Good Bye Winter!

Hello dear friends, are we not all becoming a little weary of winter?  I certainly am!  This is the time of year when the sun's rays are becoming warmer, the birds are abundant, and then we have a quick reality check with a little burst of snow and cold temperatures.  We had a couple of centimeters of snow overnight and the temperature as I was leaving this morning was a brisk -11 degrees Celsius.  The temperatures are forecast to be above freezing each day this week so I am quite convinced that by the weekend the snow will be replaced with....muddy dogs!

We love this little arbour.   It is supposed to be the entry to the vegetable garden which has great hopes every year of being fenced in.  The fencing remains an outstanding item on the agenda and some years to be honest the vegetable garden is just one more idea on our list of things to do.  The little statue at the base is the resting spot of Tigger, my very first cat.  Tigger lived to a very respectable 19 years of age.  As our friends know all of our departed pets are buried here at the farm.

I have taken shots of this view many times.  This is what we see from our bedroom balcony.  The chicken coop and adjoining run are for our laying hens.  The pastures beyond the chicken coop are for our sheep.  Our property ends where the evergreens are just visible in the distance.  Just to the right in the photo is Apple Lane.

Here is a view looking down from the balcony.   Our driveway is just on the other side of this gate.  I have named this little area the Secret Garden.  It is moist and shady and is in a very sheltered area bounded by the house, the fence and the decks which extend from our kitchen and on the lower level connect with our little gazebo.  I have imagined this as a cool and welcoming spot on a hot summer's day.

Another view of the arbour along with our garden privvy.

A view from the driveway looking towards the house.  The sun is just coming up!

And finally a view down the road as I head off to work.  Wishing everyone a great week!

Winter Storm

Hello dear friends, we have had 2 days of quite wild weather!  Yesterday the temperatures rose to about 6 degrees Celsius with the usual melting of snow.  Then by mid afternoon the temperatures started to fall to minus 10 degrees Celsius and the melting snow started to turn to ice.  Then by later in the afternoon the winds started to pick up and by evening we had wind gusts of over 100 kph.  By very early this morning we had received about 15 cm of snow and the strong winds created blizzard conditions.  For the first time in recent memory the roads in our area were closed because of whiteouts.  The end result is that both my husband and I stayed home today.

As much as we love fences and gates these structures do create snow drifts.

There was quite a bit of snow drifting against the dining room wall.

Lots of snow in the secret garden.

It is going to be interesting navigating the snow drift in front of the chicken coop!

The little Christmas trees that flank our front door were moved from their stands and placed safely on the deck to prevent them from becoming airborne in the high winds.  Both trees remained firmly in place but they look like they are covered in fondant!

There is quite a bit of snow in the grove and nestled against the cedar hedge.

There is lots of snow on the kitchen deck and it looks like we have an up-ended chair after the strong winds.

A view from the secret garden looking out.

Although we still have snow squall warnings the weather seems to be improving and hopefully tomorrow will be much better.  Wishing everyone a safe week!

February Stroll

Hello dear friends, today is Family Day in the Province of Ontario and while it is not a holiday for all employers I have taken a day off work today to work on our master bedroom.  It is a cold but beautiful sunny day and we had about 10 cm of light fluffy snow overnight.  For a break I am taking a little walk outside.  As I haven't posted for a while I thought you might enjoy a little stroll in the February sunshine!

I have been saving and drying some grapefruit shells.  I then made a suet out of rendered pork fat and birdseed.  After 24 years at the farm however for the first time our bird feeders have been discovered by red squirrels.  One of the squirrels actually chewed a hole in our poor red barn bird feeder!

The first view on the way out the door is our garden privy which is nestled in the snow.  We normally use the privy to store our trash and recycling but as it can get a little awkward to get to in the snow it is currently closed for the winter.  

Let's start by going through the garden gate.  As we already have a list of projects that need to be tackled this year I am not sure that the "Secret Garden" which is planned for the other side of this gate will happen this year.  

Let's go through, shall we?

Make sure the gate is latched please!

There is Lucy, wondering where we are going.

Let's head to the chicken coop.  Last fall we added two roosters to the coop.  Ben is an Orpington and Jerry is a Bantam.  Several years ago we had a rooster named Henry and enjoyed the ambiance of a crowing rooster but once he passed away we didnt replace him until now.

Willow is on patrol!  She knows exactly where the chicken coop is.

Although it is sunny today it is quite cold.   I couldn't take any good photos as the cold air entering the coop when I opened the door created too much steam!  This is Ben.

