The Lower Fort Garry

One of the fur traders in the fort.

If I recall, he spoke French!

Dying the Yarn

If you ever wondered how the early settlers dyed the yard they had, the question was nicely answered in a small display.  

The various colors were vibrant.   I was impressed with the ingenuity and creativity of the early settlers. 

Neighbors Came to Visit

The re-enactors all know one another and help support one another's roles.   As I was touring a 1750's house, all kinds of neighbors showed up to greet me.  

They were all most delightful and charming.

Making a Home at the Lower Fort Garry

As I walked around the Lower Fort Garry, it was impressed with the re-enactors.   The young lady below did a nice job on the violin, even with a 21st century Band-Aid on her finger. 

 Besides that, she kept to her role and she did a great job on the violin!

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Be thankful for those who love you and for those you love.
Be thankful for what you have.  Many have much less.

And, be safe out there! 

Skinner's!

Near the Lower Fort Garry is a landmark.   Established in 1929, everyone in the area has been to Skinners for their World Famous Hotdog.   To be fair, they offer a number of different hot dogs.  And, mine was...VERY good.  It was also totally in keeping with my diet!

I passed on the ice cream.   But, it was tempting.  

My thanks to the wonderful staff at Skinner's for their hospitality!

The Arrival of Dignitaries at Lower Fort Garry

This is actually a painting on the under-side of a bridge next to the damn.   I am quite surprised that the colors were as vibrant and sharp as they were.   This area of the continent is known for some rather inhospitable winters! 

The summers are beautiful.   I've been there in February with a -45F wind chill and a -35F air temp.   The summer is a lot more fun!

Traveling in Canada

One of the things I like about my job, is that I get to travel to Canada.  Generally, I am just in the Toronto or Winnipeg areas.   I really like Winnipeg.   In my youth, I was a canoe guide in the Quetico Provincial Forest and BWCA.   I loved the woods.

So, I try to get out and see the area when I can.   It's better than sitting in a bar, at least for me.

On this trip, I managed to get to the Lower Fort Garry area.  Canada utilizes a lot of hydro-electric dams and sells some of its surplus electricity to the US.

I really wanted to grab a fishing rod and see how they were biting. 

 I'm not sure if this is totally accurate, it's been a long time, but I believe the last cast I made in Canadian water left me wanting to go back.   Just as the lure was about 6 feet away, something hit it.  The rod bent, the line broke, instantly.  It was HUGE.  And, I never saw it.

I wonder if that fish's great, great, great, great grandson is hiding in those waters.

Sometimes You Can't Get from Here to There in a Straight Line

My apologies to all for the blog being a bit slow this week.   My primary hard drive started to go.   I suppose a bearing was wearing and I noticed the computer would work for a while and then get very slow and lose the wireless connection.   I thought it was a fan.   But, when I took the covers off and started digging around (because that's what you do inside a computer), I felt the primary drive.  It was too hot to touch for long.

So, I got an ice pack from the fridge and laid it on the drive to keep it cool.  And, I backed everything up for the next 2 hours.  I went through 2 ice packs!  But, it worked.

Then, it was a matter of getting a new drive, getting it installed, finding all the programs I need, getting them installed and then, and only then, could I see if I could copy my data from a spare drive back to the new hard drive.  

I am very pleased to say that I was finally successful.  I have a few more programs to load.  But, I am generally back.  So, my blog readers can rest assured their respective lives can go on without the tragedy of losing this blog! 

I learned a lot in this process.  The first thing, of course, is to pay attention.   The second thing, is to back up your data!  The third thing, is to not let too many people talk to you when you are stressed about work, the computer, your data, and the blog.   It just sort of slowed the entire process down.

But, I believe I am back. 

It's nice to be back.

Blog Update. Hard Drive has Crashed!

Due to a sudden hard drive crash and burn, my blog updates will be delayed for a couple of days.  I believe I have my photos safely backed up.  But, that will remain to be seen.

Fingers crossed.

In the mean time, this image was not taken by me.  But, I love it.

She is our future.   Take good care of her.   Teach her to work hard.  Teach her to study hard.  Teach her to be kind to those deserving kindness.  Teach her to understand justice.  And, teach her to be strong, so that she can withstand those that seek to do her harm.

Rest well, my little princess.