September's End 2020

 The leaves are giving us a sure sign that Fall has arrived.

"Autumn is a Second Spring

When Every Leaf is a Flower"

                                        Albert Camus

My favourite Fall garden "flowers" right here!

Pumpkin Patch Raid

School has begun at long last and this little student couldn't be happier.

(whispering a prayer for safety and health)

Perfect weather for a quick get-away to a beautiful park

on Georgian Bay - Awenda Provincial Park

Trails for hiking and biking with dear friends ...

Photo credit - Stew

Forest Bathing!

Funky Fungi everywhere - so lovely!

Final garden clean up weekend ...

Seeds for next year's garden

And that was that! At least we saved the still growing Kale.

This hearty dragon kale has been showing up in omletts, smoothies, and delicious sides!

Kale omelette with herbs from the garden!

The herb garden still flourishes with parsley, sage, borage, chives, basil and rosemary

A bit of colour also remains in the flower beds

Late bloomers - "naked lady" crocus indicating 6 weeks till first snow?

Last year's elderberry crop being stewed into some immune boosting syrup!

We can use all the help we can get these days.

Elder "Beary" tincture ready to share

The corn fields are ripe and ready for the harvest ...

"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for the harvest."

                                                                                                                               John 4:35

Till next time - enjoy the fleeting Summer days and stop to appreciate the crisp Autumn air - breath!

Pray for the healing of our world.

Stay well my friends!

Birthday Celebrations, Camping and Garden Treasures

And then she was 5!!!

All she really wanted was a "stand" to sell something.

It was decided that she could sell popsicles

and donate

half the monies to the United Way,

saving the rest for something special.

Well, the stand was very successful and she is donating $300

to the charity and had a wonderful day on her 5th birthday.

The birthday party theme was Mini Mouse and she sported

her momma's vintage costume complete with Mini Mouse ears!

We all enjoyed pizza and mini mouse cupcakes and cookies.

And, of course, the annual ride around the block in Papa's Mustang.

Love this sweet, kind, bright and adorable little lady!!!!

Will love your forever, Will love you for Always ..

July has been full of sun and spending time outdoors in spite of Covid-19.

We had a wonderful opportunity to camp with friends in a near-by

Provincial Park on the ever beautiful Lake Huron.

The sunsets never disappoint and are always unique each and every evening!

Is this Lake Huron or a Caribbean sea?

A stray tame kitty was found and adored.

It must have been dropped off - who would do such a thing?

Our neighbours who have a litter almost the same age have adopted

him for safe keeping and kitten companionship.

He will be in good hands there!

The garden is producing well and giving us delicious

lettuce, asparagus, garlic and now the zucchini are beginning to march in!

Lock your doors!

Nothing tastes better than fresh lettuce from the garden,

dressed with cream and herbs.

Special flavour = a chiffonade of borage leaf

Borage

An extra bonus has been the wild raspberries that grow around

this old farm.

We've been picking them and freezing them.

I can't remember ever finding so many.

Now what shall we make with these, loaded with antioxidant, special berries?

Till next time .... stay safe as our world slowly begins to reopen and mid-summer is just around the corner.  I will wear my mask, wash my hands, and isolate as much as possible to avoid a second waive! I will pray for and be kind to those who oppose reason and common sense. I will pray for my dear friend Nonie who is undergoing cancer treatment. Wisdom and discernment will be my longing for this summer of 2020! We will come through this together!

And that was September!

A quick peek of the last bit of this busy month ...

The annual fibre glass trailers weekend rally in Niagara.

Always a fun time.

A quick and slightly chilly fishing trip with long time friends.

Nothing like a feast of fresh caught Northern Pike!

The scenery was stunning!

And, there was a brief but beautiful harvest moon reflection moment

that had us running outside to the dock to catch a glimpse ...

The month was ended with the annual Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival.

23rd year for Crosshill Mennonite Church's Apples with hot English Toffee Topping

fundraising booth!

It's always such a fun day in the village where I grew up ...

