Travel posts – Page 2 – OsteoPraxis on the road

Chicago Botanics and beer with Al Capone

The first part of the summer this year had a bit of a plan….and the next part was to spend some time just south of Chicago with some friends for July 4th celebrations. (250th anniversary after all…!!)

With a few days here to hit some high spots……there was a singular lack of any ‘must see’ events for the big anniversary, so we took this opportunity to visit the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

It’s quite the place, all 385 acres of it……

Expecting a hot day, and with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, we set out early…both to make the most of the cooler part of the day…and to…..hopefully….avoid being drenched in a thundershower……

When entering the gardens…the first part of the landscape you meet is the lake……beautiful….a popular spot for wedding pictures….!!!

We were headed to the cactus house first…..but to get there we passed through the bonsai garden….always a fascinating place…..

The Chicago collection was no exception…..I particularly liked the plum tree……with both blossom and fruit on it……amazing…..

….but the cactus house was no disappointment either……

Trying to follow the map…our next stop was the Japanese garden……as I crossed the bridge there was an enormous turtle feeding on ‘something’…(no idea what…but it looked like it was munching on some floating weeds)

The Japanese garden is a loop trail around an island…..a lovely stroll…..

Once you have looped around this section…the bridge off now had us at the other end of the Botanics…we were not quite sure where we were on the map…but we could see these shimmering globes on the water….so we headed that way.

There are three sections to this art installation that is the Shimmering Summer event for the season…….if you look closely at the globes…you can see my blogtographer has been up to his tricks……there’s me in the reflections…LOL

They were really pretty on the water……the big ones on land were emitting music as well….!!!

We were just too early for the blossoming of the corpse flower…..according to the information boards it was due to open the following week ( I was not disappointed….!!!)

The Chicago Botanics are beautifully laid out with one section segueing neatly into the next. Gorgeous landscaping and pristine management.

As the thunder started to roar around us, it was time to hit the road and head back to the trailer. We made it to about 20 minutes from home when the heavens opened and we drove the last bit in torrential rain with vague visibility. As we drove…I was watching google maps as roads in the area were closing with flooding…..!!!

Our next venture out with our hosts could not have been a more stark contrast to the serene beauty of the Chicago Botanics.

After a lovely breakfast out we visited a local tavern….Edwin’s Place. Formerly the Miami Gardens.

An unassuming little establishment in Peotone Illinois…..run by a lovely lady, Janice, and named for her late husband with whom she bought the place.

This prohibition era establishment was the former bar and brothel built in 1929 and run by the infamous Chicago character, Al Capone. Janice has maintained the bar and the back party room in its original condition…and if you ask her nicely she will take you back there to see the room where all the notorious gangsters partied and gambled.

The history of the place is fascinating…..the walls in the entryway are lined with memorobilia and newspaper articles.

There are photographs of the patrons themselves…!!!

The photo below of the last supper was recreated for The Godfather movie.

And Janice has maintained the floors and ceilings in there original ornate splendour…..

She even has the actual money laundering till that they used to count bills, the first unit made by NCR….and there used to be a basement large enough for up to 20 cars. If you read the newspaper article regarding John Dillinger and his escape from the posse chasing him, Capone hid him in Miami Gardens and gave him a different car to escape the law.

If you visit this place and meet Janice….be sure to ask if she will show you the special tiles in the shower…..!!!

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July 1st, Canada Day in Amherstburg.

Having taken full advantage of the quieter day ( the day before a public holiday ) in Point Pelee National Park, July 1st, Canada Day was a day for wandering the festivities in the lovely little town of Amherstburg, Ontario.

There was a bit of a delay to the start of the day to miss the road closures for a 10K/5K walk/run happening through the town…then we wandered downtown…..stopping for a gander through Park House Museum..

…..where the first of our heritage demonstrations was happening with the local tinsmiths .

…….to the park along the river that is the Fort Malden property.

Amherstburg has a fair bit of history…being right on the Detroit River….and the US/Canada border.

We were heading through the town to Fort Malden National Historic Site, checking out the food trucks/vendors and museums along the way. The museums were open for the day and we were promised some heritage demonstrations in the park.

Fort Malden was built by the British army in 1795 to defend Canada against those marauding Americans……it has quite the interesting story.

The food trucks were basically the ice cream truck and the burger truck….but the demonstrations involved fully costumed re-enactments.

