Spring has sprung at Lac La Nonne

Everywhere you look you see birds and animals taking advantage of the warmer weather and melting ice on the lake. Only a couple feet of open water along the shoreline but there's plenty going on.

Sparring like this is common among Goldeneye males. Sometimes one will come up from underwater to attack another male.

Male Goldeneye after chasing off a rival.

Female Goldeneye wondering what all the fuss is about.

Muskrat 

Red Polls pigging out on sunflower seeds in the feeder. The males have the colourful breasts.

Canada Goose

Winlaw, B.C.

This year, our return trip to Canada took us to Winlaw BC where we stopped to visit with Joel and Erin and the Grandkids. They'd recently sold their 30 acre farmstead and picked up a smaller property in Slocan City where they are now busy clearing trees, bringing in utilities and fine tuning the plans for the new house.

 The 100 year old house they occupied for four years was becoming too small for the three boys.

 I will miss the old river-front property with endless views and extreme quietness.

 They were babysitting a couple goats for a neighbor when we stopped in.

 Seve is the "King of the Castle" at the new building site.

Atti and Milton will no longer have to share a bedroom.

It's not as easy as it looks Grandpa, say's Milton

Adios Amigos

The day we all dreaded. Leaving Arizona Day.

Rob, Julie, Yvonne and the good Rob

Sleepy rabbit

It's warm in Mesa today! Around 92F (33C)

You've gotta pity these poor animals that wear fur coats year round.  Aside from the heat, they are constantly on the lookout for coyotes and birds of prey. They fall asleep occasionally, especially when it gets hot.

I've watched this guy use this spot before. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Bloomin' all over

Leisure World is blooming.

I took a drive through the neighbourhood to take a few pictures.

Roses in Julie's yard

Cactus flowers everywhere.

sorry, no flowers on this one, just a colourful Prickly Pear.

This is the Hedgehog Cactus in our front yard. Last year we only saw it produce one flower although it was covered with buds. This year we extended our stay by two weeks and we were lucky enough to see all the buds come to flower.

Last events of the season

These last days of pickleball can be quite emotional for some....

but, we are Masters at hiding our emotions.

Rob holds the record for stuffing balls in his pockets. 

We will miss our pickleball friends and we are anxious for next winter because we have plenty of grudge matches that need to be settled. 

Group outing to an outdoor restaurant in the middle of the desert. We enjoyed beer and steak while listening to C&W by an open fire at San Tan Flat.

At great expense and planning we commissioned a local artist to sketch Julie's portrait to honor her birthday.