Now off to the barn to check on the sheep.  We have several lambs in the barn and all are doing well.

On the way back from the farm we have a view across the grove to the little garden shed.

These skates were purchased at a thrift shop and I painted them with gold paint a few years ago.  For next year I would like to purchase additional pairs and decorate them with faux fur and hang them on the stonework on our portico deck.

Abby loves the snow!  She loves to "help" clear the driveway, mostly by attacking the snow shovel.

A bright and sunny view down our country road.

And our snow covered sign at the road.

I hope everyone enjoyed that quick and refreshing break from painting wood trim.  Thank you so much for visiting!

The Living Room at Christmas

Hello dear friends, I am happy to report that as I drive home in the darkness I have noticed that many homes still have Christmas trees standing and lit!  As I have only taken down one tree so far this makes me happy.  :)  I still have many trees standing in various rooms and think that leaving them up until the end of January should be perfectly acceptable.  So before we reach the end of the month I will try to take some photos to share with you.

While shopping for something else just before Christmas we somehow ended up with yet one more tree to add to our collection.  For those that are counting we have a total of 10 trees decorated and lit is year but really we should only count trees that are at least 6 feet tall....so it is really only 7.  I know that there are some of you that support me on this.

Decorating a Christmas tree is exhausting.  Just ask our darling old Willow!

These crocheted snowflakes are almost 30 years old!

Since this tree was a last minute purchase we had to make room for it.  Poor Abby the German Shepherd puppy wondered where her kennel went...but knows that at this time of year we all have sacrifices we must make.

Lots of trees require a respectable collection of ornaments.  Over the years we have added some special ornaments including this spun glass pear shaped ornament.

Or a snow encrusted glass ball.

This old silver tea pot has been repurposed as a vessel for greenery.  Over the years the pot has developed cracks and finally the hinge holding the lid in place broke.  I love the warmth and glow of polished silver and love to keep these pieces around for impromptu arrangements. 

And finally this sweet little stopper was a Christmas gift.  How sweet!

Thank you for visiting and wishing everyone a lovely week!

Christmas Touches In The Dining Room

Hello dear friends, the Christmas season has already started here at the farm!   Our first dinner with friends has come and gone as has the family Christmas dinner which was held last weekend to accommodate my brother's travel plans.  We will be having a small Christmas dinner here on Tuesday with my mother with two more family events scheduled before heading back to work in January.  We have even managed to fit in some visits with other friends in this busy holiday season!  

Friends, I very often over-think and over-plan festivities at the farm!  While I never feel properly prepared we are always delighted that our guests feel so much at home and have such a lovely time while visiting.  This year is quite busy for us so I have enlisted the aid of Willow, our sweet old yellow lab. I believe that Willow may be looking for new recipes to try.  Or she might be looking for ideas on how to decorate the farm for the holidays.  Or, considering her breed, she might just be looking for comfortable dog beds. 

I somehow ended up  with quite a few ornaments that didnt make it into trees this year.  As we were waiting for guests to arrive we added some of the ornaments and lights to a crystal vase and fruit bowl.  I like it!

The dining room fireplace mantel is decorated for Christmas.  The year we installed an antique plate rack and plates above the fireplace.  I must ask my mother about the history behind some of the items that traveled from Europe to Canada and are now reside in our farmhouse.

Some of you may recognize the stone wall in the dining room.  For some 150 years this was an exterior wall in our old stone farmhouse.  After starting major renovations four years ago this stone wall is now an interior wall in several rooms including two bedrooms and the kitchen.

The dining room is the last room that will be finished.  When we designed the addition we wanted a formal dining room that would comfortably seat about 10 people and would be roomy enough for our formal dining room furniture.  The new dining room is approximately 12 by 20 feet and although it still needs wood trim and wood flooring we have been using it frequently.  We have lots of room for our 7 foot tall Christmas tree.  

A little table-scape.  We have been using red floodlights to illuminate the stone house at Christmas which gives a pink shade to our lace curtains.  They are actually beige.

 Another view of the dining room mantel with a small St Nicholas. 

   

Earlier this year I found these little gold acorns at a gift shop.  We added them to champagne flutes and martini glasses on the mantel.

This glass bird ornament was supposed to be part of a larger ornament which broke.  I have hung it from an antique decanter.

I found little glass reindeer a couple of years ago and love how the reflect on a mirrored tray.

Over the next couple of weeks I will share more pictures of some of our Christmas decorations.  

~Thank you for visiting!~