And of course, gearing up for Thanksgiving Weekend with some pumpkin.

Oh, and one more thing. 
The "naked lady" crocus bloomed on September 17th
6 weeks till snow??? - eek!

Till next time ...... Praying today for a cousin's granddaughter undergoing neurological surgery.

       May the Lord protect you Cassie and guide the surgeons hands during this procedure!
       

       

September's Beet Goes On

September has been such a busy month - every week has been full of events.

There was a root canal - ouch, big girl bed, a week of camping, a weekend of camping,

a cousin's wedding, a mid-week dinner party, etc. etc.

We are truly blessed!

The Fall garden has exploded.

This week we pulled the vines and best crop of weeds ever

to find at least a bushel of candy cane beets, spaghetti squash,

the last dig of potatoes and last picking of tomatoes!

Still more weeding and tilling to do.

I'm not at all sure what to do with all the beets, especially since

I discovered that the farmer really doesn't even like beets!

I've been experimenting with some recipes for this abundant vegetable

but need to give away as many as I can as they can not be stored too long.

Beware your porch stoop my friends, neighbours and family!

Lunch today was stir fried spiralized beets

My newest kitchen gadget ...

The Cuisinart Spiralizer

BTW, I am not paid for this post by Cuisinart. In fact,

I picked up this sweet little slicer at a local liquidation store for a mere $8 - shhhh

I used 
1 candy cane beet - peeled and spiralized

1 yellow beet -peeled and spiralized

a small chunk of cabbage - shredded

1 clove garlic - crushed

a few slices of red onion - sliced

1/2 carrot - peeled and spiralized

Any combination of veggies would work.

Zucchini would be great!

Stir fry the vegetables in 1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil for approx. 10 minutes.

Seasoning - salt and pepper to taste,

1/4 tsp. curry, 1/4 tsp. chili powder.

I added some sliced (left-over) steak to the mix and it was delicious.

It was more than I could eat but very tasty.
I think the secret ingredient is using

coconut oil - it gives such a nice flavour to the stir fry.

September 2018

Crib to bed for big girl. Cradle to crib for growing baby.  Nammie's big girl bed with pool noodle "rail".
They are growing too fast!

Labour Day Weekend camping on Lake Huron. Visitors from home and watching the Monarch Butterflies head South!

An exciting win (red asym Eternelle sweater) from Shepherd's Fashions in Ottawa -one of my favourite stores!
Want to visit there some day. In the meantime, mail order works well too.

Meanwhile back at the ranch farm, we bake bread and enjoy the simple things in life!

She shaped the loaf all by herself!

September has one more week and we will be busy every day - whew, I'm ready for

a less busy month in October - or is it???

Till next time ..... make these last few days of Summer 2018 count!

Summer in Full Swing!

It's official!

Summer has arrived in SW Ontario.

It has been sweltering hot, the Spring flowers have bloomed

and are long gone.

The vegetable garden thrives and we've harvested our

first meal of lettuce.

So much has happened in the last few weeks/month.

Celebrated 45 years with this guy farmer!!!

I had fun sewing up a fishy little "geranium" dress for a certain sweet grandgirlie:

She's growing like a weed ...

And is the best big sister ever!

Spectacular sunsets and food with dear friends

at Inverhuron Provincial Park on our favourite lake Huron!

Even enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on the Inverhuron beach with 

these special people who came for a quick visit...

We baked a few cookies (with sprinkles of course).

And we finally put the finishing touches on our kitchen update!

The electrical is done and now we can just enjoy it.

Here are some before and after pictures ...

Old counter top but with new gas (propane) stove. No back splash.

New countertops and island installed.

Backsplash tile installed.

Finally - new lights and electrical installed - 7 months in the making!

My new favourite blogging spot!

Meanwhile, the spare bed is gathering clothing once again

for an upcoming Alaskan adventure.

What does one pack for every kind of weather possible???

Till next time ...... how is your summer shaping up so far? Have you done an Alaskan cruise and what advice do you have to pass along?