road trip

Today hubby and I went on a mini road trip. We went out to my son's cottage just to see how much rain was in the yard out there. We had to cross these tracks in a little village before we got to the cottage and while we were waiting we noticed a very pregnant muskrat toodling towards the tracks. I was going to get out and try to shoo her away but what if she shooed in the wrong direction. Well, she sat down on the track and started cleaning herself and looking around. I was so fixated on her I didn't notice another train going the other direction and coming closer. But this very pregnant muskrat got off the track just as the train zoomed in front of us. She just kept going into the ditch and didn't even look back. OMG, I just hate to even think what could have happened. It was amazing all the water in the fields and ditches. I haven't seen this much in a long time. Not even in the spring. I wonder what will happen to the young plants that are coming up. Some of the fields look like they are turning yellow where the water has gone down a little. I dont think those fields will produce unless the farmer's re-seed. Enough rain already...

road trip

I have been working this whole week so am slow in posting. But last weekend we went for a drive, it started as a short drive to see some wild turkeys that my husband claims are in the smae spot everyday. Well, of course they weren't there but I took pictures of this field of some vegetables that were recently planted and are now coming up. I couldnt get over how straight the rows are. Apparently there is someone who sits on this machine and puts the little plants in the ground and then the machine moves slowly ahead. I just loved the way the rows looked.

Then further along we stopped and I just had to have a picture of the little streaml. The only sound I could hear were the frogs croaking in the water, but I couldnt see them. It is so peaceful out here. We stood and just admired the tranquility of the place and the simple beauty.

About 5 miles down the road we saw this little white church. I fell in love with it. The grounds were cut and there was a little graveyard on the side. It is hard to know if it is still used as a church on Sundays but I could just about hear the people singing the old time hymns inside. Then over to the side was a surprise. I wonder if they still use the little outhouse. It turned out to be a beautiful morning. Then we ended up in the next town and stopped for a Timmy's of course. I think we need to do more of these mini road trips. We have many beautful surprises just around the bend.

Lilacs

I am so excited...the lilacs are blooming. I just love the fragrance of these beautiful flowers. After 30 years of unsuccessfully trying to grow a lilac hedge I now have a huge hedge, two hedges in our yard as a matter of fact. The only reason I have llilacs is because they were here when we bought our home a couple of years ago.

I fill the house with vases of lilacs...too bad they are such a short blooming flower. Apparently there is a re-blooming lilac but it is not suited to our zone which is zone 3.

We also have this Goodland apple tree that is in full bloom right now. Do you believe, I didn't even know we had this beauty until last fall. While we were cutting the grass we noticed apples on the ground. I thought someone was throwing them over the fence but when I looked up there were apples at the very top of this one tree. I think what happened is we had a big frost last June and most of the blossoms froze. I didnt even notice the tree until this spring. I wonder what other discoveries I will make this year.

Tulips

My mom fell on Monday and broke her hip. Surgery on
Tues. Wed. she developed a high fever from an infection and her blood pressure dropped dangerously low. So I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital. She is doing much better today. The nurses are amazed how quickly she rallied back. Even though she sleeps while I am there at least I am there with her. She wakes up for about a minute and I think it is reassuring to see me there.

So I got a little behind in my planting. I have tons of annuals to plant and try to do a little every evening after I come home from the hospital. This morning I noticed my tulips. They are beautiful. I only planted them last fall so they are just new. But neverthe less they are gorgeous. My favorite is the double pink. The camera doesnt do it justice because it is a much deeper pink than this picture.

Gardening

Today is an amazing day...temperature is around 23C. The sun is shining and there is a soft breeze. A perfect day. Well, today was garage sale day...our little community center and most of the little village had a garage sale day. I dragged hubby out and we went looking for treasures. We found a few or should I say I found a few. I will post the pictures tomorrow.

I took hubby for breakfast after we were done because he was such a good sport about driving around from house to house. We stopped at one of the local nurseries and bought tomato plants and geraniums. I dont pick those...that is hubby's contribution to the garden so he picks them. When we got home he planted the tomatoes. Now most of our garden is done. Just have to add a few more things like cucumbers and pepper plants. Some basil, oregano and dill.

The peas are peeking out of the soil, stretching their little arms to the warm sun. This year the garden is feeling like our own. It has my special little touches all through the beds. Love, love , love it.

