July 31st

11pm: A neat little bit of kit for my I-pad arrived today - plug this into the amp & you have a portable electronic set of pedals & effects. Looking forward to having a play around.

July 30th

8pm: Here I am coming in the opposite direction, heading west from Toronto to Calgary. Calgary has been plagued by violent thunderstorms all summer, and tonight was no exception - we dodged the worst of it coming into land, but it was still a very bumpy ride. This is probably over Drumheller. we are aiming for the patch of light, but hitting mostly angry storm clouds!

July 29th

5pm: This is work! We were bread & wine tasting at a local college in the Niagara region. My company makes bread & bakery products, the college is the leading wine college in the region. We have partnered up in some research projects at the links between bread & wine are numerable. Here we are pairing the local wines with different types of sourdough breads, amazing stuff - some of the combinations were phenomenal. I am lucky in that my line of work interests me, being a foodie helps - we later had a really great meal at one of the local wineries in beautiful surroundings. Not every work day is so pleasurable!

July 28th

10pm: It wasn't easy getting a shot of Niagara Falls, first the darkness of the surroundings & the constant colour changes projected by the lights onto the water. Secondly the immense crowds of people there for a free firework show. It was a depressing place, ugly, rampant commercialisation of the very worst kind. You are even forced to walk through a horribly, tacky mall to get near the falls. I hated it so much. I am sure when the falls were discovered they were an amazing sight in their natural surroundings, now they are almost a secondary diversion to the casinos, Hortons, MacDonalds, Burger Kings & worse littered all around them & the tack vendors trying to sell glowsticks, beads, photographs etc etc. Horrible!

July 27th

8.30pm: Here I am somewhere over Eastern Manitoba on my way to Toronto for a few days work. Lovely evening for flying, this is an Air Canada plane - i am switching allegiance from Westjet to AC in a vain attempt to rack up some frequent flyer points!

July 26th

11pm: Amongst the illness of last week, I wasn't much good for celebrating Nicky's birthday - I made up for it today whilst in between meetings in Calgary by buying her the GPS watch she wanted for her running activities. Not convinced that she will use it properly, technical stuff is not her strong point but she is doing so well with her running, that anything that helps her to be better at it, is fine by me.

July 25th

5pm: I felt tired after yesterday's exertions so it was a housebound day - but the kids were restless so we took them up to the park just up the road. Charlie is an acrobat, make no mistake - fearless & agile.

July 24th

2pm: After a week of inactivity I needed to get out & about, we walked from our house to the downtown - hot again & the flora in full bloom. This is by the little bridge over the creek in the park on the south side of the Bow River, actually after 5 years I have no idea what this park is called - you can see the snowless peaks of Mount Rundle in the background!! We ate at our favourite Thai bus and then meandered slowly back - an invigorating walk.

July 23rd

7pm: Finally my strength & vigour is coming back, enough to take the kids fishing at the local lake. tabby has her own little rod, but the moment she starts it gets tangled up & all in all it is a futile exercise at this stage. Charlie's attempt is much more simple in execution, he takes his little wooden reel along with the magnet on the end, great for catching the wooden fish in his fishing game back home, not so effective in the real world. A gloriously warm day, nice to be back up & at it.

July 22nd

7.45pm. I adore these little spiders that we occasionally find in our back yard. They are the size of a grain of rice, but when photographed with my macro lens they reveal their charm (well in my book anyway!). They are Jumping Spiders of the species Salticidae, they have incredible eyesight as you can see from the picture. It took me ages to get this one to stand still long enough to photograph him. Moments after this he leaped off & that was that.

July 21st

7pm:
All summer we have had the same predictable pattern, warm, sunny mornings, cloudy afternoons & intermittent thunder storms. Well another storm just rolled through a moment ago, leaving this rather fetching rainbow in it's wake. I had to venture out onto our soggy front deck to take the picture - worth it I think.

July 20th

3pm: I am not one for lying around in bed all day, I even started working again a bit - fielding some calls & doing emails. I was buoyed by the beauty in our back garden, the Wild Rose is everywhere - this plant, so abundant out here is the official emblem of Alberta. It is a magnet for bees, butterflies & beetles - the roses wither & turn into rosehips from which you are able to, although I never have, make tea, jam and other such things.

July 19th

9pm: Tired, tired, tired. Not working for the next few days - the drugs make me tired & I am on a vast concoction of pills to help get over this as fast as possible.

July 18th

4pm: I was well enough to drive slowly home today, 6 hours again up & over the Rockies and back to Canmore. Here we stopped again at Rogers Pass, Tabby & Charlie stretched their legs, squashed some ants & were spoilt with nasty sweets from the gift shop. Not as much pain today, but now very, very tired.

July 17th

11am: Shingles!I was right, the reactivation of the dormant chickenpox virus...strange, supposed to be a disease in the elderly but the doctor said stress, fatigue or just generally being run down can cause it to resurface. I had the symptoms looking back, especially the intense pain in my back & legs. Luckily I acted quickly & they gave me anti-virals drugs today which should help diminish the effects & duration of the illness. It is not contagious thankfully. We popped out in the morning to the local Kelowna Farmers Market _ i need to eat lots of fruit, Vitamin C is a major nutrient in combating the disease. Charlie liked the fruit at the market, here, as per usual he is wearing some of it. Another boiling hot day, evident in his flushed, sweaty complexion.

