the process, he has stolen my no trespassing sign.

I am so frustrated by this!! This is my property, and I think I have the right to say that no one rides their ATV, dirt bikes or pogo sticks through it! It is illegal to drive on somemone else's property, it is illegal to ride without a license, it is illegal to ride on the road here, you cannot drive through waterways...and you have to be 16. I have had so many kids down here, one who almost flipped his ATV over on himself and his sister... and then of course, they would likely try to sue us!!

Now of course, we will be in the bad books with everyone around here and I have just made our house a target. For crying out loud, the one rider almost ran me over...what about my kids playing out at the end of the driveway?????

My neighbour was outside at the time hearing all this, and told me I need to be more laid back. Everyone does this here. Not only that, but they shoot in the gravel pit, and the word "Hillbilly" came up...great, now we are target practice!!!!

So I don't know what to do. I doubt the police will care. The ATV association will care...but people come from all over to ATV back here, so it will only work for so long. There is one solution...that is to cut a tree down which is leaning right over the entrance point. That may be a job for today!! I was also thinking I could get an invisible fence installed and then have a pet lion roaming around the forest just waiting for a good meal..or at least a good chase!!

In other news...I have just recently been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder...not a big surprise to me, but nice to have a name for all this panic and fear that seems to course through my veins! I have a few recommendations of meds I can take but I am not at the point where I can choose to take any...the side effects are too awful for me to even consider. So I am taking the biggest and best pill of all, followed by a daily dose of another...God and the Bible..the best weapons there are!!

So, how about a few pictures? I need to get outside and do some yard work, and need a bit of cheering up after this gloomy post!!

Here's a little red bellied snake Robyn found under a rock yesterday..



Ahhh... the beach!!!! It makes everything seem brighter!




Oh bother...blogger is acting up and those are the only photos I can get on here!!

Clean swap!

I participated in Monica and Carrie's latest swap, this time the theme was CLEAN...great timing for spring cleaning!! My partner is Angie, and the box she swapped with me arrived today!! I have been very sick with a flu or cold of some sort, so this was a ray of sunshine today!! Of course, I totally forgot to take pictures of the things I sent her, but I did get photos of what she sent me!! She is very talented!!



She sent me some clothespins that she decorated, as well as a child's sweater which is a bag to hold them in!! Angie and I both enjoy doing laundry, so this was great!

She also included...

*a clipboard she gussied up with scrapbooking paper
*a clean linen candle which smells awesome!
*some lotion for my feet, which will be great after a day of beachcombing and sea glass collecting!
*a book on organizing your home school, which is just perfect, as I need to get my school supplies arranged into some semblance of order
*some really cool scrubby sponges in cool colours, which I can't find in any stores where I live
*a fold up bag I can carry in my purse in case I need one if I stop in at the library etc
*a really neat handmade card which will go up in my laundry room




A close up of the clothespins.






A close up of the clip board.


Thank you so much Angie!! It is so much fun getting to know you!! I hope my box gets there soon!!

Eagle watching

Today was one of those rare, sunny and not too cold days which we have had very few of this winter. We decided it was time to get out and explore a bit more, and ventured out to the Valley to watch the eagles at Sheffield Mills. Each winter, for a couple of weekends, some chicken farmers feed the bald eagles and other raptors in a couple of different fields. ( Kim - I had no idea until we got over there how close we were to you!! Mike had planned out our day, and we had to rush back as he and Jeremy were taking in a hockey game tonight - drat and double drat!!! I should ahev planned this day out better....)

When we got to the main feeding area, we were stuck in a huge traffic jam, and missed most of the feeding. We were so shocked and stunned to see 73 bald eagles, adults and juveniles, in the trees and field, with many more soaring around the area!! It was unbelievable!! We see the odd one at our house going after sea gulls, but to see so many in one area was amazing! We also saw several hawks, and of course, lots of ravens. It was just such an amazing thing to watch!

We also took advantage of this nice day to take the side roads back home. It reminded me so much of my other favourite place in the world, Manitoulin Island. Some of the houses we saw were just out of this world!! Following are several photos of our day out ( huge of course, just click on each one and it will be normal sized again!!)





Adults and a juvenile bald eagle looking for leftover scraps.



Bald eagles sitting in the trees. There were more on the ground as well!



Close up of some of the eagles in the trees.



I barely caught this one in time!





Robyn got this photo.






Woohoo!! This is our harbour!! Maybe a distant relative....





A view of Hall's Harbour and the Minas Basin.





Love the colour of this house!



Raven on a fish shed roof at Chester.




Robyn and I waiting for Mike!





Tide going out in the Minas Basin.