Busy summer days.

The summer is starting off very busy, and not just for us,

but for our resident critters.

They are all looking happy and healthy.

And we have babies. :)))

Wee baby House Wrens

And a newcomer, that has decided to make this his home, is our bunny, Nutmeg. He's very patriotic.
"Welcome little one. Please don't eat me out of house and home."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

                                                       Annie and Wilson are doing fine.
                                              He's learning and she is somewhat patient. :-b
                                                                         We adore him.

Our Bug Bed and Breakfast has a family of ants, so far. lol

And the retired guy took a break from the house on the weekend to move the dirt to the back of the property and build a berm.

We will someday landscape it with trees and perennials

but not this year.

I couldn't look at the pile of dirt behind the house another minute.

For now it will just protect us from invading tanks, if any show up.

The fabulous fifty, free-range lovely ladies across the road are still providing us with wonderful farm eggs every week.

These were bought the same day they were laid.
Now that's fresh. :))
One went into this delicious rhubarb cake last week. I found the rhubarb along our fence. :) The plant may be as old as I am. imagine!

The recipe is from The Canadian Mennonite Cook Book. 

Next time I will try peaches. 

I hope you are having a fun and busy summer, too.

I must get around to say "hi"

Be kind, 

Deb

We welcome those sweet days of summer.

Summer has arrived.

The baby birds are heard calling for their dinner.

The daisies are blooming

The gardens are in full bloom.

Here are a few regulars around here.

Not a day goes by without a visit from Dave.

Mama House Wren is as busy as a bee with her noisy babies. 

She is such a good mama.

And we feed this little newcomer every morning

although the crows find him most annoying.

I know Henny will like him.

She'll want me to name him.

http://hennypennylane.blogspot.com/

The two munchkins get along fine but sometimes Annie steals the Wilson box and he falls to pieces.

He, as in Wilson, likes to lick  the back of dining chairs. Don't ask me. I seem to always adopt the strange ones. Well, they need homes too. lol
He is a real gem, really. Sweet on the inside, like marshmallow, and a cutie like no other.
He has a gentle spirit. He's huggable but don't lift his feet off the ground; he turns into a wiggly worm and squeals like a girl. =^..^=

he loves tissue paper

                                                   He has me wrapped around his paw.

We are still working on the house, tending to gardens, trimming trees, moving dirt and building a berm at the back of the lot. It's a smart way to use up the dirt from the foundation and give the property a bit more interest. And we need to find a home for many huge rocks.

We all have lots to do now that summer has arrived.
But some days I just want to pick the daisies. :)

be kind,
Deb

It's daisy time

We are enjoying some of the most beautiful days of the year right now.

And, just to make it even more like heaven, it's daisy time.

The property here, that hasn't been dug up by some loud and annoying machine, is covered with them.

My mom always called them 'the happy flower'.

Then I heard Meg Ryan call them that in 'You've Got Mail' and I almost cried.

As you can see, Mr. Wilson is right at home and still likes to watch me flit here and there from his perch.

And when the grandittles visit he heads to the garage and sits way up on top of the storage bins and watches with much delight.

We have birds nesting in many houses right now.

It is wonderful to listen to them in the morning when they are most active and flying back and forth from the nests.

We have mostly house wrens and they just happen to be my favorite to listen to.

I know the chickadees are nesting somewhere but it's not here. We have maybe a handful still eating their seed here. I always miss them so much at this time but will enjoy their wee ones when they return to the feeders.

We have blue-jays and doves nesting in the trees but far too high up for photos.

"Hi Wilson"

The kids were here. lol

He's the cutest little jigger. And he loves his Wilson's box. :)

Annie is not crazy about him but that's probably because she is a torti with cat-titude and he's all feet and energy and often too much in her face.

Things will get better with time.

Meanwhile, he will tear up and down the stairs and shred his toys to pieces. 

We love him to bits.

=^..^= =^..^=

Simon's friend watching the grands play.

"My, they do run fast."

We have so many chipmunks here this year that you can't go a few feet without spotting one. Simon is still under the pump but shares his den now.

No little ones to report yet.

My sister and traveling niece visited on Sunday.

Yes, we took a selfie. lol

Sisters

Work continues on the house and out-door work never seems to end.

A bob-cat arrives soon to move piles of dirt to a spot where we will design a berm at the back of the property. We want to add height and interest to the landscape.

There we will place many of the large rocks that were dug out from the foundation of the house.

I hope our 'vision' works. :) 

It will be nice someday to just relax and enjoy the fruits of our labour.

The daisies are short-lived but their little faces bring back happy memories of days gone by here at the farm.

One of God's gifts, for sure.

'Til next time.

