Friday's Hunt v. 2.20

Time keeps on rolling and here we are having Friday again! Our prompts from Eden Hills are: Starts with T, Week's Favourite, and Rule of Thirds.

Starts with T

This is one of our two new guinea pigs - his name is Toffee.  I'll be doing a blog about our guinea pigs later this week!  

Week's Favourite

I really like this picture I took of a cat-tail rush that has gone to seed.  It definitely has a feeling of fall and the end of the growing season about it, but it also suggests at warm fuzzy sweaters and cozy mittens soon to be worn.

I was also really pleased with this picture I managed to take of the ring-necked pheasant under the bird feeder earlier this week.  Usually I only manage to take pictures of him through the window, but this time I was outside and the shot is much clearer than usual.

Rule of Thirds

I didn't actually know what the rule of thirds was when I saw it on the Eden Hills prompts.  I had to look it up online.  I learned that it's a rule of photograph composition, and I found it quite interesting. If you don't know about the rule of thirds, you can read about it here.

I took some photographs at the Sackville Waterfowl Park this week in which I tried to follow the rule of thirds.

This is a duck - I think it's a female Gadwall.  She's in the intersection point of the bottom third and the right-most third.  The darker water with the leaves in the foreground is also the bottom third of the picture.  The brighter leaves, which are not in focus, but still provide some interest, are close to that upper left intersection point.  

This one was another attempt, although it's not quite as clear on the rules.  The boardwalk is in the bottom third and the sky with some leaves in the top third.  The left and right thirds are less defined, although I was aiming to get some of the white birch trunks to line up correctly.  I think I still need to work on my rule of thirds!

New Family Members

We recently added 3 new family members!  For many months...probably over a year...Marc and I had been discussing the possibility of acquiring a small animal pet.  We have one indoor cat (Mitten) and one outdoor cat (Izzy) and also Timber, Marc's dog.  We also have the 2 sheep and 2 goats, but they are outdoor pets too.  I missed having a dog of my own, but Timber doesn't like other dogs.  I also missed having a rabbit.  When we were still living in Marc's house, we couldn't get a small pet because there wasn't enough room, and we were trying to sell the house, so it wasn't the right time. We needed to spend time getting settled into the new house before making the decision about a new pet.  The Moncton SPCA had a recent influx of many small animals, and we had been watching them on the website, and finally decided it was time to take a look.

We had 3 lovely people who agreed to be our references so that the SPCA could be sure that the animal would go to a new home.  Once we passed the approval process, we were ready to check out the candidates.  We spent time in a "meeting room" with several different animals.  We visited with 2 different rabbits, a pair of bonded rats, and 2 guinea pigs.  In the end, we decided that we didn't just want 1 small animal - we wanted 3.  So, we came home with a new bunny and a pair of guinea pigs. We really liked the rats as well, but after much deliberation, we felt the guinea pigs were a better choice for us.

Today I'll write about the rabbit, and another day I'll write about the guinea pigs.

Our rabbit is named Pippin (formerly Tapper) and he is estimated to be between 1 and 2 years old.

I believe he is a cross breed that includes some "rex" rabbit genetics, due to the feel of his fur.  He is one of the softest rabbits I have ever touched, and has a similar feel to a rex breed.  He's a bit overweight, so right now he is on a lower calorie pellet diet with lots of fresh vegetables.

He gets to run around the living room on a regular basis.  We are really fortunate that he is already a regular user of the litter box, so doesn't need training on that.

He loves to rest on the top of the couch in the room where we watch movies and have a stereo.

He jumps right up on the back of it and relaxes.

He seems to enjoy interacting with us, so we believe he had a lot of handling as a young rabbit.  He was surrendered to the SPCA due to allergies, although we find it odd that someone would have him for more than a year before deciding they were allergic to him.

It's really difficult to take "action" pictures of a rabbit because they are SO fast!

He races around the room and leaps in the air and I never seem to get a good picture.

Marc was his usual creative self and made Pippin a hut from pallet wood.

