Journeys

Every journey has a beginning and an end... every story a tale to tell...

Miss Maddies is embarking on just that; a new journey, a captivating tale...

Thank you so much for sharing this one...

Please visit me at my new blog LingLing and LuLu.

Challenges

Even though it is much easier to travel a well-trodden path adventure and fulfillment can be found by climbing a wall or passing through a gate...

Life is laden with challenges, but alas strength comes from confronting them as overwhelming as they may seem... to find the velvet lining that lingers beneath.


As the month of September brings the final harvests closer to their climax, the Autumn rains begin to fall and the temptations of savory soups please our pallet may you find a moment or two to enjoy its splendor...

Cozy

With our obsession for large, audacious places, it is refreshing to find that some still seek small and cozy as a much more tranquil choice...


This Lilliputian chapel along the Niagara Parkway has witnessed many a country wedding...


A tiny clapboard cottage with its inviting front door beckons one to visit within and enjoy a comfortable chair by the fire...


Even a simple stone home,


with the path leading to the side door and right into the kitchen encourages a weary soul to rest a spell...


Hope you too are enjoying these simple days of Summer and finding a place that's cozy...

Gifts From Nature

The hydrangeas are beginning to wane and the sharp, shrill call of a new family of bluejays echoes throughout the treetops...


It had been a dry, hot July, but August has renewed the garden with frequent raindrops, cooler nights and a bounty of goodies.


The aroma of fresh basil lingers in the air as you brush by to pick the tomatoes...


Jam making, the canning of pickles, relish, salsa and pasta sauce occupy my days right now...
Some might question the intense labour involved but when I open a fresh jar of wild blueberry jam with honey on a cold December morn to spread on a warm baked scone... the effort is worth its weight in gold.

Enjoy the yields of fellow farmers by visiting a local market or roadside stand... the freshness of field to table is heavenly.


There's even some new knitting on the needles, a cowl in Malabrigo Rasta yarn.


Archangel is the colour... reflects the beauty of the blossoms wouldn't you say?

Tantalizing Reflections

Windows are like mirrors to the beauty of the great outdoors...
Depending on the time of day, the season or the angle of light, reflections dance across an outside windowpane...



Be it vintage textiles airing on the line amidst a cloudy day...


Or a country field captured by the village church window...


The ability of the wavy glass to refract the vision before it is amazing...


August is upon us... enjoy the dog days of Summer!

Solitude and Serenity

In this sometimes obligatory world in which we dwell it is an indulgence to seek solitude and serenity...

As I come upon the stillness of a country cemetery, blessed with tranquil surroundings and soul stirring statues I find the moments I treasure...


Sometimes slumbering on the caressing folds of a much loved eiderdown quilt, good book or glossy magazine in hand... the time passes at an easy and gentle pace...


Even strolling amongst the pathways of the garden where bright candyfloss pink hydrangea beckon a passing butterfly ...


the fragile petals of the mop-cap variety appear like tiny elfin parasols and the first petite florets
begin to unfold on the gooseneck flowers I drink in the beauty that abounds...


Hope you're enjoying your Summertime splendor too!

Tidbits

Almost two months ago when our area endured relentless high winds for a day much damage followed...

Trees fell and the outcome was devastating. In one tree a nest of baby squirrels barely three weeks old, cold, eyes unopened and orphaned were discovered by my neighbour walking her dog. Knowing I had a soft spot for critters and having rescued several in the past she came to me and I set out to save them.

With feedings of puppy formula round the clock, they soon flourished.


Almost eight weeks later the two boys and one girl are now in the process of returning to Nature...


The peonies are at their peak in the garden right now. Sarah Barnhart's are my favourite. Their huge flowers and delicate scent fill my little cottage with unsurpassed beauty...
The aroma of yesterday's batch of rhubarb fig jam deliciously lingers in the kitchen...


I'd also like to send this special bouquet to June at 'Laughing With Angels' with the wish of a speedy recovery...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Illusions

Though most of my gardening is devoted to growing organic fruits, vegetables and herbs the small plots of soil set aside for flowers seems somehow a reflection of my favourite colours...


Early June finds a passion for pinks and mauves from the azalea to clematis.


Even the first bloom of the David Austen old rose hidden well beneath the foliage seeking shelter from the hot afternoon sun is the palest of pink...

A soft new Japanese Noro King yarn is on the needles too...


gentle earth tones with a touch of delicate pink, it is the beginnings of an early Autumn cowl for a friend's upcoming birthday...

Have a great week.

A Magical Place

When all is wrong in the world it is hard to imagine such, within the tranquility of the woods...


As you meander down the well-trodden paths venturing deeper into this magical place with the high pitched shrill of the meadowlark above it is easy to get lost in time and place...


Perhaps the forest fairies rest beneath a generous toadstool...


Or listening for the echoes of our ancestors seeking to find the huge oak burls that were once hand-carved into batter bowls...


Or a little pixie dancing amongst the decadent wildflowers...


Although Nature has her darker side with the beauty that lies before us all is quickly forgiven...

Recipes With Memories

There are ever present links to our past that follow us through the days of our lives...


As the rhubarb ripens and the tattered, spattered pages from my great-grandmother's recipes are readied, I find the recollections of her most vivid as I prepare to make her rhubarb marmalade.
Amidst the washing, the chopping and stirring, the aroma that fills the kitchen takes me back in time...




The violets are ready for harvest too. Each blossom picked, infused and yielding the most delicious shade of purple-pink jelly... connecting me to the women in my family, long passed but whose memories I share with their recipes.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Blossom Fever

Living in a vast fruit belt affords one the chance to prosper twice in a season...



Once from the beauty of the blooms that paint the orchards endless shades of pinks and whites and again later in the Summer when the luscious cherries and peaches droop from the branches...


I am not the only one smitten by all this blossoming, French, Austrian and Prussian china makers


once hand-painted their delicate porcelain wares in similar adoring motifs...


Alas Spring in all her glory...