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.

SPCA Cupcake Day

 This is the fourth year I've participated in the SPCA's National Cupcake Fundraiser Day. The little dogs always seem to be a hit. This year I did them in chocolate and maple buttercream as well as vanilla.

Since it's snowing outside and I'm thinking, "will winter ever end?", I decided to do a dozen floral cupcakes. Sunflowers, roses and two-toned hydrangeas will hit the spot! I hope lots of money is raised for our local animal shelter.

Fisher!

Looky here! A fisher in the woods. So happy my cats are indoor cats. Oh dear. The poor bunnies!

My funny chocolate valentine

This year, instead of decorating a cake for Valentine's Day, I decided to decorate the inside of a cake.Chocolate cake with a pink cake heart inside...the outsides are covered with a simple chocolate ganache.

Hope you had a sweet one!

More critters on the critter cam

 Views from the trail cam...I had many, many photos of the peregrinations of the snowshoe hares.

 This was exciting. A shot of a fox during a snowstorm!

 And something surprising. A raccoon out and about on February 6?
It has been a warm winter (although super cold weather is expected this weekend).

 A ruffed grouse looking for dinner.

I think this is the fox again, running around. Love that critter cam!

Barn party cake

 My friend Natalie celebrated a birthday last weekend, so I made her a cake with some of the myriad of animals she houses in her barn. (Her husband Gordon's birthday was two weeks ago.)
Saul the donkey's best friend is a wee orange cat, so I put them side by side along with the two ponies. Her goat just had three kids, so they are there in fondant too. Sweet Tristan, her senior pup is tucked into the straw while up in the loft, two chickens hang out with b&w barn cat Keaton. Another marmalade kitty is climbing along the edge of the roof.

Good times and happy birthday Natalie!

Baby goats!

Yesterday was an exciting day.

 I got to feed my friend's baby goats!

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!