He seems to like it and it's a good fit.  He kept tipping over the cardboard box we were initially using. He dumps out his food dish in front of the house.  I have to find a better feeder.

Pippin gets a lot of love, and we're really happy to have him!

My Coffee at This Time of Year

When the cold nights (and mornings) arrive and the wind blows a bit more fiercely, it's time for Claire's winter coffee to come back on the daily menu.  I know, some people will argue that it doesn't even count as coffee, but here's what I enjoy every morning at this time of year.

I start with a spoonful of Nescafe instant coffee.  I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, and to be honest, it really isn't worth it to me to go to the trouble of brewed coffee, given what else I put into it. You could easily make this coffee with a brewed version though.

Next, I add two spoonfuls of the "Rolo" flavour of Carnation hot chocolate mix.  It's a chocolate-caramel flavour mix, and it's my favourite.

After that, I add a small candy cane.  I buy them in a box of 50 at Christmas time.  They last for months, and even until the next year if you don't use them all.  One unwrapped candy cane goes into the mug.  Sometimes I break it into pieces so that it will melt more quickly.

I fill up with boiling water, stirring vigorously.  Then, I throw in a handful of miniature marshmallows.  Finally, a generous pour of coffee cream (18%) finishes off the treat.

That's my 8 am wake-up call.  It's a peppermint mocha with marshmallows, I suppose.  I highly recommend it, if you enjoy flavoured coffee like I do!

Friday's Hunt v 2.19

It's that time again - where did the week go?  I am still busy with work.  I have many things I want to blog about, but don't seem to find the time to get the posts written.  I really hope things calm down a bit soon.  I'm still doing my best to keep up with Friday's Hunt, and this week I'm actually going to post on Friday!  Our prompts from Eden Hills are:  Starts with S, Week's Favourite, and Amazing.

Starts with S
S is for spinning, and anyone who has read my blog for any length of time probably knows that I'm a spinner.  When I went to the Maritime Spinners' Retreat a couple of weekends ago, I did some spinning, and then I finished a little bit more when I got home.  Here's some yarn that I have spun over the past couple of weeks.

The purple blend is something that I made at the retreat using the fibre they gave us to play with - not my usual colours, but it's what I was given!  The green mix is some Coopworth roving that I had hanging around in my stash.

This multi-coloured yarn is some 50% merino - 50% tencel blend that I spun fairly fine, and then chain-plied to maintain the colour sections.  I really love the way it turned out and I'm very pleased with the overall yarn.  It has a nice shimmer to it and a lovely drape.  Not sure what I'll use it for yet.

This is a soft grey alpaca blended with a mixed batt that had alpaca, bamboo and wool.  The turquoise is the bamboo.  I spun one ply with just the grey alpaca, and the other with the batt.  The batt was spun at the retreat, but I did the solid grey when I got home, and plied them together.

Week's Favourite
My favourite picture this week is this blue jay.  I like the way he's tilting his head, sort of like a dog who has heard a funny noise.  I believe he's doing that to actually take a better look at the ground. He's under the seed feeder, picking up sunflower seeds dropped by the chickadees.

He certainly had some success with seed hunting that day!

Amazing
Sometimes, the word "amazing" is thrown around in a rather haphazard manner.  People say that things are "amazing" when, in reality, they're good, or even great, but perhaps not quite amazing.  I looked up the dictionary definition of amazing, which says that it is "causing great surprise or wonder" and "startlingly impressive."  I'm going to tell you about something that certainly falls into the startlingly impressive category.  Even though I'm biased, I have to say, my parents are AMAZING!

When I think about all the times over the years that they have helped me, in a myriad of ways, it's really remarkable.  I know, it's a parent's "job" to help their child, but their help goes so far beyond the requirement, it's not even on the chart any more.  So let me tell you about a few weekends ago when my amazing parents helped me out yet again.

