Ice Fishing Derby and Online Shopping

The date is set, the ice is freezing and the fish are swimming. The first ever Rubber Ducky Ice Fishing Derby will be on January 10, 2009. Mark your calendars now to be a part of Ducky History.Ok it may not be quite that big a deal, but it should be a lot of fun. I have actually posted the 2009 line up of events on our website http://www.rubberduckyresort.com/Events-and-Activities.page There may be some changes and additions, but that is pretty much how things will go for next year, so start making plans now.

I have also figured out how to set up online shopping on my website. I added gift certificates, shirts and misc rubber ducky stuff. http://www.rubberduckyresort.com/Gift-Certificates-Ducky-Merchandise.page It is not a very complex system, but it looks like it should serve the purpose. Haven’t sold anything yet, but maybe someday.

Has anyone else checked the calendar today. It seems to be only one month until Christmas. Interesting??!! It is coming fast and will be gone before we know it.

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Grey Cup this weekend

Montreal is the party place to be this weekend. It sounds like there are still tickets available or if Montreal is a little too far to travel you can always come and join us here at the Duck for our Grey Cup Party. No, we don’t have the cheerleaders, or the football players in tight pants or the guy with the fire coming out of his head, but we do have addictive hot wings, homemade burgers and a hot tub for half time. I don’t think that in Montreal you can head out for a relaxing dip during half time now can ya? That’s basically the just of Grey Cup at the Duck – the game will be on the TV; the concession will be open; the hot tub will be hot and bubbly; anyone can stop by and enjoy the game.

We have a tradeoff in the weather this morning, the sun is shining but of course it is cold cold and cold out there. Luckily they say the cold temps will not last and it will be close to zero on the weekend. Once again this is Manitoba so we will wait and see. As someone said to me last night we may get to the -1, but the wind will be howling and it will still feel cold. Global warming uh huh ya right.

Have you heard about the huge meteor sighting last night. I’m sure it is the talk of some watercoolers today. This is the story from the Winnipeg Free Press this morning http://winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4252238p-4895949c.html It just seems so amazing that it was sighted all the way from Edmonton to Swan River area. It sounds like it was a once in a lifetime experience with the odds of seeing something like that pretty slim. Now the science guys start their thing to find out where it came from and etc. I am sure that later today there will be reports of people finding chunks of it. It will be interesting to see just which areas they found in.

Now I end this post with a chuckle.

F

rank was excited about his new rifle and decided to try bear hunting.

He traveled up to Alaska, spotted a small brown bear and shot it.

Soon after there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see

a big black bear.

The black bear said,

‘That was a very bad mistake. That was my cousin. I’m going to give you

two choices:

Either I maul you to death or we have sex.’

After considering briefly, Frank decided to accept the latter

alternative.

So the black bear had his way with Frank.

Even though he felt sore for two weeks, Frank soon recovered and vowed

revenge.

He headed out on another trip to Alaska where he found the black bear

and shot it dead.

Right after, there was another tap on his shoulder.

This time a huge grizzly bear stood right next to him.

The grizzly said,

‘That was a big mistake, Frank. That was my cousin and you’ve got two

choices:

Either I maul you to death or we have ‘rough sex.’

Again, Frank thought it was better to cooperate with the grizzly bear

than be mauled to death.

So the grizzly had his way with Frank.

Although he survived, it took several months before Frank fully

recovered.

Now Frank was completely outraged, so he headed back to Alaska and

managed to track down the grizzly bear and shot it.

He felt sweet revenge, but then, moments later, there was a tap on is

shoulder.

He turned around to find a giant polar bear standing there.

The polar bear looked at him and said,

‘Admit it Frank, you don’t come here for the hunting, do you

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Operation Quack went down on Saturday Morning

It was a highly planned operation with all watches syncronized to the second. The final briefing occurred at approximately 8:00am then everyone went to their posts. All the agents knew the risks and were willing to make the sacrifice for the good of the ducks. Fortunately noone else was around because it would have been quite the sight to behold for a bystander I am sure.

We had someone offer to ducksit this winter, we only had to do one simple thing – catch and transport 3 little ducks. Not quite so simple. Our first attempt happened last weekend, just after the first snow. Apparently we had ducks that did not like to put their little footsies in the snow. They would not even come out of the pond for food at first. This was a first for us since when we have had ducks here in the snow before they never batted an eye at the snow. Now what?? The pond started freezing in a little bit more throughout the week and finally they at least figured out that they had to come out on the ice. If they didn’t they couldn’t reach the food since there was no way I was going out on the ice to take it to them. Then one day this week it was like somebody smacked them upside the head and said ‘get with it’. They just started strolling around the yard and coming up to the house.

