Remembering the happy things this May...

Oh my goodness!  It feels like forever since I have written a blog post, well maybe that's because it has been forever!!  Life has been very busy with so much going on (ups and downs).  I hope you haven't given up on me and my blog!  This morning, I needed to take a moment to stop and smell the roses and count my blessings.  I want to share with you some of the happy things that have happened during this beautiful month of May.

Lots to Celebrate...

My oldest daughter Anita, turned thirteen on the 4th of May.  I am officially the mother of a teenage daughter!  Scary?  Scary! 

On the same day, my youngest daughter, Annabel, celebrated her first Holy Communion.

I am so thankful for this moment right here. Annabel hugging her grandpa on her communion day.  She was so looking forward to visiting with him before attending mass that day (probably as much as he was looking forward to it, too)!

Mother's Day

On the week leading up to Mother's day, my mom came to stay with us...

We visited English and Miller tea house and enjoyed a pot of tea with warm scones, strawberry jam and Devon cream!  It was soooo yummy and such a treat for both of us.

My mom and I went thrift shopping together and found a couple of vintage teacups and saucers which we turned into bird feeders!  Here is one of them hanging on my crabapple tree. Isn't it adorable?

Here is a robin fresh out of the bath.  I never tire of watching the robins splash around in the water.  They always bring a smile to my face.

 Mother's day morning at High Park with my darling girls.  I love them with all my heart and I am so proud of them.  They truly are my greatest blessings.    

This is a picture of a lunch I made last week.  I like how pretty and colorful it looks served on my heart-shaped plate.  

This past weekend, we visited High Park in Toronto and spotted the cherry blossoms on the Sakura trees in full bloom.  It was unintentional, but how lucky for us! 

In and around our garden...

We celebrated the Victoria day holiday (Queen Victoria's birthday) on Monday with a BBQ lunch alfresco!  I do so enjoy setting a pretty table outdoors.  It's always fun to eat outside when the weather is pleasant.

We also planted our herbs this weekend.  We have thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, cilantro, chives, and more!  Cherry tomatoes and kale were planted too.  I am looking forward to watching it all grow! 

The red and yellow tulips in our side garden blossomed several days ago and are looking lovely!

The teacup magnolia tree Nuno planted on our front lawn several years ago is boasting its first spring blooms this week, too! Magnolias are one of my favorites! 

This is how my crabapple tree looks today...overflowing with pink buds ready to burst into fragrant white blooms at any given moment!  

"The world's favorite season is the spring. 

All things seem possible in May."

Edwin Way Teale

These are some of the things that have made my heart most happy this month.  I hope you are all enjoying this hopeful season of spring.  Don't forget to stop and count your blessings.  Sometimes we need reminding!  I know I do!  

  

Farewell, October...Hello, November!

Hello dear friends!  How lovely it is to be in your company again!  I have been absent from my blog for far too long (since September). I could hardly find the time to write a post considering October was full to the brim with excitement and much goings-on!  I will try to compensate for my absence with a visual account of the past month.

my neighborhood in October

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The crabapples on our tree out back turned from green to red in early October.


Look at the vibrant fall colors!  I am in love...

Nuno, the girls, and I had tons of fun at the Pumpkin Festival at Chappell Farms!  We took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and picked our own pumpkins - right off the vine! 

We enjoyed getting lost in the corn maze, walking atop the hay maze, and visiting with some of the farm animals there (sheep, goats, bunnies, chickens...even turkeys!)  Speaking of turkeys...

In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, unlike my American friends who celebrate in November.
  This year we were extra thankful, as we were treated to three, yes, THREE Thanksgiving celebrations!  I would like to thank my parents, my in-laws, and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for hosting and serving such scrumptious food.  The time spent with family on days like these is priceless!

 Here is Nuno, my husband, carving my mother's turkey on Thanksgiving weekend.  Isn't he adorable?

The beautiful view of Canal Lake in the fall.  We spent Thanksgiving day here with my in-laws at their home-away-from-home.


I was amazed to see several robins in our yard the following weekend!

I have never seen robins so late in the season in my yard before.  The last time I had seen one was in late August.  I found it odd to see them back again.  Maybe they came for one last farewell?  Goodbye robins...I will miss you!  I look forward to seeing you again in the spring!

I am happy to inform you that although some birds have flown south, many others are still regular visitors to my yard.  The black-capped chickadees (on the left) visit daily, as do the house finches.  Occasionally, I see mourning doves feeding off the ground and I've even spotted a downy woodpecker (on the right) three times last month!  Oh, and a cardinal came to visit one day, too!


We also got some snow!  Not much, just a tiny dusting one week before Halloween.

Snow on the rose blooms in front of our house.

It didn't last very long, thank goodness!  I'm not ready for winter yet!  There will be plenty of time for that!  By mid-day the snow was nowhere to be seen.

With October came breath-taking sunrises, like this one; the sky ablaze in pink!  It' so very beautiful to look at, yet fleeting; one minute you see it, the next, it's gone! (This shot was taken from my bedroom window).


And finally, it's Halloween!

We each designed and carved our pumpkins while listening to a medley of Halloween songs.  My favorite part is scooping out the pulp!  Nuno and I helped Annabel carve hers!  I saved the pumpkin seeds and roasted them.  We also made caramel apples!  Mmm!

