Tag: Nature
-
Writing Retreat to Rocky Mountain House
My family and friends were lucky enough to go on a mid-week retreat to a fantabulous cabin just outside of Rocky Mountain House. My plan for this retreat was to WRITE and I’m happy to report I managed to revise a few chapters of Book 3. The setting was ideal for writing. Loads of gorgeous […]
-
July in Photos
The month of July was heatwave upon heatwave, with the odd smoggy day thrown in the mix due to many raging wildfires in North America. You’ll clearly see the effect of those in the final handful of photos, though the photos do look worse than it was IRL. The air smelled of smoke for a […]
-
Weekend in Cold Lake
We went away for the first time in, like, ever, and it was incredible. Worth every second of the 6-hour drive, worth every mosquito bite, and worth the ‘spot the *insert colour here* car’ games born out of serious boredom. That said, I don’t want to come off as insensitive. It’s starting to feel something […]
-
June in Photos
It’s been a busy one, folks. My kid finished Gr 2 (with three dress up spirit days thrown into the mix), Jan and I were fully vaccinated, and we’re surviving an intense heatwave. There was a lot of drawing, yummy treats, and time spent outdoors. Here are some highlights. Have a good one. Yolandie
-
May in Photos
I did a photo a day challenge in May, and I’m happy to say I actually stuck with it! Up until the last few days, anyway. Still, I did better than I imagined I would, and I’m proud of that. Most of these photos were featured on my Instagram as part of the challenge, though […]
-
Some Weekend Stuff
It was a busy one, folks. Kayla wanted a girls’ day, so that’s how my Friday went down. In the late afternoon, I had another buddy write with the fabulous JR Rainsville, and actually got some stuff done! With the lockdown restrictions tightening again, the only time we can see other people is while outdoors. […]
-
The Random Photo Post
Just a collection of random shots from my last few weeks. Enjoy! Have a good one, folks! Yolandie
-
While I was Away
This post is basically a collection of random photos. I took some with my Instagram account in mind, but most are just spur of the moment, hey-look-a-shiny! pics. Did they make it to Instagram? Nope. Still, this is a pretty good collage of my quiet, uneventful lockdown life, and I figure I should document it […]
-
Trip to Blackshale Suspension Bridge
Last weekend, we went hiking with friends. Why? Because Canada is a peacock on show this time of year. Blue skies, golden trees, and glittering water. Folks, I love it here. Anyway. We visited the suspension bridge first, walked around the area there, then decided to find another, slightly longer hiking route. Unfortunately, this idea […]
-
Exploring Lake Minnewanka
As with most of the well-known tourist spots, we’ve visited Lake Minnewanka before. Just a quick stop, though, as the sheer mass of tourists kept us from exploring the area last time we were there. This time, no such thing happened. We drove mountain-side last weekend, stopped at Minnewanka, and could finally see what the […]
-
Johnston Canyon Revisited
The last time we went to this magical place, the ice was thick and we had no spikes on our shoes. We’re noobs. How are we supposed to know you need spike strips when visiting Canadian parks in the winter. 😛 We’ve wanted to go back since that first time–heck, we’ve even tried–but somehow, something […]
-
Trip to Big Hill Springs
During the Summer Holidays, we headed out to hike in Big Hill Springs with friends. It was a super humid day, with oodles and oodles of mosquitoes. The kind of mosquito that bit while we walked, but only some of us were victims. Jan and Kayla, for example, had no bites at all, while I […]
-
A Hike to Grassi Lakes
I swear, every time I think I’ve seen all Canada has to offer, we discover a new route to hike and our minds end up exploding. Grassi Lakes is one of those places that will take away your breath and make you want to stay forever. The best part? We’d never even have known it […]
-
The Random Photo Post
These are the last of the vacation photos, the stragglers who didn’t come in with the rest of the herd. My in-laws aren’t really photo people. I have a wall of photos in my house, a display of all of the faces we love, but the last family photo I have of us and my […]
-
Vacation Photo Diary Vol 1
We went to the mountains. I mean, this was obviously one of the first things we did while my in-laws visited. Have you seen the Rockies? I want to live there. 🙂 We explored Banff and Bow Falls this time, so expect to be bombarded with images of nature that will pull at your heartstrings. […]
-
Exploring Bowness Park
