Oops, She Did It Again!

Darcy has trouble with screen doors...

2017

2018

Down on the Farm

 

We've been spending a lot of time lately prowling around the farm at Bronte Creek - it's a good way to have a short, shady walk on a hot day, but still packing in lots of smells. The latest arrivals are Willow the pony (by the fence) and Delilah the donkey (hiding in the shade near the gate).

Then there are the cows. Both dogs find them fascinating, and we nearly always stop and peer through the fence at them. They are seldom this close to the fence, but they seemed completely unfazed by these small creatures who stared so rudely at them. In fact, while we were watching this one, another left her patch of shade to wander over and stare back at them:

Our first stop every morning, though, is the turkey run. Duncan enjoys them so much he sometimes even insists on visiting them again at the end of our walk:

 

Gnome Road

We've seen a lot of animals during our walks at Bronte Creek - squirrels, chipmunks, cows - but lately we've been on the lookout for gnomes. Apparently, one of Duncan's preferred walking routes runs right through their natural habitat.

We've seen several of their houses:
  And even a tiny little gnome outhouse:

But we haven't actually spotted any of the gnomes yet. Except, of course, on Facebook:

Bronte Creek

We've been walking at Bronte Creek Provincial Park several times a week lately, and Duncan and Darcy love it! There is so much for them to explore - that road in the photo above loops around the whole park, has excellent Ditches with Smells, and nobody except park staff (and us) seems to use it, plus there are trails, woods, a farm (with animals!), a play area (with more animals!), and lots of big grassy open areas.

On hot days, we take their collapsible water dishes, and stop for a drink:

 

Darcy always checks to see if Duncan has left anything in his bowl that might be worth stealing:

It took Duncan a few visits to get the geography down, but now he likes to be the one who chooses our daily route. The farm is one of his favourites. The sheep haven't moved into their pens for the summer yet:

 

But the cows are already in the fields: 

 

... and of course, there is the barnyard. SO. MANY. SMELLS!

The wooded trails have lots of potential, too, but we're going to hold off on exploring them until after mosquito season.

Catching Up with Duncan & Darcy

It's been a long time since we last checked in with our Dynamic Duo. They had a quiet winter - it was so cold even Darcy liked to stay in where it was warm! But spring has finally arrived, and to celebrate, we treated ourselves to an Ontario Provincial Parks annual pass. That means we can go walking at Bronte Creek Park anytime we want!

Our first visit was this morning. We stopped for a group photo near the children's play barn, then spent almost an hour exploring the park - and didn't even make it onto the trails. There are enough trails to keep us busy exploring for a long time, and there seem to be many interesting smells everywhere, so this will be a popular place.

Darcy Wanted Out...

... and Darcy usually gets what she wants - one way or another!

Supervising the Staff

It's about time we had another Big Project around here. Two years ago, we ripped out the old deck and built an new, smaller one. And of course, three years ago we spent the whole spring and summer taking out the pool.

Those projects were pre-Darcy. Projects post-Darcy are on a whole new level of interesting!

This year's goal was small compared to the others: just levelling and re-sodding the area where the old deck was. We ripped up the old sod, and lugged in some topsoil. Then we levelled it. You may remember that Duncan advised a roller for that job:

Not Darcy. She doesn't need any tools, she just rolls it herself. Notice how she leapfrogs right over Duncan near the end? He's gotten very good at ducking:

Finally, it was all ready for its last inspection before laying the sod:

(which, apparently, smells quite interesting): 

This whole "working" thing is tough, and not at all what Miss Darcy is accustomed to. She needed a nap (right where the next roll of sod was to go): 

before she was ready to taste-test the sprinkler: