Gratitude Monday --Friends, Fun, and Fish

I am grateful for many things this week, and every week for that matter. We have a friends we camp with and this past weekend was our annual camping weekend.
I am grateful for the time we spend with them, for the grand company, grand food, and grand times we have.
We camped at Goldeye Lake west of Nordegg and tried our hand at fishing.
Bob, below, caught one and made trout with sorrel sauce as an appetizer.
It was good.

There's a hiking trail around the lake. Bob fished while Mike, Sylvia, and I did the trail.

Here's Mike in his natural habitat examining what he determined was a bistort.

The lake is on the edge of the mountains and far enough away from light pollution that we could see the Milky Way. I am grateful for that, too.

Gratitude Monday -- Stuffed Stupid Edition

Pussy willows on the second day of spring.

We celebrated Christmas with our friends the Webjeks on the weekend. Between work schedules, assorted commitments, vacations, and the Olympics this was the first weekend available.
We ate a lot.
We had turkey, stuffing, salad, veggies, red cabbage, cranberries, potatoes, gravy, wine, and two kinds of pie. In short, a traditional Christmas meal on the first day of spring.
We shared in the cooking duties as well as clean up.
The next morning we ate again.
Then we went out for a walk on a local lake under a glorious blue sky.
We came back to the house and ate again.
As my friend Sylvia said, "I ate so much I think I cracked a rib."
It was good to see them and share the season. It was belated by the calendar, but not by any standard that honestly means anything. It is any day you chose to have it.
I am grateful for the time with our friends, the food we prepared and enjoyed together, and for the wonderful weather that allowed us to spend time in the fresh air.
I am stuffed stupid, and I am grateful.