A perfect summer evening...

The long, lovely evenings that make summer up here so enjoyable have been few and far between this year. Last night was really the first one I can recall so despite a to-do list three miles long, I took the night off and went paddling. About a three minute drive from my house is a little lake.

It is shallow, chock full of disgusting weeds, and unable to support fish life since it freezes right to the bottom in the winter. You could not pay me enough to swim in that water, but it is hard to resist for the occasional paddle. I can be unloaded and on the water in under 10 minutes!

Technically classed as a dead lake, by whoever makes these decisions, this little puddle lake is actually teeming with life. Dozens and dozens of ducks and gulls call this home. I even saw a loon last night. He wouldn't let me get close enough for a picture unlike the more relaxed ducks and the completely unconcerned gulls, but I am a prairie girl by birth; you can't grow up in rural Saskatchewan without learning what a loon call sounds like!

There were at least fifty of these little gulls hanging out at the end of the lake, completely unconcerned about the human in the bright yellow boat!

These almost grown ducklings were highly entertaining. The youngsters were having a great time splashing each other--typical siblings!

At least three beaver families reside on the lake. This big guy was less than impressed that I was there.

He gave me a few warning tail slaps, but a smaller beaver seemed to be quite curious about me and actually swam near my kayak for a bit. I like beavers! They eat poplar trees, which I am highly allergic to!

About 10:30pm, the sun was starting to set on a very enjoyable evening.

Hopefully, summer will come back again at least briefly before September! It's not my favorite season, but more than a day of decent weather would still be nice! Today the clouds and rain are back!

More encounters with wildlife....

Some of the wildlife around here I could do without. I enjoy the foxes and the coyotes, cuz my cats are safely inside. I love seeing the wolves, when they are not trying to eat my dogs. I enjoy the occasional visits from the moose and the bears. The squirrels, ravens ect are cheap dog entertainment! But some of the forest critters need to stay farther in the forest and away from my house!

Like this fella! The porcupine my dogs treed this morning.

Fortunately, he's just outside the fenceline and he had enough brains to climb a tree. Now if I can find a way to keep the dogs away from the fence for awhile, hopefully, he'll have enough brains to find a new place to hang out!

Fifteen dogs in that area x about 300 bucks each for quill removal.....I'd just rather not deal with that! And I'd rather not see the porky die just for doing what porcies do!

Delivery for the dogs....

"What ya got there, Mom?"

Look at that, a truck full of food!

The food passes Muskwa's inspection! i should send this one to the Acana company.

We don't usually get those pretty blue bags but some transport issues have lead to a shortage of the musher's bags at the feed store, at least if you want a whole pallet at a time. This worked out...it's the same kibble, just prettier packaging, and the nice folks at the store gave us the same deal we usually get on the musher's bags.

Husky Portraits as provided by a Suidical Squirrel...

Nothing entrances the dogs longer than a suidical squirrel!

Apparently the new growth on that tree was very tasty,

even worth risking his furry little life over!


Mac would like to catch his own dinner tonight!

Ozzy gives tree climbing his best shot!

Obsessive, prey driven dogs, like Founder, do pose nicely though!

Delta and Franklin spent most of the afternoon in this position!

Hobo thought doing his happy dance and the magic bark would be helpful. He discovered that the magic bark does not get squirrels to come down, although it remains effective at getting the front door to open!

Bandit waiting for the squirrel to fall into his mouth!

Even the normally camera shy, Pacer, enjoyed the entertainment this afternoon!

After chewing on my tree and entertaining my dogs, giving me some quiet for the afternoon, I helped the squirrel escape by distracting the dogs with dinner. Staring at the same tree all day is apparently very hard work that really gets the appetite going....or maybe it was all the drooling the squirrel caused!