Spring Beauty Has Arrived!

 This Victoria Day long weekend was a busy one!

In Ontario, it is the kick-off to summer however here on the northeast Atlantic coast it is still quite cold in the evenings & the ground is beautifully waking up with the warm sunny days!

I'm so enjoying the view from the dining room window these days!

Blooming flowers & birds at the feeders!

The bulbs are in bloom!

The climbing hydrangea is finally taking root & climbing, it was a slow start but it is really climbing now!

Absolutely delightful to look at these colours of spring!

The climbing hydrangea between the two windows, it too is happy to have the snow of it & the warm sun on it!

The rhubarb patch is growing too!

So many finches are at the feeder & the yellow colour just makes one take notice!

The wrens are plentiful too, I hope they take flight with the neighbour cats! Mine watches through the window as Rexton has been an indoor cat for nine years but her feral instinct wants to chase those birds! Bill is going to make her a 'catio window' so she can take the outdoors from indoors.

The finch is one of our favourites right now!

The Blue Basket quilt is done! It too is a sunny yellow that makes one smile!

The morning dove is a daily visitor too & they love the bird bath!

When it gets hot they just lay in the water. lol

The bigger birds try to feed on the small feeder & are happy when a sunflower gets out!

So many hummingbirds this year! 

The red throat is my favourite with the emerald green body, so beautiful!

Getting ready for the hurricane season that starts June 1st, after seeing the devastation that was left after Fiona & Nicole, it was time to make our home safe.

There was a huge evergreen that had a sickness that was shedding its branches quickly & it had a lean towards the sunporch & great room that would be a huge insurance claim if & when it fall onto our home.

Donald flew out to help his dad & Nick came in for the day to help out too!

The trio took out that tree & others in our woods that were dead & others that were around the hydro lines in our laneway.

Bill left a good stump so we could make a gnome home from it & add solar-powered lights to it so it looked lived in at night. It is going to be a fun project. lol

It has also provided a view of the water & Bay du Vin Island for viewing this summer. This winter we will not have it to protect us from the nasty winds, I will be curious to see how much it is missed as we are the only ones that have huge trees in our backyard.

The other tree will stay but the gnome landscaping will be put to the stump. Bill did not like screwing into the tree & used small screws that would just penetrate the bark, not the tree.

The tree trio had a very busy weekend & lots of branches were put through the chipper for the path in the woods that goes to the bunkie. The bunkie now has windows!

Bridget took my breath away as she thought of jumping out the truck window to join in on the fun.

I ran to get her out as she is not a jumper like Baxter & would hurt herself with a jump that high!

Bill put her in the truck to know where she was when they dropped the tree.

With so much excitement with the dropping of this huge tree, I have the feeling of relief as each hurricane that would pass through I would hope that it would stay in place!

It was a huge tree & will provide us with warmth from its wood & wood chips for the woods path to the pond & bunkie.

Hurricane season starts in a week & they are getting stronger with the waters getting warmer in the summer. It was September when the maritime was hit hard the cold water in the north is warming more so it doesn't slow the strength of the hurricane so the hit is harder with more strength.

This block is 22" x 22" and I have made 5 now. It is for a quilt called Labyrinth Walk by Christopher Florence. It is a two-block wonder, I'm working on the other four blocks to make the quilt. 

It is a show stopper & I'm making it for The Four-H Club to raffle this August at the Napan Agricultural Fair to help them raise funds for their club.

I haven't started the Dresden Picnic yet as the background fabric that I ordered was not what I ordered so I'm now awaiting the correct shipment which should arrive this week. I'll post the two weeks that I'm behind when I get caught up, lol

Bunkie Excitement!

This small two-bedroom off-the-grid bunkie is for family & friends that will be visiting through the years. I know our home is big however there are just two guest rooms & the bunkie can be used in the winter by Bill & me to get me out on my snowshoes for a walk through the woods with a destination place for our conversations.

The front large window is the living room/dining area on the left & the foyer & steps to the loft on the right.

These large horizontal windows are in the lower & upper bedrooms.

It will provide a natural view of the woods & the sound of the birds singing in the morning.

This is back & will have a screened-in patio area for morning coffee or relaxing nightcaps.

This area has a view through the woods of the pond & right now it is mating & loud partying in that pond! lol, Lots of frogs this year!

We wanted the bunkie to be an extension of the design angles & large windows of our home.

This is a woodland resident that tells us when she would like her peanuts placed in the squirrel feeder. I noticed her nipples/dinnerplates for her young ones & we try to keep the wildlife safe & healthy.

Here is the pond this year, it is quiet until late afternoon when the water warms up & the peepers come to life.

The ferns have shot up in the last couple of days too!

I love the look of the roots & the moss that grows on exposed wood, this is an area where a cement house will be located!

