Merry Xmas From The Home Of The NDN

Whitewater Opens Early!

Our ski hill has opened this weekend. It is earlier than usual and according to local information an early opening hasn't happened since 2000.
The base level at the top of the Summit Lift is currently 146cm with the total snowfall this season is at 266cm. We were there both Saturday and Sunday getting our ski legs back.

Other news this month is the painting we have been doing. Here is a picture of the scaffolding we hired to paint our main living room. As you can see it is quite tall at about 20ft. We decided to paint out the green colour and went for a grey white which seems to have brought out the colour of the wood so we are really pleased.

We also managed to get the whole of the kitchen painted too whilst we had the scaffolding - we had to get it done before we had our weekends taken up with skiing and snowboarding!

The animals are still getting along really well, here is a photo of the boys Felix and Oscar. Felix and Daphne are currently going through a chewing phase so nothing is safe - shoe laces, clothes, curtains, papers, fingers, dog's tail.......

Well that is all we have to share this month. We shall post in December before Xmas with our Christmas Message until then, have a great day!

More Sad News

We have had another month of bad news on our animals.

Monday 5th October Rachael received a phone call at work from the vets to say that they had been taken Phantom who had been hit by a car outside our house.
It was 48 hours before they managed to stabalise him at which point we saw his x-rays and decided that the only kind thing to do was to let him go. We chose to stay with him whilst he went to sleep - gone to be with his Brother. Both Harley and Phantom were 2 years old. We miss them especially all their quirky little habits.
Having lost Harley we had just decided to adopt a new kitten friend for Phantom and had chosen a black kitten we named Felix and having then lost Phantom we also took his sister , who Shaun has named Daphne. Here they are on their first day with us aged 12 weeks. They are Kootenay Specials although we think they have some siamese in them. Like Harley and Phantom they were also from a rescue shelter.
They have settled in really well and they are very fast and very sharp, Felix is on the right and Daphne is on the left as you look at the photo.

This was taken on their second day when they had discovered that Oscar's bed was really warm, especially when Oscar is in it!

We have been enjoying the Fall colours and yesterday we went a hike up Pulpit Rock to the lookout over Nelson. The temperatures are around 5 degrees Celcius during the day but around -2 degrees at night.

Today we decided to go up to the ski hill at Whitewater just to check out the snow levels. We parked in the parking lot and walked up one of the ski runs called Bonanza. We were surprised how much snow was already there. Here are some photos for you.

Oscar loves the snow and had been digging around with his nose.
The truck now has its winter snow tyres on - we are all ready and waiting!

Where Are Rolph Harris and Animal Rescue When You Need Them?

September has been a month of animal highs and lows. We are very sorry to report that Harley (aka Mister Pink) has been lost and after almost a month of searching we are fearing the worst that he has been taken by the cougar which was seen in our neighbourhood the night he disappeared. That is the reality version of the story however, we like to take some comfort in thinking that he has actually chosen to move house and live with someone who will feed him fresh tuna and salmon, and allow him to drink regular milk!

Here is our last photo of him taken a few days before he went. Poor old Harley we all miss him especially missed by his brothers Phantom and Oscar.

Another animal trauma this month was that Oscar had to go for some surgery. He developed a lump on his lip which within the space of a week grew to the size of a baked bean. He had to have an anaesthetic and have it removed and his lip stitched up. The vet did a great job and all that is noticable now is that when he smiles he shows his teeth a little bit more on one side.
We think that he looks like he is saying "Hello there Ladies........" he is still handsome and knows it. The surgery day was the day before Harley disappeared. The good news is that after waiting two weeks for the histology to come back on the lump it turned out to be non cancerous which was great news to get. The next bad news was the bill but lets say it is just a good job for Visa cards!

All this happened just two days before we were due to go away on vacation, so not wanting to leave Oscar behind to burden our friends with his 'post op care' we took him with us.
We spent a lovely week in Jasper in Alberta. It was a 750km drive from Nelson kind of North East which took about 10 hours with stops. A beautiful drive! Oscar did well in the new truck and seemed to like standing up between our front seats watching what was happening. At one point we caught him asleep stood up!

We were fortunate to find a hotel that was dog friendly and we had a suite which had walk out to the garden. Originally we had planned on camping but leaving Nelson's microclimate of about 35 degrees the day we left and arriving in Jasper to a daytime high of just 13 degrees Celcius and -1 degrees in the mornings we quickly changed our minds!

We took a cable car ride up the Jasper Tramway and Oscar came too. The cable car took 7 minutes to reach the summit and there was a nice hike further along the ridge. The best thing for us was that there was snow at the top already. Here is one of the two cars heading down into the clouds. Rachael and Oscar at the top with Jasper townsite below.

This photo below was taken at Maligne Lake.

Here is Shaun with Oscar at Pyramid Island on Pyramid Lake.

We did a couple of days of hiking and a couple of days of mountain biking around the Jasper area. This photo is after our ride around Patricia Lake.Since we got back from Jasper we have been spending our spare time painting our decks ready for the Winter. We have also just bought our ski passes for 2009 / 2010. Yipppeee!!

Goodbye Clive Hello Byron

We have siad Goodbye to Clive the Explorer and welcomed Byron the F150 FX4 Supercrew Cab.

And there is plenty of room in the back of the cab for Oscar.

Lots Of Outdoor Fun

We shall start this months blog with a question "what do you think Phantom brought home for us the other day?"

Well, not the usual mouse or bird - he actually brought us a snake!

