What a horrible weekend

Desperation has set in, "You put the damn harness on, is it time to go!?"

Since this weekend, weather-wise, has been an absolute failure in my books (with wind gusts up to 100km/hr, rain, sleet, thunderstorms and cold weather), I thought I'd post some pictures from just 2 weekend ago, when the weather was much more appropriate for outdoor activities.

April 24th - Spring time at Rattlesnake Point. This time of year attracts A LOT of people to the park - hikers, campers, groups and of course, climbers. Me, I wouldn't trust hanging off the edge of a jagged cliff being held by only a rope and a tree or rock. No, definitely not for me, I'll walk and take pictures  instead of repelling thank you.

So, once again, the little dog and I took to the woods on what was a lovely spring day in late April. A lovely spring day with too many frolicking wild raccoons. Well, of course they'd be wild wouldn't they, and possibly rabid? Great.  It's a little disconcerting to see these buggers (who I am definitely not a fan of) in the middle of the day, when there is lots of human activity going on nearby. Usually lots of human activity mean no wild animals, except squirrels, which are not to bright to begin with, and birds that couldn't care less how many people are around. If you can make out the one climbing the tree in the photos below, that guy was on the ground, about 20 feet away from us when we came upon him, and Brandy had a melt down. If you don't think dogs scream, you haven't met mine. I suppose she wanted to pick a fight, I mean, she is a Jack Russell and all, but she ended up scaring it up a tree instead, which is perfectly fine with me - I don't want that thing anywhere near me, they are nasty little critters. The little dog wasn't the least phased by it, and I guess she can be a nasty little critter too (good 'ole instincts).

Anyway, here are the results of our hike, on a nice sunny warm spring day, as opposed to the days we're having this weekend. Here's to good weather.

Too bad I didn't have my zoom lens with me, then you would have been able to see the look of disgust on his face as he eye-balled Brandy.

Trilliums emerging through last falls left-overs. 

Happy Birthday Canada ... and more

Yeah, I know, I'm a little late for the birthday wishes, but better later than never. Vacation doesn't leave much time for posting. Happy Birthday Canada.

We didn't attend any fireworks celebrations this year, but were rather entertained by some in the neighbourhood that we watched from our front porch. Better that way, as the weather wasn't exactly firework friendly. And we got the big show (of the downtown Milton fireworks) from our bedroom window. What better seat than that!?

Sunday morning we took the dogs out to the Limehouse Conservation Area (part of the CVC).  I'd never been before, so I thought it would be a good one to try out, and I wasn't disappointed.

Scaling down ladders on a rock face with a 12 pound dog in one arm is a challenge, but scaling down ladders on a rock face with a 80 pound dog is an extreme challenge. 

Seeing the old kilns was interesting and the dogs got to refresh themselves in Black Creek, that runs throughout this gorgeous conservation area. More information on the kilns and their preservation can be found here: www.limehousekilns.ca

The day didn't lend itself to fantastic photography, the sun was too bright and the shadows too deep, but I was able to capture a bit of the hike, and of course, a great shot of the little dog on a log. Seriously, she was on the log, and she's a little dog - it rhymed by accident.

After refreshment in Black Creek

Black Creek and Kiln Ruins

Little Dog on a Log

Burns Creek Conservation Area

Just another day in the woods with the little dog. Can you spot her?

Walking in the woods is so relaxing, well, to me it is. I rarely get bit by bugs and neither does Brandy, but hubby and his dog are not so lucky, so perhaps the relaxation eludes him and other who get accosted. Although, when they fly around your ear for an hour and a half, you start to go crazy from the high-pitched, continuous, irritating sound. It's like tiny little dentist drills try to bore a hole into your brain through your ear canal. Ok, so the woods are not always relaxing as I'd like them to be at certain times of the year, but it's a heck of a lot better than being at work.

I'm happy to say, no bugs on this outing.

Hilton Falls and Teasing Weather

Oh why oh why does the weather play with my emotions??

Only Saturday it was 30 degrees out, gorgeous, sunny, mind you a tad windy (could have been a hurricane blowing through it really was that bad in the afternoon) but beautiful out none-the-less.

But then, of course, when it's that windy and warm, you know a storm is a brew'in. And boy did it brew.

Sunday started cool, but warmed up a bit, especially down Niagara way where we spent the day.

Monday - hot hot hot again, love it! I really enjoy walking Brandy at 9:00pm in only a t-shirt...ok, hang on, not just a t-shirt, I had pants too just to clear that up.

