Fall at its best

The first full week of Fall sure was spectacular on all fronts.  I do not recall the weather being so nice even this past Summer.  We sure took advantage of it.  We spent a lot of time outdoors, going for walks, sitting on the deck, gardening and also went to Algonquin Park on Friday to take in the Fall colours. They were at their peak.  We couldn't have picked a better day to go.  We walked many trails, some pretty steep, and Russell took wonderful photos, all picture perfect if you ask me.

It was a nice day.  We took Cooper with us and he was a trooper walking all those trails.  Needless to say that with his full coat, he is a leaf magnet, but he didn't mind, neither did we.  It was fun, we met lots of people with their dogs and it was just majestic to take in all the colours.  I can see why people come from far away just to see the leaves in the Fall.  And there were bus loads of people.  We brought lunch and ate it at the Lake of Two Rivers Picnic Ground and Beach then carried on for one last hike.  We got home feeling a little tired from all the walking but it was worth it.

Unlike last Sunday, which was soggy, today is another beautiful and warm day.  We will go on the boat after lunch and check out the colours from the water.  They should be very nice. Who knows, this could be the last ride of the season.

This is a short blog as there is not much else to talk about except the weather!  Everyone that I spoke to this week was saying the same:  let's take advantage of this weather while it lasts.  And that is what we are doing.

I include a few of the pictures that Russell took.  Hope you enjoy them.  I wish you all a great week and I wish all of us more of the same weather in the weeks to come.

Sun peeking through a blazing canopy.

Autumn fire reflected on a watery mirror in Algonquin Park.

Roadside splendour.

Anne and the Coop on the trail...Hardwood Lookout.

A little rest break and photo op for Anne and the Coop.

Soggy Sunday

We woke up to fog, thunder, rain and now we have more rain.  Huge downpour and we've had about 1/2 inch so far.  It looks like it will rain all day....There are two events going on in Huntsville this weekend.  The Fall Fair has been on since Friday night and it ends tonight.  I feel bad for the organizers and the "fair goers".  Although Friday was beautiful, the weather hasn't worked in their favour.  It is too bad especially when these events are planned a year in advance and take place in the outdoors.  The other thing going on is the Sandhill Nursery Fall and Christmas Open House.  Although they have some tents to allow for some of the activities, much is happening outdoors in the gardens.  We had planned on going today, and we may go if the rain stops, but I'm not holding my breath.  Luckily, for them and for us, the Open House will go on until Thanksgiving Weekend. They do a wonderful job at decorating for Fall, Halloween and yes...Christmas.

So, it looks like this will be a quiet Sunday.  I have already made a batch of cauliflower and celery soup, marinated some chicken to be used in a Pho Soup that I will make for dinner tomorrow night. What else....I made some mashed cauliflower which looks like mashed potatoes.  Nice change and low carb if you care about that.  Two loads of laundry are done. It is 10:30 am and I'm now writing my blog.  Cooper is having a nap and Russell is doing some photography stuff on-line.  It's all good despite the weather.

This past week was uneventful.  Actually not true..... Russell was chopping some wood and....the axe fell on his foot and punctured his leather boot and of course the top of the foot.  The cut was actually relatively small with not too much bleeding but he did damage the tendon in his toe.  The toe is now limp and hangs down.  It's actually funny to talk about it now but it could have been much worse.  Guess what he will be buying this week:  steel toe boots!

We continue to have tons of acorns that fall on the deck and grass.  I can't believe that there are still some left in the oak trees after all the wind that we've been having.  The deer continue to spend a lot of time on our property.  Cooper was watching one that was awfully close to the front deck.  He didn't bark but he was growling a little bit.  When they get that close, he sees it as an intrusion.  I agree... if they didn't eat our plants, it wouldn't bother me but now they are becoming seriously brazen.  We are on our second, and last, Fall pot outside.  In a matter of minutes one day last week, when we had our backs turned, one came and ate the flowers.  Having said this, I guess it is better to have deer than moose in our backyard.  One late afternoon last week, a moose was spotted on the front lawn of the Huntsville Animal Hospital on Highway 60.  The attached picture was posted on their Facebook page.  That is the hospital where we go with Cooper.

This coming week is looking nice and warm so we may go on the boat.  We also want to go to Algonquin Park to take in the Fall colours.  Russell is following the leaf report.  We hope to go in the next two weeks.

Although we are done with agility for the year, we practice the Weave Poles almost every day. Cooper understands the "weave" command completely.  He just needs to learn to weave around each pole as opposed to every other pole.  But he's getting there.  Today will be a good day to do more training.

My parents are well and are getting ready to move in a month from now.  We will be there to make sure the move goes smoothly.  This will be their first move in 53 years.  They look forward to it.

This is it for this week's blog.  It is still raining, quite heavily.  Cooper just woke up and Russell will take him outside for his bathroom break.  He does not like the rain at all.  He will do as he always does when it rains: he will follow the side of the deck that is covered, and dry, and will quickly go down the steps and do his business.  Oh, but he will also be covered by a golf umbrella to minimize getting wet.  Spoiled or what?

I wish you all a nice Sunday and a great week ahead.  Today's pictures are of Cooper and the moose.

Moose on the loose at Algonquin Animal Hospital.

Cooper being 'knotty' with his gift from uncle Frank.

The Coop on deer patrol on the foyer steps.

