A stormy summer

This weekend feels like I'm in the eye of a big storm. Not necessarily a bad storm, but one that keep you on your toes. Last couple of weeks have been very busy with work and my free weekend was taken up with a two-day prenatal course. Although interesting and worth while, it was also quite tiring and let's not even start talking about the chairs we were sitting on!
This past weekend was Civic Holiday in Ontario, which means we all had the Monday off. It's become a bit of a tradition that I work that weekend at the PRF. And this year was no difference. Luckily it was pretty quiet without any crazy accidents like washed-out roads or extreme dry spells. The highlight of the weekend was probably the sighting of three river otters in one of the small lakes. Really cool! Unfortunately I did not have a camera so I didn't take any pictures.
I spent the second half of the week at the PRF as well, to host the CIF's Teacher's tour (which included some talks) and the next day a presentation for the sustainable communities with CFB Petawawa.
In the meantime Nolan lived the bachelor life while maintaining a smooth household :)
Luckily I was able to work one day at home in between as well to catch my breath, since I sometimes have a hard time realizing that I can't go the same speed anymore as I used to. I am 30 weeks pregnant now, and for the first time I actually feel pregnant. As in, I can really notice my belly and my decreased stamina. Not that I'm complaining, it's been a pretty smooth ride so far, but I guess it's starting to get real now!

This coming week is going to be just as crazy. I'll be spending a good chunk of the week at the PRF again, while we're hosting the Eastern Research Forest Managers Meeting. Since we're hosting it this year, we are responsible for everything from catering to agenda and speakers. Fun! But also challenging. I only have to present at one site, so it's not too bad. And hopefully I can sneak a nap in during some of the indoor sessions at the hotel so I can keep my energy level up!
But if all goes well, this should be the last busy week that involves travelling, and from then on it will be mostly Ottawa based work. And I'll be off work in less than two months :)

This crazy summer work schedule matches some of the crazy summer weather we've had. Lots of thunderstorms, microbursts, downpours, and even tornados (in other parts of Ontario). The town of Petawawa got hit pretty hard a couple of weeks ago with lots of damage to trees and even houses. The PRF had quite a few trees down as well, but not to the same extent as Petawawa itself. And that was the third storm in just as many weeks. The new normal?

Nolan is doing well. He just finished a Java course (computer course, not the coffee!), and is now back into running. He signed up for a half marathon in September, so the pressure is on!
The animals are also doing really well. Zora is still full of energy but a lot of fun to have around and super playful (especially with Murphy).  The cats are really enjoying the outdoors (the backyard is now completely fenced off so they're safe there), and although we have to put Fertile outside, once she's there she loves it.

So all in all things are going really well. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that things will change a lot in a couple of months, and we're really excited about it, but I also feel that there is more to me than 'just' being pregnant.

A (photo) update

This afternoon we decided to go for a walk in the Greenbelt, since it was so beautiful outside. We brought our camera and our sunflower seeds, so we could feed the chickadees. Back home, when I uploaded the photos to my computer I realized how long it had been since I actually cleaned up my camera! So at the end of the post, you'll see some 'spring-like' photos, that were taken a mere three weeks ago before the cold weather set in...
But before the pictures start, a quick update.
This week has been pretty good, with some running, curling and lots of leaves to rake! But the weather was so gorgeous, it just seemed impossible to stay inside for too long!
Even though the weather was so nice, we've finally had some decent frost, so most of our plants are now completely done for. We cleaned up our gardens for the most part, but now it looks so bare! Only a few days ago we still had vibrant colours. We do have many visitors in the backyard, ranging from squirrels and chipmunks to chickadees and other birds. We always try to put a bird feeder up, but the squirrels always eat the food before any of the birds get to them! So now we have a feeder in the spruce tree, which so far has been left untouched. By both the squirrels and the birds... We are now looking for a pole with a squirrel which will hopefully help, since the bird activity is always fun for the cats!
Talking about cats, Fertile is not doing so well. We're a bit worried about her, but will take her to the vet tomorrow, so hopefully she'll be back to normal soon.
This coming week I'll be up in Petawawa this week, and then off to Peterborough for the weekend, so Nolan, once again, will be a bachelor this week :) And of course Halloween tomorrow! Hopefully we won't have too many kids, so there is some chocolate left over for us!! Another reason to keep running...

So here are some photos. The first few are from our walk today. The birds are cute; Nolan is just weird...

And here are some photos from earlier on. This was Thanksgiving Monday, when the temperature went up to 27 degrees (second weekend in October...).

And this last one is specially for Krista:

Busy Expo, heat wave and my life in general...

Expo 150 turned out to be a bit more attractive to people than first anticipated. The last estimations say that about 40,000 (!) people visited the site! No wonder if felt somewhat crowded on Saturday... But all in all it has been a huge success, for the organizers, but also for the PRF. We drew a lot of attention to our booth, which was exactly what we were there for! But by the time I came home on Sunday, I was pretty zonked. At least I had about 5 hours of weekend left!

The last few days have been nice and warm, although not as warm as the one day crazy-warm-humid-hazy-sticky-42 degree day we had last week. The interesting thing was that after this crazy hot day on Thursday, the temperature on Thursday never made it above the 20 degree mark. Funny how climate and weather do their own thing. I like it! Although I do prefer the warm weather over the I-wish-I-had-a-sweater-day. The last few days have been nice and warm as well (30 or so), and the weekend looks awesome. Mid-twenties and lots of sunshine. We could use a little bit of rain though, especially since our grass is starting to turn yellow. We also haven't cut it in over two weeks. It just doesn't grow. Somewhat opposite to earlier this spring, when everything was way, way too wet! The bush is still pretty moist, with lots of mosquito-producing puddles...
A recent study confirmed that Canadians like talking about the weather. I bet you that study only focused on Canadians, because I think everyone likes to talk about the weather! At least the Dutch :) Makes you wonder how will fund a study like that. Couldn't they do something a bit more useful?

After twelve days of work, I'm happy it's Friday.  It's been a good, but long two weeks, and I'm ready for some down-time. And perhaps trying to get a run in? It's been a week now since I went out for a run, so hopefully I am able to get out tonight. But sometimes life gets in the way. Or OCTranspo, our city bus company... Last Wednesday it took me exactly two (!!!!) hours to get home. Isn't that ridiculous! It normally doesn't take much more than an hour, which is enough as is. But this time the first bus got cancelled, the second was full, after which I got frustrated and took another bus, which meant I had toured our neighbourhood... At least the bus driver was nice!
On a said note, remember the two baby raccoons we took to the vet a couple of weeks ago? The vet decided to put them down. I know it was the right decision, but it still sucks...
Fertile was at the vet yesterday for some teeth cleaning, and apparently she made a tonne of friends among the clinic staff. Everybody loved her! No wonder, when we picked her up she had those big eyes which looked even bigger on her already tiny head. Just really cute.