Jungle View

The rain has been so generous as of late~

it's inspired these Fun*Guys

to take up residence in my yard.

the farmer...and his field

For hours yesterday morning,

a thunder and lightning storm sat above our heads....not wanting to move.

It left us with almost 4 inches of rain (according to the rain gage),

and it left flooded fields in its wake,

overflowing ditches, and washed out roads.

So when THIS field was brought to my attention just a couple miles down the road-

....I couldn't resist.

I HAD to kayak down the new river which now snaked its way across the canola  field.

The Farmer gave in to my seemingly ridiculous idea, and loaded the kayaks.

Ben came along to try it out, but after seeing the whirlpools of water and listening to the rush of it all as it torpedoed out of the culverts, decided to hang back and be our photographer.

The Farmer~ about to enter his field in a way he had never done before.

Forget trucks, tractors, seeders, sprayers, or combines.

This time- it was a kayak.

And we were off. 

Into an unknown and unheard of adventure....

paddling forward to see what was around the next corner.

{I'm thinking- 

canola.}

What followed was a very fast and pretty sweet kayak.

Oh I WISH I would have been daring enough to bring the camera through that canola river jungle.

It was beautiful, surrounded on all sides by millions of canola flowers.

And even though there is actually a river flowing through Farmer's field now....

it was a nice thought to think we were making the best of it.

We hit whirlpools of water, which- 

when we hit them head on, resulted in water pouring in over the front of the kayak.

I don't think I've ever been doused with water like that while kayaking.

(Who would of thought it would happen in a canola field.)

Of course...we had to bail out before we hit the actual creek.

It's so high now and supposedly quite dangerous with the logs, trees, and whirlpools.

(As much as I insisted to try it out- I guess I don't know my creeks and dangers of;)

We dragged our kayaks out of the water, and hiked our way back to semi-drier ground.

Considering we were hauling 2 kayaks through soft mud, and having to battle 4 foot stalks of canola,

I think it was one of the prettiest hikes I've ventures out on.

It was probably the best way to make lemonades out of (raining) lemons.

And so much fun....

I just had to go one more round.

Definitely tops the list for 

~Best Field Adventure~

backyard finds

There's a lot of work to be done around this place.
Example #1: 
I still have construction stairs braced on my front porch.
~It's been 5 years since I moved in.~
(I'll hold back more comments on THIS matter. I tend to go off on a tangent.)


And that's just one thing.
Let's not talk about mud sidewalks that have yet to hold concrete...or....
(oh! never mind!)


I DO love the other parts though.
Remember the "barrel of fun"?
The "birdhouse neighbors"?


And now I have these kinds of things popping up in every direction:

It's a good thing to keep your focus on the positive.

(As long as you don't fall in my mud walk~way.
Oh....and please be careful when you walk up those braced steps!)

cycling scenes

I just had an entire day to myself.

And you know what? 

I had no idea what to do with it.

Maybe I just had too many choices...but I ended up settling with a 50km bike ride.

(Laundry could wait. And still is.)

Tired of the same route, I decided to be adventurous 

(pfft! as much as I dare to be....)

and take a new road.

AND...

I decided to not let my bike pace dictate today.

I wanted  to enjoy the sights.....and  remind myself  why it is  I like it here.

(note: pictures are of not-so-great cell phone camera quality.)

Road stretched out before me.

And although it may look monotonous,

I took part in a Dragonfly Dodge AND 

a Porcupine Pedestrian crossing!

(Kicking myself for not being quicker on the camera draw for a capture of the porcupine. 

Those things can Speed Waddle!)

And remember this post?

{Party!}

Well at the risk of making my area look like "Party Central"....

I found the same truck- moved several miles another direction. 

This time it even sported a flashing light on its top, 

blinking even during the daylight hours.

I captured old Squashed buildings:

And a barn that was for sale:

I also cycled past ditches full of the result of the never-ending rain we have been receiving.

(Sorry southern friends. I WISH I could funnel it down to you!)

It was 51.6 km of a beautiful route which I could have continued on,

if I hadn't heard the call of a cold cider calling my name from home.

(Ahhh...human nature can be so fickle.)

Now...

I believe it's the Laundry calling.

Contradictions

It's a good thing, 

when one can find something from the past~

standing firm in the present.

Curiosity...

Some say that Curiosity killed the cat.

~I think the cat is stronger in the 

end because of it.~

Curiosity can often be considered 

an annoyance, a type of "nosy."

~I think this is how you stay on 

top of your game.~

~~~If you stop being Curious...

learning would come to a standstill.~~~

The Curious (much to other's dismay;)

often seem to get ahead in life.

And in most situations that isn't such 

a bad thing at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

Albert Einstein

Race Report

The Olympic Triathlon

 1.5km Swim / 40km Bike / 10km Run 

~~~

It seems as though I can be full of a lot of hot air here on this blog.

