#100happydays Day 78 Gone in a flash!
We can’t believe July is over! I think we are still waiting for summer to start and then all of a sudden we are hearing back to school commercials!
Now the count down is on to our next adventure! 6 weeks to go!
#100happydays Day 78 Gone in a flash!
We can’t believe July is over! I think we are still waiting for summer to start and then all of a sudden we are hearing back to school commercials!
Now the count down is on to our next adventure! 6 weeks to go!
#100happydays Day 77 Nature’s little dive bombers!
Deerflies, most runners hate them, so does anyone else who wants to enjoy the outdoors in the summer.
Glenis really hates them. She does this little twirly thing when they start to buzz around and then gets a panic look in her eyes and takes off. It’s sort of amusing to me because the flies usually buzz around her more than me. So if is stay a few feet behind her, I’m usually bug free.
You usually see us running with a face cloth clutched in our hand. While it looks kind of silly, that cloth not only wipes up sweat and blood, it smacks bugs and makes a good fly chaser.
Deerflies are in family Tabanidae, genus Chrysops similar to horse flies which can also take a chunk out of you. They are blood sucking pests which can really ruin a good day. Wouldn’t you know it only the females bite, the males are nectar and pollen feeders. Did you know they are attracted to blue? I should tell Glenis…
The web has lots of ideas to protect yourself from these beasts. One involves a blue cup or bucket covered with stick stuff called Tanglefoot worn on your head! Another is to apply double sided tape to a hat and wear that with all the little suckers stuck to it! That wouldn’t be too yucky, would it? I could see Glenis doing that! Maybe if enough of them were stuck there, we would be faster. Can’t you just see us in our next race running with blue cups covered with bugs on our heads?
Maybe I’ll just tell her not to wear blue.
#100happydays Day 75 – Darn weather – where’s summer?
I think a lot of us are still waiting for summer. The temperatures have been below normal and there seems to have been more rainy days than necessary. I mean, I haven’t got tan lines and my grass it growing faster than ever.
To look on the bright side of this cooler summer weather we sat down and made a list. When I asked Glenis to come up with 3-4 reasons why she liked the cooler weather, she told me that it would be tough for her unless I was asking about coolers and then she could list 3 or 4 of her favorite flavors. LOL
While this isn’t a list of cooler flavors, here are our good reasons to like cool summer weather:
We know this weather is better than last winter, and that alone is something to be happy about, burrr, but a little heat would go along way to make us feel like we had a summer.
#100happydays Day 73 Bugs on the bathroom wall.
When I was camping earlier this month, a midnight trip to the loo found me face to face with this bug on the bathroom wall.
The bathroom was full of creepy crawlies, banging against the light and scurrying up the wall. This particular creature looks like a harvestman. Did you know that a harvestman or daddy long legs isn’t a spider even though it is from the arachnids family as are scorpions, mites and ticks? A spider has two body parts but this fellow only has one.
I found this on the Henderson State University website:
Harvestmen essentially have an oval body without the separation. They also do not produce silk or a web. They are not true spiders. Venom produced by spiders helps them in their role as predators, but harvestmen do not need venom because they are scavengers. They feed by searching over the ground or over plants for small insects, eggs, or dead material (either plant or animal). For protection, harvestmen can produce defensive chemicals that taste and smell bad. The Harvestman, or Grand-daddy Longlegs Is Not a Spider
You might be wondering why this is part of #100happydays, after all no one wants to run into a yucky bug unexpectedly. Well, with all the running in the woods, all the bushwhacking and swamp stomping Glenis and I have done, although we don’t like being surprised by them, we have pretty much given up on being squeamish about bugs. Isn’t that’s something to be happy about.
#100happydays Day 72 The Rockstar
Another great day volunteering! You might have read before that the Rockstar is our favorite adventure race and it still is! Today we were stationed at CP31, the stand-up paddleboard station. As with all but a couple of mandatory check points, CP31 was optional. Teams came to us either on foot or by canoe and one racer in the team was required to stand-up paddle board through a course about 30-40 meters long. During the paddle they were required to pick up a flag from a floating buoy and bring it back to us before they could punch the CP completed.
Everyone who did it said it was challenging. Considering they had just ridden their bikes 25K and then either run or hopped in a canoe to get to us, their wobbly legs were put to the test. Many of them told us their feet cramped just trying to grip the board
It was great to see all the young kids out who were participating in the 4 hour race. These 10-12 year olds really put their parents to the test. Those who tried the stand-up paddleboard were great.
After 7 hours at our station we had about 50 teams go through, had a lot of laughs and got some great photos. Phil, the photographer, stood in the water up to his waist for the entire time anyone was on the course. He must have been out there at least 6 hours. We did take a little break during a lull in the middle of the afternoon to attempt a game of beach volley ball. We are not Olympic contenders. You will be able to see Phil’s photos on philjarvis.ca in a few days.
As usual, Bark Lake’s staff pulled together an excellent dinner for all the racers and volunteers. No, yogurt cups and bananas here, it was lasagna with salad and ice cream Sundays for desert. After dinner we gave race director Sean a hug and said good bye to all our friends to leave the racers to enjoy their evening. They all stepped outside their comfort zones today and deserved the great after party.
Click HERE to see more of my pictures from the day.
#100happydays Day 71 Packing up for the Rockstar
A lot of things happened today, but the packing up for the Rockstar was the most fun! We are going with a fun beach theme, even though the weather tomorrow isn’t idea for the beach.
My hubby and I stopped into the dollar store for a few props they it was off to Glenis’s for the last minute pick up of signage and seating. Tomorrow morning should be a quick pack-up and off we go to our next volunteer gig at the best adventure race in Ontario! Stay tuned for pictures!
#100happydays Day 68 – Family Photos
Photographer Phil was asked to take some family photos of the Mclaren clan. I went along as the assistant. We had so much fun with that group, what a nice evening with a crazy family!
#100happydays Day 66 Surviving with a scratch!
Happiness is comparing warrior wounds! Too Funny! (Check out Glenis’s nails!)
#100happydays Day 61 What’s up next?
The Warrior Dash this Saturday July 19th at Horseshoe Valley Ski Resort. Yup we are at it again this weekend, getting a little dirty and having a blast.

The Sisters leaping over the raging fire at the first Warrior Dash at Horseshoe a couple of years ago. We just had to try it again – what a hoot!
Stay tuned for results and photos!
#100happydays Day 60 Did I see a Bear?
My husband and I went on a great camping vacation last week, while Glenis manned the fort and the blog. We have an eventful trip, and a great time.
On Thursday we moved from Algonquin Park to Arrowhead Park. On the way into the park, Phil noticed a large cut out bear sign warning people in the park that there was a bear that was in the park snooping around the campsites. I didn’t even notice the sign. When Phil mentioned it I sort of fluffed the warning off. I just thought it was used to try to convince people to keep their camp sites clean and to use the garbage containers supplied.
Nope, not so, I wasn’t there 45 minutes and I found the bear! I was so surprised I didn’t even get my camera out! I was driving to the park store to buy wood and ice and got all turned around on the twisty park roads. The little guy, (I think he was little, just about hip high) ran out in front of my car, from one campsite to another then up into the trees.
It was kind of cool seeing a bear from the safety of my car. In all the times Glenis and I have run in the woods or have been on an adventure race we have never come across a bear. I was even thinking about bear safety this past week and picked up a bear air horn at an outfitters store. I guess the trick will be to see if I can use it when surprised by a bear when I am outside my car.
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