So we had the great pleasure of chatting with this young man…Ben…..

….in his full ‘redcoat’ attire (complete with his grandfathers hobnail boots and fob watch which he proudly showed us…!!!) as he guarded the guns which were being prepped for the demonstration firings on the hour at 12.

The uniform also had the ’34’ buttons of the 34th Cumberland Regiment of Foot.

We took a stroll through the museum as we waited for the gun firing demonstration.

…and then back out to the riverside for the demo……we also learned that with the loud ‘BANG’ apparently you don’t cover your ears….you cup your hands in front to deflect the sound around your ears…..I learned something new…!!!

Theres a whole process to prepping and loading the barrel…..

….and then…….’BANG’…..

My intrepid blogtographer positioned himself to capture the fiery shot….!!!

….I gather there was no actual shell fired as none of the sea-doos out on the water seemed concerned…or were harmed..!!!

With a walk through the museum and out the other side to the barracks rooms we met more young people all fully dressed in period uniforms…..

..some practicing marching drills and many acting as tourist information. All very friendly and helpful.

On our way out of the Fort there was a blacksmithing demonstration…..they were branding wood blocks with the royal ordnance symbol…

I have no idea how those young folks managed that day…it was very hot…and they were in full uniform…with those wool jackets on….but none of them were complaining…and all of them were very polite and personable.

The only way to finish the day was with an ice cream on the way home….and a cold beer when we got there….!!!

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Point Pelee National Park…an Ontario Treasure.

Leaving Paris behind….but not quite out of Ontario yet….our last stop before crossing the Ambassador bridge was in Amherstburg to spend a couple of days with a good friend.

The weather had returned to the more typical Ontario standard of hot and humid …..so in the interest of not boiling the cat alive we opted to stop at Willowood RV park just a few minutes outside Amherstburg.

It’s a lovely campground with big spreading trees and reliable 50amp service to run both chilly AC units.

Even though we lived in Ontario for many years and it was on our list for a visit, we had never made it down to Point Pelee national park. So we packed up our water bottles and snacks and headed down there for a grand day out.

Point Pelee is the most southerly point on the Canadian mainland…..apparently as far south as parts of Northern California…..

Knowing the walk out to the point was going to be pretty much flat…we made the woeful decision to put on sandals…..Sandals are fine in the heat…perfectly comfortable for easy terrain with little or no elevation….but really not suited for walking any purposeful distance on the beach….!!!

The blogtographer wanted us on the beach….( Editor. I mistakenly assumed sandals were designed for ‘sand’ )

We posed for his pictures…..( Editor. In a ‘let’s get this over with’ way )

Then headed back to the trail….. (he was the smart one with shoes on…!!…don’t tell him I said that)

Tho we were past the spring season and well into summer…there were still some blooming cacti and trees along the way….

The trail we were following, tho not on the beach front was still pretty sandy…so we thought we might indulge the guy with the camera and since our feet were being filled with sand anyway….maybe try walking along the water edge….

The sand not in the water was hot…..and gritty ( in a large and sharp way…!!)…the ‘sand’ on the waterline….was also pretty sharp…and you can see the slope of the beach….it was tough going to walk barefoot…..so we gave up again…..

But then the problem was de-gritting and drying our feet….

Before the last walk out to the point …there is a huge lookout tower…(in the first picture we are halfway up….in the second we are at the top looking for camera guy.)

The view from up there is phenomenal….but it was a hazy day….

From there its more walking on sand (whilst chatting …of course..!!) to get out to the point.

It’s a strange projection out into the lake…and the way the waves come in from opposite directions they clash over the sand point…..hard to photograph…..you just have to go there I guess…..😊

We used the sandy feet excuse (plus it was hot and humid..!!) to take the shuttle back to the visitor centre…..

….then took a stroll out onto the baordwalks through the marshland……which is HUGE at Point Pelee….its a birders paradise…..

If you look really closely at that final picture above you can see we are still in it…and still chatting….putting the world to rights…LOL

All in all a lovely place to visit and wander through…..maybe in cooler weather tho…..

We stopped at the Oxley winery for a very civilised late lunch/early supper……and then another stop to see if we could see Pelee island from the ferry port at Kingsville….

It was too hazy….but we did meet these lovely people fishing off the pier……and successfully too….

A Grand day out it was indeed.

