Summer is here

Lethbridge is green

Pretty wife

I'm the King.  You can feed me now

A little older since we last chatted.  Again, we have been busy and have lots to tell you.

The first thing that we should tell you is that we are staying here another year.  We have decided and the clinic has accepted our request to stay with them for another year.  After that?  Will have to see what happens.

I have to say that I'm a bit two minded at the moment.  On the one hand I'm loving our lifestyle, my patients and this wonderful country.  On the other hand I miss all you Safas terribly.

Have also been looking at buying a house.  Prime here is 3 to 4 percent.  Would cost about the same as renting.  Just need to find a property that we will be able to resell if needed.

After my last blog we made our way up to Calgary and then Winnipeg on our live music run.

In Calgary we saw Switchfoot.  The venue was at the university and it was pretty awesome to see an international, grammy award winning act in a venue much the same size our school hall at hilton.

We were right against the fence, right next to a big speaker and right near all the action.

The great thing about our spot was that we had uninterrupted views of a very cool and energetic band.

Down side is that the every time there was a loud wail or note, or in fact any sound, belted out from the speaker system I could feel the pulse through my jiggly bits.  It left us feeling a bit wobbily.

We resorted to chewing our tickets and making improvised earplugs which helped and we had a fantastic concert.  Small and intimate venue with a band that knows how to rock the party that rocks the party.

As a result of the concert Duncan developed some nasty tinnitus in his left ear.  The tinnitus lasted a total of 3 days before resolving.

After Calgary we woke up very early and flew to Winnipeg (Manitoba – check).  

We arrived in Winnipeg a bit tired and a little grumpy.  It was a dark and rainy day and we were all a little jaded.  We decided to catch a bus to save money and I think we were all  starting to doubt our choice of weekend destination.  It didn't help that a 20 something Canadian girl asked us, “what are you guys doing in Winnipeg, nothing happens here?” 

The bus trip was a little interesting and for the first time in Canada I felt a little uneasy.  I'm not sure how to describe it but was sure the granny next to me was packing a Glock and was waiting for a reason to use it.

The rest of the day was much the same.  We chose all the dodgy roads, all the dodgy malls, all the dodgy spots.  

We walked down to The Forks, a really pretty spot and had a fantastic supper so the day did get better but I remember lying in bed thinking, “ Holy crap, what are we going to do for the next 3 days”.

As with most things in life we woke up the next day and Winnipeg did a 180 on us.

Duncan and I decided to rent a car to expand our reach a bit and as we walked there, and as we drove back in our rented car, the sun came out and  Winnipeg started looking amazing.  

The river glistened, children sang and little old ladies retired their Glocks and danced in the puddles.  Too much?  Seriously though, that's what it felt like.

The next few days flew by and were awesome.

We spent time looking at bison, watching birds, going for long walks, had pub food with life music and had a very lekker time.

One of the highlights were the Manitoba legislative buildings.  A mix of roman, egyptian and greek architecture.  It was beautiful and interesting.  The tour guides are all doing holiday jobs and were incredibly helpful and informative.  We lucked out and arrived on an open day so all of the tourist sites were free and open to the public.

Legislative buildings with Mani and Toba.  Get it - Mannitoba.  I didn't - a little embarrassing for me :)

Another free site was a replica fort.  We watched a guy make some tools in a fire and had an axe throwing competition.  Funsies and interesting!  Adele did ok with the axe throwing – I think I've got slightly less than a 50 percent chance should I ever piss her off and should she be wielding a throwing axe.

Life just got more dangerous

Winnipeg turned out to a be a gem and we had a great weekend.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely U2 and The Fray though.  We got there later than we had hoped (An hour before) but still managed to get into the “golden circle” along with other people who'd been waiting for 8 hours – felt a little guilty about that.

The stage, our spot and a very polite Canadian crowd made for a very pleasant concert.  We were wedged between the 2 stages and the revolving bridge passed over us – frikkin awesome.  

