Halloween ....

 I love this Halloween design from Sandy - it was fun to stitch all the detail in the design, and my hubby said he enjoyed watching it come to life.  BTW, Sandy has another cute Halloween design posted ...... I think I need more time.  :)

Christmas stitching .....

I've done a bit of Christmas stitching over the summer.  These cuties are from Brooke's Books.  I think I won't 'finish' them until all the designs are stitched.  Aren't they just the cutest?!?!?!  And they're free, too. 

Finally finished ......

I've been stitching this for .... well, let's just say for a very long time.  Is anyone adventurous enough to take a guess at how long I've been working on it?  I was determined to finish it this summer before I started on anything else - what a relief to finally say, "I'm done!"   In case you're wondering what it is  - my maiden name is McLaren and this is our family crest and motto; the scarf around it is the McLaren tartan.

I caught these little sweeties sunning themselves on a rock at the river's edge .... is this what happens when "froggie goes a courting"?

 

It's been awhile .....

We've been spending the summer at our cabin by the river and have been rather lazy .... reminds me of that old tune 'those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer'.  I think we have finally learned how to be retired.  The weather has been strange and that means some things are growing well and others aren't - we certainly will not have a bountiful crop but are enjoying the veggies that are being produced.  There are no saskatoons or chokecherries this year, which I miss but so will the wildlife.   Here are some pix from around the cabin yard.

 There are actually cucumbers being produced here - hooray; I love these poppies - their edges are shaggy. 

My husband rescued and restored this antique wheel barrow - all the wood parts are cedar.

We found this old galvanized mop bucket at the dump.  This year it's home to cornflowers, borage, pansies, and  calendula.

Here's a close-up of the poppies.

This is Paco or perhaps Paca.  In cottage country there is a large flock of pelicans that's fondly referred to as 'the Waterhen Airforce'.

These are the potatoes that grew in the compost pile.  We'd had too many to plant in the garden and put  the leftovers in the compost where they grew strong and tall and much to our surprise produced all of these.

There are lots of frogs around this summer and the majority of them are quite large and a myriad of colours - this fine fella is a blue-green.

Canada Day!

Today, July 1st, is Canada Day..... Happy Canada Day!

this and that

Are you familiar with Citrus Vinegar?  Curiosity got the best of me and I tried it out - I'm impressed!  I put the peel from a couple of oranges into a litre of white vinegar (in a jar with a lid)  and left it for two weeks, shaking it occasionally  - dilute it 1:1 with water or not - I didn't.

In cottage country there is a hunting and fishing lodge, Harvest Lodge, that serves a creamy chicken with wild rice soup that is to die for absolutely delicious!  You can check them out here and here.

Morning has broken ..............

 

I couldn't decide which one to post so you're getting both of them! 

And last but not least some Wave Pansies - I'd never seen cascading pansies before but I'm loving these fragrant ones.

Now just in case you think I've been living the life of riley at the cabin and doing nothing else  - I made this for a good friend for her b.d. .... not sure what she can use it for but perhaps it'll make a good bookmark.  Did I mention that she enjoys wine?  

Little Dog .... gone fishing

We've been spending a lot of time at the cabin and enjoying it immensely.  Spring is a splendid time to be there since we get to see, hear and feed the variety of birds as they migrate north, and watch the leaves, etc. spring to life; along with that it is much quieter than in mid summer and usually cool enough to be able to use the wood stove.  Here's a slice of cottage life ......

Little Dog fell asleep waiting for another fish to bite; she and 'dad' had caught 3 already and she wasn't ready to call it quits.

Our first hot day this spring was on May 24th when the temp. hit +33C and the leaves popped out!  This is aspen and I love the tiny heart shaped leaves that burst forth! 

 I couldn't resist these twisted trunks on some shrubbery along the water's edge.

This was a complete double rainbow although I wasn't able to capture it in it's entirety ... I think I would have had to stand on the cabin roof to do that, lol.  I like how the rainbow reflected in the water and came right across to our place.

There is a family of tree swallows nesting here.  They are very entertaining and delightful to have around.  

These are Crowfoot Violets that are in abundance just now.  Fortunately, the lawn mower passes over them and we get to enjoy them as long as they choose to bloom.  

This is the river mist that we get to see on cool mornings as the sun is rising - I never tire of seeing it.  

 This beauty was in the mail waiting to be picked up when we arrived home ... isn't it gorgeous?!  It's a beautiful gift from Valérie. I love it!