Living with Wildlife in your Garden

Today I was watering our vegetable garden when I had that eiry feeling that something was starring at me. Oh ya, look who was checking me and the vegetables out! I threw my watering can and ran like the wind into the house. 

Once in the house I found Fergus under the table (this was a first). He had perhaps sensed he should "duck and cover"! 

Fergus spent the remainder of the day on his perch "on guard" and woofing! 

Tonight we barbequed salmon on the patio, I was a wee bit concerned it would bring the bear back. However, there was no bear appearance but we did make a hasty retreat from the patio when a pack ("band") of coyotes appeared a few feet off the end of the patio. Wow...what a day of living with the local wildlife. It was our first warm and very humid day for a few weeks, 32 C, 85% humidity. Perhaps this had something to do with the wildlife activity? 

Besides the interactions with the bear and coyotes I enjoyed my run today where everything was in good working order and I felt like I could run forever! Perhaps the high humidity and warm temperatures contributed to this. Or maybe the spin class prior to the run warmed me up nicely. 

Be mindful of the wildlife out there on the trails. It's an active time of year for them as they take advantage of the plentiful wild berries and unfortunately, apples from our tree and veggies from the garden! 

Knee Knacker

Saturday morning we woke at 4:15am to the sound of pouring rain. Neil was preparing to start his 11th Knee Knacker. Yikes it was so wet out there!! 

On the drive there the wind shield wipers could hardly keep up with the torrential rain. Oh my...Fergus and I pulled up to the start and Neil hopped out of the car to line up for the check in, Fergus and I waved him off with a "see you at the finish!" 

The rain was really heavy at times throughout the day. Temperatures were around 15 degrees so I knew he would be warm enough. 

Neil has had the #5 in several years of the event. Pays to have a surname that starts with"A"! 

The finishing shot. Always a doozy that summarizes the journey completed. It was a good crowd at the finish line to cheer Neil in for #11. All 11 have been completed within the same 1 HR timeframe: 6:45 to 7:45. Pretty consistent given the aging that's gone on in between. 

Today was recovery day so I dragged Neil up the Flank Trail in Whistler for fine views down over Alta Lake and the Valley floor. We counted 7 bear scats in about 2 kms - must be a regular route for the Bears! 

Whistler Mountain still with lots of snow. This seems to be the case this year that despite approaching mid July, there is still lots of snow at high altitudes. Skiing is still happening on the glacier. Every day I receive a text from the mountain saying " 7th Heaven" is open! It's amazing to have such multi level sports going on. 

Congratulations Neil on an amazing day at the Knee Knacker 2016!