I have to say though that some of Bonos dance moves were a bit suspect.  If Bono was not Bono then he probably would have looked like a tool.  He did look like a tool but he's Bono and he pulled it off (Still threw my bra at him (Which reminds me of a story about a poor guy who's mom bought him a shirt with breast support at Hilton – what kind of cruel parent does that to their child at an all boys boarding school?)).

Fray

The edge as he went over us

So Winnipeg was great.  Sorry for the initial bad reviews but we loved it.

Had another adventure with Gavin 2 weekends ago.  Went South of the border to East Glacier National Park.  We needed to go hand in a slip that we get every 6 months to make travel easier to the USA– means that we don't have to get finger printed, probed and questioned every time we cross the boarder (Damn you green passport).

Ate at the most amazing little diner.  Felt like something out of a movie.  Did part of the 'Highway to the Sun' road but could not go the full way because parts of Logan's pass are covered in 30 feet of snow.  See this link - http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm - is pretty cool, you can watch as they clear the road (The red part is still covered in snow).

Glacier national park is much like waterton and is magnificent.  We spent the day on mountain parks, hiked to a waterfall, saw some deer and enjoyed crisp, fresh air.

Along the mountains and roads a lot of snow was melting and there were hundreds of waterfalls.  I'm not sure if I'm doing it justice so here are some pics.

Diner East Glacier

Wowzer

Crisp and clean

Trusted wife and car

Double wowzer

A big part of our lives this last bit was the Stanley cup.  You know – that thing that happened before those riots.  We have made friends with 2 Canadians from British Columbia – Steve and Jessica.  They have a Vancouver shrine in their basement with all sorts of jerseys and memorabilia.  They're the kind of supporters that change what they're wearing or might not invite you back if Vancouver loses.  

We had a great time with them.  Watched 4 games with them and unfortunately shared in their pain when Vancouver lost.

It's a great feeling to put on a jersey and feel accepted into a club.  Can't wait for next season.

Even though I support a reasonably sized beer boep (still trying to birth it) I do not drink a lot and by the end of the Stanley cup my liver was shouting, “WhY!!!  WHHHYYYYY?  why?”.  Poor guy we had a lot of fun and he took a fair amount of abuse.

So that almost brings me to the present.  I'm sure that I'm missing out a bunch but I'm trying to make this an e-mail that you might want to read in less than 3 sittings.

This last weekend we watched dragon boat racing on Henderson lake.  Also fun and next year Adele and I are going to enter a team, and win!

Getting ready for oar? for war? for paddle?

Pretty in pink - the day is for support of breast cancer

What's wrong with this picture

Seriously?!?

Good way to spend a day

On the Saturday I went fishing with 2 of the docs in our clinic, Dave and Terry.  We gave Terrys new boat a spin.  I did not get any pics but this is the most awesome fishing boat I have ever been in.  What ever you might want in a fishing boat (should you want one), well, it has 2.  Had a great day on Police lake.  It was a bit windy and there was not much fish caught but the water was clear, the company was great and there was a wonderful chop and shimmer to the water with the rocky mountains as a backdrop.  Every time I have a wow moment in this province it is super-ceded by another.

The Docs are also awesome.  Have been very lucky with our clinic and they have all been amazing to us.  Have been fishing a few times with these guys and they are always fun, informative and ignore those moments when I'm hooking myself or falling out of the boat.  

So blogging done for a while.  2 days and we're on holiday.  3 days and it's Adele's birthday.  3 days and Spaz and Claire get here.  3 days and we have a week in the rockies.  I'm getting so excited!!!!  I can't wait for you to get here guys.  Hope this week flies.  Hope you love this country as much as we do.  

Love to you all 

Ryan

On a somber note I just wanted to send a shout out to one of the most interesting people that I have ever known and one of my favorite people of all time.  Ritchie, it's 2 years since you left us this week and we miss you now as much as we ever have.  There is still a giant hole that we would choose to never fill.  Love you and hope that wherever you are you're laughing.  

