Burlington's Bald Eagle

Another disturbed night's sleep! Smallest woke up with a blocked nose. We rubbed Vicks on his chest and blew his nose. 7:30am the smoke alarm went off. Huffle shouted "fire alarm, get up , get up" The boys were downstairs watching tv. The alarm going off was the one outside our bedrooms. We searched high and low, nothing. We checked there were no fires outside blowing in through the windows, nothing. We came downstairs and it went off again. We changed the batteries, it went off again. It's not very old so we guess it's just faulty! Well we had to get up anyway as we were off to meet the Burlington Berties at a conservation park an hour and a half away. The most west we have ever been EVER!

We decided to take the mini convertible today (ha ha only joking, someone else!)

It was a bubbling hot day. 26* but felt like 30*. Phew. The sat Nav took us to a housing estate and said "you have reached your destination!". No we haven't. So we used my GPS on my phone and ended up at a crossroads. Again we had NOT reached our destination. Huffle checked the map and we ended up in the right place, a bit late.

We started by looking around the farm.

There were goats. Goats that pooed In huge quantities, like I have never seen before. The kids thought it was hilarious.

Goats that climbed.

Cuddly rabbits

Nests of swallows or swifts. Loads of them, flying round your head.

We walked to the water (reservoir) and up the lookout tower.

All of us (not including the fisherman at the end!).

Me and Muffin

The men chatting

The Geese landing

Mrs BB and the boys walking

No chance of Ice Fishing today!

To you - To me!

Off to the Raptor centre (I was expecting dinosaurs at this point as I didn't know that Raptors were birds of prey). We had a talk about a Bald Eagle (not you Mr BB) and a Horned Owl.

The Eagle was huge. She hurt her wings (7ft wingspan) when she was a baby and has had to live in the centre as she would not survive in the wild.

The gang listening about the birds.

The eagle having some fish wrapped in newspaper

The owl who was too hot and had to be sprayed with water. She had a lot of feathers and she did not like the heat!!!

We had some snacks and then Small got tummy ache and felt sick. We left him with the men and Mrs BB, Me, Muffin and Smallest went pond dipping.

Over the railway

To the ponds where we were given a plastic sieve, a tray with water in for putting our catches in and a laminated paper telling us what everything was.

The kids loved it and we found it hard to get them away. They found red water mites, pond skimmers, scorpion things, and lots more that I can't remember the names of. We found a frog that sounded like a string being plucked on a banjo.

It was lovely and peaceful. Birds singing, frogs banjo'ing.

Smallest could pond dip for England! After stroking a frog we decided to go back for some dinner. We had a barbecue. It was great. A lovely setting.

There were people barbecuing all around us. A proper Canadian Day out.

Smallest's first tooth fell out!

The gorgeous colours on these trees plus the beautiful blue of the sky - awesome!

After dinner and a bit of football we decided to go for a walk. It was really really hot so we couldn't walk far. We walked through some wooded areas and came across a load of swallow boxes. Lots of swallows flying in and out. Some poking their heads out, some poking their tails out.

We found a lookout that looked out across the resevoir.

Two men fishing.

It got too hot and Smallest's legs were tired. Small felt better but weary. Made our way back.

lovely tree

Great picture of a dandelion seed head. The boys were not impressed by this picture. "it's just a weed!!!!"

We had a fabulous day at the park and would love to go back. Excellent company as always from the Burlington Bertie's. We decided to go back to their house.

the kids had a water fight and got very wet.

Drying off with an Ice Pole

Time for a pizza. It was late when we left. Smallest fell asleep in the car. I had a dodgy tummy. Small felt washed out. I am wondering if we have a tummy bug. Hope we haven't left it with the Burlingtons - Thank you for a wonderful day. We loved it.

Smallest's tooth is in his Mickey Mouse tooth holder that I made for him ages ago, hope the fairy comes!!!