No Bubblers

After our stop at the Siffluer trailhead, we made a second stop down along the shore of Abraham Lake.  This was immediately below Mt. Abraham, at the elbow of the lake, across from Mt. Michener.  This is usually a good spot to easily get onto the ice and view all the bubbles.  Of course this year, the lake is not yet frozen, so there is no ice, no bubbles, and no bubblers.

Bubblers is the term that the locals use for all the tourists that visit the area in winter to see the ice bubbles.  There are a number of tour companies that take people out.  Apparently there are a couple of spots where a small amount of ice has formed, and these are being kept secret.  Only the paying tourists are taken there.  If we ever get any cold weather, the lake will quickly freeze and there may be some opportunities later in the year.

For now we just enjoyed walking along the shore with Hank and exploring the crust of ice that had accumulated along the water line.  I dug out my view camera and took a couple of photographs.  At one point I lost my footing on the ice and as I was falling I thought that for certain I would kick over my tripod and smash my camera.  But I managed to avoid that and only suffered the embarrassment of falling on my ass.

It was quite warm. but the breeze was pretty brisk.  The strongest current of wind seemed to be across the lake near the far shore, as there were whitecaps on the water below Mt. Michener.  It was actually quite pleasant up near the trees, but as we got more in the open, the wind picked up.  But it was still no issue to set up the big view camera and take a couple of photographs.  The temperature peaked at about +6C in the afternoon, and even after dark was still a little above freezing.

Later in the evening I dug out the BBQ and we had some chicken wings, baked potatoes, and a couple of nice steaks.  It was mild enough that running the grill was not an issue.  If the weather stays like this, we may be able to do it again.  Once winter finally sets in, if it ever does, the grill will likely stay in storage until spring.

Siffluer Trailhead

On December 29th Margarit and I took a drive west on the David Thompson Highway.  We drove up as far as the Siffluer Falls Trailhead.  It was a mild and sunny day, and the temperature peaked at around +6C.  But the breeze was a little brisk, and it was uncomfortable being out in the open.  There were quite a number of tourists out and about, but not nearly as many as a regular winter day.  This year, Abraham Lake has not yet frozen over, so no one is out exploring the Ice Bubbles.

There were a few other cars at the trailhead, but only five or six.  We got out with Hank and went for a walk down towards the river.  The winter light was beautiful on the hoodoos on the opposite side of the valley.  There is very little snow, so it was pretty easy going wandering around.  There never is a lot of snow here at the edge of the Kootenay Plains, but this year the entire province is in a similar situation.  I sure hope we get some in the new year as we do not want to see a repeat of last year's forest fire season.

Relaxing

December 28th was a pretty low key day out at the cottage for Margarit and I.  I did a little work in the guest cottage during the early afternoon.  The construction stuff is all done now, but there is some clean up that remains.  

I used some Xylene and cleaned the excess glue from the floor tiles in the west bedroom.  I still have to do this in the rest of the cottage.  I also did a little caulking around a couple of the windows.  By my own admission I am the worst caulking applicator in the world, so I tend to tackle this job in small batches... and hope for the best.  I still have more to do around the remaining windows, and between the ceramic tile backsplash and the counter tops.

When I cut up some picture frame stock a couple of weeks ago, I messed up a few pieces.  So I set up the chop saw one last time and recut what I needed.  From now on the chop saw will no longer be used inside the cottage.  I will need to store it inside until I can build a storage shed next spring, but I will no longer use it in side.

Hank and Margarit went out for a long walk while I was doing the cleanup.  We also had Hank out in the yard running around, for a good part of the day.  Later we took him out again for another short walk.  And, he got a lot of attention from the two of us.  By the end of the day he was pretty tuckered out as this was a lot more than he is used to back home.  At one point he just crashed on the floor in front of the wood stove.

I made us a nice dinner in the evening.  This time around it was a batch of chicken enchiladas with Mexican rice on the side.  I continue to refine my recipe and now add black beans and corn to the dish, and I serve it with shredded lettuce and some hot sauce on top.  It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

It was a beautiful fall like day and the sun was out for most of it.  It was a little breezy at times, with the wind gusting to as much as 15kmh, even here in the trees where we are sheltered.  But the temperature peaked at about +8C in the afternoon, and what little snow we have, melted quite a bit.  By early evening an almost full moon was on the rise and the glow of moonlight in the forest was pretty amazing.