:)

Running with wolves and fernie ski weekend

Nothing to blog today but have 2 clips for you.

1.  Have invested in a bicycle attachment for Bagel.  Lots of fun for all of us.

2.  One of our many ski days last Winter.  Loving these long, sunny days but missing the snow.

Hope you enjoyed.  Chat soon

How a now

Hello again wonderful people

Yet again it has been far too long since I last updated this.  

Winter has gone and for the last bit we've had these beautiful long days.  I'm sad that there is no more snow, snowboarding, log fires, cross country skiing etc.  but the change of weather has brought a lot of new treasures.

We've started mountain biking and a we had the kayaking lesson I mentioned last time.

The Kayaking lesson was great and we're really thinking about buying 2 kayaks, a life jacket for Bagel and hitting the rivers and lakes.  Theres a river that runs through Lethbridge and apparently you can see all sorts of wildlife and hidden gems as you wind your way through this small city.

The kayaking lesson was particularly interesting because I forgot my swimming costume.  

What I mean is that I usually wear a speedo and then put a pair of board shorts on over my speedo.  I had forgotten my board shorts but had remembered my speedo and my rash vest.  So you had an overweight redhead wearing a pair of tight tighties and a rash vest – not ayoba!  I felt and must have looked ridiculous but was thought it was pretty funny at the time so had a good laugh and then enjoyed a fun lesson.

Cycling has also been fantastic.  We discovered the Coulees in Lethbridge.  The Coullees are the valleys inbetween the prairies I guess.   In this natural playground there is an extensive network of what I assume are man made and animal made pathways.  All of which are spectacular for mountain biking.

Usually there is a steep exhilarating downhill along a small dirt track followed by all sorts of wonderful bends and turns, ups and downs, along rivers and backdrops of awesome scenery.

We have done the route 3 times and hiked it once with Bagel.

We have also invested in a bike rack, tow bar and roof rack.  Again – poorer but happier.

Bring on Summer!

Another joy about Summer is that the Spaz and the bear are coming to visit us.  Have planned an awesome trip through the rockies – from Banff to Jasper to Lake Louise to Canmore to the Calgary stampede.

During summer there are about 18 hours of sunlight.  There are crystal clear mountain lakes and kilometers of hiking.  There are bears, moose, deer, cougars etc.  Should be awesome!

This weekend I'm unfortunately working Friday and Saturday but Monday is a public holiday so I still have a weekend and only have a 3 day work weekend next week!!!  It's much easier working when you know you're watching switchfoot, the frey and U2 in a new city in a weeks time!

Other than that Bagel has been doing well in doggy training, we've made more biltong (yum), celebrated Chanteles birthday and have been attracting some new birds with our bird feeder.

Bagel goes to daycare on Monday and has a party.  Then I meet him and we have a training class.  He usually is so buggered and so hungry after all the playing that he does very well.  Have been enjoying it.  He is progressing well.  Piano lessons start soon.

We've been really getting into our hockey and have been supporting the Vancouver Canucks.  They are into the semi finals which is the first time in yonks.  During the playoffs a team plays the best of 7 games.  Really cool because as the series progresses the dynamic changes, players are pitted against each other and there are all sorts of side plots.  There have been some amazing come backs from teams 3 nil down etc.  Vancouver usually goes ahead and then lose 1 or 2 but manage to pull it together.  Makes for good, exciting TV, lekker!

Last time they lost at this point in a series there were all sorts of riots and looting in Vancouver - hopefully not this time.

Adele and I have submitted our forms for permanent residence and have asked the clinic if they'd like to sign a contract for another yr.  I have to say that this was a pretty hard time for me.  In the next 6 months we have 3 great friends who are getting married and it saddens me that I won't be able to go to their weddings.  Next yr is the same with another wedding that we won't make.  The combination of potentially committing to stay here, my brother and awesome friends getting engaged and missing out and what's happening with our beautiful friends and family was a bit overwhelming.

