It has been years since I was at the Tyrell Museum. I was probably about 10 at the time, so I don't remember a lot about it, other than vague memories of a couple of pictures of my cousins and me, and that it was cold and rainy that day and not too busy. Last week was a bit different...

The photo above is fairly a pro pos, given the barrage of screaming children we encountered upon entry. I would suggest that a lot of the children were probably a bit too young to be there actually and whether it was from boredom, or conversely over-stimulation, but I saw now fewer than three children having a complete and utter meltdown on their exit as I waited for my mother to finish her cigarette. It didn't bode well, but we weren't leaving until we went in for awhile.

One of the things that I always love about going to my Aunt and Uncle's place, is the photo opportunities. Nestled in the foothills, there's always pretty things to capture and share. Especially in the golden hours. Plus, this year, I had my new lens with me to play with.

Central Alberta - Summer Showcase Weekend. Every summer they have Country Drive (check it out if you'd like to hit it up next year, at www.countrydrive.ca) including a festival in Historic Markerville. The website describes it thusly;

    Sunday is our annual Cream Day! This open house event will run from noon to 5pm. Try your hand at making         butter and ice cream. Enjoy local, live entertainment while the kids participate in tons of activities such as the         petting zoo which features local farm animals – always a favourite! The concession will offer homemade pies         and ice cream along with hamburgers and hotdogs. Guided museum tours will be offered at no charge. Lots of     fun for everyone!

It's true. It was a good time. A little hot out, but good fun for the whole family and we saw some pretty cool stuff. Didn't try our hand at making cream, but saw some other neat things...

One thing we saw was the miniature village - as Markerville was in 1907. I thought the church was cute, mostly for the little wedding couple (that kind of looks like they're already fighting, actually!

As soon as I saw this owl, I ran over. I recognized this one (and did not confuse it with a monkey this time) as Otis. Otis is a resident for the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, a place I'd been to in the summer of 2010 where I'd met their resident porcupine, Charlie. Like Charlie, Otis seems to love attention (and allegedly gets his nose in a snit when he and Charlie tour together because he doesn't get as much attention when there's a friendly porcupine in the area!). Weighing in at a mere 2 pounds (due to hollow bones), we were allowed to pat Otis, who had some of the softest feathers I've ever touched. You can see how his mouth is open in this photo, because Owls, it turns out, pant just like dogs. Owls are unable to sweat, so they do like our four-legged friends. Definitely the highlight of the day.

From the Markerville festival, we headed out to White Treasure Farm, a goat farm that produces wool for spinning, which the owner dyes and uses to knit or crochet and sell in bulk for socks.

Here's the description of the farm operation...
    Make White Treasure Farm one of your stops on Country Drive. This is home to one of the finest herds of                 angora goats. See first-hand how the fibre is processed from lock to yarn. Spectators will have an                             opportunity to experiment with colours in the dying process. For your children, Sunny the farm pony is                     available for picture taking. Bring your camera. Hiking socks, saddle blankets, yarn and hides on display                 and for sale.

I will post the pictures from the Danish Canadian Museum tomorrow. But I highly recommend checking it the Country Drive out if you happen to be in Central Alberta next summer. They also have the Fall Showcase, in late September too. Check it out!

So, because we were unable to see her the other day, my cousin-in-law Jenn came out with Jaxon to see us at the acreage for a visit, and then we all packed into the vehicles and headed to Sylvan Lake where Jenn had a job interview. As she went off, the rest of us meandered around the lake-front area, enjoying ice-cream, chasing (and being chased) by Jaxon, playing with bubbles and just being outside. Sylvan Lake seems to be much like Waskesiu, in that it's very touristy, but with the clouds rolling in most of the time we were there, it was rather quiet that day. No complaints here.

After the fun at the beach, Jenn and Jaxon headed home, and we headed back to the acreage. After supper, Cara and I headed to an empty field to take some pictures of her!

So we're in Alberta. Visiting my Mom's sister Margaret and the family. But our first full day, we decided to take a trip to Lacombe to visit with my Dad's brother Cliff, who we don't get to see terribly often. A pleasant surprise, Cliff's youngest daughter, my cousin Trish, who I have not seen since I was maybe 10 was there with her daughters too! We had a great visit and I'm so glad the timing worked out the way it did. Now if only cousin Kathie and her kids had been there too!...

The girls were a bit wound up from an earlier trip to the big city (well, Red Deer) but they eventually settled down.

And finally, I got one picture of Trish and I, together after 20 years. I don't think I was taller than her the last time :) But it really was great to see her - who knew you could go 20 years and turn out to still have some things in common apart from blood lines :)

I am on holiday again/still. So while I have more reliable internets right now, family commitments might make the postings a little less regular.

I hope y

Last summer I headed to Toronto for a couple of weddings I was attending and decided that since I'd never been, I would make a side-trip in the week between weddings to Ottawa. My friend Brooklyn happened to be working there for the summer, so I stayed with her and did the tourist thing during the day while she worked on/near the hill.

Recently, due to a problem with my computer, in a cruel irony (if you believe in fate or God or that sort of thing) as I was trying to back up my trip photos, the original photos ended up getting magicked away. If nothing else, at least I had posted some of them on my Facebook page, so at least I have those. But apart from that, 80% of my photos from the Museum of Civilization are gone. Quite upsetting as the skies were, as you can see, quite dramatic that day. But again, I'm trying to see the silver lining, in that at least I have SOMETHING to remember them.

Also, I feel I should share the shit out of them so that they're out there from now on.