July 16th

7pm: The pain has subsided a bit, still sore but my legs are coming out in little rashes - looked it up on the Internet - shingles??!! Will visit the doctor again here in Kelowna tomorrow. Managed to get out with the kids after work & visit Moxies, Charlie attempted to soothe my pain by tipping that full glass of Diet Coke all over me moments later!! The kids & restaurants don't wholly mix.

July 15th

11pm: The pain is still there, just as bad - doctor says it is a pulled muscle, I am not so sure - he prescribed a muscle relaxant, it helps me sleep. Still had to work in the heat all day though. Crap picture but photography was not uppermost in my mind today - this is the view from the hotel window, Orchard Mall & Highway 97 in Kelowna - lovely.

July 14th

7pm: Another pain ridden day. my back & legs are on fire. Still had to work though, 6 hours on my feet did not help. I just about had it in me to pull over & capture an otherwise beautiful (and steamingly hot) day. This is the view towards Coldstream ,just south of Vernon BC. The water is Kalamalka Lake.

July 13th

11pm: Oh man! Am i ever in pain, so much pain - something wrong with my back. It has been a little sore for a couple of days, but today I made the 6 or so hour drive to Kelowna for work & was in agony most of the way - nerve felt pain like it before. I even had an ice pack from the pharmacy on it, but to no avail - these things aren't doing much good either.

July 12th

11pm: This is my nod to the Calgary Stampede which is on at the moment, although tonight's event was marred by freakish weather - monster hailstones & a perfect storm. To be honest I am not interested in attending the Calgary Stampede for a few reasons, but have enjoyed the Millarville rodeo down the road (where I did my bike ride a few weeks ago) - it is more down to earth, authentic some may say & this photo (of a photo) is a beautiful mystery barrel racing girl who raced that day back in 2008.

July 11th

11pm: Just finished practising on my new lap steel, kind of hard getting used to the picks required to play the instrument properly & I am still awaiting a proper bar. The sounds you can get out of it are pretty sweet even now - must practise more. Was also the World Cup Final today, was pleased with the Spanish win & actually enjoyed what many said was a dour, spiteful final. I thought it was rather absorbing & could have swung either way.

July 10th

10am. Birthday breakfast at Harvest Cafe in Downtown Canmore, heart attack on a plate but so good - one of Harvest's famous Cinnamon Buns. Very enjoyable with the family & a relaxing day in which not much was done, due to rain but i cooked a special family birthday dinner & we went moose hunting afterwards up to Kananaskis Country but saw not much other than deer & gophers as we sloshed through the rain!!

July 9th

2pm. Day off today as it's my birthday tomorrow, met George & Lesley for lunch from the brilliant new Thai Food truck that has appeared in Canmore! Afterwards a visit to the venerable ice cream bus that appears each summer here - Caramilk Ice cream mmmmmmmm!!

July 8th

5.30pm. One of the welcome features of a Canmore summer is the weekly farmer's market outside the Town Hall. It's not a huge affair but provides the opportunity to buy some interesting local produce. I was there late today, as it was closing down in fact but still picked up fresh local potatoes & tomatoes.

July 7th

11pm: This large moth flew in through the open kitchen door this evening & had to be rescued from the lampshade, it didn't seem any worse for wear. A bit of googling showed it to be a St Lawrence Tiger Moth.....fond of Birch, Aspen & all the other trees that are in the forest a few yards from our back door.

July 6th

9pm: On my way home from soccer training, a lovely warm, mosquito free evening & a stunning sunset - without the polarizing filters on my camera it was hard to do it full justice.

July 5th

5pm: Summer in full bloom at Wilson way, the rain in recent weeks & now the sudden warmth has worked ownders in our garden!

July 4th

10pm: Someone reminded me that today was the 20th anniversary of the infamous England vs West Germany World Cup semi final in Italy. I watched the documentary about the tournament, it brought a tear to my eye - some sad family memories in there & also a poignant story in itself with the recent death of Sir Bobby Robson & the very sad ongoing decline of Paul Gascgoine.

July 3rd

5pm. On my bike ride between Canmore & Exshaw this afternoon I was lucky enough to catch the Rocky Mountain Orienteer train that puffs between Calgary & Vancouver (here Calgary bound). Normally it is a modern locomotive pulling it, but today's train had a beautiful old steam engine pulling it - a marvellous site, one of the joys of cycling! I had to be super quick though to get off the bike, dig out my camera, compose & take the shot. I only got two before it steamed past.

July 2nd

11.59pm. A busy work day, but a sunny one - as evidenced by the bright light shining from the solar powered garden lamps!!

July 1st

1pm: Canada Day parade in Downtown Canmore, the parade was a bit rubbish this year, very long gaps between the floats because of organisational hiccups I am guessing. Still the kids love it, mainly due to the mountains of sweets that are handed out as the procession passes. A nice patriotic day though for the Canadians amongst us, including Charlie!! The day ended with fireworks at dusk, but by then the kids were so exhausted (despite all the sugar) that they watched from our bedroom window.