We're still not entirely sure what the future holds but I know that I love South africa, I love Canada, I miss family and friends but much prefer the health system and work here so the future should be interesting!  What to do?

I am very impressed by the Da's better standing in the election.  I hope that a stronger opposition makes for a better ANC and a better South Africa!

Great news is that we will be home for 3 weeks next yr for Neals and Spaz's wedding.  Should be a really good road trip and we hope to see as many of you as possible.

The next trips we're doing are Winnipeg and then the rockies and then Montreal and then New Zealand and then somewhere in South America.

The last trip we did was our anniversary in Victoria, Vancouver island.

You can see a full set of photo's on Facebook.

We both really enjoyed Victoria.  Our hotel was in a perfect location in downtown Victoria and we enjoyed 5 days of great weather and site seeing.

There were many highlights but my favorites were the long daily walks, a whale watching tour (minus the whales), a castle, high tea, beautiful parks, a raptor demonstration, looking out over the harbor from our balcony, doing some reading, enjoying a gorgeous city in bloom and just enjoying having been married to a wonderful woman for 2 yrs.

Again there is a wonderful culture of exercise and beautiful walks through wonderful greenery and along the sea.  British columbias logo is "super-natural british Columbia" - really apt.

My favorite 3 things were.

1. The Bouchard gardens.  These amazing gardens were made by a very passionate, wealthy family. There's a sunken garden, a japanese garden, a rose garden, an italian garden etc.  There's this strong aroma of flowering plants and more and more interesting scenery around every corner.  It is truly beautiful and I can't imagine someone not enjoying it.  Because of the variety of plants the birding was great too.  One of the awesome things about Canada is the 4 distinct seasons and I'd love to visit these gardens in each season.

2. We saw a humming bird

3. The one day we walked from our hotel through a park over a hill and down to the sea.  From there we walked along a bay, past seaside golf courses, past floating homes and beautiful nature, all the time with mountains in the background.  Spectacular.  Walked about 14 km and was great.

Interestingly while we were in victoria we passed a marajuana campaign.  We were walking and were passing an incredible amount of tie-died t-shorts, braided and dreadlocked hair and a few suspect looking people.  When we rounded the corner on about 300 hundred people smoking dope.

There was a man dressed as a giant dagga leaf, hundreds of people sprawled on the lawn and not much overtly energetic going on.  I'm not sure if it was a little 2nd hand ganga but a little paranoia kicked in and I quickly ushered Adele on.

Apparently BC has a very high population of weed smokers and a lot of small hippy communitites

Anyway we had a fantastic time in Victoria and loved it.  Would love to go back and get into the North part, visiting places like Nainamo and Tofino.  Would love to revisit the Bouchard gardens and kayak with killer whales.

As I always say - would be great to hear what's happening in your lives.  Usually when I've finished this and posted I get rewarded with an e-mail from some of my favorite people.  This is no fun if nobody reads it and I don't get to hear how you're doing

See you soon

Ryan and Adele

Of bagels, bartholomeu, Vancouver and the best news imaginable

Hey, Hey

Has been a little while since we last blogged.  A lot has happened since the last blog and me thinks this may be a long one.

I want to start with the best news ever :)  My little brother, friend and proprietor of awesomeness is engaged to his Mary, my friend and soon to be sister-in-law.   I cannot adequately tell you how happy I am for them!   I really wish that I could be there with you both to celebrate.  Mary, you've been a part of our family for a long time but it'll be nice to make it official.  You guys are fantapantastic!

