Crammin' it all in.

How swiftly the summer passes by. It is mid August and I start work at school next week (a week early for the newbies, to learn the ropes; such as where the coffee machine is and what buttons to press on the photo copier). In our angst at watching the lovely sunny days slip us by, we packed a fair few things into this week. Monday was the Cancer hospital check up, all looking good, although my Oncologist commented I was looking a little skinny - "not a medical issue" I assured her after some very thorough back tapping, ball squeezing, blood taking fun. "It's just that I am biking like a fool at the moment and can't get enough of it". That seemed to satisfy the health concerns she may of had and she tipped her hat bidding me a good day until the next time - in two months (maybe I'll over indulge at the next bbq just to lose the anaemic look).
Then we've had a day in BC hiking up to the Stanley Glacier;

Contrary to popular opinion, as suggested by the photo, I am not attempting to strangle Brina (although some days I don't know!!! only joking chuck), I just had a loss of balance as the camera was clicking away.
Although we were over at this glacier in BC, it is still only about an hour and a half from home, so made the ideal spot for a late start (having the long school summer hols is not condusive to early rising). There are photos of the glacier from the past 20 years which show it was so much further down the valley - this is a great testament to the living proof that we, the great westernised world, are well and truly buggering up our planet for good. "But it's just a naturla cycle" I hear you yell, "there have always been fluctations in the global temps making glaciers advance and retreat".... But not at this rate though, I imagine that within the next 40 years (and that is an optimist's very generous number) that well over 50% of these glaciers in the Canadian Rockies will have disappeared. In Glacier National Park, just on the US, Canadian border, there were over 100 glaciers at the turn of the century (hence the name of the Park), now I believe that there are less than 25!!!! Anyway, away from this doom and gloom, those of you who are keen to get even more depressed about how we are screwing up the planet should have a look at Al Gore's book "An Inconvenient Truth" - you can't fail but to be shocked by it.
At least there's still some ice left up there (glass is half full philosophy - and when it's empty, at least we still have a glass). Earl's in Banff fed us for the evening, courtesy of Brina's students.
Fortunately it was a fine day, as Wednesday had me trapped in the basement tiling, flooring etc... Brina seemed to enjoy the DIY a little more than me (I still need to grow that beard to genuinely become excited about trips to Home Hardware) - Once I got over the sulking about not going out to play the DIY wasn't too painful... as a hike up Cascade Mt in Banff was planned for Thursday.
This stripey mountain rat (not the true naturalist's terminology I admit) was attracted to the scent of my loins as we sat atop Cascade Mt

attempting to eat our well earned peanut butter and jam butties. Just before he was about to have a good suck of my lens here he got a swift clip round his chubby rodent cheeks. Completely undaunted he scurried back, before we disuaded him, and his umpteen brothers and sisters, with the odd rock and wood debris (Brina nealry squished the little feller beneath a boulder about the size of his house).
The rest of the spare time this week has been spent a la velo, and I got the scare of my life cycling down the road out of Cochrane as a Golden Eagle the size of something which could have lifted Gandalf from the tower of Isengard, rose out of the grass on the verge as I peddled by. I thought for a moment that it was a bear with wings, it was a really incredible sight to see, having spooked it from feeding on something (probably an earlier cyclist).
Anyway, hope all is well, and I should end this post with a piccie of th' wife with a vist of the Fairholme Range in the distance (good bear country);

Livestrong, stay healthy and eat yer greens.

S&S.