I went to the P.N.E. with a co-worker last week. I went on one ride, the roller coaster. It is a wooden coaster built in 1958. It is a must for me to ride on whenever I have the opportunity. After the first big hill it climbs it all operates from gravity. I LOVE it!! Here's a youtube video about it:
And some photos from that day.
The midway ( or...suckers lane hehehe )
Then I went into the Agricultural building. I really shouldn't have though....it upsets me each and every time. It contains all the baby animals, and 4H animals.
Calves that were 10 days old....shouldn't they be suckling Mom, being frisky, and investigating life?? Not stuck in some pen being touched and poked at by the human animal.
Boer goats...babies
Llama's
Does the human animal really truly STILL need to view and man-handle other animal species to make them happy? I suppose so.
There were hundreds of cute baby chicks there, and ducklings. The kids and adults ogle and stroke them, and remark how cute and soft they are. There should be an entrance fee.
An entrance fee that is a video of how they truly live, and how they are incredibly inhumanely slaughtered/murdered for the human animal gullet to digest.
Let me explain, and back track a bit. I spent some time at an animal sanctuary, S.A.I.N.T.S. , where I met a frightened pink baby pig ( the kind that some eat ) that came from an S.P.C.A. . Then a short time later came a calf, that was destined for the dinner plate as well.
They were babies. Infants. Ripped away from their mothers and herds. Did you know that pigs and cows cry when upset? They are sentient beings ( along with canines, felines, equines etc etc etc ) that feel anguish, pain, love, compassion....all the same emotions and feelings that the human animal feels.
Anyway, upon my first meeting with Ellie ( the pig ), and Percy ( the calf ) almost 2 years ago, and looking into their eyes, I have not eaten pork or beef. I am slowly weaning myself from chicken and fish, and I hope to be vegan soon. I really thought I would miss eating my favorite meal.....roast beef, but nope!
The dogs and I went up to Cawston yesterday for peaches for canning, and whatever else I could see that I wanted to snarf back.
Here's what 80 pounds of peaches look like...
20 pounds per box, at $12 per, straight from the orchard....you can't beat that! They just need a few days to ripen up more, and I will be a canning maniac for a day. I also bought some organic Russian Garlic, and small container of organic Apricots. The apricots lasted me the 3 hour ride on the way home. :-)
My gaaaawd it was hot in Cawston. I blasted the air conditioning for an hour before we arrived, and while it was cool in the van, I knew that with 3 big dogs it would be boiling inside the van in a matter of minutes. I sprinted in and told the gorgeous young man that I would pull my van around to the front to load 80 lbs of peaches and that I was loading there because I had dogs who were heating up.
Paid him and I sprinted back to my van, got in and was overwhelmed with the heat, and that was leaving it for 2 minutes MAX! Blasted the air conditioning, drove to the front of the fruit stand, and the gorgeous young man and an equally gorgeous other young man loaded my van for me. Sweet deal.
We stopped off a logging road for a pee/van/water-walk break on the way there, and did the same on the way home. It was beautiful!
Ticket shaking, and Frankie
Ticket drinks water as if she is front end loader.
Ticket snags a stick!
Frank
This is the west entrance gate at Manning Park....that's a Marmot on the sign. And those cute buggers are everywhere.
Purple Thistle, so pretty!
Today, in the sweltering heat, I took my buddies down to Hunter Creek to go for swim. Watcher and Ticket tried to out tussle each other with a thrown stick.
Watcher wins....
Hunter Creek is a 5 minute drive from our house, we go there a few times a week to cool down in this hot weather we have been having.
Frank and Ticket have yet to go in the water past their bellies. Today I was on an inner tube just floating around and Watcher was swimming with me, and hanging onto the tube when he was needing to catch his breath, but Frank and Ticket both just whined from shore. They both came out further than they had before, but are just not brave enough to actually swim. I think Frankie might grab his balls and bite the bullet next time though. He was almost frantic in his wanting to be swimming, and involved with Watcher and I.
I went behind the house a few days ago to pick the harvest of Catmint I planted last year. It was doing great!
Closeup...
Other plants behind my house....Wild Rose hips ( I apologize for the shitty focus )
Ticket is my new German Shepherd Dog. She just turned one....and is gorgeous dahling! Her 1 year birthday celebration was July 11th.
She came to me when my heart and head were ready.
She has become Frankie's confidante, co-nutbar, wrestling partner, and all-round co-conspirator. I LOVE IT!!!! And I KNOW Frank does too.
Here she is taking a round out of Frankie. My gawd....these 2 are non stop most of the day.
Catching their breaths for the next round....
She has become Watcher's lil sista/bed buddy. Watcher is the alpha here, and never allows Frank up on my bed when he is on it. But Ticket can leap up, close in on Watcher, and sleep tight in with him and he doesn't blink. Poor Frank....he adores Ticket, and most especially adores Watcher, and is seriously puzzled all the time by this phenomenal turn of events.
It will play out the way it is meant to play out with the 3 of them. I will not interfere in their pecking order.
Ticket was kenneled her whole life, She had no idea of balls being thrown. It took her 3 days to realize that the ball in my hand, was the same ball Watcher and Frankie chased. She saw the ball in my hand, but missed the throwing part. It was toooo quick for her.
She's been having a blast discovering all the little things she never saw, heard, smelled etc etc before. Swimming is getting to be her favorite thing. Although she has never gone in deep enough to actually swim, she does go out till her sides get soaked and then walks around in the water. She LOVES our mountain walks, but I've cut back on them till the bears are hibernating. We'll stick to field and river walks till then.
Watcher, Frank, and Ticket
Some photos of a very few of the wildflowers growing here in Southwest British Columbia....