Hopefully the Dermans will be in Canada this December and we can all celebrate together then.
One place that both our families would definitely enjoy is Vancouver.
One of the many perks of working in Canada is that there is an allowance for medical courses and conferences.  The annual amount is 2500 dollars and can be used for all sorts of things including computers and courses.
So  the four of us decided to travel to Vancouver for a dermatology conference and make a weekend of it ( essentially a free weekend with us getting a lot of really good practical knowledge for our practice.  Yay!).
Vancouver, I feel, might just be my number one favorite city ever.  To me it's a mix of Cape Town and New York but the people are a lot friendlier.  So friendly in fact that whenever we were confused for more than a second a friendly Canadian was at hand to direct and guide us (I love these people).  At one point one of the uniformed workers for the sky train told us how to spend 3 dollars on the train rather than 8 dollar ticket price - where else does that happen.

Views from revolving restaurant

Anyway I'm gushing again.  It's just an awesome place.  Very green and very vibey.  It has a nice combination of new and old with clean, interesting streets and treed, green spaces with seaside walks and mountain views.
Mountains and culture and sea and interesting shops and wonderful people equals overwhelming awesomeness (yes, probably abusing the word, awesome,   but  Vancouver really deserves the superlatives ).
Some of the highlights of the weekend included drinks in a revolving restaurants with beautiful panoramas, long walks daily, walking around Stanley island in the rain, the clock in Gastown, watching the Canucks in Vancouver and spending time with the wife and friends.

Our hotel

My personal favorite was our walk around Stanley park.  Adele and I enjoyed a 12 kilometer Sunday walk in the rain around this wonderful park.  Apart from the fact that my rain jacket was a little less waterproof than I thought, it was spectacular.  We enjoyed the birds, their culture of exercise (tons of runners and walkers despite the rain),  views of the harbour and nature, totem poles and more and more  and more beautiful scenery.  Kayakers and rowers also kept us company as we made our way around.
To be honest though I thought everything was awesome and I can't wait to come back.

One of the benefits of going to Vancouver was that we got to spend an hour in the Calgary Ikea the day before our flight.  (Love Ikea)
I've been looking for a chair to sit and read in.  We have a really nice couch downstairs but it's right in front of the TV and I always find myself watching TV instead of other activities.  I really wanted a chair to read and play guitar in.   So we scoured Lethbridge and had not really found anything that we really liked.   Eventually after much deliberation we decided to get 2 wooden and canvas chairs from Ikea.
Now we each have our chair upstairs placed in front of our bay windows so we can read, watch birds on our bird feeder and spy on the neighbours.
Adele thinks that it's a bit creepy to sit there and watch as our neighbours go up and down.  I usually ignore her and say she's being silly, usually while hiding behind the curtain so the neighbors can't see me watching them.  Not creepy at all!

Bagel started training as I mentioned in previous post.  Sorry Kim, Cobus and Frederik but the dog trainer (we call her the dog whisperer) says that Bagel is in fact a prodigy and that he should be entered into competitive agility training.  That's my boy.
Bagel has done really well and through a process of essentially stuffing him full of treats he can now (almost) sit, stay, lie down and come when called.  Adeles says that the stay command gets better at the end of the lesson because he's so full of treats that "stay' requires the least amount of effort.
Before the first lesson the dog whisperer asked us to cook a few hot dogs to reward Bagel.  It took all my power not to wet myself as the trainer then proceeded to throw pieces of wiener on our carpet.  Some of the drills required bagel resisting the urge to lunge for food and if he did she would cover the food with her foot and push the Vienna into the carpet.  Why so funny?  Adeles face was priceless!  Evey time a piece of wiener was squelched and juiced into the carpet Adeles eyes got bigger and bigger.  The whisperer went into the kitchen to get something at one stage and Adele lent over to ask me, "is this was really happening" - was too funny!
Bagel has become so good at lying down that when I pull out a treat, open a cupboard door or glance in his direction he automatically hits the ground, tail a wagging.  Silly prodige!

On other news I am trying yet again to lose some weight.  I know you've heard this before but this is the year that I birth my boopensie.  So far with a combination of weights and cardio I've managed to lose a few blocks of butter.  Hopefully in a few weeks I might be in sufficiently good shape to post picture of my washboard ab.  (yes ab and not abs, baby steps people).