Back out to Nordegg

On December 27th I headed back out to Nordegg.  This time Margarit and Hank joined me.  With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays behind us, we were looking forward to just relaxing.  With the guest cottage finished now, I'm not sure exactly what I'll do.

There is still a bunch of clean up and organization needed over in the cottage so I guess I will work on that.  The forecast is calling for continued mild weather.  There is no new snow since I was last out here, and the little that is left is melting.  We hope to get out for a drive and some walks and just not do too much of anything.

I did manage to play outside hockey on Wednesday evening after our arrival.  There were three goalies and at least 15 skaters, so the rink was pretty crowded.  Many of the players that came out were younger guys, so the speed and the skill level was much higher than it has been.  Kind of like a Renegades game...

Merry Christmas

It is always such a busy time of year over the holidays.  In some ways it is nice when all the hustle and bustle is over with and you can just slow down and relax.  But, at the same time it's great to get together with friends and family.

We had all of Margarit's family, plus a friend, over to our place for an early Christmas Dinner on December 22nd.  There were a dozen people, and it was pretty crowded in our tiny little house.  We served turkey and ham with all the trimming, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  In the usual Austrian tradition Margarit decorated our tree with candles rather than electric lights.  We lit them briefly and everyone seemed to enjoy the spectacle, and there were no issues.  Careful placement of the candles is in order, and we keep a fire extinguisher nearby.  The candles are only left burning for 15 minutes or so and then were safely extinguished.

It took most of the next day to clean up and do all the dishes, but later that evening we got together with our friends Arturo and Sharon and had a nice low key visit.  Arturo gave me a signed copy of his recently published book and I was quite thrilled to receive that as a Christmas gift.

On Christmas Eve we just hung around home and made some preparations for the big day.  Then on Christmas morning we had our own family gift opening.  Later that evening we were invited to attend another Christmas Dinner, this time over at Margarit's brother Shawn's place.  This was mostly the same crowd that had been at our place a couple of nights prior, but it was nice to get together with them again.  

We still need to get together with my side of the family and have an upcoming dinner planned with my brothers and my Mom.  

It has been a little challenging to plan everything this year as Hailey is working retail, and this year Anna also started working with her at Roots as a casual employee over the holidays.  Of course retail hours always seem to clash with holiday plans but we managed to get everything organized.

Game Camera Photos

I pulled the memory card from the Game Camera I have out behind my cottage.  I'm not sure if there's something wrong with the camera, or if I'm just an idiot....  probably the latter.  I keep setting the date and time on my camera but everytime I check the photos, it has defaulted back to a start date of January 1st 2015 at 12:00.  Maybe there is something wrong with the camera as it has been in use for almost ten years, and has taken thousands of photos.

So, the dates and times recorded on these images are once again incorrect.  They were all taken in November and December of 2023.  The deer have been very active in the yard this fall, and I see groups of them every day.  I did get one shot of the fox, but it was not a great photograph.  A few other shots of some ravens, but otherwise nothing but the deer.  

Once again I attempted to reset the date and time when I changed the memory card.  Next time I come out we shall see if it worked... or not...

Organization Begins

With the work in the guest cottage completed, I started the task of cleanup and organization.  This is going to take a while...!

The first thing that I did was to remove all the newpaper that I had taped down on the counters while I was doing the ceramic tile.  I wiped everything down, and cleaned all the residual adhesive from the masking tape.  With that done I spent the better part of the morning just organizing stuff... putting tools away, storing leftover supplies in the crawlspace, and just general tidying up.

As the Nordegg Waste Transfer Site is open on Wednesdays, I took a load of stuff to the dump.  This included some construction waste and a little household garbage, as well as some scraps of particle board and wood that could not be burnt in the stove.  Then I flattened all the cardboard boxes that I had accumulated, and took those for recycling as well.

As the chop saw was still set up in the middle of the living room I took advantage of the opportunity and cut up a bunch of picture frames.  I needed some frames for the upcoming InFocus Photo Exhibition, as well as for some small prints for the Beehive.

