My daughter Anna and I headed out to our cottage for an extended stay. It was just the two of us, and the family dog Quinn. We left the city on Friday May 28th, right after Anna and her sisters got their first Covid vaccination. We ended up staying out in the mountains for almost a week, and returned home on Wednesday June 2nd.
On the drive out on Friday evening we saw a Great Grey Owl sitting on a small tree right beside the highway. This was near Misty Valley. It was the first time we had seen an owl in quite some time. Owls are a favorite bird of Anna's. This would be the first of many different animals we would see during the week. Later during the week we also saw lots of deer, a red fox, a marmot, squirrels, lots of songbirds, and some Bighorn Sheep.
One of our first chores, on the first day after our arrival, was to plant a bunch of seedlings. I had twenty seedlings, a mix of Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir that I had ordered. We planted them all, staked them and caged them with chicken wire. The deer really like to eat these seedlings, and we lost quite a few to them last year. The chicken wire is necessary.
We also spent some time working on building a bunk bed for Anna. This bed is actually for her room back in Edmonton. But, because most of my tools are out at the cottage, it was easiest to work on it out there. Once it is all complete, we will bring it back to the city. It will be a rather rustic looking bed made from spruce and pine. At the cost of lumber these days we had to stick to something economical. We cut up all the wood and built the frame to support the mattress. Anna sanded this and stained it. We also started on the end frames that will support the mattress, but didn't finish those. We will have to return to the cottage at some point, for another extended stay, to continue working.
We also did some relaxing while we were out there. One day we took a drive down the David Thompson Highway up to the Kootenay Plains. I took a photograph up there with my view camera. We also took numerous ATV rides around the Nordegg area and explored a little. I also took a couple of photographs while we were out on those rides. We saw a Spruce Grouse and a pair of Swans while we were out riding around.
We did some cooking and baking while we were at the cottage. We had dinners of Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Mushroom Alfredo, and a couple of BBQ's. I grilled some steaks for myself and Anna had chicken and salmon. We also baked a batch of French Bread, using a new recipe, and it turned out really well.
The weather was beautiful and by the end of our stay the temperature was getting up to near 30C. There were quite a few people around the subdivision over the weekend, but during the week hardly any of the residents were around. Almost all of the 20+ lots that sold over the past year are in various stages of construction. Most are in the process of being cleared. Several are putting in foundations. And a handful are already at the framing stage. There are quite a few trades working at various properties during the week.
There was some progress on our second property as well. The power cable was trenched in and a load of lumber was delivered. On the last day of our stay we had to reluctantly pack up and head back home to the city. We both commented that we never got around to a lot of the things that we wanted to do, and are already planning a return trip.
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