Back to Blackstone

Margarit came out to Nordegg on August 3rd to join us.  On the 4th we all headed back up the Trunk Road to the Blackstone River.  Our next door neighbor Dan and his daughter Arlette joined us.  The weather was sunny and really warm and we enjoyed our time down by the river.  

Fishing is allowed on the Blackstone and its tributaries but because the fish population is low you are not allowed to keep any fish and they must be released.  I tried fishing for a bit with my fly rod and got a few hits from some nice sized trout.  I almost landed one that was likely a cutthroat, but it spit out the hook and got away before I got it to shore.  I would have tried a little longer but I foolishly snapped my rod in half right after catching the big one.

It was still fairly smoky from the BC fires but we made the best of it.  Anna's friend Raquel was out with us and the three girls had a blast splashing around by the river and swimming in the icy water.  At one point our dog Quinn fell into the water and the current quickly washed her down stream.  Anna acted quickly and managed to scoop her up before she got washed too far away.

I was able to collect a large burl from the driftwood along the banks of the river.  I'm not sure exactly what I will do with it, but I intend to make something from it.

The bridge over the Blackstone is rather interesting.  Like many of the bridges in this part of the province it is a steel truss bridge built by Dominion Bridge Company out of Winnipeg.  The plaque on the bridge dates it to 1949... just shortly after the Second World War and nearly 75 years ago.  It is quite a high span over the river and affords a nice view of the valley.

There was a large sedimentary rock, probably sandstone, down by the water.  Within it was the impression of a very large tree trunk.  There are many other fossils in the gravel along the river but most are marine in origin, and much older than this tree.

As we were leaving I spotted a huge wasp on a log.  It was at least 1-1/2 inches long and rather frightening looking.  There have been a lot of wasps out this summer and almost everyone in the neighborhood and in the family got stung at least once.  These have mostly been the really aggressive yellow jackets.  We also saw the occasional hornet, and have been pestered by enormous horse flies.  But the huge wasp that I saw was unlike any others.  I believe it is some kind of wood wasp that uses its long ovipositor to lay eggs, probably in wood.

Framing Complete

Framing of the guest cottage is now complete.  The framing crew wrapped up the last few odds and ends on Thursday August 5th.  Pretty soon the contractor will be complete with the exterior and the rest of the build will become my responsibility.  We are still waiting for windows and a door to become available.  Once those are in then the siding, soffit and fascia can be installed.  I understand that the metal roof panels will be available soon.  Right now there this just a membrane on the roof but it can be completed once the metal arrives.

I'm starting to get geared up for some of the interior stuff.  I have 1x6 tongue and groove aspen paneling on order that will be ready in October.  I had my mechanical contractor stop by and review the construction.  He will look after all the plumbing and heating for me.  I need to line someone up to help me with the electrical rough in.  Once that is completed, then the walls and ceiling can be insulated.

Things are coming along nicely, and to be honest, a little quicker than I expected.

Anna's time in Nordegg

In the days after the long weekend, Anna spent some time at the cottage with her friend Raquel.  They spent a lot of time together through the week.  Part of the time they hung out with Arlette, the little six year old that lives next door.  They were pretty good about being patient with a little girl that was so much younger than them.  

I took them up to Fish Lake one day to go swimming.  We also went on ATV rides around the area.  One day they baked a cake together.  In the evenings they often played board games, sometimes including little Arlette, while I prepared the evening meals.  I made them my Beef Stroganoff, as well as a pasta dish, and some BBQ chicken.  By mid-week Margarit came out to join us and she also took the girls up to the lake.

I worked on Anna's bunk bed a little.  The only things left to do were to lacquer some of the panels, and to fit the folding desk.  Anna is bothered by the lacquer fumes so I looked after this for her.  We will bring the parts of the bed home to the city over the next couple of trips.  Then we will buy a mattress for it, and set it up in her room.

We got a little rain late in the day on holiday Monday and into Tuesday.  It ended up being around one quarter inch, which was great.  It really kept the dust down and freshened up the trees a little.  Hopefully we get more in the days to come.

There are dozens of little birds hanging around our property.  These are Pine Siskins and they love the bird seed that I have been putting out in our feeders.  They are becoming very tame and you can approach them easily, particularly when they are foraging on the ground for spilled seeds.  Anna even got them to eat out of her hand.  We have run out of seed now and will have to pick up more when we come back out.  Unfortunately these little guys are known to fly into windows and break their necks.  I found a few dead ones on the ground around our cottage, but you wouldn't notice based on the numbers that are still visiting the feeders.  

I had a part bag of mixed nuts that I was feeding to the Whiskeyjacks last winter.  Whiskeyjacks mate for life and there was an adult pair with a yearling that would eat out of our hands last winter.  But I haven't seen them around all summer.  However, when we put the mixed nuts out in the feeder, they suddenly re-appeared.  It looks like there is a younger one with them, so perhaps this year's baby.  The yearling from last season probably struck off on his or her own.

