The Squirrels Are Squirreling Things Away!

The triplets LOVE Melba toast...when they eat it all we hear is crunch, crunch, crunch...

Hello Friends :)

I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend! I just wanted to do an update post on the squirrels. Most of the time it's hard to tell them apart now, they've all grown so quickly and are starting to look the same. Nice buffet they have huh?

They have really started to squirrel-away their food...they have "hidden" stashes everywhere around the cage. They love those peanuts and sunflower seeds! One thing we were advised by the wildlife expert was to give them seeds and nuts in shells because they will have to learn how to open them when they're back in the woods; so we switched from shelled nuts and seeds to the ones in the shells. So far they are doing fine opening them up.

You can see Spunky on the left, hiding a peanut under the greenery. They have so much food that they've hoarded...their instinct is to prepare for winter! 

They are still drinking the "mother's milk" but this week we are weening them off of it. They have to get used to drinking water now because there won't be that type of milk in the wild. They are also in "escape" mode. Every time we open the cage door to clean it and fill up on the food supplies, they try their best to dash out. This is a sign they are ready to be released soon.

Another suggestion was to give them pine cones. I brought home a bunch of them on my walk in the woods with the dogs and the squirrels are devouring them really fast!

This close up shows why they are eating them up - they're looking for the pine nuts! It's amazing how their instinct kicks in without their mom to show them how to find those pine nuts. I feel silly that I didn't realize where pine nuts came from lol...Just a quick fact I read:

"The pine cone is only the pine nuts' first shell. Pine nuts have a second shell, which also has to be removed before eating. ... While all pine trees will produce a pine nut, there are only about 18 species that produce nuts large enough to be of value as human food. These trees are found in Asia, Europe and North America." - Huff Post

They eat them like a corn on the cob lol...it's funny to watch! The fact that they're enjoying the pine cones is another great sign that they will do very well once released. After spending the next week weening them off the "mother's milk", it'll be time for stage one of their release, leaving the cage outside by the woods so that they can get used to the sounds/smells/sights of the other critters. 

So that's the rodent news for today! :) Weather wise it's been extremely humid and very hot here in the Laurentians. Lots of thunderstorms.

Which is very bad news for poor Marlene. She is in a constant state of heightened anxiety because of the thunder. I watched a few Cesar Milan videos recently and he has one that shows you how to prepare your anxious dog for fireworks...I'm going to try to apply this technique with Marlene as best as I can to see if it helps her during storms too. There are puddles of her saliva all over the house...gets slippery! Jack has no issue with noises, he'd be more terrified if we ran out of food!

Mustard Greens and Miner's Lettuce

Iceberg Lettuce

"Green Forest" Romaine Lettuce

My lettuces are finally growing and fast, we've been eating lots of salads lately. 

The sugar pumpkin patch is thriving!

And lookie here! The carving pumpkin seeds finally germinated! The five I started indoors are getting a bit bigger and I have six or seven new plants popping up! So happy! :)

Aaaah...strawberries, ice cream and whipped cream...who can resist? :)

See you Thursday for the art date! The theme is Camping/Campfire.

Thursday Art Date: Flora...Red and White Feast!

Hello Friends!  Happy Independence Day to my American Friends!! :) 

Welcome to Thursday's art date! Our art theme today is flora. The flora in my region is alive and blooming. The trees, plants, flowers...everything is so pretty! It's been a long time coming and I'm soaking in every moment!

Bugs Bunny decided to check out the flora in his neck of the woods on a long hike. I have to say I was influenced by the late great Crocodile Hunter when it came to Bugs' wardrobe!

So many folks are on summer blog breaks, I wonder if anyone will participate in the art date this week! I won't be giving it up in any case! :)

Here is my oil painting for this week. The flora that I associate the most with Canada is the maple tree. We have them all over the property and they look especially brilliant in the fall. I decided to add our baby squirrels Algie, Spunky and Frasier to this painting. :)

Let's get down to the food shall we? I tried Joyce's Polish Pizzas (Zapiekanka) last week and they were really delicious, thanks so much Joyce! :)

I made my Potato Ham and Gruyere Tart and served it with fresh spinach from the garden! Yum! :) It's SO NICE to be able to eat fresh homegrown food!

Canada Day was July 1st and I'd been planning a red and white feast for a few weeks. This is the spread!! Tomatoes, watermelon and strawberries gave me the red I wanted...the potatoes and the cheeses represented the white.

We started off with some Watermelon and Pineapple Sangria - oh my goodness people...this was SO good. It was nice and sweet made with Moscato wine and brandy. (I love how clipart can hide messy counters lol)

This was surprisingly delicious in its simplicity. Watermelon and Feta Skewers. The mix of sweet and salty was a success!

The main course was a Caprese Panini. I used my Homemade Quick Mozzarella for this sandwich with local juicy tomatoes and fresh basil from the window garden. A sprinkling of good Balsamic vinegar and it's amazing! The corn was so sweet too!

Potato salad is so summery, I had to include it! I made some with my Homemade Mayo.

The coup de grâce of the evening was Strawberry Shortcake with fresh local strawberries! Thanks again to Joyce for that recipe winner! The only change I made to her recipe was to add some Fragoli strawberry liqueur to the strawberries.

