Birdies

Richard took photos of birds at my feeder. From top left clockwise: American goldfinch, already turning spring yellow; pine siskin; chickadee; American tree sparrow.

Say what?

It's been a warm winter to be sure but yesterday I heard a bird that sounded unlike the usual winter birds. I knew it was a robin.
Could it be a robin on January 26? Sure enough, I looked up and there he was.
I am assuming it's an overwintering bird and not a harbinger of spring. On the other hand...

Happy 103rd birthday

 It's not every day I make a cake for someone who is turning 103!

This was for the lovely Elizabeth. Imagine all the things she's seen change in her lifetime?

Happy birthday to Elizabeth!

Tiger the lumberjack

My friend Maggie asked me to make a cake for her husband Donald's 70th birthday.
What's he like? Well, he is a lumberjack and is always cutting down trees.
And, his nickname is Tiger. Nailed it!

Critter cam updates...

 Yippee, it's working! Two deer snacking in the woods.

 I love these day photos.

 Oooh and this nighttime snowstorm shot is cool.

 And what are those? Bunnies! Yup, snowshoe hares. Two of 'em (one is only a eye reflection).

 We've lowered the camera after seeing how these critters get cut off.

 I adore this photo, with the snow on her back.

Stay tuned for more photos next week!

Starlings

 Okay, so I know starlings are a non-native invasive species...

But it always surprises me how their plumage is so beautifully varied in colour. Blues and greens with polka-dots.
I had eight of these guys show up this cold morning looking for breakfast.

Critter cam

 My favourite gift this Chanukah was a trail camera.

 I've always wanted to see what was going on in the back woods.

 Here's a good one of a small deer. At least I think it's a small deer. Kinda hard to tell.

And what sort of critters do you think these are???

Happy New Year walk

  On New Year's Eve we ventured into the woods after a 20 cm snowfall.

 The trees had a light coating of snow, almost like a layer of icing sugar.

We had to wear our snowshoes but the trails were still full of prickly ash and raspberry canes.

Happy 2016 everyone. I hope the year brings you all happiness and joy.

Christmas Eve picnic

It was a perfect day to be in the woods for a picnic. December 24, 2015 and 17C. What??

First order of the day? Eggnog!

With a fresh dash of nutmeg on top, right?

I found an old bottle of whisky at the back of the liquor cabinet.
Man, that's old hooch! Dad likely got it as a gift and never drank it.
No time like the present.

Perfect!

 Hors d'oeuvres in the woods seemed like a good idea.
Hot Genoa salami, brie and Edam cheeses, olives and hard-cooked quail eggs.
Chocolate truffles and clementines for dessert.

It was pretty yummy.

 Cheers.

 Christmas tomorrow but today we bask in the warm, windy air. So crazy for the Great White North.

We had to navigate our mighty stream with all our belongings, but this year we didn't need snowshoes.

Happy days!

Merry Christmas to Ewe!

And here they are...this year's Christmas cookies. 

Merry Christmas to ewe and ewe and ewe!

Oh no! Melting snowmen cookies...

I did these fun cookies for a Christmas cookie exchange a few years back. They remind me of the old skit "Mr. Bill" on Saturday Night Live where the sad Plasticine character was always being pulled apart or in this case, melted.

Christmas cookies

 I love baking...mostly cakes but sometimes I make cookies too. 

These are from my sister's famous whipped shortbread cookie recipe. Light and airy and buttery.

 I love to decorate cookies and give them as gifts at work. One year I made snowflake gingerbreads.

Last year I made polar bear gingerbread cookies with red and green scarves. This year? Just wait!

Cat lover's birthday

My friend, and former next-door-neighbour Barb turned 80 today and we helped celebrate by joining her husband and daughter from L.A. with bagels and champagne. Barb has been involved with her local feral cat program for years and has even taken in a kitty or two. So her husband suggested I make a coconut cake, with dark chocolate and keep to a cat theme. Here's the result. Barb was tickled pink, I think. 

A nature photo a day

 On Facebook, my sister challenged me to post a nature photo for seven days.
No pets allowed. I have so many I didn't know where to start! 

I found this polyphemus moth last year. To get an idea of its massive size, I carefully placed my fingers under its feet.
I managed to take one photo and then it flew away.

Check out those spots...they are see through! You can see the cement ground right through them.

 An influx of redpolls at my feeder a few years ago.

 Chippy. The cutest of critters loves peanuts and was very tame.

 I saw some critters playing on the dirt road ahead of me. I slowed down and they ran to the field.
Turns out it was a mom and her two does.
She was as curious about me as I was about her!

 I heard noises outside my window one night and thought, oh, there are squirrels at the feeder. At night?
Then I realized that squirrels sleep at night and these were flying squirrels. Oh my!

 A merlin our local grocery store. Apparently it had driven a sparrow into the glass door, and a staff member put it in the garbage pail. 

When he told me, I asked him to take it out and give it to the waiting merlin.
The fellow went to the pail, pulled out the dead sparrow, threw it and the merlin caught it mid-air and flew off to eat his lunch.

Driving on the back roads two years ago, Richard noticed this great grey owl. We got out of the car and took a bunch of photos and then left him to catch his supper. What a beauty!