We were blessed to be able to spend part of our afternoon with Charlie on her first Halloween! Thanks to Billi & Jay for coming and bringing Charlie to share in this “first”!!
Always a wee cry when G’pa’s holding her! Must be all that hair! 😄 …
October 31, 2020
Until there’s a bottle …
October 31, 2020
Little Miss Pineapple snuggling with her mom! …
October 31, 2020
And her dad! …
October 31, 2020
“The P Family”!! Pepper, Pickle, Pineapple and Pumpkin! …
October 31, 2020October 31, 2020
Pumpkin (aka Hyde) …
October 31, 2020
And what did we do as the evening approached? Brian, Skinny and Rover posed for a photo …
Ya Ha Tinda is one of the most special places… and we’re fortunate to live so close! We missed going out last year, so made sure we went this year! We were a couple days late for catching the Fall colours, but it was still a beautiful Fall day!!
Our first stop was up near the Ranch House… as near as we could get! A panorama looking to the west …
October 8, 2020
Looking east …
October 8, 2020
Looking north …
October 8, 2020
Then we walked up to the base of Bighorn Falls …
October 8, 2020October 8, 2020October 8, 2020
We’re looking forward to going back this Winter on a nice chinook day!
We went on several rides out west on David Thompson Highway (Hwy 11), and snapped a few shots on a couple of the rides. We had beautiful days to ride on both of these days!
September 4th
On September 4th, we went all the way up to the Columbia Icefields. And we stopped for a bite of lunch in a picnic area along the North Saskatchewan River …
September 4, 2020
Looking back east from our lunch spot …
September 4, 2020
We stopped at the overlook just above where the N. Sask. River comes out of the valley and joins the highway. It wasn’t packed with people and cars, and we could get a spot to stop! …
September 4, 2020September 4, 2020September 4, 2020
October 2nd
On October 2nd, we went as far as the Banff Park Gates, then turned around. We stopped at Windy Point Overlook on the way up.
Abraham Lake, looking west towards Mount Michener …
October 2, 2020
A panoramic shot looking south… east on the left, west on the right …
After not making out to Limestone Mountain in 2019, we went twice in 2020 … once to see the wild flowers in bloom, then again to see the Fall colours! It was spectacular both times! What an amazing part of the world!!
Wild Flowers in Early July
First stop, along Wilson Creek …
July 10, 2020
A wee bit of fishing! …
July 10, 2020
And then up to the top of Limestone! You can see for miles and miles and miles!!
Looking NW …
July 10, 2020
Looking SW …
July 10, 2020
Wild flowers …
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020July 10, 2020
Looking West …
July 10, 2020
Nap time! Gregor, having a nap in the sun! We’re looking NE over-top of Gregor …
July 10, 2020
A couple panoramas … South on the left to West on the right …
July 10, 2020
West on the left to NNW on the right …
July 10, 2020
Fall Colour in Late September
Our first stop was along James River. Here’s Linda, near “the campsite” built along the river …
September 29, 2020
Looking for fish …
September 29, 2020
“Gregor, the fish go this way!” …
September 29, 2020September 29, 2020
Next stop at a ridge to look at Fall colours in the Foothills! Looking West …
September 29, 2020September 29, 2020
Looking East …
September 29, 2020
Looking Southeast …
September 29, 2020
A weather system coming in from the east …
September 29, 2020
But still spectacular on the top of Limestone and west. Looking NW …
September 29, 2020
Looking NW
September 29, 2020
And then that weather from the east socked in at the top of Limestone. The temperature dropped a few degrees, but we still had a great lunch and visit with friends!
We had a beautiful afternoon of fishin’ down at Burntstick Lake! Maggy insisted on coming – she even hid in the lifejackets in the truck so we couldn’t grab her to get her out! 🤣 And she did just great in the boat, lovin’ hangin’ with Brian!!!
June 22, 2020June 22, 2020
Looking SW …
June 22, 2020
Off in the distance we saw something in the water! This deer swam all the way across the lake! …
June was a busy month for Merry Making… fermenting, racking, clearing & stabilizing, filtering, bottling; and for the cider, fermenting, priming and bottling!!
Here, Brian is racking our new hard cider into a carboy… this step removes some of the sediment from the first week of fermenting. It continued to ferment in the carboy for another 10 days…
June 2, 2020
Two new “flavors”! … the Pinot Noir was racked, stabilized & cleared, then sent to the basement for about 3 weeks; and the Shiraz was started …
June 6, 2020
The hard cider was primed and bottled! Priming means adding some dextrose (fine sugar) … there is still a bit of active yeast at this point, so the yeast eats the sugars and gives off CO2 which is captured because of the bottle cap; thus carbonating the cider in the bottle! And the name, you ask? You’ll have to wait until the end of the month (below!)😆
June 12, 2020
Next … the Sangiovese was re-racked, filtered, bottled and labeled … Scarlett’s Sangiovese!!! It turned out fabulous!!
June 14, 2020
And the Sauvignon Blanc was started!! …
June 14, 2020
Started back in mid-January, our Snow Eater Gerwurztraminer was FINALLY ready to drink!! The instructions in this kit said to wait 3-4 months after bottling before drinking… and we followed the instructions! 😬 Barb & Gregor joined us for our Taste-Testing!! Another GREAT wine!! This white is a little sweeter, so it makes a nice afternoon wine!
June 19, 2020
And in no time at all, we racked the Shiraz! And added the stabilizing & clearing packets; and downstairs it went for 3 weeks!
June 21, 2020
And the last of our kits, but not really the last, we started the Zinfandel … with Brooke’s help!! Mixing it up, checking the temperature (and checking Brooke’s temp too! 😆), then adding the yeast!
June 21, 2020
The Pinot Noir … Pucacho’s Pinot Noir … was re-racked, filtered and bottled! … with Brooke’s help!!
June 28, 2020
And the Sauvignon Blanc was racked, stabilized and cleared; then moved to the basement for 3 weeks.
June 28, 2020
And… the new hard cider gets a name! Burnt Legs Hard Cider! Someone got a wee bit of a sunburn on Beaver Lake earlier in June! 😆
June 28, 2020
Thanks for all your help Brooke!!!! It was fun to Merry Make with you!!