The weather is hot and humid lately - just how I like it! We've had a lot of porch time, watching the squirrels and snacking on Rice Krispie Squares and my Knock-Off Tim Horton's Iced Coffee. I'll update everyone on the squirrels this weekend. They are in "escape mode" now. We were told once they were off the mother's milk, they would do their best to escape, which means release time is sooner than expected!

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July 11th: Next Thursday's theme is Camping/Campfire. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! :)

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.

Don't forget to add the URL link to you post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations!

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Hound Dog and Hound Cat

Happy Canada Day to my Canadian Friends!!

I just have a short video to share with you of Jack and Leo being the little piglets that they are! I made a Canada Day red and white feast today!! I'll post about the food with all the recipes on Thursday's Art Date blog post.

Hope you're all having a great day! :)  See you Thursday for our Flora theme! :)

Thursday Art Date: Beach

Hello Friends!!

Welcome to Thursday's art date! Our art theme today is beach. As I type this, I'm still hoping for hot enough weather to actually jump into the lake! But I've noticed the climate is shifting, at least here in the Laurentians. Our hottest months seem to be August and September now, so my beach days will have to wait! :)

Lucky Bugs Bunny to be lounging on a hot sandy beach - coconut cocktail and all! :)

We did have a few hot days in the last week and I did my favourite thing...painting on the porch! I started off with a watercolour sea turtle. This was surprisingly very difficult for me. I thought it would be a snap (pardon the pun!). This one started off with lots of colours, but it all became a sludge so I stuck to blues and greens.

Here is my oil painting of "Sunset on the Beach". I really enjoy the oil painting. I'm so glad I'm able to paint on my watercolour paper instead of having to always buy expensive canvas.

And I love this one! It's an acrylic that took me many hours to do! This is my idea of Jack shaking water off himself after a dip in the lake! 

I'm no Iris Scott...but her work really inspired me to try doing this. She's awesome and does most of her painting with her fingers! I read a quote that she got tired of cleaning her brushes, so decided to paint her oils with her fingers. I love that! :) Maybe I'll try an oil paint with my fingers one of these days!

PS: She has a Flora and Fauna section of her paintings on her website if you want further inspiration for next Thursday's art date theme of "Flora"!! :)

Where do you suppose I am supposed to sit and relax??? I don't have the heart to ever kick any of the pets off the furniture! There were some really humid days lately and the cats are just trying to survive without melting like we are!

Two of the three squirrels, nibbling away! They are all still doing well, growing up fast and eating a lot! Their diet now consists of water, mother's milk, peanuts, bird seed, carrots, sweet potatoes, nectarines and tree bark. They still feed from the baby bottle now and then, so they're not quite ready to be released yet!

Alex picked a Lupine flower for me the other day. I love when he does that! We had a wine tasting before dinner and I just love this shot so I wanted to share it! :) Rosé has to be my favourite in warmer weather. Do you drink wine? What's your favourite? I'd love to be sitting on a beach with a cold tall glass of Rosé right now! (I guess the porch will have to do if ever the cats make room for me!)

More summer eating! Fish Burgers (with my homemade American Cheese!!!) and Coleslaw with Old Bay Seasoning. Yum!

I had some nectarines that needed to be eaten so I decided to make a Nectarine Upside Down Cake. I found it a little dense, but Alex loved it. :)

Here is a quick tour of my garden! :)

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July 4th: Next Thursday's theme is Flora. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! :)

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.

Don't forget to add the URL link to you post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations!

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Jaccidents, American Cheese and Container Garden

Waking up the babies for feeding time.

Hello Friends :)

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Alex and I are in hibernation mode...it's not only a nice warm and sunny weekend but it's the Quebec national holiday weekend too - the village is OVERRUN with loud annoying weekenders! Best to stay close to our cozy home at times like these!!

The triplets getting ready for bedtime.

The squirrels are still doing very well! They love their new digs. 

They are weening off the baby bottle and starting to drink the mother's milk and water from dishes. This is a sign they are growing up!

I'm starting to get back into cheese making! I started off with an easy recipe for American Cheese (see Rainy Day Cheese Making for this recipe and more). Think Velveeta or Kraft, but much better! I used white Cheddar to make this, so it isn't the usual neon orange colour of the grocery store slices, but the texture is exactly the same!

AND...it passed the melty test! We made some grilled cheese on sub buns with some orange Cheddar and my American Cheese on top and it melted well. The taste is great too! So much fun to start cheese making again. Alex is going to make me a cheese press this week so I can start on some Cheddars, Colbys and maybe a Parm! :)

My window garden is flourishing! I have some baby lettuce and lots of herbs growing, I love my window garden! 

The sugar pumpkin patch is coming to life...though the "carving" pumpkin patch is stalling. We shall see!

This is the first year I've successfully grown spinach. It was loving the cool wet weather I suppose!

The root veggies are starting to grow too - turnips, beets, carrots, green onions, garlic and Brussels sprouts.

Some of the lettuces and greens are starting to grow too - I can't wait for a full head of lettuce!

The greenhouse is doing its job! The tomatoes (33 plants!!), eggplant, green/yellow beans and green pepper are all growing nicely!

Alex coined a new term, a "Jaccident". Websters be advised...a "Jaccident" is when food is dropped (by accident or on purpose) and Jack eats it up like a land shark. See the above video for footage.

North Coast of Prince Edward Island (2009)

For anyone interested, this Thursday's Art Date theme is "Beach". Please click on the link for inspiration!