And we're back!

I was hoping to start posting earlier than this, but my body demanded that I take some time to rest and relax as best I could before starting back to work. Just to warn you, this post is a little long... photos will be added a little later.

David and I left for Newfoundland a couple of days after my last post. It was my grandparent's 70th wedding anniversary and family traveled from all over to be there to help them celebrate. Unfortunately, my grandfather fell ill just a few days before the big party and was taken to hospital (he's doing very good now, and is back home), so my grandparents ended up spending their anniversary in the hospital. The party went ahead as scheduled and we made a video for them with all their well-wishers. For the rest of the week, my grandparents had a never ending line of visitors as everyone stopped by to visit.

As for the rest of our vacation, David finally achieved his goal of climbing Gros Morne Mountain (the mountain the National Park is named for).

On our way back, we decided to stop over in PEI for one night. David had never been there before, and there was a mini mill on our way that we could visit (it's David's dream that in addition to an alpaca farm, we also process and spin our own fiber). We had a beautiful campsite at Lord Selkirk Provincial Park, and spent a couple of hours touring and learning about the Belfast Mini Mill. We met some wonderful people and had a great time!

We timed everything perfectly - we made it back home just in time to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary!

That week was quite hectic as I raced to finish putting together a show book for the Navan Fair Alpaca show the following week. Once it was all done and sent off to the printers I had a couple of days to relax before the Alpaca show started. Once again, we volunteered as Alpaca Security and camped in the alpaca tent with the animals. It was kind of noisy, and I'll admit I didn't get as much sleep as I was hoping for, but it was much quieter than last year! We had a great time at the show; I even had some family come by to see what it was all about.

A couple days later and I was back to work. Looking back our summer passed in a whirlwind. Now I'm looking forward to our labs starting up and getting back into the swing of things!

And for those that may be curious: planning for our next Halloween party is well under way...

Tiny break

With summer finally in full swing, we're going to take a couple of weeks off to recharge our batteries. We'll be back in August with some new adventures!

New Pony!

Our neighbours bought a new pony a few months back, and she finally arrived last Saturday morning. Her name is Kate, and she is 8 years old. They got her to teach their young daughter how to ride. (The still have Zara, the grey mare. She is in the shelter... you can kind of see her legs in this picture.)

Silver, the pony they had last year, was too nervous and they were worried that he might throw their daughter if something happened to startle him. He was sold to an equestrian centre, where they will work with him to get him more used to being around people. Eventually, he will also be able to teach new young riders how to ride.

Cats go Free!

After unsuccessfully trying to keep our cats within our "enclosure" (i.e., our deck) David decided it was time to let them run free in our yard. So far, we'd only had 2 cats who came and went as they pleased. Today, that number is up to seven!

Cleo exploring

 What's really cute about it, is that several of them like to stay together as they explore the yard.

Kali, Cleo, and Pepper, intrigued by the garage...

If either one of us goes out with them, they have a tendency to lay down near us and, usually, roll around.

Caesar and Cleo, taking a break

Holiday Weekend Recovery

I have been spending the last few days finally enjoying my vacation. After the craziness of garden work leading up to our Canada Day BBQ on the weekend (my "deadline" to have the gardens done), I felt I needed a few days to truly recuperate.

We did have a pretty busy weekend... on Friday we went to Ottawa to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We only got to see Kate on the big screen as they arrived at Parliament Hill, but did manage a glimpse of Prince William as they sped by in their car, leaving Parliament Hill. We had a great time!

Saturday morning came early as we started to prep for our BBQ that afternoon. It was an afternoon & evening affair, ending with a bonfire and marshmallow roasting. We had a great turn out, 24 for of us in all!

Since then, we've been relaxing, watching some movies, and enjoying the sun!

For those of you in the States, I wish you a, albeit late, Happy 4th of July!

Happy Canada Day!

Finally DONE!!!

I am absolutely thrilled this morning! Last night we finished our last two flower gardens! First of all, the shade garden was only missing a few annuals on the front side, so it only took a few minutes to finish it off.

Front of the Shade Garden                         Back of the Shade Garden

While I was working on the shade garden, David started to tackle our last garden overhaul. We had already removed the stones, and David started by removing the top 4-6 inches of soil and "sod" (mostly weeds).

Once the sod closest to rock border was removed, I rolled the rocks back into place.

By the time we were ready to plant, the mosquitoes were out in full force... and by that I mean swarms of them! We finally finished the garden just after 9pm... I give you our finished garden!