Tomorrow we are doing a Kayaking lesson.  Other than that we have no major plans and plan to catch up on some admin this weekend.  We are going to start the process of permanent residence this weekend.  This was if we do decide to stay for a while we can maybe get our hands on that blue passport.
Next week is our 2 year wedding anniversary and we are going to Victoria on Vancouver island (not the mainland like the last weekend.).
It is supposed to be magic in Spring and we're both really looking forward to it.  Hopefully we will get in some whale watching and we may even Kayak with killer whales.  (That sounds like less of a good idea when written out).  Adele has been kind enough to buy me a seal suite and has splashed out on some extra life insurance for me.  What a good wife she is!

On a final note I was the subject of an April fools joke the other day.  When Duncan arrived at work I thought I'd be funny and told him that the computer system was down.  Probably not as effective when my computer was logged in just behind me.
Some of us had a good laugh at my expense and then  we carried on with work as usual.  About half an hour later I was sitting with a patient and heard Duncan yell," help, help, resusc, Ryan help!".  I almost tripped over my feet to get out the door to help.  All the while I was stressing about our first Canadian emergency and all the possible negative scenarios.  I was hopped up on adrenaline and didn't really notice Dorothy or Duncan smiling at me.  I just saw a patient on the floor lying against the bed with very poor access and seemingly unconscious.  I tried to get in next to the patient but there wasn't enough space so I pushed the bed in the room out of the way.
It was at this point that the patient chose to open his eyes and smile at me.  Duncan then shouted April fools and looked very pleased with himself.
He got me.  He did a really good job and I say Bravo Duncan, Bravo!  Do not close your eyes or sleep easy my friend, I am plotting my revenge mwahhahah hhahahh mwahhh hahah!!!!

Thanks to my wonderful wife for 2 awesome years.  Congrats Neal and Mary and I wish you so much happiness during this wonderful time.
Again, we miss you all and can't wait for you to come visit.

Oh and I almost forgot.  We have a new friend.  Adele and I went to a park in search of owls the other day.  Instead of finding an owl we found Bartholomeu.  Bartholomeu is a porcupine.  But he is unlike his South African cousin and climbs trees.  This is one of the strangest and most wonderful animals that I have ever seen.  We have been back many times to visit our friend always with that warm feeling of recognition and happiness when we find him.
Below are a few snaps of our sharp witted fried, Bartholomeu.

Hugs and kisses and lots of good wishes.
Ryan and Adele

Spring - almost

So Winter is supposed to be over but there have  still been quite a few days of snow and there are currently big beautiful flakes floating around outside.
The best thing about the weather at the moment is that it's still snowing but has warmed up substantially.  Has been as warm as 4 degrees Celsius and not really much colder than minus 5, so most of the snow melts before it can form a decent layer. ( It's freaking cooking! )
 So we are still enjoying snow but without any snow shoveling or frost bite (+ and +).

Have had the most amazing weekend just relaxing and getting admin done.  It's amazing how a simple thing like buying a new vacuum cleaner can bring so much joy.  The clever marketers managed to sell us a vacuum cleaner just by putting four words on the box, "goof for pet hair".  For some reason bagel has shed an insane amount of hair while being here.  Adele is not entirely thrilled about this and I think she has a point considering she had to clean dog hair out of the microwave!
I won't tell Bagel but I think there have been a few moments when it's been a bit touch and go for him.

Anyhow, we've just booking our tickets for our 3 week trip to New Zealand and I'm starting to get very excited!.
We're also thinking about maybe going to the Amazon in December and/or going to see the Northern lights and polar bears.  There are just too many places to travel and not enough time.
Now I'm no doomsayer and I don't believe that the world is going to end next year but don't you think it's be a great idea to live like it was ending.  I'm not saying that you should finally get out that list you've had adding to for years and systematically knocking off all the people that have pissed you off, or getting into any high risk/body endangering scenarios.  Rather spend the next year learning or doing something that you've always meant to do but never had time to.  I know I'm trying to.