Comfort Food

It's kind of a rainy dull morning and I have a craving for comfort food. I could make the old stanbys but I was looking around at this site. I am always looking on her site....I love her little comments and especially love the way she does her recipes....just as if you are right there in her kitchen talking to her. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/bbq-meatballs-comfort-food-to-the-max/ Here is the recipe and doesnt it look yummy with creamy mashed potatoes....plain and simple and yummy.BBQ Meatballs


3"x5" Cards 4"x6" Cards Full Page Print

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6
Ingredients
FOR MEATBALLS
1-½ pound Ground Beef
¾ cups Oats
1 cup Milk
3 Tablespoons Very Finely Minced Onion
1-½ teaspoon Salt
Plenty Of Ground Black Pepper, to taste
_____
FOR COOKING MEATBALLS
1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating For Frozen Meatballs)
Canola Oil
_____
FOR SAUCE
1 cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
4 Tablespoons (to 6 Tablespoons) Onion
1 dash Tabasco
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.
Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.
Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms. I am a mom of 2 beautiful adult children who are the loves of my life. They have blessed me in so many ways.

This is my mom last Mother's Day. She is in a personal care home now. Mom turned 85 this year. Her physical health is still good but her mind has been taken by Alzheimers. Thankfully she still recognizes us and her face lights up when we visit. My mom is and was always happiest when her family was around. I love her dearly. Happy Mother's Day mom.

Gardens

So I decided I would try and show you a little bit of my flower beds. I am changing them around and am anxious to get started. Once the soil dries out a bit I can get busy again. In a month I will take another video and hope that things will have changed. I am trying to be really good and not buy too many plants this year. However, I have quite a few containers and they need to be filled to look lush and beautiful.

Nice day for a drive

We finally have a nice sunny day...temp. is only 8C but at least the sun is shining. We must count our blessings. My hubby took the kids from our local school into the city on a field trip. I had tons of work to do but decided to go for a drive(wouldnt you?) out to the cottage. I sold my cottage a few years ago to my son but get very nostalgic about it and just need to go and walk around and see familiar things. I sit on the deck and just reminisce about good times out there. The cottage is lake front and was originally built as a retirement home but sometimes things don't work out the way we plan. We have lake in front and a marsh in the back. Right now the blackbirds are singing and I can hear the frogs in the marsh. Everything is alive out there. The trees are a little slower to leaf out but things are going along very nicely. The advantage of keeping the place in the family is that I get to enjoy it without the fixing.

Sunny Days

Oh, what a glorious day. The sun is finally shining after about a week of rain here and cloudy days. What a difference the sun makes. The wind is a little chilly and the temperature is around 6C.. but who cares.....the sun is warm. I am trying to take a video of our yard today but can't figure out why my camera won't cooperate. Maybe I just don't know what I am doing but I would never admit it to anyone else. Just going to keep on trying. I tried working in the flower beds but it is way too muddy. I need to move a few perennials from out front bed because I want to put all different grasses in there. I have included a picture from my favorite spot to go for dinner, breakfast or lunch. There is a greenhouse on site with amazing plants. Here is her website.http://gpgreenhouses.ca/index.php Here is a picture of how I want my flower bed to look like but on a smaller scale.

Spring in the country.

Things are much slower in the country. So far all that is blooming is this teeny hyacinth (I think that's what it is). The daffodils are blooming but my tulips are up but no blooms. These daffodils are from the former owner. I keep looking for the daffodils that I thought I planted last fall but so far nothing is even peeking through the ground. I am beginning to think I didn't plant any...just thought about it.

The trees are still wearing their seeds but those are beginning to drop all over the yard. I am finding little babies growing where the seeds fell last year. They keep popping up all over, in the flower beds, in the garden, even in the containers. I wish all my seeds were as hardy as these little maple seeds.

Spring in the city.

My friend lives in the city and her apple tree is in full bloom. As I was driving around the city yesterday I noticed all the beautiful blooms, whites, pinks, and yellows. The forsythias are in full bloom. The forsythia is one of the most beautiful signs of spring. They bloom first and then the leaves come out. I used to have one in my yard and looked forward to seeing it from my kitchen window. I think I need to get one again this spring and plant it where I can have my morning coffee and see it's sunny disposition.

I noticed all the tulips blooming also. All the vibrant reds and yellows. Soon the lilacs will be out. We have had a couple of days of nice rain. All we need now is the sun and everything will be green and lush.