Well one never knows from one week to the next where one might be... in my case I had an excursion south that began at 4:30am last Monday morning.....

It started with snow capped peaks... then brown dry valleys ....

Then ended with the city of San Diego,Ca ... from there a short ride in the car lead us to the Pacific Terrace Hotel ...

... after a short wait for a room ... since we arrived shortly after we left (3 hour time change) ... we were greeted with rooms that had a view! Well some had more of a view than others... and Terry (a colleague from GM in Michigan) had a room on the second floor that had a rather nice view!

Terry wanted a picture to send home.... just in case his wife did not believe we were roughing it out here!!

The hotel from the outside.... ours is the smaller building with just three floors and most rooms having at least the opportunity to see the ocean.... although in my particular room there was a need to stand up and look out the window to see over the garden! Guess that might be why they said I had a garden view room!!!

Now just down the beach a short distance was a long wooden pier... and on the pier were little cottages that you could rent... it was a motel really... with a rather respectable nightly rate... in the neighbourhood of 250 per night.... off season!! From under the pier one could see the beams, bolts and other structural components that began to flex when the tide came in and especially the surf began to pound.

With each wave a little shudder went through the pier .... obviously the wooden structure has been there a while.... and serves as a testament for the tensile strength of home grown wood products.

The waves on the last day in San Diego were much larger and the surfers were flocking to the coast to ride. On Thursday afternoon my cousin Rossie came to visit from Topanga, Ca and while we were out on the pier watching the waves we saw a dolphin join the line of surfers and actually ride one of the waves! We could see the creature rise to the crest and then ride the curl of the wave.... it was an awesome sight!! And it was over in a flash ..... so no pictures were captured! Shortly after that a lone sea lion made an appearance off the end of the pier.

With the wave pounding in it was easy to simply spend time listening to and watching the ocean in its relentless attack on the shoreline!

As you can see .... the wave hitting the pier are quite substantial!! It would have been fun to play in them however... time and the fact that no wet suit was packed .... slowed my enthusiasm for actually getting into the ocean!

Of course the trip was not all pleasure ... we were up and on the bus headed to Tijuana, Mx Tuesday and Wednesday by 7 am. Our driver did a great job of keeping the coach moving and preventing a few accidents during our travels.

With very little rain ... it is possible to carve property out of the hills... you will notice a fence line right on the edge of the hill.... for some reason (lack of rain) this works in the area.... heaven help them if they start to get more than 3-6 inches of rain a year!!

Crossing the border was another story.... 60 million people cross this border each year!! That would be 225 thousand people each and every day!!! The line ups supported the statement! With enough gates to make Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie look like little border crossings the line up to get into the gates seemed endless. Morning, noon, or night the line is waiting to cross into the US. Of course going the other way is much easier .... but don't let the ease fool you.... they are still watching!

When you have family in the area it is always great to work in a visit! It has been a while since I have had a chance to sit and chat with my cousin Rossie! She has lived and worked in California for 18 years and loves California. With many changes happening in her life we were fortunate to be able to spend a good bit of time together catching up on life from each other's perspective.

On our second night in San Diego we were treated to a dinner cruise around the bay. We went past the naval base, saw the ships in port and were just returning to the docks when a fireworks display began on the fantail of the retire aircraft carrier Midway. Now my fireworks shots are not as good as Heidi's .... but then I was on a moving boat !!!

As I was leaving San Diego on Friday I was able to see the city and the coast. The air was pretty clear ... and you will note the low number of navy ships at the docks in the city. Apparently we just missed the nuclear power carrier Ronald Regan. It was in town for up fitting and left the Saturday before we arrived.

The final picture in the set was captured on the return trip as the sun was setting and I was loosing some of the 3 hours gained on our journey west!! The band of sun right on the horizon was spectacular... and although the picture does not capture the sound of the jet engine.... it does give some indication of the colours and intensity !!

Well it was back to reality on Saturday with mini blizzards for the day and change in temperature from 63F degrees warm to -13C cold today!!

Well with a little time at home.... and at least a little progress made with my cold.... I finally got to the point of logging onto the home computer!

Of course things are more complicated now because Phoebe wants to be a part of everything! Which is not a bad thing... and can be fun ... when she is trying to catch the cursor going across the screen... but then comes the walk over the keyboard.... just about the time you are ready to send a message or name a file!

But what can you do when she looks up with those cat-like eyes .... and steps on three more keys!

Short post but it takes longer on dial-up!!

So does this guy look cool or what? Living on a busy road in the country can be exciting.... living on a quiet road is even better!! Especially when your neighbour shows up at your door and as you answer the door you look out on the pond to see Mr Brush Wolf --- poking around in the footprints you made yesterday while walking around your backyard!! With two of the best behaved big dogs being hustled in the door to keep from spooking the visitor we were able to grab the binoculars and take a few minutes to enjoy the creature before he disappeared deeper into the back yard!

