Trilobite

Back to work this week. I am diving back into it. Steve is gone to Las Vegas for Goosystem, so I have to keep an eye on a few more things. Don’t have much time to blog. Michael and I made a different kind of dinner tonight: Tuna, shrimp, pea and noodle cassole. Not our usual direction of garlicy or spicy foods, but it was nice for variety sake. Not to mention it’s easy and quick!

I will say it was nice to go to Ottawa/Nepean with Michael. Nice to share it with him. We enjoyed a tasty meal at Coriander – an excellent Thai restaurant on Kent St. after our outings downtown. Banjo still was disappointed to not find Ma and Pa there. On the last day there, he excitedly ‘jumped’ to greet the people coming through the front door. It was a bit startling for the unexpecting plantwaters, especially since I had parked in the garage. Surprised Denise and Samantha! Not knowing her number and having remembered the plant watering schedule, I had figured we would have safely missed Denise between 2-4 Jan. I had not let her know we were there. In the end it was nice to have a chance to say hello to them.

I have moved the blog to http://melbor.tripod.com/ for now. This web host puts annoying ads on our web site, but it seems mostly okay otherwise. The move will take a couple of days to complete so expect a few broken links. I’ll keep looking for a better free web host and will move to blog to a permanent home when I find one.

I got an email from KOS today saying that we are using too much web space. I guess that means I’m going to have to find another web host. I hope I can find a good one. The free ones usually force you to put popup ads on your site.

We had lots of fun in Ottawa this past weekend, but I’ll wait until I find a new home for the blog before I post any pictures. Today was our first day back to work after the Christmas holidays.

There are so many things to see in this area. Along the way to the little bluff and the lighthouse we spotted the birdhouse city. We had to pull over for a quick look. As for the little limestone bluff…its only a 18 meter drop….Aaaaahh! My knees felt weak a few times…as I watched Michael position himself and Banjo for a few camera shots or when Michael had to stand by this tree just by the edge of the cliffs. I was glad to move on the lighthouse after that. Salmon Point lighthouse was not accessible, but luckly Michael found the other one. The sun came out and made the highly hazardous area for boats very beautiful.

We are off to Nepean today.

Some more photos from the animal sanctuary: cougar, donkey, ducks, lynx, turkey, rooster. The black bear was sleeping out of sight in her shelter. One enclosure held a lion and a tiger, and Joe said if we called them by name they would come right up to the fence. Too bad we forgot their names. I really enjoyed the cougars’ meowing and purring. They sounded just like Mom’s cat Gert!

The Little Bluff Conservation Area had some pretty cliffs where we took some far away Highlander type photos (me, Celine & Banjo). Celine thought I was getting too close to the edge. There were also some trails through a small forest. I liked the juniper trees.

On Prince Edward Point there is an old abandoned lighthouse, built in 1881. At some time in the past the lantern room was removed from the building, and now the light is a solar powered beacon at the top of a skeleton tower. I started to climb the tower, but Celine wouldn’t let me go all the way to the top.

I had a really great New Year’s Eve. We should do things like this all the time!

Happy New Years everyone!
Michael, Banjo and I enjoyed the last days of the 2003:

Banjo’s had two lumps for over two months. I wanted to have him looked at right away; however, I have been working so much, I could not. I have been monitoring them, they have not grown. Finally Banjo goes to the vet on 31st December. Dr. Sylvester did a few quick biopsies, which was a bit painful for Banjo. It is the first time he has struggled, but he was good. After looking at the slides, she came to us with two thumbs up! They are harmless lipomas! Thankfully.

From there we continued our exploration of Prince Edward County. Earlier this week I was puttering around on the computer and discovered a few points of interests: Little Bluff Conservation park, Salmon Point lighthouse and Bergerons’ Exotic Animal Sanctuary. I wanted to visit the Sanctuary and give them a few things from their ‘wish list’. So we bought some parrot food, carrots, apples and a lump of meat. We had a few clementines, pears and bananas at home that we also brought. Michael liked the ideas and found other sites of interest as well. It was very exciting to go on this excursion. After taking the ferry we stopped at a conservation area so Banjo could get a chance to romp around before we got to the sanctuary.

When we got there and gave them their gifts, Joe gave two tigers our offerings. Just a snack for them!! Michael and I also got to feed a few apples primarily to the goats. Julian, a young snow monkey born there, was very sweet and entertained us. The wolves gave a concert and an inquisitive rooster followed us about through some parts. It was amazing to see the animals. It was nice to talk people that were passionate about caring for animals. I talked to Pat about animal husbandry and hardships they’ve had. We learnt of their plans for larger habitats for the large cats, where they put their animals sensitive to the cold weather and the new arrivals. There were a few things that concerned me about the habitats ie It was quite wet for some animals, but Pat seemed aware of it. It was sad because 1) one can see the effort they have made (which were enormous) how much more the animals still need. 2) they could never return to their natural habitats. These animals were animals confiscated from irresponsible people, considered surplus or not perfect specimens for zoos or orphaned. So here they are given a chance to live as well as possible. It felt good to be able to show a bit of compassion and generosity to the animals and the Bergerons. They appreciated it.

I will let Michael talk about the little Bluff…It makes me nervous… And the lighthouse ’cause he is the one who started the lighthouse hunt. The sites were great!! Yesterday was a fantastic day!