Now that the weather is getting better, we’ve had more opportunities to explore Calgary. We’ve been living here for 7 months now (SE-VEN, holy crap, when did that happen?) and still haven’t seen most of what Calgary has to offer. Friends have recommended the Bowness Park trip multiple times, but though we’ve been in the […]
-
Mother’s Day 2019
Jan and I aren’t really big on celebrating holidays. We’re more chillaxed and show-them-daily than I-need-to-spend-all-the-money-to-make-them-feel-appreciated people. No judgement if you’re a hard holiday celebrator, it’s just not our groove. So this was literally the first year since Kayla’s birth that we went out of Mother’s Day. And then only because we had friends over […]
-
Calgary Zoo Visited
We had such a wonderful weekend with friends from South Africa who also live in Canada. Besides the good food–and there was loads of good food–we hung out, caught up, laughed and chatted, and also treated the kids to a day at the zoo. We’ve heard really good things about Calgary Zoo, but haven’t had […]
-
Johnston Canyon
Since Canada is gorgeous and we have serious wanderlust, we headed out to the Rockies again. As if we could be kept away. This time, our destination was Johnston Canyon and the mission was to see the frozen falls. We miscalculated a little. Who’d have thought the pathways would still be slick with ice now […]
-
Snowy Hike
This winter was tough. November through January was lovely, but then February happened. As these things go, it was a record cold February in Calgary–you know, just to welcome its new South African residents. It seems we’ve been breaking records where weather is concerned wherever we’ve moved in the last few years. Remember last year […]
-
Two Jack Lake & Banff
We couldn’t wait to go back to the mountains. I think this is going to be a theme. We go, have a blast, then already miss the feeling of a higher vantage point as we drive home. We’re always a little desperate to go back, always more at home in those higher reaches. Last time […]
-
Walking on Water – Lake Louise
You’d think–after everything–we’d pretty much be sick of road trips, but you’d be wrong. Why? Well, mountains. They call to us. We’ve seen some mountains before, of course. When Kayla was just a wee babe we went to the Drakensberg in South Africa, and we also experienced the glorious Bavarian Alps one December, back when […]
-
Horton Tree Farms
Living in Canada means loads of snow and maple syrup. As a self-proclaimed right of passage in our journey to become Canadian citizens, we figured it was a must to visit a maple farm and witness the process of making maple syrup. We’ve seen it a time or two on TV shows, but the actual […]
-
Simple Watercolour Pencil Trees
When looking through my watercolour journal, I realised two things: trees remain my favourite thing to paint, and the theme so far is somehow season-related. Totally unplanned, but the pages transition from autumn to winter. More on this later. Since I so love forests and trees, I figured I could show you how I like […]
-
First Week in Canada
It’s difficult to believe, but there it is. We’ve been in our new home for a week already. One of the first observations or questions we get asked now has to do with the weather. Who’d have thought, right? 😛 But no, it’s really not freezing here in the north. In fact, at this stage, […]
-
Family Weekend in Pictures
I’m so sorry I missed Friday’s post! It slipped away from me without my notice. We had my brother and sister in law over for the weekend, a last visit before the big move, and spending time with them got priority over being in front of the computer. This was also probably the last weekend of […]
-
Sunday Afternoon Hike
Sunshine has been rare this summer – I don’t know what’s going on. Apart from three or so heat waves, we’ve had an excess of rain and gloom this season. Pretty depressing, if you ask me. Especially considering the fact that I had a tan last year this time. So, when the sun is out, […]
-
Weekend Recap
I’d call it a Weekend in Pictures post, only I took too few photos for that. I don’t understand how the picture-drought happened, to be honest. We got up to SO MUCH, I just didn’t think to snap the events. Those moments I did shoot fall off the other side of the spectrum. I have 32 […]
-
Trains & Tulips in Grugapark
Towards the end of April, we visited Grugapark one day. We found ourselves suddenly alone after our fabulous vacation, and needed some TLC. Hence, the visit to the park. We’ve been to Gruga a few times before, but we’d never seen it covered in tulips. Being nature-folk, you can imagine how much we enjoyed this […]
-
Tulips from Amsterdam
We returned to Amsterdam after a day of rest, but this time, we had a mission. Tulip fields.
