It's not all work

We've been working on the RV lot a LOT and some days you really need to take a break.

Kids love to fish so we picked up a couple of the Grands and headed to an open house at a local trout pond. Nobody caught any fish, but the hot dogs were good!

Nobody was catching any fish.....but it wasn't from lack of trying! There were several hundred hooks in the water at any given moment.

Of course you actually need to have your hook in the water!

Len Thompson Industries has been making fishing lures for 75 years. They are based in the small Alberta town of Lacombe. They have erected what Guinness says is the worlds largest fishing lure. It is located next to the trout pond we were at.

Hey, I hooked a couple of small ones!

I joined my Grandson on his Grade 1 field trip near the end of June. We visited a Strawberry Farm and market garden that also had some cute farm animals and a playground. A nice way for the kids to experience a few agriculture items and have some fun.

Lots of greenhouse items. Hey, everybody is paying attention! Must be interesting.

The baby lamb was popular

This lady bottle feeds the lamb. His mother abandoned him. This is often the case when the mother has multiple babies but can't feed them all.

Kids loved him.

The lady was explaining how they planted corn for their corn maze using GPS satellites and computer programs to manage the planting. Very high-tech.

A very woolly momma sheep enjoying some freshly picked grass the kids fed her.

No farm is complete without a rooster, and a ....

........and a pirate ship. No, wait, this was in the farm playground.

Fun falling down Strawberry Mountain.

Wagon rides are fun.

The kids enjoyed climbing on this retired tractor. 

OK, everybody grab your stuff!

Time to go home.

We enjoyed a day at an antique tractor show and pull. So impressive to see some of the old tractors still working hard. Some of these old tractors are nearly 100 years old for heavens sake!

Some big......

.....some small.

Some of these old campaigners were all heart. Not pretty to look at, but just as willing to pull as ever!

Pride of ownership was very apparent. These owners loved to show off their tractors.

These old John Deere 'D' models were popular and boy could they pull! 

This old German tractor was impressive. It has a 640 cubic inch ONE Cylinder engine. Crazy!

See the driver leaning back over the seat trying to get just a little more traction? It was pretty close competition and a few inches more down the track made a difference.

Those rear tires take a lot of abuse. Some only run a couple of pounds of air, trying to maximize traction.

Some tractors were too 'new' to compete so they just pulled for fun. To be considered antique the tractor must be older than 1960. This beautifully restored Allis-Chalmers was a 1962 I believe. This fella has spent tens of thousands of dollars restoring it. (and I thought collector cars were expensive!)

Lots of variety.

Some unrestored

Some were actually scale models of larger tractors, like this Rumley.

Some were beautifully restored.....

......like this Minneapolis.

Of course John Deere was popular.

I raked a lot of hay back in the day on a tractor just like this.

Lots of fun to see these old tractors and actually see them work pulling a sledge down a track. No 'trailer queens' here!

We enjoyed a nice evening out at our son's in-laws place for Canada Day. A rare nice evening with fireworks to help celebrate July 1. I should have used a tripod and a bit longer exposure, but it's hard to get a re-do! :-)

Enough play. Time to get back to work on the RV lot!

We've had a LOT of rain in the past month so a few rainbows showed up.

......and that was Our View From Here!

Building our summer RV lot

Wow, it's been a long time since our last post! My only excuse is that we've been busy......to say the least.

It finally dried up enough in early May for us to start working on our RV lot. We hauled in about 30 yards of gravel. We used recycled crushed concrete as a base layer and it has worked out very well. After some rain it has compacted quite well. We also wanted a topping layer of washed 3/4 inch stone to keep tracking the dust inside. Overall we are pleased with the finished result. We didn't put in any grass. My neighbour did his whole yard in grass so I'll just sit back, have a beer and watch him cut his lawn if I ever get a longing for yard maintenance!

Here is our yard build so far.......

We parked in the adjacent lot until our site was landscaped.

Our lot awaiting drier weather so we can haul some gravel.

All the sod in the foreground had to be removed. We wanted a low-maintenance yard.

Well this didn't help! This was May 4. Didn't last long though.

Everything staked and the shoveling has begun!

I had a skidsteer come and remove the sod. Saved the back.

Gravel on site, but first....let's plant the shrubs!

I dug in some weeping tile to help drain the lot after heavy rains. It is buried under the stones and exits into the ditch (bottom of the picture).

Shrubs planted, stoned added inside the edging bricks, crushed concrete base has been spread. The new shed is arriving!

Is that little Bobcat big enough to lift that shed?

.......maybe.....

Yep, safely down on the ground. Now to support the end and pull the trailer out.

Now to lift the shed, remove the supports, and gently lower it to the ground.

Lift and slide it into position.

Done!

Just in time for more gravel to be delivered. 

The Bobcat spread the gravel. All set to move our trailer over to this site.

We're home!

This is a good start. This was the first week of June.

Now to work on the shed. Wired, insulated......

.....and lined with OSB. Just needed paint and finishing.

 Next up is a deck and fire pit. Oh, my aching wallet!

Ominous clouds

Pretty sunset.

.....and that was Our View From Here!