Yesterday was an excellent Canada Day. We started off by going for breakfast at our favorite breakfast restaurant, then headed out to Fort Rodd Hill for their celebration. Lots to see and do there, not that we ventured far from our blanket. For Rodd Hill is a beautiful venue and perfect for lots of people to run around and have fun.

They had a small medieval village set up there, and this guy was just getting his armour on. Looked like a complicated process.

We got there early enough to get a good parking spot, and to get a great place to spread out in the shade.

This watershed model is a great way for kids to learn about how our polluting actions can affect our surroundings. The demonstrators show how oil, herbicides, and fertilizers can make their way into out oceans. The kids have fun too by using the bottles to make it rain.

Here is my pirate daughter practicing her scowl. Very convincing!

Here is a happy pirate.

Then the big gun show was on.

The military people got ready, and so did we. We knew from last year that it was going to be loud.

I set the camera to some good fast settings and let rapid fire do its thing.

In this shot you can see the flame erupting from the barrel, and by the next one it had turned to smoke.

This sequence is the last shot of the day, and for some reason (maybe on purpose), the gun blew a perfect smoke ring.