-
Hello, Amsterdam
Oh, Amsterdam. Still one of my favourite places on earth. The sweet smell in the air (no, not the weed, the pastries :P), the buzz in the streets and the beauty of the city will always draw me to return. Add the fact that we can be understood when speaking Afrikaans and it becomes all the more […]
-
Visit to Maastricht and Aachen
We love these two cities so much, we’ve visited both before. This was our second time in Maastricht, Netherlands, and also our second visit to Aachen, which is a small German border-town. I can highly recommend both. This was a lazy Sunday trip and would also be the last warm, sunny day we had while […]
-
Rome – Day 4
By this time, we were knackered. Four days in Rome, walking off your toes will do that to you. Having said that, we were still just as in awe of the place as we were upon arrival. Rome, folks. It’s magical.
-
The House is Quiet
Well, I’m back. This vacation was one for the record books. Having friends over was seriously special, and more so because we experienced so many new things together. It was an honour to have them fly half-way around the globe to visit us. All the warm and fuzzies were felt. Having said that, I’ll try […]
-
The Rain is Late
Last year this time, we had maybe an afternoon of sunshine every two weeks. The drizzle was constant, predictable like the beat of my heart. Depressing too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of rain. I come from a place where the thunderstorms are legendary, with rushes of rain like waterfalls and crashing thunder […]
-
Kaiser Animal Park
With the weather in Germany finally turning, we’ve been seeing some sun. Though, that thought barely crossed my mind when the rain arrived. As I type this, it’s dristing outside. No, that’s not a word. It’s a weather phenomenon that is neither drizzle nor mist, and is so definitive of Europe that you probably have the exact […]
-
Water Fun
I’m happy to report that my insane revision period is over. For the moment. The editing was strong with me this weekend, but I did have some forced breaks mixed in. Also some spontaneous breaks, otherwise known as procrastination, which led me to find my Patronus is a St Bernard. I know. Anway, while not […]
-
Neuschwanstein Trip
We’ve been ogling this castle for a looooong time. You know how I feel about castles to begin with, but this one was kind of special, and not just because it’s the template for the Disney castle. Imagine this place, with its majestic spires and pristine white bricks, keeping its vigil on the side of a […]
-
My WIP – Forests and Food
Welcome back! I said this last week somewhere and I’ll say it again – I feel as if a train ran over my head, realised it was on the wrong course and then reversed. I’ve been unable to stay fully awake at any given time for about 8 days solid. Hello, Monday. This weekend was […]
-
Castle Hopping – Part One
Friends – castles. Over the weekend, we saw three of them. OK, fine, we saw one castle and two palaces, but you get the general idea. We also visited some monuments, a small fort with an actual moat and drove between two countries. It was amazing. Here’s how it went down.
-
Visit to Werden
On Ascension Day, we hopped a train to Werden. This picturesque place is a suburb of Essen and is seriously gorgeous. The buildings are still in the old style and there’s almost a fantasy-type vibe to the old taverns turned cafés. Walking through those cobblestone ways certainly piqued my creative flow. Then, there’s the parks […]
-
Sightseeing in Gruga Park (TGC)
So, last weekend, my Weekend In Pictures post got away from me. Sorry about that. I mentioned last week that some stuff exploded in my face and the greater part of the week was spent fixing that. As a result, I was revising my novel, trying to get it as ready as I can before it […]