Close Encounters of the Wild Kind

Today I had the privilege of meeting one of our wild neighbors.
I was walking Boulder (our dog) along the walking trail through the park when we happened upon a wild rabbits nest. Boulder unfortunately, spotted it before I did.
I took him back to the trailer and went back to investigate. One baby bunny was left, sitting in the grass. The mother had built her nest in a divot in the lawn, not a good location with the lawnmowers and foot traffic. My first instinct was to scoop it up and bring it back but I remembered that wild things are oftentimes better off without us interfering. I did bring my daughter back to see it and was reassured to see it nibbling grass and hopping around.
I'll go back and check on it again tomorrow and maybe leave some lettuce.

Off Again

Well here we go again-off camping for the weekend. No, we're not in a campground but my sister in laws backyard.
After last weeks Threshing Festival-an absolute blast-we thought we would leave the trailer here to be close by for my Aunt's Canada Day celebration. This year we are bringing the salad-not exciting but a great way to use up all that lettuce I have in the garden.
Every year we gather at her farm to have a bonfire, wear red and eat roasted marshmallows. The kids have a ball playing on their rustic (not rusty) playground and I know my daughter will be ogling the horses and asking yet again for a pony. If only great grandpa would let her! Of course then we would have the Herculean task of cleaning out a spot to put said pony.
But for right now I am going to sit on the patio swing, enjoy the breeze and watch the squirrels.

Summer Sizzler

This mornings attitude of, "This is okay, its not as hot as they said," quickly faded as the day approached noon. It was a scorcher-last I checked almost 100 degrees-and the local citizens were taking to the stores and restaurants to keep cool. I noticed as I was sitting yet again in McDonalds (what can I say, my grandparents love their coffee) that it seemed extra busy.
All day I was listening to a chorus of,"Can I go in the pool? Can I go in the pool?" Personally, anything less than 25 or 26 degree water and I'm not interested but shortly after dinner I relented and let Little Miss S try it out. She didn't seem mind it.
I spent a bit of time in the garden today gathering the ingredients for tonight's salad-fresh peas, leaf lettuce and radishes. I even managed to give some away. After all, it always tastes better fresh.

Full Bloom

The grass may be turning brown but the garden is in full swing.
Peas are ripe and sweet as can be, lettuce is waiting to be picked and radishes are growing faster than I can use them. All the makings of a salad ready to be assembled. Even the zucchini vines are heavy under the weight of blooms and budding fruit. Yes, botanically speaking it is a fruit although we mostly treat it as a vegetable. I am thinking of all the zucchini bread and muffins just waiting to be made.
We should also have a good crop of another squash this year, buttercup-our personal favorite.
There is such a sense of accomplishment that comes from tending a garden. I felt at first that we were a little over ambitious with our sizing (1300 square feet), but now that it's filling up its much less work. After all the more you plant the less you have to weed!
I am so looking forward to sharing our bounty with our family and friends.

Construction Season

It's that time of the year again folks, and like it or not, we are at the mercy of the construction crews.
This year they are reconstructing the bridge just in front of my grandparents house (which is also next door to us). Let me tell you that went over like a lead ballon with my grandfather-in his defense he has had to live with this twice in his lifetime. The project is slated to take until the end of November to complete so we will be living with it for a while. It sounds like a good excuse to pack up the trailer and take off for the rest of the summer.
In the meantime we will have our own personal traffic light-a bonus-but, we will also be loosing out on our primary entrance used for bringing our trailer in and out, which is my grandparents drive way. All of their traffic will have to be routed through a grass lane way in the corner of the field which doesn't seem like a great plan especially if it gets muddy or we get an early snowfall. After this their driveway will be moved over about ten feet to accommodate more guardrail for the bridge. I may sound like I'm ranting here but in the 175 or so years the farm has been there there's never been a problem. I feel sorry for the neighbor who had 200 feet of guardrail put up along his property before the engineers conceded that it was "excessive".
Oh well, in the end what can you do but live with it?

Happy Anniversary!

Seven years ago today I walked down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams.
After having been together for five years I was not at all nervous to take the next step. I did however, feel a little out of place eating lunch at Tim Hortons in full hair and makeup. Although, I once saw a bride in her gown at McDonalds ordering a BigMac. At least after our wedding we went through the Taco Bell drive thru!
We had a beautiful reception on the farm. My favorite photograph shows the two of us hand in hand in the middle of the wheat field. Back when we only put in two crops we would know by rotation which anniversary it was.
That night the fields sparkled with thousands of fireflies as we danced the night away.
What wonderful memories!