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Ontario Re-Visited

The Eastern journey brought us back to Ontario once again, where the stay always turns into a whirlwind of checking in with as many of the good friends made in the 30+years there that we can shoehorn in….. If we did not get to see you this time then apologies…we will try and catch you next time.

We were busy enough that I fell out of routine with ‘the blog’ hopefully I can stay on track for the rest of the adventuring season. The cat was happy tho….!!!

Our return to Ontario coincided with one of our favourite events…the Allentown Arts Festival, in Buffalo NY. Always mid June…always worth a visit.

Buffalo NY has a terrific history, beautiful architecture and a thriving art community……the old buildings with their brickwork and stone work…..and the colourful and plentiful murals…

The theme for travel this year is a bit more ‘where the wind blows’..(as opposed to the “Route 66 year, or the Kentucky Bourbon trail year).. .so we will see where we end up.

Eastern travel once again.

Some overseas guests arrived for a great visit last two weeks of May. It was wonderful to have them here….. we managed a three generation picture just to prove it…..

….and then it was time to get on the road again….

It’s always a little sad leaving because we do love our oasis in Alberta.

But time for some travel adventures has arrived so we will leave our buddies behind and just hope they don’t eat ALL of my trees….!!!!

After a couple of changes to the plan…we started south through Coutts /Sweetgrass and made our first stop in Glasgow Montana.

We have stopped there before…but this time we stayed at the Shady Rest….which sounds more like a funeral home than a campground……but be assured the residents and staff were quite lively…!!!

In Glasgow (Montana)one just has to take the stroll down to the Busted Knuckle Taproom.

We arrived there to discover it was the start of the Milk River Catfish festival. So there were many many people in very good humour….and even some dancing with a live band.

The next days driving was a bit of a challenge. Strong crosswinds straight from the south all day as we drove straight east. Stopping in Bismarck, North Dakota overnight we were pleased to see a pickleball court there….but the wind was so ridiculous there was no way to play.

Back on the road and weaving through Minnesota to a Harvest Host in the middle of cabin country, an overnight at the Snarky Loon kraft brewery in Jenkins Minnesota was next on the list.

A lovely spot…fairly level parking…good beer, food and people.

After some heavy rain overnight I was a bit concerned about just how soft the ground underneath us might have become….I had visions of the leveling blocks sinking straight into the ground….LOL…as ever…my fears were unfounded…

Then a stop in Ironwood, Michigan. The last time we passed through Ironwood we tried to go into Stormy Kromer.….but we were there on the only day of the week that they are closed. This time I planned a little more carefully…and booked the campground at the other end of town….!!!!

…and yes we bought the hats…!!!

One more stop on our journey over to Ontario. We had this great idea that if we stopped at the Straits State Park….right by the Mackinaw Bridge … we would get some good pictures of the bridge…..

We carefully selected a site right at the edge of the park as it looked like we might have the best photo angle……but no. ……it’s an old park…and although the site was definitely big enough …the angle it was at was…well…it was impossible….I should have taken a picture…but was too busy trying to arrange a change of site…and praying there was another we could get into.

We moved a bit further down the loop and pulled onto a site right next to a very lovely couple form Michigan. (Hi Kristie and Tony…!!!) as you can see the grade was a bit scary….but the angle was do-able.

We took a walk down to the beach for some pictures…..through the fog….(and the additional fog of bugs…!!!) ……

……then spent a very pleasant evening round the fire chatting with our neighbours.

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Watching Cowboys Be Cowboys. Sunburst, Montana.

As spring rolled around…we had an offer which simply could not be refused, an opportunity to come and watch the branding of the new calves on a friends ranch in Northern Montana.

A real cowboy event to be sure set in a quintessential wild west big sky landscape…….

The weather was cool but dry…..in many ways a perfect day for it….

A quick trip down to the border, an easy crossing, then sharp right turn heading into the middle of nowhere….this drive in to the ranch is spectacular…….

…a real feeling of isolation and probably not too different to days of old.

On the way in we had to stay well back…as the cowboys on horseback drove the herd in.

Then the emotional part….driving the cows through a chute and separating off the calves. Those moms get pretty upset about where their babies went without them…..

Watching those cowboys work is a real privilege…..the skill and the calmness is impressive. There’s a real sense of carefulness with the animals….

….and a bunch of future cowboys and girls watching the job they will likely be doing in a few years.

Having seen a few rodeos now…watching those guys heel the calves (roping both their back feet from horseback) …takes on a whole different level of purpose.