The flowering bush in the woods adds an elegant beauty to it too! 

It is such an exciting season to watch everything come to life! 

Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

This warm sunny weather makes my heart sing & has lifted my spirit, putting a smile on my face & a spring in my walk. So happy to have my health back too!!

Hugs, Cynthia

 

May Is Marvelous!

 The snow has finally disappeared and bulbs are emerging out of the ground! Beautiful bright yellow daffodils, little purple hyacinths, snowdrops, & greenery from the many tulips!

The sun warms the day and the grass under huge snow drifts is turning green with the life of robins taking the worms from the thawing ground. I've seen 13 robins at one time on the back lawn! I love the robin, it is my spirit bird and makes me smile just looking at it dressed in its terracotta orange chest/vest.

I've been making a healthy alternative to a donut.

It is a baked donut & the pans were purchased at Canadian Tire during one of their sales & donut mix that I purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart on one of their sales. Everything is so expensive that purchases must be made on sale!

Back to the donuts...

The recipe called for 1 cup of vegetable oil, I always substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil, it is healthier & has a lot fewer calories with no fat!

I also spruce the chocolate donuts with chocolate chips, I'm the only one in our family that isn't crazy for chocolate but I do love butterscotch!

I spray the donut pans with Pam then add 1/4 cup of the mix & 6 chocolate chips. 

The donut mix package will make 18 donuts that can be frozen & thawed when needed.

Everyone seems to like them & did say more chocolate chips wouldn't be a bad idea. lol

I have a ready-made cake icing spread that can be added to, they liked that or the donut is placed in a bowl & topped with a scoop of ice cream.

The vanilla donuts were delicious with my homemade lemon curd!

The Blue Basket quilt is at the longarm & should be done this week, just in time for summer!

I have already put the bumble bee Irish chain quilt on the bed. This is such a short time of year for the warm season & it has started to kick off in a great way. We too have not had a lot of rain in April but not as dry as Nova Scotia as we had a lot of snow when it was that time to thaw.

Alberta is a terrifying place with all the wildfires & our kids are south of Edmonton & safe but the air quality must be horrid for that province. They did get rain yesterday, I hope it helps.

Bill & I have been outdoors cleaning the footpath through the woods to the bunkie, many trees that were rotten have fallen & Bill has taken some down that were rotten.

Donald is coming for May 24 weekend & will help take down the dead trees near the power lines & cut up the large stumps. The woods will get healthier with the air being able to travel through it, large rotten areas have been left for the small wildlife to eat bugs & take refuge.

We have named our property Beaver Moon as it was on that full moon that we took ownership of this 4.74-acre property that we now call home.

The bunkie has begun, we plan to keep it off-grid.  It is a step back in time & has brought back so many fond memories of my childhood at the cottage in Inverhuron.

This is the site for the bunkie, this picture was taken at the very beginning of April, yes we had a heavy wet dumping of snow.

This was taken this week! The snow is gone and the floor is now down for this cozy shed.

It was so warm that day, the winds came in from the south & the breezy winds warmed me.

The walls went up on day two.

The roof was added on day three, it has come together fast! The design is one that compliments our home with the slanted window & roof design.  It was much cooler on that day, with cold gusty winds & the water had white caps all through it!

Bridget & Baxter love running through the woods on the paths that have been made over the last couple of years. Beaver Moon is coming together.

The osprey & eagles flying over our property several times a day has Bill on guard with his camera but it is so hard to get the pic by only seeing these magnificent birds of prey for a few seconds.

My lungs are finally clear from the fluid that had built up & the duo antibiotics worked, I have not had antibiotics for 20+ years.  Bill is helping me nurse an earache with Polysorin ear drops.  I have to cover my ears from the wind & I have hung laundry outside without my hat on & it has irritated my ear. I get sharp pains but they too are subsiding with the ear drops. I must cover my ears when outside in the wind!

I am working on another quilt called Walkabout with Becky of Patchwork Posse. It is trees, houses, flowers, things you see on a 'walkabout'. I'm doing it in Americana fabric by Connecting Threads but mine will be in an Acadian feel to it for Acadia Day this August. I'll show more when it is together & the plans that I have for decorating it after it is quilted.

This is the colour palette of Walkabout, I made these from the cut-off scraps to the rooves & flower leaves, it will be made into a pillow or small tabletopper, once I add the borders.

The Seasons in Blue quilt is caught up until next month too!

April's block project.

May's block project.

This too is done with many of my blue scraps from past projects. I'm so glad that it too is scrappy!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I hope you are in good health as I know how it can put a wrench in your day when you don't have it. 

Spring is always so full of hope & happiness with the awaking of Mother Nature and all her colour & splendour that your eyes can feast upon awaking all your senses to make you feel so uplifted.

Wishing you health & happiness wherever you are!

Cynthia

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