Be kind,

Deb

Around and about the mouse-house.

The weather here has been outstanding; warm breezes, tolerable humidity and glorious sunshine.
Then the nights cool down. :) Maybe a bit of rain.
Much of the day is spent outside gardening, adding to the landscape and burning brush. 
I haven't had to water anything because of the evening showers. It's been perfect, really.  

The cats are becoming a family; Wilson in entertaining mode much of the time and Annie tolerating his silliness. He has wiggled his way right in to our hearts. Well, the humans, for sure.
He loves his high places.
 =^..^=
=^..^=

                                 Found his favorite box. lol

And a bit of this and that...

Waiting on tea. :)

 

                                                   A mama-to-be house wren.

It's surely looking like summer already. We have four bird houses full which is the most in one season for us. And new bunnies have showed up. And Dave, our neighbour's cat, has a brother named Buddy but he stays clear of strangers.

It's a busy place at Fox Grove.

be kind, 
Deb

 

As June rolls in...

I welcome my favorite month with open arms.
I have been reading your blogs and enjoying them so much but have found little time to construct one myself. But today I felt it was about time to get back to it. I still have not had time to fix photos on the blog but it may be awhile for that. Life is just too busy. I have been cat-sitting, gardening, helping where I can with the construction project, seeing grands when at all possible and keeping Annie company. Just as I expected, Annie has been very lonely and sluggish since Audrey passed so the retired-guy and I took a trip to Bee Meadow Farm to visit our fabulous friends Natalie, Gordon and Ronna and look at a little brown tabby girl last Friday. As lovely as she is, I felt she may not be the right fit for Annie so we spent a bit of time with Grayson. Grayson was a little stray picked up at a feed mill near Bee Meadow Farm. Natalie said he had been abandoned and was starved when found. He was nervous but I could pick him up and I felt in no time flat he would be quite comfortable in a new home. He looked to be quite the character and that he'd keep us amused with his antics. So home he came.
 Meet Grayson now named Wilson.
 (that's my maiden name)

                                    Four year old Wilson

We already love this little guy and yes, he does resemble Audrey. It was for that reason that I did not want to even look at him but something kept drawing me back to him. His personality and body build are very different from Audreys and he has his own unique face. He will need a wee bit of fattening up but you know that is no problem here. :-b 
We have that down. lol
He meows like a girl and fancies himself a mighty lion as he seeks out all the high places in his new home.

 
Annie took her sweet time to welcome the little guy but already we see her much calmer and she has perked up with curiosity. Although she has still not allowed him to touch her she will share her toys and sit next to him calmly.

They will be fine. :))) 

 

The entrance to the wood-lot

 

The hot summer-like weather has made for being busy gardening and moving dirt from here to there. We have planted fruit trees, added perennials, annuals and more ground cover. Our veggie garden is in albeit it is much smaller this year. The mounds of dirt from the big dig will be moved in the next week and we have had twenty-one tons of sand delivered for landscaping. The resident critters are busy nesting and finding new dens. Our bird houses are filling up and we saw our first blue-bird this spring. We hoped she would nest here but she left. :(

                                        Little house wren

The house construction continues and keeps the retired-guy busy into the late hours.

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of summer-like weather.  
Already I see it will be a hot one for us here in Ontario.
No complaints here, though, after the worst winter ever.

Enjoy your evening. I'm off to read your posts.

Be kind,
Deb




 

Here is a link to Grayson/Wilson's rescue by Bee Meadow Farm.

Thank you and Happy Mother's Day

I want to thank everyone for your kind and thoughtful comments and emails on Audrey's passing.
Believe me, your words were very comforting.
It has been a very hard nine months; a road to hell, really. After fighting so hard to improve her health it was evident in the last few weeks that Audrey had a brain tumor. I also knew that the hard decision to let her go was out of my hands. With the help of our wonderful vet she went home very peacefully.

Audrey has been laid to rest here on my grandmother's land. I feel fortunate to be able to keep her close.

Just like myself, Annie needs some time to adjust. She is very quiet and needy right now but I believe in my heart that she knows Audrey left us. She stayed very close to her on her last day. Annie is a very sensitive cat and has been through the loss of five cats and a dog in the last six years. We will be each other's rock.

I want to wish all the wonderful MOM'S a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.
I will be surrounded by my three children, their spouses and my five grandittles. Oh, and of course, Cooper my grand-kitty.

Enjoy your day MOMS. xo

                                                                     My girl
                                                                       2015

My beautiful Audrey

                                  Audrey - God's Masterpiece
                             "I could not have loved you more."
                                       Rest well, my little one.
                                 I will love and miss you forever.
                                       Sept.13/11 - May 9/18