Salamander

One morning the kids and I were rushing out the door for swimming lessons and Claire almost committed murder!!!  She almost squished this little guy as he made an attempt to cross our sidewalk.  We checked him out and then set him free to carry on his way.  Pretty cool.  The kids have never seen one before and I have not seen a Sally since I was a kid.

A Dream Comes True for Curtis

I know, not many of us dream of these things, but a couple of weeks ago Curtis had the dream of blacktop to his laneway come true.  He is sure that the county is as excited as he is that he is the proud owner of a classic Mopar car, but I think maybe there are other reasons for the appearance of the paved road.  Whatever the case, Curtis is very happy he no longer has to drive his new, old car on a mile and a 1/2 of gravel.  I have to admit it is pretty nice too.

Discovered my inner Betty Crocker

Boy it has been a long time since I have updated this blog!  It is OK though, I have a good excuse!!  I have discovered my inner Betty Crocker!  We planted a garden this spring and it started to produce like crazy in August.  We have more Zucchini then we just about know what to do with.  A few have made a trip to Curtis' office so that they could be enjoyed by others!  We were picking up to 6 medium sized ones a day for awhile there.  I was even able to make 6 dozen Zucchini muffins and send them to work with Curtis to be eaten.

Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Phantom Rhubarb muffins and Zucchini chocolate chip muffins

We have also made quite a bit of jam and we were very lucky to have Papa share his toons and barb recipe with us.  We now have frozen raspberry, strawberry/rhubarb, raspberry/rhubarb, Saskatoon and Claire's Special Jam all ready for the winter.  In exchange for the Toons and Barb recipe, Papa has requested some frozen berries that will be delivered to him when Curtis and Daniel head to MB for goose hunting in a couple of weeks.  I would say that Curtis picked more than a 5 gallon pail of saskatoons.  Hopefully we have as many next year.

Saskatoon Jam and 

Claire's Special Jam(all left over berries needed to make a batch of jam)

Toons and Barb and Frozen Rhubarb Jam

We have harvested the purple and red potatoes and the onions.  The green and yellow beans have also been picked and the kids are enjoying them cooked and raw.  The cherry tomatoes and the cucumbers are not quite ready yet so they are being covered every night with sheets because we have had two nights with frost already.  The carrots still have to be pulled, but they are OK in the ground for awhile yet.  Our garden has been really successful and we are already planning what we are going to plant next year.

Red and Purple Potatoes and our Onions