We're back.

We got back Saturday evening but I only got as far as downloading my pictures before I ran out of energy. We had a great time camping and I've tried to sum it up in the pictures below but there are lots more over on Flickr.

We headed out on the North Arm of the lake with our friends Barry and Tabitha on Friday evening and came back late Saturday afternoon. We had lots of good food: kabobs, chocolate cake in oranges, homemade chicken soup, bannock, bacon, tea, coffee, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, banana boats, hot chocolate. There was a nice balance between sitting around the fire chatting and exploring, either on foot or in the boat, the different islands we went to.


The weather was cool for July but still very comfortable as long as you had some protection from the mosquitos who seemed particularly numerous. The only bad weather we got was a light sprinkling just as we were heading home and with all our layers and a few blankets and towels spread over laps (and wrapped around our sleepy puppy) we were all warm enough until the sun came out again.


Abby was a really good camper. We'd spent some time getting her used to her life jacket earlier in the week and she was great in the boat (except for the two times she tried to jump out); the island we camped on was too rocky to keep her on the lead so we let her run loose and she was really good about staying where we could see her (with her life jacket still on - bright red is really easy to see among trees and rocks).


Lots of things were blooming on our island and I found myself taking many pictures of tiny flowers. They are fascinating to see so much larger on the computer when we get home.  I didn't get our sun hats finished before we left so I was able to do a little handwork sitting around the fire Friday night and Rob wore his hat for the rest of the evening.


I wanted to say thanks to everyone who answered questions for me and provided us with plenty of camping and camping-with-a-dog advise. I haven't gone camping since high school and even though Barry and Tabitha are experienced campers I was still a bit nervous. With everyone's help we were well prepared and had a great time.

This year's Jane Austen Party was just as fun as usual. Four lovely ladies came to have tea with me - two of them who now live out of town - and we had a wonderful time eating goodies and chattering about anything that came to mind. My sister Jane came over early to help me make all the little sandwiches and Rob took Abby for an extra long walk to keep things calm while everyone arrived.






Everyone felt that Barm Brack should have a cuter name to go with the rest of the food. Suggestions included Barm Bracky and Yesterday's Tea Bread. The latter comes from the way the recipe starts off with leftover tea (you soak the dried fruit in it overnight). It tastes a lot like Christmas cake but without the cherries or brandy.


We had lots of food leftover but fortunately everyone was happy to take some goodies home and Rob and I ended up with a manageable quantity of cookies and cake to get through this week.


It was so nice to sit and chat with everyone.


Jane and Liette had places to be in the evening but Samera and Renee agreed to join me for a walk around the trail. We had lots of fun taking pictures of each other and the things we saw as we walked.

I meant to post these early last week but they were eclipsed by the arrival of my wheel. I took these pictures last Sunday when a bunch of us went out for the first picnic of the season. There were signs of spring everywhere.

There were dozens of these little water beetles swimming around in the edge of the ice on the lake (the perfect spot to cool our juice boxes).

Others were out enjoying the weather. It's a fantastic thing to be out on the ice while it's still firm but the air is warm. (I don't always have the courage.)


Smaller ponds are almost completely free of ice and snow. The water, though murky, is a refreshing sight after the winter.


Despite the snow and ice still around there were green things starting to poke their heads out of the ground.



The most comfortable and springy of images - our group of friends sitting in the sun.