Bagel is trying something new tomorrow.  We have decided that it'd be too hard train a puppy now and that we aren't ready for a second dog so we're taking bagel to "paws on the run".  It's one of the many dog daycares in Lethbridge.  So tomorrow Bagel will have the pleasure of partying with up to thirty other dogs.  I'd say he's excited but I don't speak dog so I really wouldn't be saying so honestly.
I love my dog but a few things have become apparent in the last 2 weeks.
1.  If there was a bear trying to eat me Bagel would most probably be fleeing or kindly holding down one of my arms.  I went for a walk the other day and Bagel starting barking and ran away from 2 little girls.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that he ran about a kilometer down the road and had to be seriously coaxed into coming back to me.  Silly little dog.  Honestly, 2 little girls - what a little pansy!
2.  Bagel is trying to escape.  We went to one of the local dog walks and when it was time to leave he got into the car with one of the other dogs.  Then he made himself small, sat there sheepishly and pretended he was invisible.  That and the plans he keeps in his bed and his constant attempts to get onto facebook.  All very suspicious Bagel, I'm watching you.
3.  I will never fall asleep alone with Bagel.  Bagel has this habit of licking Adele and I incessantly.  Sometimes he gets a thought in his head and he pauses in thought, tongue half out, on an arm and I swear to you he's thinking, "this'd taste better with Ketchup".
Seriously though - Bagel has been loving Canada.  We try to walk him about 3-5 times a week and he loves playing and running with other dogs.  He loves snow and Tim Hortons.  And he's doing ok on the training front.
We'll see how he does at doggy daycare and if he likes it then we'll make a permanent fixture.  Later in the year lessons start on a Monday night at daycare so I'll probably join him at the end of the day and start some group training
This Thursday he's going to have his first private training session.  Have hired a private trainer to come and see if we can teach him to play the Oboe and wash dishes (heres hoping).  Will also do a few lessons if it goes well.

Not much other news other than the fact that Adele and I are starting Kayaking lessons.  First lesson will be in the pool on the 16th of April.
My big dream is to buy kayaks and spend spring and summer on the great lakes and rivers of Canada.  I really want to see a moose, a bear and a lynx (in that order).  Thinking about teaching the bagel how to sit in a kayak and taking him with.  Will need him to save us from that bear . . . .

So has been another great week.  Starting to feel healthy again and will start gym again tomorrow morning.  We love and miss you all.  Chat soon

Ryan and Adele

Experiments in photoshop

Day 1 of having a blog and have gone a little mad.
Anyhow,  one of the things that I really enjoy and would like to get into is photography and editing.  These are some of my first experiments.

Wild dog.  My favorite predator.  For non-South African friends:  This awesome and rare animal is one of natures best pack hunter.

Any guesses?  This is the bony remains of a giraffe horn.

Lion experiment.   

As so often happens.  This picture was taken as we were rushing to make the gate time in the Kruger.   

Zebra nursing

XC Skiing Waterton March 12 2011

Spent a wonderful day in Waterton XC skiing.  We were invited to join one of the docs, Dr Pete Greidanus and his family:  his wife Bette, daughter Julie and her husband Lowell.

We had a fantastic day!  

Spent some of the day on my ass and had more than one speed wobble.  

A combination of weight and a lack of skill meant I was pretty much a hazard on the downhill.  Luckily no harm came to any women, children or woodlands animal and we thoroughly enjoyed our day with an awesome family.

Adele was a natural and by the end of the day I was doing quite well too.

We've been incredibly lucky and the Canadians we have met have made us feel incredibly welcome.

Cameron lake

The air was amazingly crisp and the smell of the pine trees was wonderful

Adele looking good on her skis

Standing on a lake

Lunch break in the snow

Tracks through the trees

Lots of snow