8r4d As our big #hike adventure inches ever closer, another practice was in the cards. We spent nearly five hours doing a long trudge around the mosquito-infested trails of the nearby #nationalpark and wildlife preserve east of the city. The sixteen klick loop circled around one of the lakes and strolled through a variety of forested and open terrain, but it was all pretty flat—well, except for climbing over all the fallen trees from a recent windstorm.

8r4dsfeets Bison spotting and leaping over #bison pie was a common theme on our #hike this Saturday morning.

8r4d I’ve been told that even though this local #nationalpark hosts one of the largest wild #bison herds around, it is pretty rare to see this bit of #wildlife as close as we encountered. I’ll have a story about that in the near future.

8r4d The 2024 #olympicgames started in Paris this weekend and so, of course, the feeds and the channels are filled with little else. Here’s my obligatory (and heartfelt) “Go Team Canada!” post! [read more...]

8r4d After a #downtown dinner adventure we checked out the Taste of Edmonton #festival

8r4d After missing my morning #coffee vibe because of a fast (blood work!) I am back in the cafe this morning highly distracted because of all the millions of newsy things happening around the world and closer to home, too. Sometimes my visits here spawn inspiration. Other times they only spawn tiny sample latte drinks delivered by smiling baristas.

8r4d The #running season had been brutal this month between the #heat and the #firesmoke the latter of which is burning down parts of our beloved mountain park town of Jasper as I write these words. I’ve run in Jasper on multiple occasions and as much as I complain about a bit of smoke, there truth under those words is really me holding back the anger of those who deny humanity’s role in the destruction of our fragile planetary ecosystem and then wring their hands as we sit helplessly witnessing the consequences. We logged a 7km run this evening at a sparsely attended #runclub but with the ongoing high temps my heart wasn’t even into it very much.

pixelazy This little bumble was probably nearing the end of something because she was pretty docile on the park sidewalk. I did need to move pretty fast to keep up with her, but I memorialized her efforts in a pretty nice #insect #macro and then left her to her day.

8r4d After a week of #heat the poor puppy and I finally found enough reprieve this morning for a nice long #walk around the hood.

8r4d I don’t know where you’ve been for the last week, but between the #summer #heat and the #firesmoke those climate change deniers got some ‘splaining to do. At least my basement is cooler and I can hide out there. [read more...]

8r4d The weekend was hot, but at least I wasn’t standing in a high school sports field in a local suburb-city wearing a wool kilt and dancing. Oh, and did we mention that the #firesmoke has returned? Ugh! What a day. At least it payed off for the kid and she danced her heart out and won the first first of her dancing career. Hard earned and well deserved. #highlandgames #dancedad #firstplace

8r4d #highlandgames #dancedad

castironguy It’s #saskatoonberry season in our yard! #garden

8r4d Scenes from a #walk in the #botanicgarden. [read more...]

pixelazy #botanicgarden #bonsai #tree

pixelazy I was trying to figure out what this little spider was because I either haven’t seen one of these in my backyard or I haven’t been looking close enough. Either way, the #botanicgarden once again proves the place for some #insect #macro #spider pics.

pixelazy The roses were in bloom at the #botanicgarden and the bees were busy doing their thing. #insect #macro

8r4dsfeets Despite the heat I went for a wander through the #botanicgarden

8r4d This morning’s #coffee house writing efforts brought to you by something other than Starbucks for a change. The extra fifty cents for my brew might be worth it for the upgrade in atmosphere.

8r4d An early morning #running sesh in 25C temps to beat the #heat for what is looking to be a 35C day and my planned route thru the shade was blocked off by a police zone in the woods and on a nearby path. Hmmm.

8r4d This gives new meaning to the term “field work” doesn’t it? #keyboard #writing #summer

8r4d While most of the #runcrew was off in the mountains sweeping up the last couple legs of Sinister 7, a few of us stayed behind for some Sunday #running in the #rain followed by the regular coffee meetup.

8r4d The girls set out on a solo #kayak adventure this morning, tho my adventure involved trying to wrangle the air pump to cooperate and inflate the darned thing. Hopefully they can read the map I drew so where they exit the #river and where we park the car later match up. #rivervalley

#flashback of our european vacay last year where one year ago today we were hanging out in the south of France and on the beaches of Nice.