Haiku Judgement Day

Natalie and Gordon asked us over for a barbecue and then to act as judges for Nat's Hen Haiku Contest. I made dessert and figured mini-cupcakes with random words would be fun for the judges to get warmed up and create their own haikus.


Richard and Sue got the ball rolling with their haiku. And yes, we all had latex gloves so that we weren't handling the dessert with our bare hands.


There was an excited high five, when their collaborative haiku was done.


Not exactly poetry but not bad.


Mine wasn't exactly Chaucer either!


Natalie proved to be the brains of the operation when she said she had "inadvertently" rubbed off an icing letter and made "primp" into "pimp." There were yells of "Cheater!" but I just thought it was clever to make your own word.


And here's Nat's haiku.


Gordon thought long about his verbiage with entranced Richard and Sue looking on.


...and came up with this ditty. Okay, so it's harder than it looks people!


Once warmed up with wine, beer, barbecue, (did I say wine?), it was to the serious (?) business of judging.


With over one hundred haikus to judge, it was a tough choice. But we did it!


To see a list of the winners of the hen haiku contest and a nifty video of our judging process, click here to go to Knatolee's blog

Nutmeg, My Inspiration

I'm crazy about all my kitty cats but somehow Nutmeg, with her calico coloured spots, is so graphically pleasing, I seem to draw her all the time. Here's a quick sketch I did a while back...

Flowering Catalpa Tree

Right across the street from my office is the most amazing Catalpa tree. I can smell it in the morning when I get to work.


The flowers are really gorgeous and amazingly plentiful on a fairly small tree.


They are just beautiful bunches of blooms but I wish you could smell them. Almost like lilac but sweeter.


Each flower later becomes a long bean, which is why the catalpa has also been known as the Indian bean tree or cigar tree.
Another reason I fancy this tree is because one night when I was little, my mom brought me 2 or 3 beans from a catalpa tree that she found on her way home. She told me they were Jack and the beanstalk's beans. And I believed her!

How Cold Was It?

It was so hot, I figured it was the perfect time to defrost my freezer. I used a gizmo my parents always used. It's probably very dangerous and illegal now, but it works!


I even have its original box. The "Lady Torcan Defroster." Don't you love it?

How Hot Was It?

It was so hot yesterday that this lady and her dog went for a walk in Mill Pond,in beautiful downtown Alexandria (Ontario). It was 33C and with the humidex, something like 40C. Wowza!

Italy Cake

I made this cake for a friend who loves Italy, is learning Italian and is heading off there this fall. The cake itself was chocolate with a lemon filling and topped with limoncello-flavoured buttercream. Yum!

Bye Bye Bees

Last Saturday, Richard and I were sitting outside and suddenly the log cabin was swarming with bees.


Today, my friend Sam the bee whisperer, came over to remove the bees for me.


He removed the outside board and batten and then used a circular saw to get through the particle board.


On one side of the particle board there were a few nice honeycombs.


But on the other side of the wall, there were tons of bees and lots of comb. Sam was surprised that in only five day they had built all that comb. They are industrious bees!


Sam took some of the honey comb and tied it to hive racks.


Then he slid the honeycomb into the wooden bee hive.


He carefully took a stick and a dustpan and knocked some bees off their hanging comb and onto the dustpan...and then knocked them into the box where their own comb was now hanging.


As he removed the wax combs, he dropped more bees into the wooden box.


Sam was so wonderful with the bees. He didn't get stung (and neither did I!)


Most of the comb he had to throw out. He suggested I melt it down and make a candle or two.


A couple of the combs had honey -- the most DELICIOUS honey I have ever tasted! (And fresh too!)


After removal of the combs, Sam vacuumed up the bees with his homemade bee vacuum. Very cool.


He said that 70% of the bees were in his vacuum.


The rest were tucked away in their new hive and would soon be joined by the other gals in the vacuum when Sam got home.

Thanks Sam! That was a fun day. Check out Sam's fabulous bee website: Sam'sWildBees.com

Horse Parade

Last Sunday, Richard and I headed to Vankleek Hill for their annual horse parade that takes place the first Sunday in July.


I especially loved the horse in red stockings!


There were teeny horses...


...and huge ones.


Elegant critters...


...and strong beasts.


These blonde guys...


...were just gorgeous.


And this crazy gal was doing acrobatics on the back of a horse. Wowza!

Barney and Percy

Richard saved Barney (tabby and white cat) from my barn four years ago. Percy (along with his sister Milly) showed up as tiny kittens in Richard's garden...


...and the two boys have become fast friends.


They spend much of their day hanging about...


...watching the day go by.


Until it's bath time. Then it's serious business.


Barney turned out to be a most lovable boy.


Percy is just plain silly and reminds me of a jaguar. I love them both to bits!

Looking Back at Canada Day

In a small town like St. Eugene, Ontario, everything with wheels can make it into a parade. A bicycle is a good start...


...and a school bus all decked out for Canada Day.


Balloons strung together can make an impressive float.


Or a mini-truck with bales of hay, sporting large Canadian flags.


Antique cars look fabulous!


So do funky John Deer tractors.


Best of all were these remote control tractors. Very cool!

Magritte's Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

This ad ran on TV several years ago and I thought it'd be fun to see it again.

Happy Canada Day!

I was driving by this festive porch in Alexandria, Ontario and had to stop and take a photo. Montreal Canadien's logos (thinking hockey in July?), Canadian flags, a cat and dog living in peace side-by-side. How Canadian is that, eh?