Wednesday, December 23, 2020

CATCHING UP PICTURE BLOG

 

Male Northern Cardinal in our Holly Bush.

I was going through some photos on my phone today and thought I would do a photo blog of the last few weeks. Rob and I were on vacation the week of  November 30th to celebrate our 8th anniversary and to get organized for Christmas.


Long-eared Owl

First day of vacation was pretty exciting as I spotted my second ever owl in the wild! The first one I found was a Long-eared as well. Great start to vacation on a nature walk.

Hand-feeding a female Northern Cardinal. 

This was pretty cool and a first. We went to a lakeside park to hand feed some Chickadees and this beauty landed in my hands. 

Red morphed Eastern Screech Owl at a park close to home.

Merry & Molly are now 5 years old, so we thought we'd try setting up our large Christmas tree this year to see how it would go. Molly has a bad habit of eating foreign objects, so we haven't had a large tree since we got them. 

We set the tree up on a Sunday afternoon, and put nothing on it to see how it would go. We were taking it down at 10pm the following day, as Molly thought the lights looked tasty. Not worth the worry, her health or a large vet bill. The living-room still looks festive, and that's what matters. 

It was pretty while it lasted.

The temptation was too much for her. 

Our little tree is up once again.


I couldn't hang this on the tree, so it's beside it.

The tree and stocking ornament. 

Our woodland Santa scene.

Our Three Wise Owls.

Molly being peaceful. 

I've really been enjoying this awesome cheese Advent Calendar!  

Merry & Molly were featured on "Santa Paws" on CTV News at Noon earlier this month. 

The Mandalorian

We also signed up for Disney plus while we were on vacation and watched The Mandalorian. I fell in love with Grogu aka "Baby Yoda".

The last few weeks seemed to have flown by and now here we are just two sleeps away from what is going to be a very different Christmas for us all. I am now on Xmas break and do not return to work until the new year. Rob will also enjoy a couple four day weekends. It will just be the two of us for the holidays, but we plan on making the best of it with lots of food, drink, nature walks and some good movies. 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2021.

Friday, November 27, 2020

OCTOBER RECAP

 

Our resident skunk checking out the new yard decor. 

It's hard for me to believe that in just a few short days we will be in the month of December. Some days the time seems to be crawling by, and others flying. October was one of those months that went by at a nice pace. Mother Nature put on a lovely colour show, and we enjoyed the week of Thanksgiving off for another stay-cation.  

We enjoyed many walks during the month of October and were gifted with many beautiful views.

Our regular nature walk spot was stunning

The colours were spectacular this year. 

I cooked a turkey on Thanksgiving Monday.

Table was set with my Grandmother's china. 

Apple pie for dessert in our house over pumpkin. 


A beautiful buck on one of our walks. 

A Great Blue Heron on another walk.

A new trail to explore.

Halloween was very different this year for us. We followed the advice of health officials and did not hand out candy, though I did make up treat bags for the children who live on our street and did porch drop offs after letting the parents know I would be doing this. We also used our friends three children in another neighborhood as an excuse to dress up and drop of bags of candy for them. That's called making the best of the situation. 

Candy filled bags ready for delivery. 

Happy Halloween!!

     
Rob had some fun with Merry.


I made sure we had some Halloween treats too.


Delicious donuts from The Box Donut, they deliver!

I hope Fall is being kind to you all. 

Friday, October 30, 2020

SEPTEMBER MINI BREAK

Aw, so relaxing......


Rob and I had a week off  at the end of September. Of course with the Covid crisis we're in, we didn't have any big trips planned, but we did feel the need to "getaway" and we found the perfect place to do so.

The Trillium Resort and Spa is only a couple hours outside of Toronto in the Muskoka region in the small town of Port Sydney. It was the perfect mini break for us. The first thing we noticed when we got out of the car was how quiet it was. The resort is located on 86 acres at the end of a road on a non-motorized lake. Quiet. We spent two lovely nights there enjoying the grounds, delicious meals, and our lovely chalet styled cabin.

Rob hauling our stuff to our cabin. 


The grounds were very pretty. 

The Main building holds the dining room and sitting areas.

Perfect place to sit and relax.

Of course we made friends at our cabin.

View from our deck.

Probably the most photographed canoe in Ontario!

Model pose in the woods.

Forest Bathing aka Walking in the Woods. 

Out on the lake in a paddle boat.

One of the sitting areas in the main building. 

Pre-dinner drinks.

Moon through the trees.

Loved the town sign.

This red maple is pretty famous and has a Forest Ontario Heritage nod. 

It really was lovely to get away from the every day for a couple nights. No meal planning or dishes to worry about, and what a treat it was to star gaze in the evenings. I miss seeing a sky full of stars at night living in the city.

Of all the Ontario resorts we've been too, this one was the best for us to take couple trips. Nature, delicious food, and a spa! I enjoyed my first pedicure of the year while we were there. We look forward to returning.   


Yummy dessert one night.

Friday, September 18, 2020

ROB'S COVID BIRTHDAY

 

Rob enjoying a Moscow Mule on his birthday.

Like everyone who's celebrated a birthday during the pandemic, you make the best of it. And that's what Rob and I did this past Tuesday on his 51st birthday.

We both booked the day off work, so it started off great! He started his day with a nice breakfast and presents. We weren't really sure what we were going to do for the day, but I lucked out, as I had seen a post on Facebook a few days earlier letting me know that Mountsberg Raptor Centre had started a new Raptor experience called Talons and Tailfeathers, perfect for these times. I quickly purchased tickets for his birthday. 

It was nice to get back there and see not only some feathered friends, but a human one as well. 

Jazz, a beautiful Barn Owl.

Lara holding Jazz who's saying, "Where's your glove Rob?"

The experience takes place in the "flyway", and the birds are flown, perch to perch. We saw a variety of species including a Kestrel, Barn Owl, Broad-winged Hawk and a Harris Hawk. I was also treated to a showing of  "Echo", an Eastern Screech Owl. 

I'm not going to lie, we missed not being able to hold the birds, but it was still a very enjoyable experience. I noticed different things about them, like their beautiful colouring, flying by so close. 

Echo, the Eastern Screech Owl.

Even during these tough times, we must take time to smell the flowers.

We have been doing Raptor Encounters at Mountsberg for over a decade, and this was the first time I did not get to hold Echo, but it was wonderful to see her.  

After a great afternoon out we went home for a couple hours and then went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Toast on Bloor for drinks and dinner. 

Celebrating at Toast on Bloor.

We were too full from dinner for more cake at home, but he made a wish.

All in all, I think he had a pretty great birthday! I always joke that I have a great time on his birthday because I always plan it! LOL!!! Here's to making the best of it!