Sunday, December 31, 2017

Favourite Adventures of 2017

Happy New Year Everyone!  I like to look back at the year and reassure myself that we have got out to enjoy some adventures, so here are a few of my favourites of 2017.

In February we heard reports of Snowy Owls over near Chesley.  It took two trips and a lot of spotting with binoculars, but we found the Snowy Owls, distant as they were across the fields.  By the time we were finished we had counted over 20 of them.

In April we headed west for two weeks, mainly visiting our daughter and her family, but also taking off on a little trip down into Washington State, to see the tulip fields in the Skagit Valley.  Amazing!

Back home in May, one of my favourite local adventures every year is to walk the trails at Old Baldy to see the spring wildflowers.  This is Dutchman's Breeches, one of many in the woods there.  The three weeks when the world is turning green, but before the bugs come out is one of the most beautiful times of the year.

In June we managed a short trip in our camper van up to Tobermory, and visited Flowerpot Island, part of the Bruce Peninsula National Park there.  Getting a picture without people in it was a challenge, but we had a beautiful day for our visit.

Later in July, a friend and I paddled past the claybanks east of Meaford, something I've been wanting to see for several years.  We had to wait for a calm day on the bay!

One of my personal adventures this year was to follow a number of crop fields over the season, watching crops from early spring until harvest.  I learned a lot actually, and enjoyed it.  These are bales of wheat straw after the wheat harvest in August.

Then in September I got to join my canoeing buddies for the first time in several years as we travelled to the French River in northern Ontario - but stayed in a lodge and avoided portaging.  A wonderful adventure - these are the famous Dalles Rapids, site of log drives in days gone by, and challenging canoeing today.

We got out west again for a week in November, and though it was a rainy week, my son-in-law, grandson and I went in search of the Giant Douglas Fir in Cultus Lake Provincial Park.  Probably the biggest living tree I have ever seen!

Finally, in December I got out locally to explore the Woodford Crevice, a narrow crevice in the limestone cliffs on the Bruce Trail east of Woodford.  They warn you not to use it if you're claustrophobic, but we made it through fine.

I'm hoping for a better 2018 in our own lives, because we devoted so much of our time and effort in 2017 to moving, and then I had surgery which I'm still recovering from.  May 2018 be a more relaxed and more adventurous year for everyone.  And may peace find its way to the planet!


21 comments:

  1. These are all fantastic shots! Happy 2018

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  2. Hello, I love the Snowy Owl. Beautiful photos. I wish you and yours all the best in 2018. Happy New year!

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  3. Happy New Year to the Hilts family!

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  4. Blogging gives us a great way to look back on the year!! Happy New Year!

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  5. Some beautiful photos from a busy year, FG. I hope all your wishes for the coming year come true.

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  6. You had an interesting year with many beautiful pictures for us to see. May 2018 be as bountiful and more.
    MB

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  7. Nice post for the last day of 2017. Have a happy 2018 and keep up the great blog.

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  8. Thank you for this lovely retrospective, reminding me of many of your adventures that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am looking forward to a wonderful year filled with lots of new places to explore! :-)

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  9. What a beautiful way to end the year. Thank you for your wonderful follow up and I'm happy to be able to have shared a wee part with you and Mrs. F.G.
    Happy New Year! May 2018 bring more peace and joy to you both.

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  10. Happy New Year to you and Mrs FG, I do hope your recovery will be complete and you will be able to take more photos! :)

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  11. To you both, may 2018 be filled with good health, fine weather, great places to visit, and friendships continuing.

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  12. Great memories- keep sharing those adventures with us!

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  13. Nice to see the highlights of the year.
    My you and Mrs FG have a blessed, happy and healthy New Year.

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  14. awesome choices, great memories!! happy new year!!

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  15. Beautiful photos....wonderful memories. I so love the spring of the year and being in the woods then. Didn't get to this year, but hoping to some next spring. I so want to get our granddaughter out. Her mom always loved to be out in the woods, and hope to pass it on to her.

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  16. Wonderful reflective set FG.
    You've again provided a couple of ideas for my list of places to visit (and photograph).
    - Woodford Crevice
    - Cultus Lake Provincial Park
    Thanks & Cheers!

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  17. Great pictures. You sure had some good adventures last year. Hope 2018 brings more for you.

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  18. Wonderful choices. I remember these.

    Happy New Year!

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  19. Nice post for the last day of 2017. Have a happy 2018 and keep up the great blog.

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