October 30th

 

7pm. It's Saturday night, All Hallows Eve & in one of the new Condo complexes in downtown Canmore there is a haunted house. The kids are not too sure about it, Charlie barely crossed the threshold before a ghoul popped his head out of a hatch & scared the sweet bejesus out of him. He fled & kept a considerable distance away from the entrance while his sister bravely went round with her mum. Great fun & hopefully poor Charlie wont be getting nightmares tonight!





October 24th

2pm. We went for a downtown Canmore walk with George, Lesley & baby Gavin today - it was nice to see them & to wonder through the autumn air. A simple stroll & a bite to eat at the end - very nice way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

October 20th

7.30am. A lovely sunrise over the Trans Canada highway as I head into Calgary for work. The mornings are getting much darker & somewhat chilly as Autumn makes way for Winter.

October 13th

5pm: Five years ago today we landed in Canada, I still remember the awe as we drove down Highway 1 towards Canmore for the first time that afternoon. Me, Nicky & am 11month old Tabby. Lots of ups & downs since then, mostly ups it has to be said. We love living in Canmore, an incredible place - we have been accustomed to incredibly freezing winter days or blazing hot, high altitude summer days. We have thought about going back to the UK at times, but family apart - what is there to draw us back at the moment?

September 29th

8pm: A rare chance for Nicky & I to get out for a meal in Canmore! We headed down to Chef's Studio Japan - one of a number of excellent Sushi places in Canmore. It is run by a friend of mine - Yoshi, and we waited on by another friend Masa (both of Canmore football fame). The food was good & we ended the evening in the bar at The Wood. Great to get out & enjoy some quiet time sans kiddies.

September 18th

4pm: Driving back from Banff to Canmore, the recent snow evident on the Three Sisters. We were in Banff for Tabby's climbing lessons today - she seemed to enjoy it. I have to say by the age of nearly 6, she has participated in -  by a comparative stage - a load more things than I probably ever did. Climbing, skiing, XC skiing, skating, minor soccer, mountain biking, hiking - the list is endless. I wonder what I had done by the time I was 6 years old & living in sleepy old Bradford-on-Avon back in the UK.

August 24th

5pm: Bear fever continues unabated in The Peaks of Grassi! I haven't seen one, but you cant help looking over your shoulder & the kids are still under strict supervision when it comes to going out!

August 6th

7pm: Rain again, another wet day in this horrible summer. Cannot wait to head south for warmer climes tomorrow. Yes, holiday time as of 8am tomorrow morning as we drive down to Oregon. I hope it's going to be a LOT warmer & drier than soggy, cold Canmore.

August 5th

9.45pm: The long & winding road, on my way home after a few days in Vancouver - this is the final stretch of the 1 hour drive back from Calgary - I will be home in 3 minutes from here. Always nice to be coming back home to my little family.

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 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 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 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.

June 24th

6pm: On the way home from the airport I bought a couple of basil plants, I don't know why - growing basil in Canmore's unpredictable climate has been a failure over the last few years but I love this herb so much I am always willing to give it one more try!! Lets see how these beauties fare.........