Once that was done I vacuumed up all the aluminum sawdust and did a general clean in the main area.  I moved the saw horses and the chop saw over to one side, and set the dinette table and chairs into what will be more or less the final position.  I also set up some of the small appliances on the counters, and hung a sign on the bathroom door.

The next time I come out I'll dive a little more seriously into the clean up and get ready to start setting things up permanently.  The first thing I will have to look after at that point will be to clean all the floor tiles of excess glue and then mop everything.

Substantially Complete

December 19th 2023 is the day that the guest cottage reached Substantial Completion.  I remember that the metal roofing was installed in early August of 2021, and that's kind of when my part of the project kicked into gear.  In September of 2021 my brother-in-law Shawn helped me to install the corrugated metal cladding on the exposed foundation.  By October my contractor had the windows and doors in.  In mid-Octoer I set up the scaffold inside and started on the electrical rough in.  By the end of October there was enough of the electrical done that I could start insulating, once again with the help of my brother-in-law Shawn.  By early November I was using a temporary heater to keep the chill out, and installing the stone floor where the wood stove would be installed.  With the wood stove for heat, I worked through the winter finishing and installing aspen panelling.

I hired my friend Scott, the local contractor, to put in the foundation and build the shell of the cottage.  It was in February of 2022 before they got around to the siding and finished up the exterior work.  But from the fall of 2021 onward, I worked away on everything in the interior.  My brother-in-law Shawn helped me with the couple of things I outlined above.  Later my friend Jon came out and helped me install the aspen panelling on the ceiling.  My friend Brad helped me install the electrical meter and finish a few electrical things, though I did virtually all of the wiring myself.  I hired Leonard, the same mechanical contractor I used on my main cottage, to put in the furnace, air conditioning, water pump and heater, and to do the plumbing rough in.

Everything else I did myself, by myself.  I even built my own cabinets, doors and jambs from scratch.  It has taken just over two years, and now it is finished.  There are a couple little odds and ends remaining... a little caulking and some minor touch ups... but that's it.  Now the big clean up will begin so that we can eventually furnish the place and start using it.

It was a rather strange feeling that overcame me at the end of the day.  There was a huge sense of satisfaction in having completed my goal, and wrapping up such a lengthy project.  But I also felt a sense of sadness that it is over.  I'm not sure what I'll do now, and will need to find something else to keep me busy.

As I locked up the guest cottage for the evening, it was already dark, and I headed back over to the main cottage to make something for dinner.  I could hear a pack of wolves howling in the distance and the eerie sound kind of fit my mood on this day.

Approaching the Finish Line

With all the trim complete, and the interior doors hung, I focused on the last remaining project in the guest cottage.  This was the ceramic tile backsplash in the kitchen and the bathroom.  Some of the tile has been up for a while, and it was now time to do the grout.

It's been a number of years since I last installed ceramic tile, but it is pretty straightforward, and it quickly came back to me.  

I also did a bunch of touch up painting.  There were a few little nicks and marks on the yellow interior doors that needed touching up.  I also gave a final coat of blue to all the window and door casings, and the door jambs.  This was mostly just to cover up all the brad heads.  

With some space cleared in the living room I was able to install the last of the baseboards, and after that I cut and fitted a hardwood trim around the stone floor of the wood stove.

Later still I installed the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.  There are just a few little odds and ends left to address and the finish line is in sight.

Snow Covered Boulders

I took this shot on the Fall Photo Weekend in Jasper with the Monochrome Guild, back in mid November.  These boulders are in the receding waters of Medicine Lake, and were covered with a layer of fresh snow.  I was drawn to the geometric shapes of the some of the boulders, and the shadows they were casting.  This is from a recently processed batch of Ilford HP5+ 4" x 5" sheet film developed in 510 Pyro Developer.  I am posting this from my cottage out at Nordegg, and don't have my notes with me for reference.  I know that the normal development time for this film in 510 Pyro 1:100 is around 7-1/2 minutes at 24C.  I also remember that I used one of my longer lenses... either a 360mm or 500mm, on my Ebony view camera to get in tight on this detail shot.  If anyone cares, please comment and I will provide more detail when I return home.