The next part is a bit hard….as the calf needs to be moved out of the pen….and there is only really one way to do that…

But it becomes abundantly clear why heeling both back feet is so important…..the next bit….the actual branding…

Several sets of irons are heated in a propane ‘stove’….and there are multiple assistants with medications (injections and nasal spray guns).

Two guys on the ground lock the calf…one on the back end, one on the front….to stop it moving while in a matter of seconds it gets branded, vaccinated and medicated nasally…

It looks like a tough job….but important to keep the calf from moving for those few moments. The whole community shows up to help out, and once the work is done there’s a feast.

Occasionally a hoof gets loose…..ouch….

This kid got most of the blood wiped off…then carried on with the job….

Around 400 calves were done while we were there…a pretty efficient operation getting the job done with the minimum of drama…then they released them back to their worried and waiting mommas…….and the whole group wanders back out to the plain..

What an experience…

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Oh Deer..!!! The Burn, the Fire….and the people who come to the rescue..!!

That time of year is upon us…as we ready ourselves once more to get out on the road for another season of adventuring, it’s time to tell the tales of the happenings and mishappenings of the winter season.

It all begins with the journey home from the Patricia Rodeo……we rarely drive in the dark…..but …we decided to head for home after the final evening of the rodeo….classic story…about a km from home, 10pm and dark……a doe leapt out from behind a tree line and took out both doors and the box on the passenger side of the truck. ( didn’t go well for her either ). Thankfully the trailer was spared….no drive damage to the truck….but it did curtail any further travel plans for 2025.

I do have pictures …but probably best not to post them (gruesome..!!)

With travelling done…attention redirected to the filling of the pit……

The old pit was backfilled in May…and a new pit took its place, more conveniently placed for the next section of the pile to be cleared.

The work continued…..Scott does love to pull out those giant beams….

….and it becomes the little tractor that could….lol……

The weather held long enough for us to get the it about 2/3rds full….

…and then Canadian Thanksgiving weekend brought early snow cover….and with snow….we get to have a burn permit…..so burn we did.

We had to retreat to the top of the dirt pile pretty soon after the flames took……it gets warm …fast…..

Very quickly it engulfs the entire pit….

Then the kid arrived in her truck……first time at the burn, she was only there a few minutes before realising how hot it was….so her pretty red truck got moved away to a safer spot….

…and time for a beer….

As impressive as that hungry inferno is…..at night time it takes on an other-worldly persona….

The whole thing was hot…and fast, it was quicker than the previous burns to stop smoking….so 6 weeks later with some milder weather we thought we could take advantage and fill again….

Monday morning I checked out the progress…..a good amount in there for a couple of days work on the weekend…….the weather that day was brutal…110 kmph winds straight from the west. By lunchtime there was smoke coming from the pit……we went to check……not good…five minutes later there were flames and it jumped out the pit and galloped across the field towards the pile…..

Fortunately we are less than 5km from the firehall…and the firetrucks responded in under 5 minutes.

They caught that sucker just in time…..it had just…only just reached the edge of the pile…..

So this is our local fire department…

Having successfully dowsed the escaped flames….the pit got a thourough soaking….

Many, many thanks to our volunteer fire and rescue squad.

An exciting day for sure…….well aware how fortunate we were that it was caught early and that great team of volunteers got to us as quickly as they did.

Next day for us……in the hole with the rakes pulling all the still smoldering ash down off the walls into the base of the pit…….no repeat performance required….!!!

Also left us a little gun shy on putting any more in the pit….for now….

So to the more regular…..less dramatic winter stuff……..with our usual visitors

…and early deep drifting snow where the route out was by snowshoe…

…we had the Christmas market….

…and the ongoing renovations on our primary bedroom……

…with a couple more reclaimed explosion proof lights from the grain elevator debris. Scott spent the time cleaning them up and finding the perfect fairy light bulbs to show them off…..lol

So that’s the wrap for this past winters’ trials and triumphs from our house.

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Patricia Rodeo 2025. Part 2.

Patricia Rodeo has never disappointed us, but I have to admit my favourite day is the ‘Little Britches’ on the Sunday.

I mean….what’s not to love about these little tiny people on huge horses…..handling them like pros.

The barrel racing is exciting with the full sized people……but nail bitingly riveting with the smaller ones.

