March break with the Mics

Once again we spent the March break with our friends the McMullans but unlike so many other March breaks, this year we stayed right here in Ottawa. Given the warm weather and lack of snow left on the ground, staying in town wasn't such a bad idea.




After a round of hiking boot purchases for the majority of the crew we headed straight for the Greenbelt trails to test them out. Though not quite spring, we did spot many signs of the season knocking at the door. Butterflies, hungry chickadees, and even a garter snake which Sara quickly scooped up.



Sometime during the week we made the obligatory trip to the Bruce Pit dog park where Izzy got to run wild and sniff up the other dogs. Some of the breeds must have seemed alien to her but without a single racist bone in her body, Izzy just continued to skip from one dog greeting to another (except for the basset hound but he was a stubby obnoxious barking SOB and got exactly what he deserved).



On St. Patrick's Day the parents all donned their green and headed towards downtown in search of a pub. Our first choice was the Heart and Crown in Little Italy (don't ask) but the line-up was already around the bend. From there the next closest pub was The Royal Oak on Wellington where there was no wait and a live band. Perfect. To top it off we somehow managed to score a table with a view of the band too so we parked it for the night.



The band was quite good, playing all the Irish classics and more importantly the Guinness was cold and company warm. Later in the evening we were joined by René (a friend and co-worker of mine from way back) and much later by Erin McMullan (Steve's neice) and Jason. More pints, more food ("did I order my supper already?") and plenty'o'good times.

And still home in time to tuck the kids in bed.

Po' Girl with JT Nero

What better way to kick off March break than with a trip to the Black Sheep Inn? Tonight it was Po' Girl hitting the stage again with some help here and there from JT Nero from Chicago. The end result was more than adequate, in fact it was verging on spiritual.

Po' Girl is in the middle of their No Shame Tour that will see them on stages in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The night before they were in my hometown Peterborough where they apparently impressed and enticed some of the fans to actually hop in the car and check out this evening's show in Wakefield. The start of a dedicated fanbase maybe? Call them Po'Heads?




Po' Girl are multiple instrumentalists. There was rarely a break between songs where the members weren't switching the tools of their trade. Banjo, slide guitar, electric bass, clarinet, accordion, wash bucket bass, glockenspiel, piano, and even bicycle bells (which sound surprisingly musical when left in the hands of these girls). Very impressive. What I love the most is the way they make these changes without pointing out the obvious to the fans like so many other bands often do. Well done.



Great music, good friends, and a round or two of micro-brewed beer. Cheers guys now bring on St. Patty's Day!!

Check out the last time I caught Po' Girl at the Black Sheep back in October 2008.

Grass heads

If this weather keeps up we will soon be planting these two cheery grass heads outdoors.

Snow falls on the GAT

Gatineau Park: P10 to Western (18 km)
P10: N45 31.141 W75 51.234
Western: N45 30.840 W75 55.045
Click here for a trail map.

I decided to take Wednesday off in order to make the most of the fresh snow before the weekend rain washed it all away. Marc joined me on this adventure making this his first chance to test out his new xc ski gear.

The morning started off with some sticky snow making our trip up Trail 3 a real lung burner. Technically some parts were more of a snowshoe walk than a ski. Still, the scenery was spectacular and I'm sure the doctor would give me two thumbs up for the cardio benefits.

The groomers were hard at work though with the heavy snow fall it was actually difficult to tell in spots. Regardless, their efforts are appreciated.


We started out with no real destination or plan and in the end we ended up skiing the reverse loop of my last ski trip to Western. P10 start to Trail 3, to Trail 1, and then from 1B down black diamond 9 to the Western Hut. A highly recommended route.


These last few photos were taken only days apart and should give you a bit of an idea of the difference a fresh snow fall can make.




Update: The snow is wet and slowly melting but so far the rain is holding off.

Walking the dog

My parents were in town visiting the grand kids and dropping off imported stroopwafels from the motherland. Saturday morning we watched the kids play Futsal and then rushed back home to catch more of the Olympics.

Sunday morning we took Amber for a stroll through the Bruce Pit dog park. Having never really been around this many strange dogs before (only cows) Amber fared quite well. After only a couple of barking incidents in the parking lot she was as good as gold and thoroughly enjoyed the multi-dog-cultural tour through the park.


We had brought along a couple of tennis balls but with so many new sights and smells (don't ask) there was no way that this dog was going to fetch a boring old ball. Needless to say she slept well Sunday afternoon.

Pond hockey

Family Day... a great day for some pond hockey.

The kids and I packed up some gear and a thermos of hot chocolate and headed out to play some hackey (not to be confused with hockey) on one of the many ponds in the Marlborough forest. I was out here the Monday before when the ice was windswept and clear of snow but since then we'd had a few centimeters that required a bit of shoveling off with the hockey stick. Normally a lot of work but knowing that the kids had never played pond hockey before (and that I didn't have the lungs for a full NHL rink) we only cleared a small patch of ice for our big match.




I grew up playing road hockey and backyard rink hockey so it was nice to relive some old memories. We had a great time and the kids are already asking if we can head out again.

Winterlude 2010

Today we decided to take advantage of the sun and warm weather to strap on the blades and skate the Rideau. We started late in the afternoon from Dow's Lake and skated the entire length (7.8 km) to Confederation Park.



Conditions were perfect so it was no surprise that today was likely the busiest day on the canal that I've seen in a long time. The Beaver Tail line-ups were enormous and even the skates between the touristy spots were thick with skaters of all shapes and sizes and ages. That said, I was surprised to see that the ice was holding up quite well.



Once we reached Confederation Park we packed up the skates and waded through the crowds to see the ice sculptures and other Winterlude activities. I think we had just missed the throat singers when we arrived but having seen this freak show once before on Canada Day I was counting myself lucky on that one.




By day's end we decided to take the shuttle bus back to Dow's Lake in order to make it home in time to cook up some supper.


Sundown on Dow's Lake

Marlborough meander

Slipped out to get some fresh air after playing nurse for my wife who is working her way through a nasty flu bug. Given the late start I decided to drive away from the city centre and head south to the Marlborough Forest.



They call this a forest but it's really more swamp than forest. In the summer the bugs make it completely unapproachable. Spring time is prime for some mudfest mountain biking. Fall is duck season and gun happy hillbillies. Personally I enjoy the Marlborough area most in the winter - no bugs, no buckshot, and lots of ice making it easy to navigate the swampy bits.

Spring mudfest


Winter clean fun

The last time I hiked through here was in March of last year with the kids. (see blog) We had a great time sliding around on the stump riddled pond and roasting wieners by the shelter. I keep meaning to bring some skates out here but have yet to actually carry that thought through. Maybe this weekend....