Author: gfox (old content)

Ottawa Processing

Pics from the Ottawa vacation. We did a lot while we were there. A farmers market, the cottage in Quebec, and then back to Ottawa where Sox and I were able to check out the Bywar Market. Its taken too long to get the pictures up, so I haven’t done any of the post processing that I was wanting to.


Along the canal.


A farmers market in the park.


Scenes from the cottage.


Outside the Kazabazua pottery store.


Byward Market

All the pics are here.

Vacation Return

Back from vacation now, and trying to get caught up on real life.

I got lucky when I went away, and never actually got the cold I could feel settling in.

Instead Sprout got a cold from his cousin while we were away, and gave that to me just in time for me to board a plane and return home. Now I am back at work trying to get caught up, and trying to kick a cold. Blech.

The vacation itself was awesome, and more on that later.

Provincial Distance

Last weekend Sox and I joined some friends for a weekend of camping at Goldstream park. It was a lot of fun, and definitely more enjoyable than I thought it would be. With the park so close to home I assumed it wouldn’t be worth the effort of heading out there, but once in the camp ground, you do not feel like you are near a big city.

The campground itself was typical for provincial campgrounds, and that is to say it is clean, well prepared, and has the necessary amenities. We were there for 2 nights, and I would most definitely do that trip again.

Yoshi was a good dog the entire weekend, largely due to us bringing a comfy enough bed for him. Sprout had a blast tromping through the brush, playing in the dirt, and chasing after the other kids in our group.

The E&N dayliner passed by us too, which was very cool. We could hear the clickety-clack, and through the trees we could barely make out the train as it went by. No train whistles which would have been extremely loud from that distance.

While Sox and Sprout napped on Saturday I grabbed my camera and went on a short nature hike to take some pictures.

The rest of the pics are here.

Spear Grass Proposition

I was greeted as I walked in the front door today, not by Yoshi, but by a note from our dog walker saying she had taken him to the vet. He had gotten some spear grass into his ear.

Spear grass is dangerous since the barbed seeds can burrow into the skin, and become infected, or even end up in the bloodstream. If they migrate to the lungs, or other organs, this can kill a pet. Besides the danger, it is also a very expensive proposition to get the grass barbs removed.

After a quick panic I saw there was a voice message, and it was the vet clinic calling to say Yoshi was fine, and that the 2 barbs had been removed without any problems. He didn’t even need to be sedated.

Sox retrieved him, and learned that our dog walker had him at Macaulay Point Park, and after running through some grass started shaking his head a lot. She checked him over, saw the grass in his ear canal, and took him to the vet. Our dog walker is awesome! It is attention like this that makes us grateful to have her. Every day in the summer she checks him for spear grass and tics.

No worse for the wear, Yoshi was happy to eat dinner when he got home. We got off lucky too.

Langley Weekend

A couple weekends ago we made a trip to Langley to visit Sox’s family, and to visit with some friends. It was a great trip but rather expensive when you add in the IKEA trip.

My mother in law has the most amazing garden, and every time I visit I come away with some spectacular pictures of her flowers.

While there we walked up to a nearby park so Sprout could play. He enjoyed the slide a lot.

I also took Yoshi up to the dog park a couple times where he had a great time.

On the last day we were there I got out on my own to just wander and shoot. Downtown Langley was pretty quiet for BC Day, but it gave me more opportunity to take pictures.

It was a great trip. Lots packed into a long weekend.

All the pics are here.

Historical Firetruck

Today myself and another from the photoclub got out for a shoot. We went to the Saanich Historical Artifacts Society which from what I rememebered had some very interesting older vehicles, but also lots of other stuff.

When we arrived we were greeted with a lot of people, and some tents set up. It turned out that there was some picnic thing for local kids happening at the same time (despite what their calendar of events on the website said).

Despite the amount of people, and the distractions, I had great fun with there, and spent a lot of time with an old firetruck. I probably could have spent 3 hours taking pictures at the society, and I will make sure I/we go back some time.

All my pics are here.

Racing Moments

Last night was Big Rig Racing out at Western Speedway. What a hoot. The racing was great, no big accidents, but lots of tense moments. The burnout competition was pretty good too! I got a few pictures of that, and a movie of it too!

The hornet race cars were out in force, and they were hilarious. Nearly stock 4 cylinder cars with working horns and radios. It seemed like an entry level racing series but it looked like it would be very fun to try out.

The mini stocks were a higher level of racing than the hornets, and their cars, and driving skills reflected that.

I’m glad I was able to go. This one show reminded me of how much I enjoy watching racing. I think I will try to get out again some time this season. It is such good entertainment for the money, and I always come away glad I went.

Pics are here.