Then today, horrible, cool - only 10 degrees, and rained for half the darn day. Now the rest of the week will be a plethora of cooler spring weather, though I'm hoping and praying for some hot days sprinkled in between, just enough to tease and taunt before the temperature drops once again. Perhaps it will snow. Bad, bad, I shouldn't say that, bad.

Brandy and I did take the time to enjoy the heat on Saturday with a little outing to Hilton Falls Conservation Area. Busy as usual, but you really don't notice it while you're on the trails. All the signs of spring were evident, from the buds on the trees to the flowers trying to show themselves through the dry leafy forest floor.

Though usually water crazy, Brandy wasn't too interested in jumping into the reservoir ... I think she knew it would have been a chilly dip. She really seems to enjoy herself in the woods, and she carried her own poop bags - how handy!

And of course, she had herself a little photo session throughout our promenade
(with her little poo-bag carrying back-pack). She's a ham, does a great job for me...makes herself look very natural, though I can see something in her eyes at certain times during these "sessions" that definitely isn't love...

16 Valley Conservation Area

Ice Flows on the bank

Fencing that runs along the upper paths

The little dog in her macho sweater

Listening to the wild roosters

It was a nice day today, sun shining (very brightly I might add), it was about 1 Celsius (warm for February) this afternoon and it's a holiday - the "all new" Family Day. This is the 2nd year for this added day off work in Ontario, which is a welcome bonus to the long dreary months of winter (and the lack of holidays that we North Americans face). Family Day is now to be celebrated every third Monday of February thanks to Dalton McGuinty. To read the news release, click HERE.

So, I thought, what better way to spend part of the day then taking pictures at one of Haltons many beautiful conservation areas with my family. Well, I only spent it with part of my family. One part is off to work today (which is a bit of a shame, kind of defeats the purpose of the holiday), so it was the JRT part that I took along. I figured it was a good idea to get her back out in the woods again, and work that leg in a nature environment.

We decided on 16 Valley Conservation Area, since I didn't want to over do it with the little dog, and we just planned on mucking around near the creek. I regret not having the camera with me the day we had a major thaw, along with ample amounts of rain. The valley was completely flooded that day and I have never witnessed the water at those levels - amazing to see. A couple of the above are pictures of the after-math of that thaw, you can see the ice flows on the banks. The water is still fairly high and moving at a decent click, so of course, no swimming for the little dog, and I don't think she'd appreciate the water temperature anyway.

Conservation Halton History HERE

As far as I know, there are two separate areas to walk in this conservation area. You can park down in the valley in the unmanned parking lot (or mud pit, and I like to call it), cross the bridge and venture out and up the path that takes you for a hike-and-a-half (if you're willing), snaking along above the creek or one of its many tributaries through the woods and fields. You can walk for miles up there, so the weather today was much more forgiving for that kind of hike, rather than the 30 Celsius and humid weather that we decided to venture out in this past summer. Or you can park at the top entrance along the road, with an opening to a few upper hiking paths. We did a tiny bit of both today, never having entered from the top, I'm really not sure where it goes, but I'll definitely be finding out this spring or summer.

While on one of the upper paths, I thought I heard coyotes, unusual for the middle of the afternoon in this area. I was going to return to the car anyway, this just encouraged me to do it at a faster pace. All I had with me was my little 12lb Jack Russell and my Canon camera. Though I know she'd try her best, Brandy is no match for a coyote especially with a leg that's not quite up to par yet, and wearing her macho knitted sweater wouldn't help the intimidation factor. I really didn't want to have to beat anything off with my camera, it was expensive, plus I didn't have the BIG lens with me which would have done more damage if need be. The closer we got to the car, the more I thought that the coyotes sounded like a group of malicious of roosters. I take no chances in the woods by myself, I'm not exactly an imposing figure, and if there was a gaggle of wild roosters out hunting, feeding on unsuspecting hikers, I didn't want to take any chances. They have spurs you know. Back at the car, I still hadn't figured out what the sound was ... but I did decided it was coming from one of the farms in the area, which relieved me immensely.

So, we didn't get chased by coyotes, or a gaggle of wild roosters, nor did we get very far in our hike, but we caught some good shots, had a breath of fresh air, and I did it with part of my family, the whole point of the day.

I always miss the woods in the winter months, so this was a nice little taste to carry me until the weather gets a little warmer.