Here I am in the wonderful city of Anchorage, Alaska. It is nine in the evening, and the sun is shining as if it were three in the afternoon. I certainly managed to find my way out of the west coast winter doldrums, although it did take more time and planning for this round of Rambles.
The year had started off with a good dose of those January high days, where the winter sun shines on the village, and the water is a cold and flat calm, reflecting the odd fluffy cloud.
With my Africa trip bundled on the back of the boat, I could not turn down the opportunity for some substitute teaching work in Zeballos, a community close to Tahsis by water.
Some members of the staff and student population were working very hard on preparing materials for the School potlatch, scheduled for May of this year.
I was getting Spring fever, and Mom's dogwood was out and the poppies were coming along...it was time for a short ride to the Okanagan to see how the Armstrong crew had fared over the winter.
Sure enough, I found the boys were practicing their riding and as anxious to ride as I was. Santa Claus had been good to them, and a nice little red and white was now part of their stable. The boys were practicing good riding techniques and being very careful...
This is the look of a young man who needs some horsepower under him. The days of the Strider are coming to an end. He is determined to ride like his brother. Let's hope he learns to look where he is going, as Keenan tends to ride with abandon, and not fully appreciate the consequences of gravity.
Thumbs up to Liam. Trainers are off, and he is doing an excellent job of watching where he is going.
"It's okay, Mom...I can handle this"
Time to clean the bikes..
Time out to operate Grandpa's shovel...
We have another budding photographer in the family. Liam caught Mom and Dad and Aunty relaxing...
Keenan decided that Tess needed some cleaning....
He is also in the process of teaching Aunty how to fly on the trampoline...
" Aunty is so cool and plays with us..."
"Like this Aunty!!"
Now Aunty is going to ride too...
Off to school after a hug for Mom...
I visited my cousins in Vernon. Jacqui's horses are glad to be back in B.C.
I couldn't leave the Okanagan without a visit to the hills where I spent my youth. The Sunflowers were always a sign that Mothers' Day was coming....
I can barely see the old family home, down near the lake shore of Kalamalka. When I was a kid, all of those hills were bare, full of groundhogs, pheasants, and sagebrush. A wonderful place to grow up...
I wandered back to the coast, taking some backroads behind Cache Creek and ending up in Ashcroft. I had worked at Lornex Mines back in the seventies, and it was a bit of a trip back down memory lane to see the town again.
I hadn't been away from Tahsis that long, and the Poppies were in full bloom.