It WAS all in my head. 

It was.

But....it took a lot of effort in the legs, arms, and lungs department too....

~~~~

Sunday morning was beautiful.

And the lake was calm...a good thing.

It was full of weeds which they supposedly "mowed" before our race, but I still ended up with a few covering my cap and goggles as I swam. I just kept thinking about groceries I needed when I got back home.

Really. That's what I thought of.

Oh....

and I also had to watch out for the (rather large) guy who didn't know how to sight while swimming. 

He zigzagged back and forth in front of me....swimming over top of me and hitting and kicking to find his way to the turnaround buoy. 

For some reason I couldn't shake him. 

He crossed me at least 6 times over a 500m distance.

Other than that- I really did enjoy the swim.

(Swim Time: 36:41)

Transition went okay.

I did have to sit down to take off that ridiculous wet suit.

It was either that or fall on top of the guy's bike next to me.

I'm sure that thing was worth more than my vehicle. 

And no- I'm not jealous;)

It was a 3 Loop bike course.....a bit disheartening every time you rode past the volunteer yelling:

"Lap here" or "Finish here"....and I knew I still had to turn right for 2 more laps.

But bike seems to be the easiest leg of the race for me, so I  didn't mind the pedal by canola fields with the mountains off in the distance....3 times in a row.

(Really...I wasn't sightseeing on the bike.

But it sure was a darn pretty ride:)

(Bike Time: 1:10:31)

Last and my least favorite,

was the run.

It wasn't bad to swim 2 laps of the lake course.

And even the 3 loops on the bike was manageable.

But I now know how a hamster feels running on a wheel.

FOUR laps of a running loop was not a good thing for my mental state after all I had already done.

Each time we did a loop on the run we had to actually run BY the Finish Line. 

(Note the signs behind me.

I didn't like them until the 4th lap.)

3 TIMES I ran by that finish...listening to names being called out by the announcer. 

Names of people who had already run the 4 loops.

It was quite the mental challenge (for me).

So... being

the "optimistic blogger/runner/pretender" I had to yell out at every other person I saw on the run...

"It's All In Our Heads!!!"

(pffft!)

I don't think any one believed me.

At that point- I didn't believe it myself.

And neither did my legs or lungs.

But yes. 

I did eventually get to the 4th round.

~Run Time: 1:02~

(not happy with that time at all...but I wasn't going to do it over;)

It's funny....

I'm glad that race has come and gone. 

But I'm left sitting here wondering what I do now.

It seems all those hours of training

for 2 hours and 49 minutes of race time was quite an ordeal.

I can't quit thinking....

*Maybe I should use up all that training for a few more races.

*It wasn't all that bad.

*The run could eventually be my friend.

*I felt actually pretty good after I caught my breath.

*I think I could do a few more over the next month or so.

Then again, 

maybe it's just all in my head...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(A HUGE thanks to all of you who encouraged me and believed I could do this thing. I actually thought of you as I ran and didn't want to quit because I didn't want to do a blog post on quitting;)

And another thank you to all the other Blogger/Triathletes out there who are such an inspiration for me. 

You HIM and IM people are Amazing to go those distances!!!)

Coming up...

My oldest is off to the city for a

Summer Games Selection Rowing Camp.

And I am off to the city for my first 

Olympic Distance Triathlon.

One words: nerves.

(And NOT of steel...or that would be 3 words.)

I'd like to think we are both going to tackle this weekend with

the same determination we've been training with.

But it's funny how scheduled events tend to bring out the insecurities in one's head. 

At least in mine.

~~~

Remembering this over the next few days:

"it's all in my head!".

And this:

"Once you're beat mentally,
you might was well not even go to the starting line."

-Todd Williams

~~~

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Things (not) To do

It seems there must be many unwritten rules to camping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like.... 

never go kayaking with your big brother unless you plan on getting wet.

Or....

NEVER go to sleep in your tent with a brother who likes art and has access to an ink pen.

( I guess another rule could be...ALWAYS look in the mirror upon waking ;)

Make sure you always tell at least ONE good story around this before zipping up your sleeping bag.

Send the kids to do the dishes.....

I'm SURE they have more fun than we do at this chore anyway.

Always use your head.

Never forget to take the time 

to stop at the beautiful moments.

And if all else fails,

you can always go 

~~~Jump in the Lake.~~

Getting There

~A 4am start~

~ A 9 hour drive through scenes like these. ~

~All to get to a destination like this.~

~Worth every minute.~

all angles~~

If it doesn't look quite right from one angle...

...try another.

If it still doesn't look right

maybe all that is needed...

~ is to look inside.~

~~~

(My kiddos and I are headed for the sunny hills and valleys this week. 

Not sure if I'll be able to tune in to Blogville while away....

but hoping to catch up with everyone when I return.

Have a wonderful week!)