This does confirm our suspcisions that something other than rabbits and partridge live on our property. We have also seen some paw prints that make this fellows three by four finger tracks look rather small.
Unfortunately, my camera would not zoom in enough ... but the likeness displayed represents quite well the image of our visitor in broad daylight.

Red wolves are intermediate in size between gray wolves and coyotes. Typical red wolves weigh 45 to 65 pounds (20.4 to 29.5 kg). Total length ranges from about 4.4 to 5.4 feet (1.3 to 1.6 m) (Paradiso and Nowak 1972).

Well that's all for now.... this was our nature lesson for today!!

Hope we can capture some of these moments for Sam, Ben and the rest of the family!!

Welcome to our home... with a little snow, at least for a day or two it began to look like Christmas... even though the days were just too good to be true!





Heidi was home from Honduras and Matt & Naomi were coming from Gurnee, Il. There was a new addition to meet this year.... Phoebe! She made here way into our home and hearts with little effort and soon was the centre of attention for many hours through the holidays!











She traveled well and ended both the journey up and back in the same position... pictured here on the right!! Phoebe fits nicely into the bend in your arm! While she rode most of the way in here crate... a little reprieve at the end of the journey gave her a little












Of course it would not be right to have Heidi home without putting her to work!! The only problem is that she likes running the backhoe as much as I do!! That meant I had to be the supervisor and stand around and tell her where to dig (not to worry ... no cable or pipelines down at the pond!).



Even Sam got to "make a rock" ... translation... he was able to move a big rock! Dressed ready to work too!






Our neighbours were able to join us for New Year's Eve ... the night may have been quiet by many standards... but most enjoyable ! Nick and Jen with Connor on the ladder... and Mark & Susan. When you are not jammed in like sardines in a can .... neighbours become more important and certainly play a more significant role in rural life.



Family also joined us ... Marlise and Dan decided to come north for a few days of R&R.... although Dan and I walked extensively through the bush... looking for rabbits.... we did not get any .... but we did have a good time!




With very little opportunity to enjoy our own skating rink .... we did manage to make use of the pond for one skating party!! The ice was good... smooth and thick enough to be comfortable!






Of course a little firewood and more clean-up is always a potential activity!! Next year ... more of the crew will be recruited for this portion of the effort! This year I think we were all in shock that we could still get the trailer and four-wheeler into the bush.... let alone cut, split and haul it out!!


And we could not forget Baby Ben.... the boy is just a growing concern!! He takes his meals very seriously and packs away a good lunch before spreading the rest of it through his hair and over the floor!






Grandpa George brought Eddy down for a couple days to meet Phoebe ... I am amazed that this little 8 week old kitten can hiss .... hunch up her back and generally put the run on an eight year old dog!! By the end of the few days they did manage to touch noses and acknowledge each other without any growls or hisses!!












With visits from family and visits to friends.... the days went by very quickly and here we are into the New Year 2007! Wow! Where has the time gone? I think Phoebe has the best spot in the house.... she watches the movement and yet stays well sheltered in her new little bed ... curtesy Grandpa George!

Well, once again there is a pet in the Smith household... just yesterday a little kitten ... (yet to be named) peeked out from the cage, then tentatively stepped out into her new environment. Well at least for a week then it will be off to a new home for a couple weeks!


Alert and playful... cautious but curious... with little paws and little everything right now.... it plays hard and then
stops for a nap and a little snuggle!


Seems to be quite content and not missing its siblings just yet ... 1 of 4 kittens - looks like Grandma has a new neck piece for the cold winters in the north!!


I'm sure there will be more news and pics to follow... but this is a start for now!
With little meowsv that are more like squeeks ..... I'm sure Sam will know that this little tiger really will say Rooaaar!! ,,,, when she gets bigger!

While most days feel dreary when having to leave Bruce Mines.... some days actually are!!! Yesterday was one of those days. The rain started during the night and continued through the day! With the pond at its liquid capacity....the ice I had great concerns about for skating .... all but disappeared under a new layer of water. The snow, which adds a fresh appearance... was disappearing quickly! As you can see in the next pictures... some taken on Taylor Street ... the winter is fading fast. The lake in front of David and Mary-Ann's place is mostly open water. Lots of ice chunks... but nothing to float on!



So for today it is back to the grind and hope that things soon freeze up and form a good skating surface for the Christmas vacation.
Fortunately the only water issues up north was a plugged eves trough .... and with a ladder, a stick, and a wet hand ... I managed to minimize my cold shower and remove the plug before it froze in place!