Plan B was initiated, and it had to be executed quickly since it is getting colder and we were running out of time. Now that they were finally coming to the house that was to be our base of operations and a makeshift corral was set up. Using the truck, the steps and some plywood we had a trap of sorts set up and waiting. Agents Haylie and Sarah were in charge of holding the plywood, Agent Sheri was the decoy with the bread and Agent Dennis was in charge of capture. Unfortately we couldn’t find any wingcuffs so a box would have to do. We managed to coax them over to the trap, but there was one little escape hatch by the tire of the truck that we missed and they were gone. We did manage to get them herded back in, and one decided to make a break the other way and she hopped the step and the barricade. Two down, one to go and she was headed back to open water. Our herding skills were put back into action again and we finally managed to corral her against the wall and Agent Dennis was able to make the arrest. Three ducks were in custody and no injuries occurred. They were safely transported to their winter home and hopefully they figured out that they are much warmer now and it was all for their own good.

I can’t even imagine what this whole scenario would have looked like to anyone that was watching. It was rather funny just being part of it – considering that it was successful.  If it was not successful it would not have been so amusing. If we weren’t able to get them we didn’t really know what plan C was going to be. The girlies got a kick out of it too, but I think the cat thought we were crazy as he watched the whole thing from his window.

It is a relief to know that they are safe and sound for the winter.

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Christmas party planning

I have started an advertising push to hopefully get some more Christmas parties here this year. We already have a couple booked, but of course there is lots of room for more. A short sample from my ad for anyone reading this that doesn’t know what we have to offer.

Why not take advantage of our relaxed country atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the busy season. Our recreation building is all decked out and ready to welcome your group.

Hall rentals are available by the 1/2 day, evening or full day. You can bring your own food and refreshments or we can provide many different refreshment/meal options from as simple as coffee only up to full meals. Liquor permits can be obtained through Manitoba Liquor Commission for up to 106 people.

We have lots of things to do to keep everyone occupied. Outside you will find plenty of wide open space for snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowball fighting, pond skating and ice fishing (weather permitting). Inside you will find a spacious meeting area, satellite TV, sound system with karaoke machine, wifi, pool table, arcade games and children’s play area.

 

If you already knew all that oh well, you really had nothing better to do than read it anyway?lol I haven’t got the decorating done yet, but am planning to do it after the Grey Cup is over. I have inherited quite a bit of decorations and the place looks darn good once we are done. (if I do say so myself)

We are just getting back from turning in our old lights to Manitoba Hydro to get the coupon for LED’s. We started gathering and managed to scrounge up 22 strings of lights. They said there was no limit on how many you could bring in, so we brought them all. We only have until the end of the month the use the coupons now, then it is time to put them up.

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The windmill finally arrived

On Friday morning in all the wonderful snow our windmill arrived. Combine delayed shipping with an early winter and this was going to be an interesting project. It arrived in just a few boxes, then we had to put it all together kind of like a big lego project. It didn’t really take as long as I expected though. We started late Saturday morning and it was built by suppertime. We indirectly recruited some help when one of our friends stopped by unexpectly and ended up helping to build most of the fan part. The extra set of hands was a huge help to getting done so quickly. Sunday it was time to stand it up and get it spinning. You build the tower and the fan part then take it out to where you want it to be and put the two parts together as it goes up. Warmer weather would have been much easier as there was a thin layer of ice covering the pond already. There’s a hose that goes into the water with a pail attached to the end that has to go under the water or in our case ice. We had one crazy fool think that he could basically walk on water to put it in place. One big crack and that plan was changed. Dennis ended up making the hole redneck style – with the shotgun. Sounded like a crazy idea, but it worked.  The next step was to get the pail in the hole however. Our master curler was called into action and a few tries later the pail went down.  After a few minor adjustments and finishing touches it is now completed and is spinning away and the oxygen is bubbling into the water for the fish. Check out the album to see the pictures, then check out the website www.mayawindmills.com to see more about the windmills. They even have 4′ windmills which I think would look great just around the yard.

Windmill construction

We decided to close off the main driveway for the winter and just use the other driveway this year. It has become really hard to keep both driveways clear of snow especially if we are supposed to get lots of snow like they are calling for this winter. It is already starting that way. We are a little worried that some people may be confused, but have hopefully made it as easy as possible. We have a big sign with an arrow pointing West at the end of the closed driveway and another couple signs at the open driveway. The problem is going to be getting them to come around to the back by the spruce tree. We do have a big red arrow there and a couple smaller ones along the way so I don’t know what more we can do. We also moved the sign with the changeable letters to the end of the closed driveway. One side says use the other lane already, but on the other side the track where the letters go is full of ice from the rain the other day. We are impatiently waiting for the sun to come out and melt the ice so that I can put up to use the next driveway.

