King of the Hill

Here's Matzo Man in May 2013, after having spent the winter of 2012-13 outside in my barn. He was so shy that it took four months to be able to pick him up and pet him.

Ahh, the life. Now he's king of the hill, has other kitty friends, eats and sleeps where ever he likes. Life is good.

Lilacs, butterflies and lupins, oh my!

 This lovely Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly was flitting around my lilacs yesterday.

 Upon closer inspection, it must've had a dust-up with another critter. One of its swallowtails is missing.

 Also buzzing around the lilacs was a hummingbird moth, also called a hawk moth. They do actually look like teeny tiny hummingbirds.

And like clockwork, the lupins start to bloom. This is one of many in my lupin patch that are getting ready to shine.

White-crowned sparrow

 This sweet little fellow sat outside my window the other day so I could get a good look at him.

Luckily, he didn't move for a good five minutes, so I managed to grab a few good shots of him.

Blooming gorgeous!

 Our little vacation took us to Jim Thorpe, PA where everything was in bloom.

 A blue train and pink crab-apple blossoms paired well together.

 This exquisite tree had hanging pink flowers. Anyone have any idea what sort of tree it is?

Our early May holiday featured mid-July temperatures. Even the rhododendrons were in bloom!

Beaver emoticon cake

My friend Scott emailed me this beaver emoticon and asked me to make a cake based on it. You see, he and his girlfriend Ailen text message a lot and Ailen, who is originally from the Philippines, really gets a kick out of it. She's never seen a beaver before.

So here's my cake based on the beaver emoticon. Kinda fun, eh? It's even sporting flags in each hand: one from Canada and the other from the Philippines.

Goodbye big, beautiful barn

 My big old barn has to be torn down.

 It's bowing out at one and and leaning on my house!

 I've had several people come in to look at it and it's unfixable...

 The roof is in great shape and has kept our cord wood, which we've stored here, completely dry.

 But it's starting to lean badly and lifting off the ground on one side.

 And it's built very close to the house. Actually, the house was built very close to the barn!

 Lovely wood has aged well.

 Here's where it's lifting off the ground.

 All the metal hinges were made my hand by the blacksmith who originally owned the property.

 Love the hanging baler twine. It's been here 50+ years.

Just one of the wheelbarrow loads pulled out of the barn. I hope to build a small woodshed and hang some of the metal bits on its walls as a memory of the dear old barn.

Cat checkup time

Time for their annual needles, all three cats got checkups last week. Oreo gained a few ounces but otherwise is in tiptop shape.

It's kitty Weight Watchers for Cookie. Too much kibble saw her gain a pound. I'm doling it out more carefully now in hopes next years' checkup will see her back to fighting weight.

Nutmeg, who is 16 this year, lost 3/4 of a lb. and is doing really well. She's a bit arthritic but I knew she had lost a bit of weight because her limp is not as pronounced. Onward and upward!

Chocolate peppermint patty cake

I have a potluck supper to attend tonight and I thought I'd experiment. I made a triple layer chocolate cake and into the batter I added chopped up Andes mint chocolates I bought in the States. I covered that with mint buttercream that I tinted pale green. And just to make it totally over the top, I made a bit of chocolate ganache with semi-sweet chocolate and poured it over the top. Always fun to try new recipes and combinations of flavours.

Polka dot birthday

I made this cake for a friend's daughter who turned Sweet 16 over the weekend. Apparently, she's crazy for polka dots.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

 We have had a few warm days in the double digits (Celsius) but we're back to very cold nights and just sorta coolish days. 

The poor day lilies are trying their darnedest to get outta the ground.

Woodland cupcakes

I'm invited to lunch and am bringing dessert. What better than cupcakes to celebrate spring. Edible moss, chocolate pebbles, fondant fiddleheads and mushrooms. Bring on the warm weather.

Spring cake time

 I love spring and from time-to-time, I'm asked to make spring cupcakes.

 I love all the possibilities!

 It seems to be a time where I can go crazy with silliness.

For the past few years, we've gone to my boyfriend's family for Easter brunch. Here was my Easter cake from two years ago...

 ...and I made this daisy cake for last year's Easter lunch.

I made these red velvet bird's nest cakes just because I wanted to experiment with shredded wheat nests. I love how they came out.

Is it maple time yet?

 On a warm day last weekend we decided to put 4 taps in two maple trees to get some sap.

After the second day, I got 5 cups of maple sap. Instead of going through the rigmarole of boiling it up, I decided to put it in bottles and drink it. Maple water is the new health drink after all.

And after that? Everything froze solid. Today is the first day of spring and it's -9. Onward and upward!

Sun puddle cats

Love this pic I snapped of Matzo Man and Cookie sharing a sun puddle on a cold afternoon this week.