They're everywhere!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Trees and Shrubs of Hawaii
Hawaii, as it turns out, is beautiful. Pretty much everywhere. But, we especially enjoyed seeing the (largely introduced) flora on display at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
For us, the sad part was that with all of these beautiful flowers, we expected a rush of tropical birds everywhere you went. And that was pretty much not the case.
We did see these guys (introduced in the 1960s),
an egret (introduced) perched on a cow, and were even able to catch a few native species in the mountains. But we did see a whole lot of (cute, bird-egg-eating) mongoose, and even a rat, and a whole lot of feral cats and dogs - all enemies of the birds of Hawaii.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Goats in Quebec
We went to Quebec City with Taylor and S's mom. We saw the changing of the guard there, too. S liked it better, Donna liked it a lot, Sam and I enjoyed listening to it from the parking lot, and Taylor thought the one in Ottawa was better.
Sure, but they didn't have goats.
Sure, but they didn't have goats.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Ottawa
On our way back from Parc d'Aiguebelle, we stopped by Ottawa and ended up spending the night in jail. One of us enjoyed it more than the others.
It was the Carlton County Gaol ... now it is a hostel. While I cannot give it any stars, it was a fun experience (once.)
We checked out Parliament Hill, where we saw the changing of the guard.
We walked along the locks on the Rideau Canal - the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.
We spent quite sometime watching local fauna ... groundhogs.
The real hit was the Canadian War Museum. All males age 2 and older were beside themselves. All mothers were alarmed.
It was the Carlton County Gaol ... now it is a hostel. While I cannot give it any stars, it was a fun experience (once.)
We checked out Parliament Hill, where we saw the changing of the guard.
We walked along the locks on the Rideau Canal - the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.
We spent quite sometime watching local fauna ... groundhogs.
The real hit was the Canadian War Museum. All males age 2 and older were beside themselves. All mothers were alarmed.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Parc national d'Aiguebelle
Our nephew visited us for two weeks in July. One of the highlights was Parc national d'Aiguebelle, a national park about 8 hours from Montreal. It has a series of 80 connected lakes.
We stayed in a secluded little cabin on a lake. Our cabin was the only one on the lake. It was named L'Amiral after the butterflies that called the lake home.
We all saw a fox - who posed for us. We watched the busy beavers ... and, wow, are they destructive.K saw a black bear and an unidentifiable animal - neither stuck around long enough for her to get the camera out. And, while the park has a very high concentration of moose, we did not manage to see one. Next time.
We very much enjoyed the hikes, overlooks, suspension bridge, rabaska, and kayaking. Pictures can't quite capture how majestic the park was - but here's a try.
We will definitely be back!
We stayed in a secluded little cabin on a lake. Our cabin was the only one on the lake. It was named L'Amiral after the butterflies that called the lake home.
We all saw a fox - who posed for us. We watched the busy beavers ... and, wow, are they destructive.K saw a black bear and an unidentifiable animal - neither stuck around long enough for her to get the camera out. And, while the park has a very high concentration of moose, we did not manage to see one. Next time.
We very much enjoyed the hikes, overlooks, suspension bridge, rabaska, and kayaking. Pictures can't quite capture how majestic the park was - but here's a try.
We will definitely be back!
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