I can see that the sun is somewhat starting to come out right now. They are calling for variably cloudy this afternoon so with a little luck we will have some bright weather instead of gloom. In case you haven’t heard there is another system with freezing rain and snow headed our way for Thurs/Friday. If this is any indication we are in for a long brutal winter for driving.

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There is only one thing to say on a day like today…

 

My apologizes to any scrooges out there, but it had to be done.

I hope that everyone who has somewhere to go makes it there safely today. I hear that the roads have been pretty bad last night and this morning.  I think yesterday morning the question many people were asking was ‘Do you think it will stay?’. I’m no weather expert, but if I was to make a bet I would go with it is going to stay now.

 Hopefully no one’s drive today goes like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzeiMJQrvk 

If you find yourself stuck, this is not how to pull your car out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-YKfsRl4V8

You could always just go out and play in the snow like these guys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YPQ3P9jCM

I didn’t realize just how much snow there was until I went out to clear off the satellite dish. It is quite deep and is still coming down. I’m being told by two girlies that we need to go for a walk in the snow. Yay, I so want to go out in the snow (that would be sarcasm)

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Santa Parade

We are already planning on entering the Stonewall Santa parade again this year and I saw the website for the Winnipeg parade so, I went to check out the details and see if it was feasible to enter that one too. The easy answer is absolutely not. The entry fee for a commercial float is $1050??!!. Your floats have to be approved by the parade marshal and must adhere to this year’s theme of winter wonderland. If they don’t approve, you don’t enter. You are required to have a minimum of two pacers with each float. The website says that they have around 70 floats enter the parade, I am assuming that includes the non commerical floats (they only have to pay $250 to enter). I tried to find out how this entry fee compared to others in Canada, but couldn’t find any other parade websites.  The Winnipeg parade is obviously only for the big, big businesses. We will stick to Stonewall’s parade, it is more community minded and more our style.

Sounds like by the end of the day it will be starting to feel like winter around here. At some point today we will look outside and see the fluffy white stuff flying around. Apparently it is already snowing in Brandon, so it can’t be that far away. They just said we are expecting 5-10cm of snow. Hopefully a lot will melt as it hits the ground.

 

 

I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.

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It’s my moment

Has anyone had a chance to check out the It’s my moment website? Better yet, has anyone heard of this site?

http://www.itsmymoment.ca/my_moments.html?d=list. It doesn’t seem like there has been much publicity about this new initiative by Travel MB. Actually it’s not that new the website has been set up for almost a year now but I don’t know how many people know about it. Basically you can add your travel memories about Manitoba and you are entered to win a trip to see Beluga Whales at Churchill. It is interesting to read through the stories and read about other people’s travels. If you have a chance stop by and check it out.

I am in the process of doing up the November newsletter and it should be in the inboxes this afternoon or tomorrow morning. One of the topics is gift certificates. It doesn’t seem like it with the 18C weather, but Christmas is coming and will be here before we know it.  Now I may be biased, but I think a camping gift certificate is the perfect Christmas gift – one size fits all, you can never have too many, they never expire. What more could you ask for?

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I’m kinda glad we don’t live in Colorado

 

Breaking News

Naked pumpkin runners ticketed in Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. — Police in Colorado have ticketed about a dozen people running naked on the street while sporting freshly gutted pumpkins on their heads as part of an annual Halloween event.

The citations for indecent exposure Friday night came as dozens of other costumed revellers, including a man with a red cape and a sword, chanted to police officers to let go of the streakers and “find real criminals.”

The event known in Boulder, Colo. as the Naked Pumpkin Run has been held for 10 years.

This year it drew a huge crowd, prompting concern from police.

Boulder police Chief Mark Beckner says officers “wanted to do something before (the event) got out of hand.”

–The Associated Press

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Top 10 Houses to Avoid while Trick-or-Treating

10. Any house that seems to be imploding into a hole in the ground.

9. Any house made of gingerbread.

8. Any house that has ornamental lawn Hell Hounds.

7. Any house whose only entrance is through the basement.

6. Any house where all the windows are glowing with eerie green light.

5. Any house that keeps growling, “Get out”

4. Any house where the trophy animal heads on the walls are talking.

3. Any house that has a bloody wood chipper prominently displayed in the front yard.

2. Any house with a yard full of statues of people in odd running poses.

And the number 1 house to avoid…

1. Any house that wasn’t there a couple of seconds ago.

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