….and here’s one that works as a slideshow……

As I put these together….it almost seems impossible to show just how much speed and movement is happening……especially when we get to the next heat of the Wild Horse race….

The kids don’t tackle the big animals…but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own battles…….here is calf wrestling…..teams of two have to get both the front end and the back end of the calf laying down….

Well…that’s what they are trying to do……

…but more often than not one gets a good hold…..and the other gets left….

…But boy oh boy they hang on…and keep trying….even when they get dragged around in the dirt…..

…..and hey get stomped on …(slideshow….click the right hand arrow)

Because you can’t succeed if you don’t try…..!!!!

Same kind of grit and determination in the Wild Pony Race. The kids don’t have to get a saddle on …they just have to get a person on the pony for one jump.

Those ponies aren’t big….but they are definitely pretty wild….!!!

Persistence pays off……..😆 (you just have to check out this slideshow…!!!)

A couple of years ago they were looking for a sponsor to add a purse for the junior pole bending…..so ….being big fans of this particular rodeo…we ponied up….LOL…!!!

Every day of the rodeo finishes with the chariots and the chuck wagons……the blogtographer looks for a different angle every year….this year he was eating dirt and fighting biting bugs at the top end of the track…..but I think it paid off…!!!

Another charming aspect of Patricia is the use of heavy horses to do the infield harrowing between events…..

…and back to the fury out on the track……

😁That’s it for 2025………….maybe……!!!

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Next one is a slideshow…these guys got totally spun around

…and this is another great slideshow…..

Patricia Rodeo 2025. Part 1.

For anyone who knows us, or has been following us…you know that one of our high points of the year is always the Patricia Rodeo. Not that I think we are ‘rodeo people’…whatever that may mean….but this small town Alberta event is something very special…..and that brings us joyfully back here every year.

It’s a combination of the warmth of this community that welcomes us back each time…and the event itself, which is a glorious combination of real stockmen cowboys demonstrating skills with an incredible, palpable respect for the animals they are working with, and the grit and determination of kids growing up not afraid to get dirty, fall over and take a few knocks…while the hands behind them make sure nobody gets badly hurt.

Not only are the competitors are impressive, but also the fantastic pick up men retrieving stock and protecting riders, the rodeo ‘clowns’ who are in there in a flash doing their thing distracting the massive bulls and steers, allowing the competitors to safely exit the arena …

..and the unseen stock handlers behind the chutes looking after these beasts and making sure no one or no animal comes to harm.

With the weekend admission fee of CAD$50 camping on the grounds is free…..and the trailers started arriving even before we did this year. We arrived on the Wednesday in plenty of time to claim our regular spot and greet all the familiar faces….but as the weekend approached more and more RV’s arrived and set up in circles of families and friends, gathering together for the highlight of the year. We get to know a few more faces each year.

The rodeo itself starts Friday evening with chuckwagons, chariots and also bulls and broncs….I think the blogtographer came and sat in the stands for that tho…!!!

The first big highlight of Saturday is the Wild Horse race……a bit different this year as Patricia is now an official stop in the Championship Wild Horse Racing. So 12 teams this year instead of the usual 6. Same bedlam tho…..

i have tried to put the sequence of the event in slideshows…..click or touch the arrow on the right hand side of the picture to see the next one.

Similar format…..the buzzer goes…the giant wild horses are released from the chutes wearing a halter and a short rope. Teams must wrangle their horse, get a saddle on him…then get a rider up there. The rider then presumably says a few extra prayers and hopes that the horse takes off around the track.

This next sequence is also a slideshow.

The winner makes it around and back through the north gate in the fastest time…..all under 6 minutes. It always seems like a lot longer than 6 minutes. (this link click is a video taken by one of the official photographers)

The barrel racing is a show of skill ….and some beautiful horses…..

We gained a whole new appreciation for the team roping after the Writing-on-Stone mini rodeo a couple of years ago.

The first roper goes….to rope the horns….

Then the second roper has to get both heels…..in one throw of his rope.

It amazes me every time they get it……and often very fast.

The next heat of the wild horse race……here’s a good sequence…another slideshow……(click/touch the arrow on the right.)

And while that’s happening …there are five other teams of guys trying to do the same. (and one girl….this year one of the teams had some girl power with a saddle.)

Always an event that gives us hope for the grit of future generations…..mutton busting……

So does the sequence work better as a gallery (above) or a slideshow (below)?

