Two weeks in one post. Lots of animals in these pictures. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We've been rather lazy and fully enjoying it.



Gratuitous puppy picture. She was watching for squirrelsbut it was raining too hard for any to come to the feeder.


I suppose a bad picture is better than no picture at all. That's the only reason I can think of for taking this. It's the corner of the tin I use for storing my stamps and ink pads. I like the brass handle and label holder on the front.


After so many grey, rainy days I was hunting around for some brightness and found it in a garden bed at city hall.


Abby's first Canada Day parade. I always like seeing our armed forces and the RCMP marching in uniform. Along with the pipe band they are part of what makes it a proper parade.


Flat breads for lunch with olive oil and rosemary on top. I think I'll have to try growing my own rosemary next summer. It has such a lovely aroma.


A picture from our camping trip that I can't remember publishing. This is one of the outbuildings next to the cabin. I think the downstairs is used for storage but there is a cozy sitting area in the loft above. The side and back walls are covered in woodpecker holes.


My new favourite comfort food - tomato sauce over spaghetti. I use this recipe but fiddled with quantities since in Canada tomatoes come in 19 oz cans instead of the 28 oz called for by the recipe.




I think I will use this for a Christmas card. Usually we only have one squirrel at a time at the feeder and there is much chasing and chattering if anyone comes to challenge the current visitor. It looks to us like there is a significant age difference between these two (and we're pretty sure the larger grey one is a mama - you can see all her teats when she turns to face you) and I wonder if that accounts for it. Eventually the older one left and the young guy got the feeder to himself.


Another visitor, this time it's a red fox (in one of the darker colourings). We've seen him (or her - not sure) in our backyard before and he's even been up on the deck but this is the first good picture I've been able to get (ignore the nose smudges on the window - those are from Abby watching squirrels). Part of why he comes (and why he's bothering to check out my old seedling pots) must be the squirrels (they've been pulling dead sunflower seeds out of the pots) but he also checks out the feeder and picks up any stray peanuts he can find. He looks pretty skinny but this may be just that he's in his light-weight summer coat.


I was working on my socks while waiting to meet Rob after work. I like the dimples this stitch pattern makes on the inside on my knitting.


This picture would be so much more effective if you could feel the wind and smell the rain. I was on my way back to work after getting an afternoon coffee (and an absolutely essential leg stretch). It wasn't actually raining yet but by the time I was ready to leave again it was pouring.


I love strawberries so much. Even the compost bowl looks pretty when it's full of strawberry hulls.


If there is sun Zeke will lie in it ... but sometimes he's more likely to sunbathe uninterrupted if his spot is underneath a kitchen chair.


Another difficult to photograph backyard visitor. This is a red-winged blackbird. There are lots of them along the path where we walk Abby but we've only been seeing them in our backyard the last few weeks. It turns out they also like peanuts. Unlike the squirrels, however, I'm pretty sure they can see through the windows because everytime I've tried to take a picture of one he's flown off just as I'm getting ready. This one was feeding from a pile of peanuts a little further away and didn't seem so concerned.