there were so many birds at the cottage we stayed at…
after hearing them on the Merlin sound app, I decided not to worry about getting photos of them… my goal was to spot as many as I could while we were there…
I think I saw most of them, except the black and white warbler…
we also saw many pelicans, gulls, eagles, hummingbirds, and at least one heron;-)…
the cottage we are staying at is very nice… it is right on the water and there are lots of windows…
the main section has air conditioning, which is not something I would usually want, but temperatures are expected to soar this week, so it may be just what we need…
there is a screened-in section with comfy sofas and a table for dining or playing games…
then there is a deck which leads down to a grassy area, and a deck on the edge of the cliff, as well as one on the shore…
so far we’ve managed to sit on every deck, lol… well, except the one facing the road;-)…
came by a waffle maker not long ago and we decided to bring it with us to the lake and try making some…
this particular one had no instructions, so we went on YouTube to figure out the process…
not sure why, but I’ve never had, or made, homemade waffles, so it was a fun learning experience… a friend sent me their favourite recipe, which I printed off before leaving home… what I didn’t do was actually read the recipe, lol… so, we went to the store here to pick up a few of the necessary ingredients, like regular milk and baking powder, but we couldn’t find cake flour, so made do with plain…
it was fun searching the kitchen to find the items we needed for the process…
once everything was gathered, it didn’t take long to produce some rather tasty waffles.. we had fresh strawberries and also picked up whipping cream…
delicious and fun, although it does take a while to make them, lol…
a great experiment, and maybe supper will be chicken and waffles…
already thinking about other things that it might make;-)…
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent hours at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park…
things have grown and been added since I was last there…
there was mist rising from the ground and there are now three cacao trees…
it was very exciting to see them in flower and with pods on one…
Tuesday we were there in the morning and came across some school classes and quite a few other visitors… we had a delicious lunch at Gather and went back into the biomes for a last look before heading home…
on Wednesday we went in the evening… I had hoped the lights would be on but they weren’t until after we left, lol… there were few others in the space and ample opportunities to sit quietly and reflect on the beauty of nature…
thanks to a very knowledgeable volunteer, we found the sugar cane and the dinosaur trees…
we did enjoy dessert at Gather before a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens… one treat was sitting by a fire in the Indigenous Peoples Garden…
looking forward to another visit in a few weeks… cheers;-)…
the latest project around the house has taken a little while… we began discussing it in February, lol…
the actual work started on Thursday, June 8th, when my grandson and son-in-law took down the back fence as well as the small one in the front yard…
it involved hammering, using the car jack and a great deal of muscle… once it was down, all the pieces were loaded into a truck… then we moved soil, cleaned up the leaves from the cedars and Virginia creeper, and filled many bags of yardwaste…
midway through the day the lumber was dropped off, but had to be brought onto the driveway a few pieces at a time, and by the end of the day we were worn out, lol…
on Friday, my grandson met our handyperson at the hardware store where they rented an auger and picked up a big bag of screws and nails…
they used more muscle to get the old holes redug and finished the day with all posts installed…
Sunday, the oldest dug up excess dirt around the shed while we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive, including one of his brothers…
they worked well together and got the back fence 99.9% finished, with a nice wide gate and the framework up for the front portion of fence…
on Wednesday and Thursday my oldest grandson put the finishing touches on the fencing and both sections look great…
so pleased with the final result as well as how smoothly the process went and what great help we had from everyone…
no time to sort it out until that Sunday when I was able to charge it…
on Monday, the 29th, we managed to get it up onto the doorframe and working…
since then it has worked on and off… the battery is supposed to last for three weeks, but late on Saturday it advised it turned itself off and needed to be charged…
I found the special key to remove it from the door, then the charging cord, charged it, and was able to hook it back up…
yesterday, after getting the den turned into a guestroom, I put a quilt on the bed for when my Ottawa daughter arrives;-)…
today, this memory came up on my Facebook page… it was from eleven years ago when her friends came and redid my bedroom… it was a wonderful gift as shortly after that I had surgery and spent a lot of time in the bedroom…
too funny that I chose that particular quilt;-)… and a reminder of that wonderful gift…
herbiggirlpants 