A Little of This and a Little of That

Bringing homemade robots to the new exhibit at the Space and Science Centre!

Rhubarb Raspberry Crumble in the works...  best to use up my freezer berries before the new season of ripening. 

Identifying nesting birds in our sweet little house over the garden...

...we think they're Purple Martins and I'm sorry to say that we couldn't catch them on camera for you...

Weeding - OH the weeding!!!!

The task that I least like, provides a lovely fresh salad bar for the hens.

Those girls look with an (appreciative) eagle eye for worms in the clumps of dirt attached to the roots.  Priorities!

The simple pleasure of laundry on the line - something I never take for granted living in this Northern place. We LOVE the fresh summer smell of our sheets on Monday nights :)

and picnic lunch meetings... planning the afternoon's fun!  Oh yes, these early days of summer are jam packed full of fun, learning, working, making and even a little bit of resting :)

New but Old

A morning glory tablecloth and 2 Japanese egg plates all thrifted for a song.  

Pavers, thanks once again to Freecycle :)  I've got pathways and brick ovens on the brain...  

Sensory Overload

Our eyes feast on verdant green as we inhale the heady scent of blooms.  Some promise fruit, others simply bring pleasure.

The smell of spring rain hangs heavy in the air ~ fresh, clean and new.

The mornings come early thanks to the birds who are ever chipper in spite of the hour.  

At night, we sleep to the music of millions of frogs.  It's insanely loud ~ in stereo sound.

The soil is loamy and warm to the touch.  It feels good between fingers and smells alive.  After 3 years of coaxing it back to life, it's starting to thank us.

                  

The sun sets late, stretching the days well beyond our energy resources.  In all it's glory, Spring is a feast for the senses and we are soaking up EVERY drop...

In no particular order...

 Re-worked the garden plan on the fly ~ it's impossible to predict "reality" on paper...

Soaking peas (of the nibbling and fragrant varieties)

Marvelled at my genius husband who installed this incredible automatic opener on a greenhouse vent that he made.  It's very smart and it knows exactly at what temperature to open and let the heat out all by itself.  Apparently, I can be a little forgetful.  

*ahem*

The little "note" on the vent is to remind curious children NOT to touch...  he knows them well.

Celebrating the first tomato blossoms in the greenhouse ~ oh my!

Inhaled the absolutely intoxicating scent of our mayday tree.  7 days of bliss that's worth a whole year of waiting...

Wondered how she could possibly be old enough to learn how to drive.

Was impressed (once again) at my husband's ability to "whip up" what we need with what we have on hand.  For those who want to know - it's 2 sheets of 4'x8' plywood attached at a 90 degree angle and secured inside with 2x4's around the perimeter.  A door, some roosts, a vent, some flashing, and an area for nesting boxes at the other end (to come when the pullets start laying in a few months).  Stain was leftover from the coop build 2 years ago.

Greeted the fruit tree blossoms with unbridled enthusiasm ~ it astounds me that these trees can survive -30C for months on end and non-chalantly bloom again EVERY spring.

Planted most of the main garden (potatoes still left to plant).  Brassicas are under the row cover to keep the dreaded cabbage moths off.  They're out already!

Received a lovely new apron all the way from Australia (thanks, Marnie!)

Set a celebratory table for our Daughter-In-Love's birthday dinner

which (of course) included some Mayday blossoms!

How was YOUR week?

this week

Feathering out

New digs for the "teenagers"...

of the poultry kind :)

freecycle was good to me

plums

apples

pears

Mayday sweetness fills every breath

insecticide

pretty work amid the "grunt" work of fencing

brother united at long last... of the little

and big variety :)

Last night, the table groaned with a large, home cooked meal.   Ian savoured every bite and I savoured the familiar, comforting "noise" of a big family laughing and eating together at long last.

  

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was perfect.  Sweet smiley faces bringing breakfast (& chocolate!) to me in bed is a wonderful treat.  I drank 2 whole cups of HOT coffee, uninterrupted, while reading IN BED.  To top that off, I threw open the french doors to look out on a sunny, spring, bird filled morning.  So beautiful!

Lunch was leftovers (easy peas y) and Mitchell and Kelsey arrived shortly after it to spend to spend the day.  Dear Megan (15) cooked a spectacular full roast chicken dinner for us all.  Paige and Kelsey helped her just a little by prepping veggies, but she did a marvellous job and I'm so proud of her.

After the kids got the dishes done, we sat by the fire.  That lovely chocolate got pushed into service glueing graham crackers and marshmallows together :)  Is there anything better than s'mores on a warm Spring evening by the fire with family?  

 These smiles are the result of realizing that NEXT May, Kelsey will be celebrating HER first Mother's Day!

This is the good life :)  Oh yes, it is!

Life and Loss

Along with the joy and promise of new life comes a little sadness, too.

First, a wee mouse found lifeless on the driveway (courtesy of the cat) and second, a chick who died shortly after hatching out.  So hard for our kids who truly feel grief so acutely in their tender hearts.  The cycle of life teaches us so much...

In contrast, our morning walks through the trees look promising now - Spring really is here at long last!  Can you see the green haze of new leaves bursting forth?

Sadly, along with the leaves come weeds (carpets of them).

We eagerly anticipate the blossoms on this tree out front.  Every May, it bursts forth in white, sweet smelling flowers that announce officially the start of garden planting time. 

I'm hauling and collecting as many bricks and pavers as I can get my hands on through freecycle because I have grand plans for a cob oven aka Kevin Kossowan.  If you've never checked out his blog - DO IT!  His posts inspire me in so many ways and probably will for you, too.   Thanks, Kevin :)

  

With our attention turned out of doors of late, my inspiration for cooking has bottomed out.  My thought patterns and energy are both being diverted to other things (largely garden related), so we're tucking in to some simple nosh these days that doesn't take a lot of time to prepare.  While it's not exactly HOT out, we aren't much in the mood for warming meals, so things like Greek salad and Naan bread with some homemade guacamole slathered on top fits the bill quite nicely.  

What's your favourite warm weather meal that's easy to prepare?

Little Puffballs

Paige and Reece watching the hatch complete on Wednesday ~ 

a miracle each and every time!

Drying off and resting,

so exhausted after all that hard work.

Now, 3 days later, happily residing in the cozy brooder, eating, drinking and napping.

Such sweet little creatures!  I doesn't matter how many times we experience new chicks, it just never gets old...