Even our cat, Buddy, shared in the Halloween festivities!

This year, Annabel dressed as a Southern Belle!  She looked so darling!

And here is Anita, dressed as Cleopatra!  She looked gorgeous...I still can't believe how much she's grown in the last year!


How was your October?  Did you have a fun Halloween?  This last month was filled with beauty and blessings at our house. I hope the same can be said for you!

Happy November, dear friends!  I hope this new month brings you much health, happiness, and blessings! xoxo

Fleeting Spring

I can hardly believe that two months have passed since spring's arrival back in March!  It seems like just yesterday, I was counting down the days till spring and now summer is just around the corner!

Spring is such a fleeting season.  Every day something exciting is happening in the gardens!  One week, the fruit trees are in full bloom, the next week, all the blossoms have disappeared with the wind.  The perfume of the lilacs is strong and enchanting , but that doesn't last long either.  So much is happening all at once, but much of it does not remain for long.  I have to remind myself to take note of every little detail; each new bud; every single flower; all the delicious new scents.  I make sure to thank for these tiny miracles of spring.  They are fleeting and I know that I will have to wait for next spring to be in their presence again.  

Spring has brought the return of many marvelous things!  The birds are back...robins, house finches, goldfinches, song sparrows, doves, starlings, grackles, and black-capped chickadees; just to name a few! 

One of my favorites, of course, are the robins!  This little guy was splashing around in our bird bath last week!  Isn't he precious?

This is a photo of our crabapple tree in full bloom, over a week ago.  I love how the scent of the blossoms is carried over to me in the breeze.  I drank up their scent while they lasted because...

after several days in bloom, the heavy rain and strong winds caused the delicate petals to fall.  It's funny how even the scattered petals are a pretty sight!



All sorts of things are blooming now...

the bleeding hearts

the irises

these beautiful tulips, planted by the former owner of our home.  Does anyone know the name of these?

And can you guess what this is?

It's rhubarb! I harvested it from my backyard!  Last Friday, I made a strawberry rhubarb pie using several stalks from our plant.

Some of you may remember my post from two years ago. I was given some free rhubarb by the kind ladies from our local Cookstown Antique Market.  I made a strawberry rhubarb pie with the stalks and my husband planted some of the rhubarb in our yard.  Now we have fresh rhubarb to look forward to every spring!

Here is the pie before...

And after!  I just love the black pie bird in the center!   There's just something about a blackbird baked into a pie!  Don't you think so?

Baking this pie makes me feel like I am taking nothing for granted this season.  I love spring and its whirlwind of daily surprises!   I plan on enjoying every single day and making the most of this glorious season because before long it will be summer!


Happy Monday!  Happy Memorial day to my American friends!  Have a wonderful week, dear friends!

The Full Worm Moon, the Return of the Robins and Spring!

Every month, I look forward to seeing the full moon.  I love how each full moon has its own special name and significance.  The early Native Americans are the ones who gave the moons their unique names.

Below is a list of the full moon names, according to the Farmers' Almanac.  You can learn more about them on the Farmers' Almanac website.

January Wolf Moon

February Snow Moon

March Worm Moon

April Pink Moon

May Flower Moon

June Strawberry Moon

July Buck Moon or Thunder Moon

August Sturgeon Moon or Red Moon

September Corn Moon or Harvest Moon

October Hunters Moon

November Beaver Moon

December Long Night's Moon or Cold Moon

The last full moon occurred on March 27, 2013.  I was lucky enough to see it that day; in the early morning hours, when it was still dark out. It was so bright and beautiful.  I remember calling Nuno to come see it outside our living room window before he went off to work.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it that morning and later in the evening, when I went looking for it again, it was hidden behind the clouds.

I don't always see the full moon, of course. It all depends on how clear the sky is that day.

But, I do have a photo of last January's wolf moon...

I remember it being very cold and it was snowing that evening.

And this is a photo of last December's Long Nights Moon

I took this photo at Niagara-on-the-Lake, on the eve of my birthday! 

As I mentioned before, I don't have a picture of last month's full worm moon to show you, but I can tell you how the name came about, according to the old Native Americans.  In March, the temperature warms up and the snow begins to melt. In turn, the ground softens up and the worms start to appear.  And you know what that means, right?  The robins come back to pronounce it's spring!  

 On Wednesday, my first spring robin appeared! I found him in our crabapple tree! 

He came to announce the arrival of spring.  It's not official until the robins return.  And they're here!

I found another one hopping around in our yard this morning...

This sweet pair of house finches were out there this morning, too.

And look who's back!  It's Chippy!

I'm not sure if it's the same one from last summer.  Do you remember him?  We had him eating peanuts from our hand, which reminds me, I have to go out and buy some more peanuts!

As you can see, the full worm moon was fittingly named.  It has brought forth the return of the worms and robins!  Spring is definitely in the air, although, we still have some stubborn, crusty snow on the ground.  It is quite cold and the wind is still raging and frigid.  But I dream of warmer days, the blossoming of our trees and flowers, and the delicious scent of blooming lilacs.  

Wishing you all sunshine, robins, and a happy spring!