The photo below you can just about make out the snake and in the top right of the frame Phantom's foot about to give it a left hook. We weren't too worried after the initial shock as it turned out to be a garter snake

The season of outdoor activities is here and although we are having temperatures of over 35 degrees Celcius we are managing to get out and about exploring. Last weekend we went on a day hike which was 24km (15 miles) to Kokanee Glacier Park. We hadn't been on such a long hike for ages but our very fit friends Pat and Barb talked us into it when we were at a BBQ party and couldn't say no! The photos below are at the summit of the hike at Sapphire Lakes.

This photo was taken halfway up the trail at Kokanee Lake. Pat, Barb and Shaun enjoying the sun and the mosquitoes.

Here is a group shot just looking over towards Sapphire Lakes.

We have been having some tremendous thunder storms - many of which are dry storms which create a high risk of forest fires in the area. On the news there were 100 forest fires locally after just one dry lightening storm. You may have seen on the news about the huge fires around Kelowna, luckily these are about 4 hours drive away from here and just about contained now.

We did get one very wet thunderous evening where we got 15mm rain in just 45 minutes, it was crazy. There were even large hail stones too. Here is a photo of Harley who got caught in the start of the down pour.

This was the water running off our roof - as you can see the gutters were not catching much water at all.

We have taken Oscar out for a few hikes too, here he is at Davis Creek which turned out to be 2hours of 'up' in the baking heat followed by a steep down!

This months long weekend is for BC Day so we have already been out on the trails above the house for some downhill biking. Rachael has a new bike and all the protection gear. Oscar likes to come too, although he periodically disappears to chase squirrels and deers!

That is all for now - have a good one!

Oh Canada - it's Canada Day!

This week we shall be celebrating Canada Day on the 1st July so here are a few quiz questions for budding immigrants to test your knowledge of Canada, these questions appeared in one of our local papers this week - The Nelson Star:

1. What are Canada's two national sports?
A. Ice Hockey, Basketball
B. Baseball, Tennis
C. Basketball, Lacrosse
D. Lacrosse, Ice Hockey

2. How many lakes are there in Canada?
A. Unknown
B. 500 thousand
C. 1 million
D. 5 million

3. Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
A. Alexander Mackenzie
B. John A. MacDonald
C. Louis Riel
D. Wilfred Laurier

4. Canada has two national symbols - what are they?
A. Beaver & Maple Leaf
B. Maple Leaf & Moose
C. Beaver & Grizzly Bear
D. Moose & Salmon

5. Canada has the longest covered bridge in the world (1282 feet long). Where is it located?
A. West Montrose, ON
B. La Sarre, QE
C. Gold River, BC
D. Hartland, NB

6. Andrew Bonar Law was the only Canadian ever to do what?
A. Win the Indianapolis 500
B. Serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain
C. Board the MIR space station
D. Win the Tour de France

7. How many National Parks are there in Canada?
A. 84
B. 25
C. 40
D. 60

8. How many time zones are there in Canada?
A. 6
B. 8
C. 4
D. 5

9. Which Province has the largest concentration of moose?
A. Alberta
B. British Columbia
C. Newfoundland
D. Quebec

10. When was "Oh Canada" proclaimed as Canada's national anthem?
A. 1870
B. 1935
C. 1980
D. 1999

How did you do?
Answers: 1.D; 2. A; 3. B; 4. A; 5. D; 6. B; 7. C; 8. A; 9. C; 10. C

On our travels this month we decided to come back from Calgary Airport to the Kootenays the scenic route. We spent a night in Banff then travelled up to Lake Louise. Whilst we were passing through we couldn't resist going to check out the ski hill to see what it looks like in Summer.

Here is a photo from the main lodge, those of you who have spent many a great day skiing there will hopefully recognise the bottom of Wiwaxy.

Below we have a photo of Clive our truck at the top of Roger's Pass just before heading down into Revelstoke. The guy on the photo is actually crossing the road not stood on Clive's bonnet!
Here is a photo of the ferry on the Upper Arrow Lake just South of Revelstoke as we were waiting at Shelter Bay on our way to Galena Bay to drive home to Nelson. The ferry takes about 20 minutes and is free of charge. There are some beautiful views down the Lake as you cross. If you go back in blog time to the posting from January 2009 you will see two photos of this Lake with ice!We are pleased to announce that we have the final instalment of Rachael's transfer requirements to be a Registered Dietitian in BC. After a day of final exams in May which involved two three hour exams of 21o questions in total and a six week wait for the results we are pleased to report that she has passed and is now an RD in BC, practicing on a full licence. Rachael is working at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson.

Back On The Water

This weekend marked the start of our canoe adventures for 2009. The weather is hot around 27 to 32 degrees Celcius and the Lake is the best place to be. Above is a photo of the canoe loaded back on to the truck ready to go home. This is the beach at our Lakeside Park in town. Below is a photo of Shaun with the canoe on the beach after our trip.

A couple of weeks ago we ventured back to the city for a long weekend. Here is a photo of some of the new condo blocks on the sea front in Vancouver. There has been much development over the last 2 years as they get ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Whilst we were there we had beautiful weather as you can see.

This was the evening view from our hotel room looking towards English Bay, we requested a high floor and got the 20th!

We have also had some camera fun with Phantom - here is a really cute photo and below he is being cool.

We celebrated Victoria Day on the 18th May and spent the day with some of our friends at Boomer's Landing which is across the Kootenay Lake Ferry. There is a 45 minute walk out to the beach and at this time of year no fire restrictions so we made a fire and had a lovely weiner roast. We took the dogs, here is a photo of Oscar and his friend Huckleberry.

This is the view from the beach. Even in May with hot temperatures you can still see the snow on the mountains. Many of our mountain hikes remain snow covered until well into July.

Another trip we did was to hike our favourite mountain here in town Pulpit Rock. Here are Shaun and Oscar with Nelson in the background.