The Heat Is On

This morning, we woke up to an outside temperature of +3 celsius.  In our bedroom, it was 58 F.  In the rest of the house, a mere 60 F.  So, I had no choice but to agree with Russell to turn on our heating system.  As I am writing this blog, the whole house has now reached a more comfortable temperature of 64 F and the geothermal unit with radiant heated floors is doing its thing.  We have lived in this house for over two years now and we've never had to turn on the heat before October 1.  I truly hope this is temporary and that we will be getting warm weather again before Winter sets in.  It seems too early to be that cold.  Oh well, it is what it is.

This past week was good.  I started my FitBody Bootcamp on Monday and I absolutely love the workout for a couple of reasons.  First, it is an intense total body workout. No muscle is left untouched. Second, this workout is done in only 30 minutes, non stop.   I am amazed at how much we do in such a short amount of time.  Not to mention how much I sweat.  Oh yes, lots of sweating going on.  The class size can be anywhere between 4 to 15 people, depending on the time of day.  I was always skeptical about this type of workout but I'm sure glad I signed up for the 6 week bootcamp. It is fun, challenging and it makes me feel good.

Russell is doing well and continues his workouts with his trainer.  He thought about doing the bootcamp but with his back and knee issues, his trainer does not recommend it.  Good call.

The leaves are starting to change quite rapidly.  The chipmunks and the squirrels are very busy gathering food, especially acorns,  for the Winter.  This year, we have tons and tons of acorns in our oak trees.  The branches are so heavy with them that they break and fall in the Coop's backyard, much to his delight.  Cooper loves retrieving acorns.  It's his favorite game.  We throw an acorn at him, he gets it, tries to crack it and will drop it when we say "drop".  Then we start again.  Fun!

Our Coop is doing well.  He is such a good dog.  We had friends over yesterday and they noticed a change in him in terms of maturity.  Sure, he is still a crazy pup but he is much calmer now when we have visitors.  Having said this, he loves playing with people and loves showing off his tricks, which he did last night.

Last week, I promised you a video that I took of the fawn with the "parents" not too far behind.  So here it is, thanks to Russell who put it together for me this morning. This fawn was born in early May and is already quite grown. Not sure if it's a female or male, I haven't been close enough to find out....but it is not afraid of being close to our house.  I saw it again just outside our kitchen window after lunch.  No doubt it is getting in shape with the hopes that Santa will choose him as part of his Christmas crew.  Enjoy!

This is it for my blog this week.  I wish you all great week and stay warm!

Summer is still hanging on...

Nothing pleases me more than a sunny day, no matter what the season. Do I prefer the warm seasons over Winter? Probably yes, but give me sun in the Winter, and I'm a happy camper.  Having said this, today is a glorious Summer day and the same is forecasted for the next few days.  So far, September has been quite nice and I expect that we will have a beautiful Fall.  This time of year brings a lot of nice smells and colours, be it the smell of the leaves turning red, the smell of the fall potpourri that we have in our house now,  the beautiful Fall mums which we bought today.  I am not trying to rush Summer out but it is nice to slowly transition into the next season.  That is what living in Canada is all about.

This morning, we noticed a beautiful Monarch on our front door.  Russell was able to take a picture.  I just looked outside and it is still there. We have been in and out of the door all day and it hasn't moved.  It is most likely resting, preserving its energy before the long flight to Mexico for the Winter. Nature at its best.

All is good for us and we had a good week.  Our clover patch in the back is growing nicely as you can see from the picture.  I am quite happy with it.  It is covering a whole area which used to be covered with tall weeds.  It is nice and thick.  There are a few small spots that need reseeding and I will do that this week.  When we planted the clover, we didn't realize that the deer LOVE clover.... how silly of me to plant something that the deer love.  It seems, however, that they prefer other plant materials such as wild flowers and ordinary grass.  They have been on the clover patch on more than one occasion and they have not touched it.  Surely they know it's there..... I have to say that the deer  are truly brazen and not afraid of us in the least.  They have been hanging around our house a lot lately, including the baby fawn.  I took a video of the fawn outside our deck, he/she was watching me and didn't move.  I hope to include the video in my blog next week.

Today the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka is taking place in Huntsville.  For those who are not familiar with 70.3, it is the number of miles that the athletes cover during this triathlon.  We went for a walk on Fairy Vista trail, along Highway 60, and we watched many athletes complete the final leg of the triathlon, which is the run.  It started with the Swim event at Deerhurst Resort, followed by the Cycling event in Dwight, and the Run in Huntsville.  We saw people of all ages and shapes taking place in this event.  Amazing to watch their endurance and strength. Congratulations to all for competing today!

While on the topic of shape.....tomorrow I start a 6 week Fit Body Bootcamp Challenge at our gym in Huntsville.  This Bootcamp formula is not unique to our gym and is being used in many gyms around the world.  It is a 30 minute, high intensity interval training and I have registered for 4 sessions each week.  About 20 people signed up for this 6 week challenge.  I thought it was time for me to switch up my workout and do something different.  We shall see how it turns out.  Stay tuned....

My parents are doing well and are getting ready to move. Although their house has not sold yet, they will be moving to their new condo by the third week of October.  We will be helping out during that time. It will be a new beginning for them and they look forward to it.

This is it for this week's blog.  It is almost 5 pm and I have to get Cooper's dinner ready.....on the menu tonight:  1/4 Cup of Lamb and Lentils Grain-Free Fromm kibbles and 5 dental kibbles.  Yummy!

Have a great week everyone!

Monarch resting before the long migration!

Clover on the septic burm - see any of 4 leafed ones. Mine!

Deer looking at all that clover...wondering whats for dinner?!