tomorrow (friday) eric, alex, jackie and i are heading eastward for a week... to gaspe peninsula and to the atlantic coast... no doubt i shall bring back stories, that hopefully include whale and caribou spotting, sea-kayaking and hiking across one of the most beautiful peninsulas in canada.
and then we arrive home to ottawa to celebrate canada day on the 1st of july (friday) - apparantly a huge affair for the capital city.
then, the very next day, eric and i are driving back through moose territory, westward, to his cottage for a big family reunion.
back to ottawa on the monday and then i begin the flying trek southward home on wednesday.
so thats all but one compass direction in the next week or so. not sure why north didnt get a chance. next time i guess.
Friday, June 10, 2005
question: what do you get when you cross an american, a kiwi and a moose?
answer: a surprise attack of the black flies and mosquitoes.
ok, so my punchline might not be very "punchy" or seem very funny, and truth be told, it isnt funny... but its true.
since i last wrote, much has been going on, including two camping trips, two good friends visiting, much macgyver watching and a roll of film dedicated to animals.
i shall once again use the "list" format to structure this entry. it is easier. it is lazier. and it hopefully will make for a more interesting read.
- canoe camping: me, eric, alex and jackie headed to the gatineaus just across the river in quebec, parked the cars, loaded up the two canoes, and headed off across a lake for our campsite... our site overlooked a beaver lodge and an island filled with nesting loons that proceeded to echo their haunting quavering calls across the lake. mosquitoes swarmed but my bug net* seemed to do the trick well.
* netting draped over a cap that has elastic at the end and tucks into a shirt. makes it a problem to snack on potato chips, but saved the day from inhaling mosquitoes.
- jen and karin arrived from the states to the delight of those of us who originally met them in leuven a year or so ago, and those who met them when they last visited in september when i was last in ottawa. we talked to the extent that my voice has been hoarse for about 5 days now, we travelled to montreal on a daytrip, we did a tour of parliament (where i readily boasted about my heritage) and we literally shopped til we dropped for 8 hours straight. and after the days were over, we settled down to watch macgyver* (i now have season two on dvd in my possession!).
* karin has never seen macgyver. however she has heard much about him since we became good friends. so there we were, sitting outside the backdoor, looking out at this old broken down very macgyver style jeep. and i mention that its a macgyver style jeep. karin is confused. i then say i should dress up like macgyver and get a photo taken by it. she looks more confused and asks what i would wear. i suggest the casual clothing macgyver wears. karin sits bemused. she thought macgyver wore a suit. i look puzzled. then it dawns on her. this entire time she had been picturing matlock, not macgyver! matlock - the old lawyer/detective with white hair and a grey suit who drives stylish old cars. for the entire year and a half that we have known each other, every time i mentioned macgyver - she was picturing matlock. im glad this is cleared up. and am pleased to say she is a huge fan of macgyver.
- after farewelling jen, sandro, eric, karin and i headed for algonquin park to meet alex and jackie and to begin the moose expedition. four moose, four deer, two racoons, two chipmunks, two snakes, one red squirrel, one leech* and one ground hog later - i do believe we were successful. however, also successful were the black flies and mosquitoes that tricked us into jumping out of the car without our bugnets at a moose-look-alike tree stump - and they hit in swarms. my neck now feels like i have some weird type of alien style gills forming beneath the surface. karins hands were covered in bites from swatting at mosquitoes that were good at penetrating jeans and thick socks. our new favourite friends are the mosquito eating dragonflies whom i am determined to lassoo and use on my next trip. eric is now known as "he who sees tracks" as we hiked along paths that were adorned with animals footprints such as moose, wolf, racoon and deer. the sun shone brightly and we feasted like kings thanks to alex's cooking finesse
* i have never seen a leech before and commend jackie on her bravery when she discovered one on her toe. i would never have been so calm. unfortunately we had no salt, but we still managed to burn it off, thankfully.
- karins now gone and my voice is returning. heh heh. and we are more adament than ever that within the next year or so we shall be flatting together, somewhere on this vast planet of ours... though who knows, ive heard mars might be inhabited soon.
answer: a surprise attack of the black flies and mosquitoes.
ok, so my punchline might not be very "punchy" or seem very funny, and truth be told, it isnt funny... but its true.
since i last wrote, much has been going on, including two camping trips, two good friends visiting, much macgyver watching and a roll of film dedicated to animals.
i shall once again use the "list" format to structure this entry. it is easier. it is lazier. and it hopefully will make for a more interesting read.
- canoe camping: me, eric, alex and jackie headed to the gatineaus just across the river in quebec, parked the cars, loaded up the two canoes, and headed off across a lake for our campsite... our site overlooked a beaver lodge and an island filled with nesting loons that proceeded to echo their haunting quavering calls across the lake. mosquitoes swarmed but my bug net* seemed to do the trick well.
* netting draped over a cap that has elastic at the end and tucks into a shirt. makes it a problem to snack on potato chips, but saved the day from inhaling mosquitoes.
- jen and karin arrived from the states to the delight of those of us who originally met them in leuven a year or so ago, and those who met them when they last visited in september when i was last in ottawa. we talked to the extent that my voice has been hoarse for about 5 days now, we travelled to montreal on a daytrip, we did a tour of parliament (where i readily boasted about my heritage) and we literally shopped til we dropped for 8 hours straight. and after the days were over, we settled down to watch macgyver* (i now have season two on dvd in my possession!).
* karin has never seen macgyver. however she has heard much about him since we became good friends. so there we were, sitting outside the backdoor, looking out at this old broken down very macgyver style jeep. and i mention that its a macgyver style jeep. karin is confused. i then say i should dress up like macgyver and get a photo taken by it. she looks more confused and asks what i would wear. i suggest the casual clothing macgyver wears. karin sits bemused. she thought macgyver wore a suit. i look puzzled. then it dawns on her. this entire time she had been picturing matlock, not macgyver! matlock - the old lawyer/detective with white hair and a grey suit who drives stylish old cars. for the entire year and a half that we have known each other, every time i mentioned macgyver - she was picturing matlock. im glad this is cleared up. and am pleased to say she is a huge fan of macgyver.
- after farewelling jen, sandro, eric, karin and i headed for algonquin park to meet alex and jackie and to begin the moose expedition. four moose, four deer, two racoons, two chipmunks, two snakes, one red squirrel, one leech* and one ground hog later - i do believe we were successful. however, also successful were the black flies and mosquitoes that tricked us into jumping out of the car without our bugnets at a moose-look-alike tree stump - and they hit in swarms. my neck now feels like i have some weird type of alien style gills forming beneath the surface. karins hands were covered in bites from swatting at mosquitoes that were good at penetrating jeans and thick socks. our new favourite friends are the mosquito eating dragonflies whom i am determined to lassoo and use on my next trip. eric is now known as "he who sees tracks" as we hiked along paths that were adorned with animals footprints such as moose, wolf, racoon and deer. the sun shone brightly and we feasted like kings thanks to alex's cooking finesse
* i have never seen a leech before and commend jackie on her bravery when she discovered one on her toe. i would never have been so calm. unfortunately we had no salt, but we still managed to burn it off, thankfully.
- karins now gone and my voice is returning. heh heh. and we are more adament than ever that within the next year or so we shall be flatting together, somewhere on this vast planet of ours... though who knows, ive heard mars might be inhabited soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
