As many weeks go for me, I had a good long one and was looking forward to a little downtime for this Sunday. The world has a way of not really going along with my plans. So here is my #SublimeSunday (inspired by @c0ff33a) and #BeautifulSunday (initiated by @ace108) post to share how my week ended.

This week, a little Sunday drive and a lot of Canada in the winter.

Sunday Drive

It occurs to me that owning the car and planning for an uneventful Sunday are almost mutually exclusive when you have teenagers. I would much rather them get up and out to have some fun than be home and driving is not stressful for me, especially in this small town.

Not a leaf on a tree in the middle of January which is typical. Nice clean roads after a warm spell melted most of the ice and snow. The river is a little swollen with the melt but nice enough for grey and just above freezing.

Dog Wars

No matter the weather, this guy wants to come here to do this. Followers for the last couple years may have seen too much of my little dood but II try and get out to the dog park daily if I can. Good to get out, unplug, breath some fresh air, visit some people and walk in the forest. Plus you can see by the look on his face how much he loves it here. I really should put together a proper zoomdog video on @3speak as he really moves.

From the far corner, you can see it has gotten a little mushy with the snow melting into the ground. Still some slushy stuff on top but it is easy to step through into a 6-inch pool and get a frigid soaker if your boots are not waterproof. Grey skies and a cool breeze but I can imagine WAY worse conditions than this in the winter in Canada.

Plenty of dog and human tracks so I am not the only sucker wandering around the bush in the middle of the mild winter.

Not sure why I love these pointy little fellas so much but they are so photogenic. So fierce with their spines and thorns. Dried out by the winter and brittle enough to be crushed in your hand. I make sure not to knock em down because I think they are cool and maybe some of the seeds might make a nice winter snack for finches.
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Hockey!

As if this piece couldn't be more Canadian. How about a little hometown hockey while drinking a Molson Canadian? IPA hipsters might want to relinquish my #beerologist degree for bowing down to the lowest common denominator of Canadian beer. Not much selection at the home games so this will have to do for a modest $5. I keep my gloves on to keep it cool and my hands warm in the frigid arena and enjoy the beautiful game.

Sunday Brew?

I couldn't leave it on that beer note when I have a few great ones in the fridge. A couple of them were there beauties I swore I would grab again and taste test against each other. An IPA is a good high note to end on and perhaps you will see a head-to-head taste test on one of the next #beersaturday entries. Here is the current one with a couple regional variety packs https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@zekepickleman/beersaturday-343-new-years-gift-packs
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