I have had a lot of work contracts lately, and since I work for myself, I just have to take the work as it comes.  Before the busy time, I had purchased about 300 spring bulbs for planting, thinking that I'd have plenty of time on the weekends in the fall to get them in the ground.  As is often the case, the best laid plans of mice and men (and women!) don't always work out the way we expect.  I had very little time to get the bulbs planted. In the meantime, I also had the terrible experience of having the nuthatch die by hitting my window.  I had purchased some special tape for installing on the windows to help prevent bird collisions but...no time to install it.

Parents to the rescue!  They knew I was in a bind, so they came to visit for a couple of days to lend whatever help they could.  My mom and I spent a morning and afternoon weeding all my garden beds and planting all those many bulbs - assorted daffodils, alliums, English bluebells, Chionodoxa, many kinds of tulips, Siberian iris, and more.  I know you can't see the bulbs, but they're in the ground, and they'll be glorious in the spring!

As if that wasn't enough, my mom and I then processed about 60 lb of apples (I'd bought huge bags of apples, thinking I'd have time to process them...oops!).  We peeled and chopped for hours, and I put some into the food dehydrator for dried apple rings, and others went into a fresh apple crumble for our dessert, while the majority went into freezer bags.

Meanwhile, my amazing Dad installed the anti-bird-collision tape on all the windows of significant concern, which required washing all those windows first, and then using a little plastic scraping device to properly adhere each of the little squares to the window by rubbing it into place.  The squares are evenly spaced on a tape-based product.  This bird-saving product is endorsed by FLAP and I have not had a single bird collision since it has been installed.  Before it was up, I regularly had collisions from "gentle" to severe.  I am really impressed with the product, but I am even more impressed with my Dad, who just got straight to work and helped me, and the birds, in a time of need.

Although the squares are white on the outside, they are not as obvious from the inside, and the mild effect on the view outside is certainly worth the trouble!

That's not all he did!  He also did some work on that tree that fell in our woods a few weeks ago.  He cut off all the branches so the log would lay on the ground and begin its decomposition process more quickly.

Then he cut the top end of the fallen tree into four sections, all of which will be easy to move.

And even that's not all.  My mom prepared a slow-cooker turkey dish ahead of time, which she brought with her, so we didn't have to worry about making supper while we were doing these tasks. To top it off, it was actually her birthday as well, and we were able to celebrate despite our hard work. I definitely owe her a cake!

So when I tell you that my parents are amazing, I do mean it, in every sense of the word.  I am a very lucky daughter, and a very grateful one too!

Friday's Hunt v 2.18

It's time for Friday's Hunt again!  I have a lot to blog about, but so little time due to work contracts these days.  Really hoping to get back to more regular posts soon, rather than just once a week.  As usual, for Friday's Hunt, we have 3 prompts from Teresa at Eden Hills:  Starts with R, Week's Favourite, and Black or Orange.

Starts with R
I was lucky enough to have a final rose open in the garden this week.  The garden is mostly over, and frost has already taken many of the tender plants.  The hardy roses are hanging in there, but I am sure this will be the last bloom.

Bonus "R" item is red berries, which are also still hanging on in my woodland areas.

Week's Favourite
My favourite picture this week was this purple finch, who was picking up seeds under the bird feeder. I didn't see many finches this summer, but I'm glad to see them now!

Black
This week we finally gave in, and started heating the house.  I think it was pretty stoic of us to get to the end of October with no heat, given the fact that we are having regular frosts at night these days. This new home we have is heated with a wood stove, which is located in the basement.  Neither of us have a great deal of experience with wood heat, but we are learning quickly.  The wood stove, as you can see, is black.

It's an unusual stove design, invented in Canada, but now owned by a US-based company.  You can see the website here:  http://www.sedoreusa.com/  It is an extremely efficient stove that burns from the bottom, and you load it from the top.  Due to the design, smoke doesn't pour out when you open the top door.  It's quite different from other stoves, but we are impressed with its performance.

The stove accommodates wood, wood pellets, corn stalks, or other biofuels.  It's very versatile.  It is doing a very good job at heating the house, which it does by a passive heat design - there are no blowers - just open ducts and a heat recovery system.

