Lots to tell you today

Yesterday we went to an Art in the Forest day at the Sandilands forst Discovery Centre, just south of Hadashville. I had found out about this earlier in the week, and decided to pursue it, as we've been looking for outings that don't cost a lot.  This would have been free, if I hadn't signed up for a workshop.  The day was organized in conjunction with the Pinawa Artists Group.  There were three one hour workshops offered with all supplies provided. One was in hand built pottery, one in watercolour painting, and I think the third in hand carving wood.  As well there were "art stations" set up around the area where people could try simple techniques, and there were also artists set up simply demonstrating their crafts--potters, fibre artists, oil painters and a guy carving a dead tree with a chainsaw.  Anyone who took a workshop got a sandwich lunch, and knowing this David took a bag lunch with him.

The setting evidently has been there since the research station was set up years ago, but nobody seems to know about it. We were told that the only visitors they usually get are school children.  There is a little forestry museum, a forest ranger station from the 1920's, a large scale model of a fire tower ( big enough for people to climb).  One of the old treeplanting railway cars is also on site.  It was a lovely day.  I took my watercolour class, and learned a bit but I can't really say what. LOL  The ladies told us that there were about 100 visitors and 50 volunteers there by lunch time, but there seemed to be more cars coming in all the time, including a van full of Hutterites--driven by a woman.

The lunch was excellent, ( and huge!) and I got a box of tubes of watercolour paint, a package of brushes and some paper.  We spent four hours there and both felt it was very good value for the money. We came home and both had a nap ( too much fresh air?) teh lunch was so big that I didn't even worry about supper.
The following are pictures of David checking out the suspension bridge ( the yellow tape indicates that the hiking trail is closed because of fire danger).  There is a picture of the potter demonstrating under the scale model fire tower.  There is a stuffed Golden Eagle that was in the museum. I was stunned by the colour of the feathers and the size of the wings compared to the size of the bird.  There is a picture of the chainsaw carver at work, and the two of David in his new tee shirt--or as it says on the back of the shirt--his official "tree shirt";