Matzah Man

After spending all winter and most of spring in my barn, I decided to adopt Red Boy.

 I called him Matzah Man because he had matzah balls when I met him (but not now!).

 He's still living in the log cabin part of my house and I haven't introduced him to the girl kitties yet. In time, it'll happen but for now he's living in his two storey bachelor pad.

He's a good boy and very sweet. Happy he decided to visit my barn last fall!

Lupin Time

  I love lupins! I got two packets of them in Oregon about 10 years ago and made myself a wild garden in the middle of the field.

 Every year, Richard mows around it further and further out as the seeds spread.

Not only do I love it, it's full of all kinds of bees!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Being a cake baker, people seemed really concerned that I would have to bake my own cake. Guess what? I didn't have to! My friend Natalie baked me an amazing banana cake with chocolate chunks, covered in white chocolate ganache topped with dark chocolate ganache. And her hubby Gordon made homemade dark chocolate ice cream too.

It was a great birthday! Always the best day of the year.

Birthday Lunch at Mariposa Farm

 For my birthday we headed to Mariposa Farm in Plantagenet.

Sweet that the salt and pepper shakers were kitties!

Loved 'em!

The dining room is a big, bright windowed affair...

This is what it looks like from the outside.

It has an open kitchen with your eating selection on the counter
A choice of one of three appetizers, three mains and three desserts.

Lots of fun salt and pepper shakers. Ducks seemed apropos for this pair!

Fun!

 Nat and Gordon both chose a wonderful salad...

 Richard started with roasted tomato soup....

 I had the duck/pistachio pate for a starter. Wowza!

 My main was their very own grown duck on a mushroom bread pudding and greens.

 Richard had pork...

 Nat and Gordon both chose the bison flank steak on an assortment of veggies.

 For dessert, you serve yourself coffee or tea...

 

 I chose the carrot cake...

 ...while the other three had the wild blueberry vanilla pannacotta.

All in all a fabulous meal!

 Then we toured the grounds and admired their wonderful gardens.

 Natalie makes friends where ever she goes.

 There was a very late blooming lilac bush with a lovely swallowtail butterfly on it.

 And a sweet pond beside the dining room.

 On the pond was a very big swan...

...who seemed to take a liking to Natalie.

The weather was perfect...

 ...and we all had a grand time. A perfect way to spend my birthday!

Back to the Old Neighbourhood

 I was  at the dentist today in Montreal and decided to pop in on my old next-door neighbour. She's so great. We had a great visit and she even gave me lunch.

I lived right next door to these great neighbours, from age 5 to 22. I can sill picture my grandfather sitting on a similar chair, watching all the kids playing on that quiet street. A great place to grow up.

Wisteria...sigh...

 I just love wisteria and had only seen it in the States and never around here...

...but last weekend we visited Richard's sis in Toronto and she had two major wisteria plants growing around her house. This one is over the backyard...

And this one was around the front. Love it!

Architecture Cake

I made this cake for a young man who is graduating from an architectural technology program. The blueprint on the right is his great-grandfather's plan printed on an edible sugar sheet. By the way, everything on this cake is edible.

Paintball Cake

I made this cake for a young man who was celebrating his bar mitzvah with a paintball party with his friends at night.

 He loved his cake and I was so thrilled.

 We were both very silly.

I mean, who gets to wear a fondant paintballer on your shoulder? Couldn't be better!

Queen Margherita Pizza

 There are a million places to eat in Toronto but Queen Margherita Pizza was highly recommended and so we headed over to the one at Baby Point. We started with an insalata funghi which had roasted portabello mushrooms with arugula and blue cheese.

 We also shared a starter of carpaccio. Fabulous.

 Then a couple of incredible pizzas: this one a Caprese with hot sausage...

...and a classic Margherita pizza with basil, tomato sauce and cheese. A perfect meal. Highly recommend it!

A Walk at the Trails

We're lucky to live near the Glengarry Trails which includes a walk around a small lake called the Garry Fen.

It was quite muggy and buggy but that didn't stop us.

Even though it rained on us halfway through, Peggi led the way.

We came upon the carnivorous pitcher plant in bloom.

 I just love these sedges that are growing on this wee hummock.

 Each of these tiny islands sport a different collection of plant life.

 In the woods we came upon the most amazing collection of these dryad saddle mushrooms.

Fabulous!

 Peggi spotted this Ram's head orchid, a rare plant in these parts.

We even came upon a small clump of these beauties.

 The marsh marigolds were still in bloom.

 And clumps of ferns were unfurling. (And no, these aren't the edible kind.)

 Maidenhead ferns are so delicate looking.

 Some wildlife action. Check out the fast moving snail we caught on camera.

 And this bullfrog was happy to watch us walk by, not moving one bit as I snapped his photo.