The first week of  Summer was hot & humid for the first half of the week. Late Wednesday Evening, a short/intense storm passed through with heavy winds & driving rain followed by a severe drop in temperature. Thursday & Friday was rainy giving the forest a good soaking. Saturday was misty rain off & on throughout the day with the return of warmer temperatures.
With the wet/gloomy weather on Saturday, a nice brunch of Potato Pancakes, Buffalo sausage & Fried Eggs brightened up the morning. 
With the heat & humidity, reviewing photos of running the dogs in March helped cool my thoughts bringing back memories of a great Winter. 
The Mosquitos are still in abundance & are finding ways of getting into the chalet. The good news is, the Black Flies are just about done for another year.
Only three months before the start of a new season of running the dogs.
Until next week.......

Summer has arrived here and along with it the hot/humid weather.
The above photos might help to keep cool.
The water levels here are high for this time of year & considering we have had just normal rain falls.
 However, we are lucky considering the flooding problems in Alberta in and around Calgary! 
The weather seems crazy especially with the extreme heat wave in Alaska with temperatures reaching & above 30 celsius causing many forest fires. Violent tornadoes & thunderstorms in the mid western USA causing horrendous damage along with loss of life.
It seems the Mother Earth is trying to give us a message!!!
Back here in the forest life is simple & without the hustle & hassel of society.
The mosquitoes are still numerous, as well as ravenous. The good news is the Black Flies are just about finished for another year.
The dogs were lucky to be not overly bothered by the insects & are enjoying their Summer vacation just relaxing.
Smoking up a Moose Roast & a Pork Shoulder in the Bradley Smoker today. 
Feast time tonight!
Until next week.......  

It was a great week here with the installation of a new floor here in the chalet. My friend, Denis Tremblay & I installed it on Monday & Tuesday. 
Great job Denis!
We had a couple of days with rain and some high winds. 
With the wet weather & high humidity, the Black Flies and Mosquitoes continued making working outdoors very uncomfortable. The Mosquitoes seem to be more numerous this year, this is resulting in an increase in the number of Dragonflies that thrive on eating these annoying critters. 
Nature has its way of keeping things in balance without Human interference.
Luckily the dogs are still not being overly bothered by the pesky insects.
So, with the need to work inside, I made a new Breakfast Dish that is inspired by the Spring Celebration here in Quebec" Le Cabine de Sucre".
Make a couple pancakes, place some breakfast sausage on one, then top the sausage with a fried egg, the cover with the second pancake and finish with a generous serving with Maple Syrup.
 Delicious!
Until next week.........

There has been some breathtaking Sunsets this week that are fitting finality as the days end! The above photos are an example of one of the more spectacular ones. These photos were taken while dodging the enthusiastic attention of hordes of mosquitoes!
The mosquitoes & the Black Flies arrived late this year due to the cold weather experienced this Spring. However, with the harm/humid weather last week coupled with the rain, we are experiencing larger numbers of the pesky critters!
Luckily the dogs, although being bothered, are not being bitten. They avoid the flies by digging in the sand under their houses or by hiding in the houses. 
The exception being when they are trying to catch the odd Butterfly teasingly flying through the kennel. It is amazing that they fly down the center aisle where the dogs can't reach them driving them crazy!
It is very humorous to watch.
The Hummingbirds are back feasting on the feeder. They are very territorial & ward off unwanted guests. They make their nests in the pines in front of the chalet.
The Purple Martin have returned & nested in the house over the garage door. I would expect the young will be hatched soon. It is a treat to hear their early morning song greeting a new day. 
Ah yes, the simple pleasures of life in the forest.
Until next week.......

The above photos of the sunrise this week was taken at 4.30 in the morning & like the header suggests, we had a stormy afternoon! 
We had hot/humid weather starting on Tuesday & it has lasted through to today. With these type of conditions, we can expect some unstable conditions that resulted in some strong wind bursts, intense downpours of rain & thunder storms. However, we were lucky as all the intense weather was short lived & caused little damage with the exception of a few downed pines.
Along with the hot/humid conditions, the Black Flies & the Mosquitos announced their arrival & made their presence known!
 The Black Flies, although annoying, are not near as bothersome as the influx of the vicious Mosquitoes & their desire for blood! To make matters worse, there seems to be fewer Swallows & a scarcity of Bats, as they delight in eating the pesky Mosquitos.
The dogs are not really being bothered too much by the bugs so far as it seems the garlic powder in their food is warding them off. 
I posted a YouTube Video of the Hobbits first run in harness on the Training Page.
With these types of conditions, it is good to keep activities to indoors ( with the exception of kennel duties) resulting in baking & cooking. Last week was Deer Steak, Homemade Smoked Beans accompanied with Sauted Mushroom, Onions & Bell Peppers. The photo of Blue says it all! HA! HA!
This week Banana Bread & Moose Burgers.
Oh, my poor waistline!
As the rain continues & the Mosquitos line up on the window screens.
Until next week......