A wild walk on the Lynne side ...

Chum and fellow blogger, Lynne (Five Good Things), lives on the other side of Halifax.

I live toward the lower right side of the harbour down where you see the tiny island (Devil's Island).  Lynne lives to the middle left, and about a quarter inch off the map.

We planned on getting  together yesterday. If it rained, Lynne would drive to my place for a rowsing game of Carcassonne, if it was nice, then I'd go to hers.  It was very nice indeed so I tootled over to her place: and boy am I glad I did !

Lynne was eager to take me for a hike along the Woodens River Road.  The double-tracked trail, under the lush spring-green canopy, never meandered very far from the sound of the bubbling river.

Balls were thrown, found and duly returned by giddy, happy dogs.

Trees were admired and flowers were sniffed, by humans and dogs alike.

At some point,  Trey lost interest in the ball.  He'd found something better.  He'd found a rotting old canvas, metal-framed backpack.

For some reason --- that baffled Trey -- we refused to throw the heavy, nasty thing.  So he carried it down the road and kept plopping it at our feet, in the vain hope that we'd change our minds and start throwing it.

Meanwhile Wendy kept fetching the ball, regardless of where it went.

Over time, Trey ripped the backpack to shreds.  Then he found a large skidoo mitten which became tangled on a tree branch, and tugged at that, until the mitten tore free.

When that the pieces of the mitten became too small to enjoy, he found something else ...

It was a marvellous outing and I can't wait to go walking there again with Lynne.

Are you kidding me ?

Lynne turned the tables on me today,  and took me to explore a new beach I'd never been to.  Cleveland Beach is in Queensland, along Margaret's Bay Road on the southern shore.

It was a lovely spot.  The beach curved around to a point, and doubled-back through a grove of trees.

Needless to say the dogs loved it there, barreling up and down the beach after their ball.

The trees on the point were draped in old man's beard, that waved in the chilly wind.

After passing the grove, we came to a lovely little beach, covered in the softest sand.  Even though the sand was soft, and sheltered from the on-shore winds, and the dogs were hot from their run, Trey's next move made no sense.

He waded chest deep into the frigid Atlantic Ocean, wearing his warm, pink coat, and lay down !

I think even think Wendy was shocked.

12 months.

Those bloggers over at WordPress have all the fun.     Several of them are doing 12-month retrospectives prompted by a "Freshly Pressed" challenge.

Unfortunately WordPress allows for some nifty ways to display those photo collections  and I of course, am not using WordPress.  I'm starting to wonder why not.

How many photos do you take in a year ?  It's hard to imagine selecting 12 favourites from a year's worth of photos, and as you will see, I was not able to do that.

I picked this photo from January because I thought it was rather artsy.  The steps are up  the side of a WWII bunker at Hartlen Point, where I had gone exploring with Trey.  You're not supposed to be there.  This photograph represents my love of exploring and my disobedient tendencies.

In February, my friend Sandy from Ontario came for a visit,

Sandy at the Blomidon look off.

and I visited my brother Darrell and some family in Ottawa in time to experience the Winterlude Festival on the Rideau Canal.

Oh dear.  I picked two photos for February.

For my March birthday, friend Amy-Lynn, made me a gift of the beautiful portrait she'd made of your favourite goofball and mine -- Trey.  Didn't she just capture the soppy look of his eyes perfectly ?

The high point of April was a trip to visit family in Portland, Oregon.

The beautiful Japanese Garden.

Stacey and I.

May was marked by two wonderful events -- a solo visit from my sister-in-law Janet,

and the wedding of my good friends Amy and Mickie at Hartlen Point.

In June my friend Pat came for a visit from Ontario,

and the lupines gloriously came into bloom.

The Pride Parade was in July.  I love the pride parade more each year.

Me, Mickie and Amy.
Photo by Timothy Richards.

July, actually, June, July, August, September and any another month with a "diggable-day", is a good day for gardening.  I love moving rocks, shifting plants that have barely gotten accustomed to their current location, to a new ones, and planting trees.

In July, the Tall Ships came.

August found me travelling to Bear River, aka "The Village on stilts" and then on to Brier Island with friend from Ontario, Margie.

Friends Sue and Roger also visited in August.

In September I had a wonderful camping adventure on the Bay of Fundy.

My lovely brother, Darrell, visited in October,

and Lynne and I explored McNab's Island.

In November, I went hiking with Amy-Lynn, Lynne and "flat Kathy" in the woods near Lynne's home.   Actually I go hiking all the time but this photo represents a year full of hikes.

And this one, the almost daily walks with Wendy and Trey.

December found me showing Lynne the sights around Blomidon. 

And there you have it, a year in review.

What a marvellous exercise this has been !   I am so grateful for all the family and friends who have visited and for all those who live nearby.

Gardening, hiking, exploring.  Gosh I'm lucky.

Kathy's day out.

Some of my best friends are Bloggers.  They're a marvellous bunch, and Kathy of UpWoods fame is one of the best.  Though I've never met her, I emailed her yesterday to suggest that she join me and Amy-Lynn and Lynne for a hike today, exploring the woods of Nova Scotia.   She said "yes", she'd love to join us.

I sent her the directions, routing her through Canada in order to cut 300 km off the 1,600 km trip and cut the travel time down to a mere 31 hours.

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So, today's post is about the  lovely day we would have had, if all those miles had not stood between us and a real day out, with  the original Lake Superior Spirit  --  Kathy of "UpWoods" fame.

As it's hunting season, it was important for Kathy to wear "hunter orange".

A bit embarrassing when the a breeze
 blew up Kathy's "skirt".

Initially she was pretty quiet, but after a cup of tea and a lovely lunch, she was eager to explore the rock-strewn landscape.  So off we went.

She and Amy-Lynn walked with their heads inclined toward each other, chatting and giggling.  I found this rather unnerving as each time I wandered close to them, they'd stop talking.  Were they talking about me ?

 Kathy was quite curious about the Innukshuk.  We explained that they spontaneously appear in all sorts of odd locations.  I bet there are lots of them scattered about her beloved "upwoods".

We were concerned when Kathy insisted on wearing a fuzzy, bear hat...

Amy-Lynn and Kathy hiding behind a tree.

It's very important to maintain proper hydration.

From a distance we could hear the sound of tumbling water.

For a while Kathy just sat quietly by the river.  I wasn't sure, but I think I heard her say, "Ohmmmmmm".

"Where'd she go?"

Oh there she is, hiding behind that boulder.

"C'mon Kathy,  let's catch up with the others."

Kathy was mite nervous posing for this photo with Wendy and Trey.  Trey had just lost his ball in the woods, and when he can't find his ball, he often grabs the nearest  STICK !

And this is what he does to sticks ...

Happily, Trey took an instant liking to Kathy.  What dog wouldn't ?

Tired from our lovely walk, we headed back for another cup of tea and a rest.

Lynne and Kathy chatting on the couch.

Amy-Lynn and I wanted to get back to the city before dark, so it was time to go.

"Bye Kathy".

Kathy waves "Good bye" from the door.

She was staying for a sleep-over at Lynne's.

g'night.

Can't wait to have more adventures with my blogging buddies.