Friday, July 06, 2018

Friday's Fave Five #489


Welcome to a very warm Friday's Fave Five.  Sunshine and heat is the order for the day so it's definitely going to be a lazy day of summer around the Living to Tell household.  And to start off we are going to take note of some blessings from the last week.  Please join on in.  If you are new, please take a moment to click over in the sidebar to the guidelines.

Here are my top 5 in no particular order:

~Canada Day~  Sunday was Canada Day celebrating this great country's 151st birthday.  I am so very grateful to be born here and living here.




~ beauty fro the ashes ~ Canada Day we made a spur of the moment decision to make the trip to my happy place, Waterton Lakes National Park.  In September of last year, the Kenow wildfire ripped through Waterton and they had to close the park due to the devastating damage.   It was a miracle and a lot of hard work of dedicated firefighters from all over the region but they saved the town and the historic Prince of Wales hotel.  Waterton town and a couple of trails were able to be open this Canada Day, a far cry from all the trails that are usually available.  It was worth it to go see the area.  Even in the midst of the devastation there was such beauty.


Fields of gorgeous colorful wild flowers
even brighter because of the charred ground underneath


Amazing charred trees are almost artistic in appearance
and a lone deer that we saw enjoying the new green growth for lunch


Trail to Bertha Falls
You could tell hot spots because it was all black and grey ash with no new growth.
This forest had a sign that says it renews itself indefinitely...unless it is devastated by fire.  :(


And the lovely greenery that surrounds the wet areas of Bertha Falls and the creek that it feeds all the way down to Upper Waterton Lake.  

~ manicure ~ I usually never get a manicure preferring to keep my nails short and maybe just a clear polish because of all the hand washing I do but now that my youngest girl is an esthetician I  slurge once in a while.  She gave me a lovely gel manicure with a pink pearl finish.  


~ some good reading time ~  this week allowed some extra reading time which is always a nice blessing

~ hot summer weather is back!~  after a week of colder, cloudy rainy days the heat is back so it allowed me to pull out the pool for the dayhome kids which is always popular.  (Hence the extra reading time for me in a lawn chair while they splash away).  Win - win!

What were your blessings from the last week?







11 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I can see why it would be your favorite spot!

Vicki said...

I agree about the beauty of the park! What a great way to spend the day!

I sometimes get manicures & pedicures. I like pedicures more since I live in Florida and can wear sandals mostly year round.

Barbara H. said...

Belated Happy Canada Day! Lovely to see the beauty in the park despite the devastation. I hope the park will recover over time. Yay for good reading time!

Willow said...

The trails are beautiful despite the burn. Those charred trees are a familiar sight for me-- after five years, much of the area around my home has recovered although you can still see the black tree trunks.

Hurray for pool splashing and reading time!

Ann said...

I had not heard that Waterton almost burned!! That place is special to us. We went there for our 10th anniversary in 1997 (as well as Washington State, Idaho, and Glacier National Park), and spent one night at Prince of Wales Hotel. So glad to hear that it did not burn, and also glad to hear that you had such a good trip there yourselves.

Wendy said...

Belated happy Canada Day. The trails still look pretty despite the fire effects. We're having lovely hot weather too but I don't have a pool to splash in. Enjoy!

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

Love the nail color. When my daughter became a esthetician I was her model for facials, etc. That was a treat!

Karen said...

We visited Yellowstone Nat'l Park a year after fires had ravaged through the park years ago. I was in awe of how Mother Nature heals the land.

Happy belated Canada Day! I do think the Canadian flag is one of the most beautiful.

How great that your daughter can do your nails! I don't get manicures very often -- I think I'm sometimes allergic to the materials they use -- but I tried getting one again last week, and so far so good. I went to a different place and got gel this time, so fingers crossed.

Faith said...

Gorgeous pics of your visit to the park! Did I tell you my college roomie (my 2nd year) just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary by going to Lake Louise????!!! I told her that has been on my bucket list for years! they spent a whole week out there.

Your nails look very pretty.

Yay for reading time!

nikkipolani said...

Some of those scenes of charred trees remind me of Mt St Helens in Washington State after the 1980 eruption and ash came all the way down to SoCalifornia. Seeing plants re-establishing themselves gives such hope, doesn't it? So glad you could spend some time at the Park -- such lovely photos.

Enjoy your summer weather, Susanne!

Susanne said...

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