This next one was terrific….Darrel Robertson…the regular Patricia clown/entertainer had to run after this one to get him to let go….real tough cowboy in the making here….!!!

Darrel has been the head clown guy at this rodeo for many years….he is definitely one of the features that makes this event such a classic.

The last few years has seen the hard-working core of experienced volunteers who make this thing possible dwindle somewhat. To keep it alive, Rugged Rodeo was brought in to make it manageable…..this also brought new lighting to the arena which in turn made more evening events possible.

Bulls and broncs under the lights…..

Even a bit of team roping…….

…….and that’s only the first part of the story……

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I couldn’t resist putting this sequence in…..its just too cute…….same deal on the slideshow….look for the arrow on the right side of the picture and click/touch it to move through.

All part of lifes’ rich tapestry.

From Custer, South Dakota to home is still quite a journey. Luckily tho, another one of our favourite spots is very handily part way up the road.

Buffalo, Wyoming has some great little antique stores and outdoor stores (as well as a terrific craft brewery…. a wool mill…and a cowboy bar straight outta the movies..!!!)

So we broke the journey home by stopping for a couple of nights under the lovely shade trees at Indian Campground ……..

………and some wandering through the art stores and antique stores on Buffalo’s main street.

Then…its the decision whether to stop again in Billings..(another Harvest Host favourite at Canyon Creek Brewing……) or to just make that long haul home…..

This time…despite all the rain storms, as the daytime and night time temperatures were still pretty high…we decided that an overnight without power (ie no air conditioning) was probably less appealing than the long drive….. so decision made to make for home, we set off through the winding mountainous roads of the Black Hills of South Dakota…and then through the Bighorn Mountains.

After all the long steep grades through South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana……..around 10 miles shy of Billings Montana….we lost brakes….!!!!

As we gingerly pulled over to the shoulder …it was the trailer brakes that actually allowed us to stop. (Just before the highway dropped into a long steep descent) A quick look under the belly of the truck ……aaaaand…….brake fluid was pouring from the back end of the truck…..Not good….!!!

Thank the heavens for AAA…. (..click here… they have saved us before…!!!)

Now stopped on the shoulder of a very busy highway (speed limit 80mph)…..early morning so getting busier by the minute……..it was not long before the blue flashing lights of a patrolling state trooper appeared at the back of the trailer. Just checking in that everything was OK and we were being taken care of.

Many thanks to the officer who stopped……he actually moved his car back a bit to push the giant trucks out to the outside lane earlier to reduce the increasing buffeting we were experiencing as we sat. (State law requires traffic to move over for emergency vehicles)

I asked if it was OK to take his picture…and particularly that it was OK to publish. His response was that there were plenty of images of him out there on the internet ….but none of them with him smiling……LOL……

If you click the picture and enlarge it you will see the giant grin on his face….I just love it….!!!

The tow truck arrived…..

Hooked On U towing company. (Isn’t that just the BEST name for a towing business..!!)

We expected to be pulled off to the closest ‘safe ‘ spot…then the truck and trailer separated to be towed separately……but it was just under 10 miles to The Brake Shop in Billings……Matt hooked us up and towed the whole rig ….like a giant train….!!!!

It was impressive…..!!!!

The Brake shop in Billings …I could not sing their praises enough….they were great…..trailer parked in their back lot…they took the truck straight away…got the whole thing sorted, staying late to do it, and we were all set to be on our way again.

By this point it was late in the day….so Brewery it was..(Editor. OH NO I said, but I gave in)….nothing quite like a beer and a taco bus after a day like that…..oh…and to boot…it was happy hour when we got there…..so the day ended on a much happier note. When life gives you lemons….

We have learned to be very grateful that when these things happen to us…it seems like we are in the right place to have it all fixed….and have met so many truly magnificent people along the way.

It was good to get home though……despite the armpit high triffid-like weeds and grass..!!!

Good to be home……but the summer of storms…….or character building experiences was not yet over…..

One HUGE thunderstorm here at home saw our hydro (electric) pole hit by lightning…..yes the one right outside the bedroom window…!!!

It shattered, what I now know is the lightning arrestor…..a ceramic insulator…

The guy from Fortis Power had to be up there with one of our very large Ferruginous hawks screaming at him the whole time…!!!

Other than a loss of power for a few hours……oh…and it blew the control board on our well pump…..another learning experience……all was well with the world. (no pun intended…!!)