Lots of not much happening going on

I guess I have been a bit lax about blogging lately. For not much really happening, there were a lot of things that seemed to happen. Most of it this weekend.

We have been hiking a few times in the past week or so, and have been watching closely for changes that should prove to us that spring is really here. A few small flowers have come out to demonstrate that they indeed survived the winter.

Flowers along the trail

We even took a trail that we had never been on before (it is connected to the Dundas Main Loop, but we had never thought to take it). What we discovered was a nice little pond only a few hundred feet from the main trail! We had seen glimpses of it through the trees, but never ventured that direction. A bit marshy around this quaint little lake (it isn't named on the official maps that we have seen), but what can you expect? Sadly, no sandy beach was visible.

Unnamed lake/pond

On the way down the hill to the tiny lake, we found that the trail went directly through a fallen tree.  OK, I thought it was really cool (I don't get out much). Maddy didn't even bat an eyelash as they walked through the tree. Just a normal thing for her...

Maddy and Wendy walking through a tree

The huge moss covered rocks presented a nice view, so out came the cell phone camera again! Some day I will bring my real camera and take some better images. I promise.

Moss covered rocks

Adam finally took his Skid Control School course in Oakville.  He got this all day training course as a gift for Christmas and needed to wait until he had his full G licence. He apparently did very well (his report card looked better than when Wendy did the course a few years ago), and says he had a great time. Maybe our cars will feel less trepidation when he gets gets behind the wheel from now on.

Our gardens have been coming along nicely, with many flowers blooming from the bulbs planted last fall.

Pink tulip

White/pink ground cover

A few hyacinth came up in various colours

In the front yard. The deer don't like daffodils or hyacinth.

Fallen angel

 

Orange tulip

OK, I get it. Enough of the flower pictures.

This weekend our niece, her husband, and their 1 yr-old daughter came to visit.  It has been a long time since we had a toddler in the house - it took me quite a while to figure out how to set up the baby gate. Seems like the piano was a big hit!

Play time!

The lawn has needed cutting a few times last week - Parker has that job. While shopping, Parker texted me to say he was unable to cut the lawn because he needed me to "check the lawnmower". Not understanding exactly what was up with it, I expected that he just was unable to get it started.

On arriving home, I took a look to see what the problem was. Sure enough, he was right - I did need to look at it.  On getting ready to mow the lawn yesterday, he could easily have started it. That wasn't the issue. His problem was a little bigger.... it was attached. Really attached.

Apparently, Parker put the lawnmower away after using it earlier in the week, but he did not realize that the engine was somewhat hot. This normally would not pose a significant problem, except for the fact that the mower sits right beside the shop vac that we keep in the garage. You guessed it! The shop vac melted itself into the engine. It took me a few minutes and some considerable force to extricate the poor vacuum hose from the lawnmower. In the end, most of it came off (hey, what's the problem with a little extra smoke?). The vacuum hose itself, however, is toast...err... I mean melted...

Melted vacuum on the lawnmower

At long last, on our hike yesterday, we finally saw a few blooms from the long-awaited trillium. Summer is definitely not far away!

First trillium of the season!