Friday's Hunt v 2.17

Almost didn't make it under the time limit this week.  Again, it's been a busy week and I was away this past weekend at a yarn spinning retreat.  I just got home, and here's my Friday's Hunt post, to keep myself going on the meme hosted by Eden Hills!  The three prompts for this week are "Starts with Q," "Week's Favourite" and "Fall or Spring."

Starts with Q
As I mentioned, I was at the Maritime Spinners' Retreat this weekend, and I had a great time connecting with fellow spinners and knitters.  We were able to participate in a fibre challenge by spinning 4 oz of merino fibre any way we wanted, and then creating a project with the yarn we had spun.  I needed to make something QUICK because I received my fibre quite late, and then had very little time to get it finished.  Spinning coiled yarn is fairly quick, but it also makes a short amount of yardage due to the structure of the yarn.  Short yardage meant a smaller project, and thus a quicker project!  I decided to use my rigid heddle loom to weave the coiled yarn into a short runner or even a neck scarf, just to emphasize the nature of the coiled yarn.  So, this was my quick project.  I'm hoping to do a blog post soon showing all the other projects made with the same fibre.

I like the way it turned out - it makes me think of ocean waves or ripples in a pond.  I might use the woven fabric to make something else eventually, when I have more time.

Week's Favourite
While in PEI for the retreat, I visited McAusland's Woollen Mill, where they make yarn as well as a lovely blankets.  The mill was built in 1868.  It was originally a lumber mill and then became a wool mill.  One of my favourite pictures is this shot showing bobbins of maroon coloured 3-ply yarn which are waiting to be skeined.  I love the contrast of the maroon and the steel and the wood of the empty bobbin.

Here's a bonus shot of the skeining machine where those bobbins are headed next!

Fall
Since I'm in the northern hemisphere, it's definitely fall for me!  Here's a picture of a young maple on our slope in the front of the house.  I do love the fall colours!  I had hoped to take some nice fall pictures at the retreat but it rained buckets all weekend - not very conducive to pictures outside.

Friday's Hunt v 2.16

I'm late again with Friday's Hunt.  I almost didn't get to it this week - just super busy!  This is going to be a quick one!

As usual, we have three prompts provided by Eden Hills:  Starts with P, Week's Favourite, and Whole.

Starts with P
I am a pajama kind of girl.  I love pajamas - especially warm, fuzzy, fluffy ones.  It's that time of year when I get out the warmer pajamas because the temperatures are dipping down at night and we've already had a few frosts.  Sometimes, I even work in my pajamas, because they're comfortable, and because I work from home, so nobody minds!

I was at Walmart recently (I really dislike shopping at Walmart because I don't like their business practices and ethics, but I do make the occasional foray there for a certain brand of cappuccino mix that I can't buy at any other store).  I do not normally buy clothing at Walmart, but these pajamas were there and...well, I could not resist.  So, for the letter P, I give you me, in my new raccoon pajamas, sort of pretending to be a raccoon.  They even have a tail, and you can see the raccoon face on the hood, complete with ears!

Really, I love them!  They are so warm and cozy!

Week's Favourite
I have been so busy this week that I haven't taken many pictures.  I took this one on Monday when I took the pictures of the tree that fell down.  The fall colours are really beautiful now.  This picture is one of my burning bushes (Euonymus alatus) that has turned a gorgeous shade of deep reddish-pink, and there were some yellow birch leaves caught in spider webs that really contrasted with the red.  I thought it made a lovely shot.

Here's a bonus shot of the driveway with fall colours so you can see how it looks now.

Whole
I was really stumped for this one, especially with not having taken many pictures this week and being so busy with work - my creative ideas are at a bit of a standstill.  Marc brought home more pallets from work this week.  He has been taking them apart to get wood to build the inside walls of his workshop.  All I can think of for "whole" is that we have a WHOLE LOT of pallets right now, as well as barn boards that he collected from an old shed!  And pallets start with P, too.  Double points!

 There are pallets against the house as shown above, and others in separate piles.

There are also some nice organized piles of pallet boards from those already taken apart.  That is a WHOLE LOT of wood!