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?

June Blooms

I can't believe that today is already the last day of June! The blooms of this month have come and gone so quickly, I haven't had time to blog about them. My mother's gorgeous Japanese flowering crab is at its greatest beauty for three or four days at the end of May/beginning of June.


The peonies bloomed and died so quickly this year I barely had a chance to enjoy them.


These tiger lilies are somewhere between a red and dark orange. The great thing about these blooms is that they last quite a while...unless it gets too hot for too long.


Speaking of lilies, I shot these waterlilies at Mill Pond in Alexandria during a drizzle. I did a project on waterlilies once in elementary school because I loved the fact they bloomed on water. It's not often that I've noticed two different kinds blooming side-by-side.


These amazing, crepe paper-like poppies only last a day or two. I especially love this variety that is a pale salmon pink. Very unusual.


You can always count on these dependable pansies. I planted them at the beginning of May and they'll still be flowering into the fall.

Inuit Soapstone Carving

I spied this piece of Inuit art in a second hand shop. His face is a little dented and believe it or not, when I found it, his head was painted bright red!


But with a little bit of paint stripper and a good rub, this seal is almost as good as new and has a happy home with me. Not bad for $3.99, eh?

Strawberry Time

Over the weekend, Richard and I went strawberry picking to a place that's about 10 minutes down the road.


It was a lovely day and the berries were plentiful.


In no time at all...


...Richard and I had picked our two baskets.


Pretty nice, eh?


Best of all was this particular barn cat, who looked like a minature version of Barney. She was very sweet and liked her head being scratched.


Speaking of sweet, so were the strawberry desserts I made with a quickly whipped up angel food cake, ice cream and fresh berries. Bring on summer!

Kitty Cat Doodles

For last Saturday's artist trading card swap, I did a quick set of kitty cat doodles. Kinda fun.

Stewardship Council Cake

I made this cake for a dinner meeting for the Stewardship Council of Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry. The goal of the Council is to work with private landowners to promote "sustainable resource management," through education and partnership.
The logo made of green fondant is on top with buttercream grass, candy rocks and flowers around the bottom. Inside is one layer or chocolate, the other vanilla with butter cream filling.

Wild Morning Glories

Walking down the sidewalks of Alexandria, Ontario the other day, on my way to work, I noticed these wild morning glories in bloom growing in the cracks.


There are many articles on the web about how to get rid of these invasive plants. But a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place, right? In this case, I think they look lovely.

Lost and Found

I don't suppose that the person who found the cat would consider giving it to the person with the missing pet? A cat swap? Hmmm...

Repurposing

What to do with those oversized satellite dishes that no one uses anymore? How about using it as a sign, in this case in a farmer's yard advertising eggs for sale. Pretty clever.

Fishy Cake

I made this marble cake for 10-year-old Reid who likes to go fishing with his dad. Happy birthday Reid!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day without my dad...Miss you dad!

My Oregon Gardens

On my first trip to Oregon in 2005 I bought various seed packages. The lupins have been incredibly successful. This is just one of the smaller gardens that features lupins. Over the years I have sowed lupin seeds in the middle of my mowed field and now have an ever expanding expanse of lupins.


Just last year I discovered the foliage of this poor columbine that was the only survivor of another seed package I got in Oregon. Last fall I transplanted it away from the overpowering lupins and it finally bloomed, for the first time, this week.


These plants too were seeds from Oregon. At first blush, I originally thought they were grass weeds and nearly pulled them all out. But then they started to bloom and I realized that they were an Oregon plant (the name escapes me). This stuff is spreading all over the place and I've already shared much of it with happy neighbours. Love my little piece of Oregon in eastern Ontario!