Snow

What a gorgeous snowfall this evening! This is what is looks like out our front window:

I swear that maple tree looks even more beautiful at this moment than it does in its autumn colours.

Out the back window, not quite as well lit, but lovely.

New Year Fun

New Year's Eve was brought in at Joann and Lloyd's. No pictures; I wisely left my camera at home. Shots of me Wii Bowling aren't something you want to see, trust me. It was fun, though.

New Year's Day was lovely, the best weather of the weekend, so we decided on a trek to the upper farm. Irene, Myles, Dodie, and Carl, ready to go.

Carl pauses under the overhanging trees. Everything was heavily laden with snow on top of ice, and a lot of broken branches and some felled trees were evident. This picture is taken on the road, which is about 6 feet wide. With the trees bending over it looked more like a path.

Had to get a pic of Iain, too. He looks so nice.

When we got to Diana's place, we broke out the goodies and had a trail lunch. The small fire was pretty nice on the hands.

You'll notice that Diana's shack, high in the Opeongo hills, has been frequented by bears. THIS is where we stopped for lunch - not something I'd want to do in the summer when they are out and about.

Here's a closeup of the damage they have done to the siding. Yikes.

Christmas 2009

I promised Iain I would put something on my blog, and include a pic of me, at his request (really. not my idea. don't like pics of me.). It has been hard to find the time for it, even now that we are post-Christmas-rush, but if one never takes time, how can one ever have time...
So, for your perusal, here are a few pics. The one up top is our tree, which was just SO PRETTY I had to show you all. The next is (a bit goofy one of) me with my mom and sister Dodie, in front of one of her trees. She and Myles had three of them, two indoors and one outside.

We had a great time this year; dinner was shortly after the above pic was taken. A delicious (locally grown) turkey and lots of side dishes. I personally made the requisite "green jelly salad" which only we three pictured above really love. Jeff was brave enough to try it, and declared "I like it!" to the surprise of many; he thereby became an even more favourite family friend.
Iain and I travelled to Ottawa in the evening and spent a couple of days with Sheila, Kyle, Craig, and Karen. Had lots of fun.
Had a second Christmas dinner on the 29th at Janet & Jayme's place, and got to see Les, Janice, and Maddie. Another great meal and fun evening!
To those we didn't get to see over the holidays - you know who you are! - we missed you, and look forward to seeing you someday soon.
These last two pictures are taken New Year's Eve, as we headed for Carl and Irene's cottage at the lake. The first is on the highway, probably the Quadeville road.

This one is (I think) taken along the road that leads to the lakes. Photographs never capture enough. The laden trees were so beautiful that I had to try, though.

More about our new years visit to come...

So who else watches Dexter?

We were bummed out by the ending to Dexter last night. Yikes.... I didn't see that coming at all!

Not much else to report, here. Shopping and baking continue to be top priorities, with little time left for blogging!

Sukiyaki

Came across this today, and wow! does it bring back memories.


Yes, I am that old.

The video is nothing, but the music - listen to the music....

Now that's more like it.

It appears we have indeed defeated the squirrel! No pictures of him since we put in the baffle. Several other interesting ones to share with you, though:


This first one is a jay coming in for a landing. I just like the movement captured, and how spooky he looks.





This next one shows our White-Breasted Nuthatch, and one of our Chickadees.







And we ARE getting some pigeons; they don't miss a trick (or a free treat).

The fight for the feeder

This is what happens when you try to take bird pics using an automatic camera:

Not just one, but about a hundred out of focus pictures of a squirrel.

So, we have devised a clever plan to baffle this squirrel....we hope:

This is the top off a munchies platter from the local grocery store, with a hole poked through it and a fastener applied.

Wish us luck!

The birds have found the feeders

We had a couple of Goldfinches in their winter plumage help themselves to some niger seed.

Also, a White-Throated Sparrow found some edibles on the ground. We have also had Juncos, and the sunflower seed has attracted Chickadees and White-Breasted Nuthatch.

Our resident Chipmunk and the one of the many neighbourhood Squirrels have been snacking on the peanuts, but so has a Blue Jay.

But he prefers to hide them for later: right after this picture was taken he tucked the peanut into the hedge!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a beautiful fall day, Thanksgiving Monday. Iain and I are waking up with our coffee and will soon be heading to Ottawa to see Mom and Kyle. She has promised us a nice mid-day dinner!

This has been a fun weekend. On Saturday we puttered about the house, getting the outside somewhat ready for winter: putting away the bird bath and solar lights, picking up some of the leaves as Iain gave the lawn one last mow. Yesterday began with another good church service, and then we had a family dinner at Myles and Dodies' place. Missed seeing some family members who weren't able to come, but enjoyed the company of many. Also happy to spend some time with Pastor Tom, and with Hugh (our very multi-talented church pianist), who joined the table.

Invariably the question arises this weekend: "What are you thankful for?" As always, I find the answer hard to nail down, because I am so blessed in my life, and have too many things and people I could name. So I will just say I am thankful for the day, and leave it at that.

The view just a minute ago

Just looked up from my computer, and this was the sunset!

And now, back to computing....

Iain is spending the evening working one of the gates at the fair. I was wondering what to do with my time tonight, and he suggested that I could blog a bit. He probably will be surprised to see his handsome face looking back at him when he checks my updates!

The picture was taken when we were camping in Algonquin park. The moon was huge and gorgeous, as you can see. It shone brightly all night; flashlights weren't necessary for midnight perambulations in the camp. We were on Sec Lake. Our site was just a short paddle from the boat launch (maybe a mile?), and was on a small peninsula, so we had water on both sides, and a view of both sunrise and sunset.

This is the sunset that same evening. I entered this picture in the fair as a "landscape" entry. One of my many non-winners *sigh*. I have a lot to learn about photography!

These pictures look very calm, but there was a rain and thunder storm when we first arrived, and a lot of wind; so much so that by the time we were ready to strike camp there were a LOT of tarps to be taken down. It was a bit embarrassing, actually - a real Tarp City. But at least we were comfortable.