Finally, the weather is cooperating, and we received a beautiful, warm, sunny weekend to enjoy. And enjoy we did! Lunchtime on Sunday, we packed up a bunch of hot dogs and all the fixings, picked up Alex and headed up to Gull Lake Ranch.

Joey looking for a handout - Carol and Alex enjoy a hot dog

No work had happened since our last visit  :(  but that was kind of expected, as Bob was on vacation until the 6th of May. Hopefully, it will get going with a vengeance after that. But back to our wienie roast...
Although we started out in sweaters and jackets, it soon became apparent that t-shirts would be the order of the day. I (Mike) was in shorts trying to get some rays on my very white (embarrassingly so!) legs. It was glorious! We started a fire with all the wood Carol had prepared last week and quickly got down to roasting. Why is it that food tastes so much better when it is cooked outdoors? Anyway, a few "dogs" later, Alex and Carol set off for the old well site, taking Joey along to try and burn off some of the energy she seems to be filled with whenever we're up here. It was on the return trip that Alex, who had set off on his own at a running pace, came across a big brown bear. Well, actually it was a Black Bear, Ursus Americanus, but it was big and brown....but I digress!

Alex enjoying the warm, sunny day

The bear, who was down by the lower fence line, looked up to assess what creature had dared to come and disrupt his solitude. Apparently, Alex didn't come off as much of a threat, as the big guy quickly returned to browsing for lunch before disappearing into the woods. At least that Alex's story - as Carol and I never saw the bear at all!
We both think it's kind of cool to have those animals on and around our property. The stories go that if you have dogs, the bears will leave you alone and you might never see them. So, with Joey and a future pack-mate, we hope we never have to resort to defending ourselves with our firearms - but, we will keep them handy, just in case!
About then, a couple showed up on their side-by-side ATV, having also seen the bear. (so I guess we have to believe Alex  :)  Lesley had been in to KPA Printers, where we printed her daughter's wedding invitations, so she was no stranger and she quickly introduced us to her husband, Colin. They came well-equipped and offered us a beer. We declined as we were planning on leaving shortly and I won't drink if I'm driving  :)

Carol and Joey by the fire before lunch

They spent quite a while chatting and story-telling about their own house-building adventures. They commented on the beautiful view we will have from our place. They suggested we go and check out Lance and Jackie's (our realtor, Jackie Brommeland) new place. They had just come from there and it had been their first visit since Christmas, before Jackie and Lance had moved into the new house. Lesley was really impressed with it, commenting on the concrete floors - the entire house (all 4,500 square feet of it) is heated with in-floor, hydronic radiant heat. They have the floors finished in a variety of ways and they look and feel amazing. I doubt that budget will allow us to do the same with our house, but it sounds very nice.
After the fire died down, we smothered it with sand from 2 of the sandbags in the back of the truck and headed for home. It had been the best day at the new property (except, perhaps, for the day Carol and Lea rode the place on horseback). Hopefully, next time we're up, it will look much different.