Centre Street

This is my latest watercolor.  Once again it is based on one of my photographs.  This is a veiw of Centre Street in Nordegg.  Sadly this view no longer exists.  Clearwater County, in their infinite wisdom, decided to develop the historic town site.  They cut down the trees and tore down the two background buildings.  The one furthest back was the Bighorn Trading Company Store.  The middle one was a small warehouse, possibly belonging to the store.  The foreground building is the Bank of Commerce.  It still remains, but has since been restored.  There are now streets and curbs and sidewalks and water and sewer.  There are a bunch of commercial lots for sale, but like the residential ones that the County developed over a decade ago, they sit vacant.  The old Shanks Garage was also demolished in the name of progress, as were a number of old miners houses.  The only two original buildings that remain are the bank, and the Church.  The church is immediately behind the spot where the original photograph was taken.  But all the trees that once stood around it were also cut down.

Like my other recent paintings this one is a mix of watercolor, ink and graphite.  I've lost count but I think this one is number eighteen.  I like it a lot better than the last one I attempted.

Fire

The dry conditions continue and the forest fires burning in British Columbia remain largely out of control.  I understand that the total number of fires is down a little... from over 300 to around 250.  But there is more hot and dry weather in the forecast and it seems there is no relief in site.  In Alberta we have been quite fortunate as there really are no significant wildfires.  But the crops right across most of the prairies are really suffering due to the drought like conditions.

It got really smoky in Nordegg over the long weekend.  There was an eerie Orange glow to the morning light on July 31st.  It remained very smoky during the day and visibility was extremely limited.  In the short term I hope the wind shifts and we get some relief from these smoky conditions.  But what we really need is some low pressure and a heavy rain for a week or so.  That will bring the dust down here in Alberta, and provide some moisture for the trees and crops.  Obviously that would be hugely beneficial in getting the fires under control in British Columbia.

Back to Nordegg

Anna and I headed back out to the cottage on Friday July 30th.  We had the trailer in tow, and that big water tank perched on the trailer, so the drive was a little slower than usual.  The highways were busy with a lot of vehicles in advance of the August long weekend.

When we arrived at the cottage it was immediately obvious that the guest cottage next door is almost complete.  The walls are all framed up and the roof is on.  Some of the interior walls are done as well.

I designed the cottage myself, and it is very straight forward and simple.  The design was pretty loose and open and there have been some changes along the way.  The location of doors and windows has been fumbled around with several times.  Eventually I settled on a design that has the door facing our exisitng cottage.  It was pointed out to me that this is a little odd, and might affect resale value.  But, I don't plan on ever selling the place so it really doesn't matter to me.  I consider the second lot and the guest cottage to be part of the first lot, and to me it is one large 3 acre property with two buildings.

My contractor Scott also convinced me to increase the height of the exterior walls.  Originally I intended for them to be eight feet high.  I thought I would make the interior walls a little less than that, which would provide a little loft space above the bedrooms.  We ended up increasing the exterior walls to ten feet high, and left the interior bedrooms with a standard eight foot ceiling.  The loft space above the bedrooms is high enough that it can be used either for storage or extra sleeping space.  But now that I see it I realize that a railing will probably be in order.

Now that I am able to experience the structure in real life I am considering further changes.  I think I will eliminate the main floor utility room and move the furnace, hot water tank, and power panel down into the basement.  When I originally drew up the plans I expected that we would have a fairly compact crawl space.  But, once we excavated and determined the bedrock location and the lay of the land, we discovered that we have five to six feet of space down below.  Not really a true basement, but more than just a crawl space and adequate for utilities.  I'm now thinking that with the re-location of the main floor utility room I will be able to slightly increase the size of the bathroom, and have a little more space in the living room and kitchen.

Anna is really looking forward to the next few days at the cottage.  Her friend Raquel is going to be staying with her at our place through the week.  Raquel's family has a cottage a few doors down from ours and the two girls have been very close.  They spent the Friday night together, right after our arrival. On Saturday I took them into town for a while.  Once the weekend is done and the two girls will be left on their own and I will be their chauffeur and chaperone.

Water Tank

As a favor to one of the new neighbors that I have not yet met, I agreed to bring a water tank out to Nordegg.  Mostly it was my contractor Scott that needed the tank as it has to go in the basement of the cottage he is constructing, before they can close in the subfloor.  

The manufacturer of the water tanks is located in Morinville, and I picked up the one for my cottage a few weeks ago.  This second tank is considerably larger than the small tank we put in our guest cottage.  This one is approx. 8 feet in diameter and 7 feet high and has a capacity of 2100 gallons.  I had to bring my little utility trailer home in order to haul it.

I blasted out to Morinville and picked up the tank on Tuesday July 27th.  I will take it back out to Nordegg next time I go.

August Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the August page of my annual calendar.  This same image is also on display and available for purchase at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  I took this picture in Saskatchewan when my friends and I visited Jack Zlatner.  My title for the image is "Jack's Pontiac".  It was quite a challenge to get a 4x5 view camera and a tripod into the back seat to take this photograph.