Easter Sunday picnic

 I love having picnics at our table in the woods and last Sunday was a perfect day to have one.

 It was very impromptu: apples, olives, cheese and hot cross buns with tea.

 My parents' Thermos -- formerly for business meetings -- always comes in handy for our picnics.

With just a crust of ice on an inch of snow on the picnic table, it was a perfect way to sip tea in 12C degrees. No wind. 

Just blue sky and a bit of snow on the ground, receding in the sunlight.

Goodbye my sweet boy

 Matzo Man showed up in my barn during the winter of 2012-2013. 

 By summer he was ready to come indoors! And in the fall, he did.

 After a month of living in the log cabin, he met the others and fell in love with Cookie.

 They were pretty much inseparable...

 Most winters the gang would all huddle up together for warmth. Was very sweet to see them like that.

 He was a beautiful boy and I miss him already. He was so good. Never climbed on the table. Never scratched or bit me. I adored him.

This photo from last summer makes me smile. I know that in the short time I had him, I gave him a good life. And he was so happy living here. 

Sweet soul, he was.

Goodbye sweet boy. I will miss you so. Matzo Man: May 2012 - March 24, 2016

Ipse then and now

I got to babysit baby Ipse last summer for a night and what a little delight he was. Last week I got to visit him as an (almost) full-grown kitty cat. What a beauty he has turned out to be!

Sugaring off time

Yesterday we headed down the road a piece to Sand Road Sugar Camp to see them making maple syrup.

 One of my favourite things of all time is when they boil up the syrup to make taffy and pour it on the snow so that it can be rolled up on a wooden stick.

 It tastes like warm maple-flavoured caramel!

 Meanwhile, indoors we sampled the all-you-can eat breakfast including pancakes, eggs, ham, beans and all the maple syrup you can pour. The bacon was called "oreilles de crisse," apparently "green bacon" which is very thick and very crisp and unlike anything I've ever tasted.

 There were horse wagon rides through the sugar bush...

...instead we walked one of the many trails that runs through the property. About 8C, warmish, and all the snow is melting fast so it seemed like our last chance to be out in it. A perfect day.

And the winner is...

I had some good news yesterday. My cupcakes won the National Cupcake Day decorating contest run by the Ontario SPCA. Yippee! I'll let you know what my prize is when it arrives next week. 
If you'd like to see the other competitors (and there were a lot of fabulous entries) here's the link to the page.