(listen to the live stream Sundays at 8pm PST here)
anyhoo, got me thinking that i haven't updated the blog in a while....and seeing as it's raining (again), i'm sitting inside on a sunday night...
we do have a covered deck but with all this wetness the skeeters and black flies are bothersome, to say the least. thankfully there have been zero cases of west nile here in the west because i can't even count the number of bites on me anymore.
you know, despite all of our camping/canoeing/biking adventures and our profound love for the outdoors, we usually managed to avoid black fly season up north in ontario...and have always managed to create campfires that were more smoke than fire, successfully keeping the skeeters at bay for many of our trips...so when the bugs started this "summer" (and i use the season name loosely) i really didn't know if i could handle it...i mean, the skeeters and black flies are here, IN TOWN, because our town is already NORTH....and when we go further up the mountain to do fun stuff like mountain bike, and hike, and run, we get mauled. i'm talking seriously MAULED. but maybe a bit of the north is now in me because i'm still doing those fun things, despite the now horrendous appearance, not to mention extreme itchiness, of my skin. if i don't deal with it, i don't get to do fun things.
and i'm not particularly fond of DEET, and try to use it sparingly, but either i put on the natural citronella spray and pretend it actually works or i just try not to stop for too long. definitely good motivation when you're climbing up a mountain on bike.
speaking of biking, mom, you'd be proud: look at my full face helmet!
for those of us in ontario who remember "the incident" or have seen photos, the last time i was doing things that i'm doing now on my bike ended with a pretty gnarly facial injury (and probably concussion, now that i think about it--at least i remember! haha)...i wonder if i can find some of those pics...
in other news, jon and i had our first BC show here at the Smithers Midsummer Music Festival. we played on the eve of our nation's birthday and despite the rainy weather people came out and danced the night away...it didn't hurt that we played on stage 3 which was semi-indoors:
this is jon holding up the program, which has a little blurb about nascent state
we had a great night, stuck around after our set to check out the other bands...these kids totally rocked out:
blind vinyl......fun times!
the sun came out the next day at the festival
jon getting some much needed vitamin D
damian, dave, breann and jon
i think jon took more festival shots, so i'll leave it up to him to add some to this post.
our next show is in a couple of weekends at the Kispiox Valley Music Festival.
a bunch of us Smithereens are going for some camping and music...we play on the Saturday night at 7pm...looking forward to it!
random shot of a poppy in our flower garden
we have also been receiving quite a few requests to host warm showers members...
'tis the season for bike touring...it's making me jealous!
our latest guest, Wim, from Holland...doing the exact opposite route as our last guest...started in Anchorage, AK, en route to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Wim stayed with us for a couple of nights for a much needed rest...and even got to help us drink wine and eat cheese at a going away party for my colleague and friend, Alissar (originally from Ontario, one year in the north was enough for her--leaving for greener pastures in the lower mainland).
another nice dude, for sure...check out his progress here
super excited to be going camping tomorrow night with Bre and Dave so we can fish in the Kispiox on tuesday! need to try out our new salmon rods...i should probably learn how to cast the darn thing, hey?
then a road trip coming up next week to meet Gillian and Jordan in Valemount for some hiking at Mt Robson and white water rafting in the Fraser River!
to end this long and rambling post, some pictures of the greatest pooch ever...a study of Lucy:
Lucy with the poppies
Lucy on the lawn with Hudson Bay Mountain
Lucy with the peas and beans
Lucy on a run with me on the perimeter trail (see how wet she is? this doggy LOVES puddles, especially when they are full of mud)
Lucy in the car
...she loves the car rides, despite this sad looking face (this was after playing in the bush, she's sad to be going home)
Lucy in her first week with her spearmint rope
...smiling...happy to be out of the pound?
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