I made it!

After 8.5 hours of driving and only minimal traffic through Minneapolis, I made it to the great white north. My family lives in the 'orange zone' - an hour from Canada (north) and an hour from North Dakota (west). The nice thing about going this far west is that it stays light so much later, so I got in at 8:30 and it was light for a good 1.5 hours...So I got to go look at the river:

But a brother got in the way!
Then we looked at the garden:

(those are the raspberry bushes. They go on in either direction!) But another brother got in the way!

In addition to the raspberry bushes, Dad planted beans and peas, greens, beets, carrots, potatoes, a zucchini, Roma tomatoes, and bell peppers this year. We have always had a huge garden, but he decided on a smaller plot this year. It's making tons of food for my family with less stress!

Finally, a couple of shots of our animals and I'm off!

Geoff! With his murky swimming pool (he HAS fresh water everyday, but this is his swimming pool to cool him off on hot days. He lays in it half-submerged like an Alligator! I have no explanation for his desire to drink that water right now!)

Nicky! She's our crabby calico. She was a humane society rescue. We walked into a giant room of cats and this was the cat that my 6 year old brother picked (at the time) up by her tail and held upside down. She came back for more attention and we took her home.

Zhingos is black as night! She is my black-and-white cat's sister. They were all wild cats on our property and my mom tamed them with cheese. Their other sister ran away earlier this year, and we think she probably died. :( Her name was Esiban and she looked like a holstein cow.

I'm off to go to my friend's bridal shower and tonight we're making raspberry jam (remember to keep checking back for the giveaway!)! And my technology savvy brother is going to help me make a video. If it works, I'll post it.

Happy Saturday!