That's a Wrap!

Wow, what a weekend!
We had great weather, made some new friends and had tons of fun.
We came together for meals in the shade of the japanese maple and ended up chatting like we've all known each other for years. I'll admit I was a little teary eyed when our camp mates all went their separate ways.
Our daughter was taken under wing by the two young boys next to us and they were so good to her, taking her on rides, playing soccer and answering a thousand questions. Kudos to their parents for raising such fine boys.
We were so thrilled to see her enjoying the fireworks show last night. In the past, she was so scared of the noise and bright explosions that one of would always miss the show. This year she was saying,"Cool!" and, "Look at that one!" and, "How do they do that?" Music to our ears!
The only thing I can't figure out is how to get this ride stamp off my hand!

Fun at the Fest'

What a busy day!
So many things to watch and not enough time to do it all-mini pullers, car show, farmer's olympics, pie auction, broasted chicken dinner, pony rides...
We had a great time watching the lawn tractor racing this afternoon. I was surprised to hear that drivers can start as young as four. I was thinking our daughter would be a prime candidate. She learned to drive her own Dodge Charger (kid size of course) by the time she was three and shortly thereafter our semi-souped up golf cart while sitting on grandpa's lap. She definitely has a speed gene and she loves to mash that gas pedal. Now if we could just win the lottery and buy her a lawn tractor...
She's been patiently waiting to ride the rides all day and so have I. It's the only time of the year I get to hear my Mom scream like a little kid on the tilt a whirl.
Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Crazy Town

Well, it looks as though I'm ending the day the same way it started-with the sound of people yelling.
This morning it was the neighbours-no, not my in laws. Apparently these folks are quite, shall we say vocal. I was fascinated however with their pet pigeon who surveyed us from its perch on the fence.
I was happy to find some black raspberries growing in the back yard, ready for my breakfast cereal. Yum!
Once again the town of Thamesville tripled in size for Threshing Fest' weekend starting with the longest parade in Ontario, Friday night. The food was abundant as usual as all the family and friends gathered in their yearly parade watching tradition. Crowds of drunken people gather on the streets providing free entertainment. I watched as eight people riding a picnic table (on a trailer, but not bolted to said trailer) pulled by a four wheeler tipped off the curb, spilling it's occupants onto the street. Last year I saw a motorized cooler scooting across town, its driver holding a beer in one hand. Just think of how much money you could make picking up the empties though!
As for us, we will be sitting by the fire listening to the music, for free, coming from the park one street over.

Setting Up

I had to laugh today after yesterday's comment about McDonalds. Who should call this morning but great grandma and great grandpa (my grandparents) inviting my daughter and I to go to you know where. I guess you can't mess with tradition. I remember lots of family "meetings" there as a child. Maybe it was the fact that they could send us kids off to playland and have some adult conversation.
A cool(er) wind blew storms in this evening, bringing relief from the stifling heat. We pulled up stakes, trying to dodge between thunderstorms and get the trailer to town for Threshing Fest' weekend.
We are lucky enough to have a prime lot one road over from the park-at least until my sister in law sells her house. So far there's two trailers a motor home and three or so tents. She should have charged lot fees!
We brought along our furry kid too. He was immediately infatuated with the pet bunny that has a 10'x10' fenced corner in the yard of my in laws next door. I don't think we'll let him get too close-chicken wire and wooden posts don't stand a chance against 95lbs that can jump 3 feet.

Summer Solstice

Well it's time to say goodbye to spring and hello to summer. With temperatures the last two days being in the 30's, (add humidity to that as well) there's no doubt in my mind what season it is. I do find it sad however, that summer is just beginning and the days will already begin to get shorter.
The temperature in our pool climbed steadily the last few days and the water today was a very comfortable 26 degrees. My daughter and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon playing games like gingerbread man and wolf tag and swim thru McDonalds-you can blame her great grandparents for that one.
We noticed our first peas and after taste testing deemed them to be more than acceptable. Lettuce, radishes and peas are all ready to start harvesting and I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Before saying goodbye to the great outdoors I picked up my sun tea. If you've never made it all you need to do is add 5 or 6 tea bags to a large jar of water (think family size apple sauce) and set it out in the sun to brew for the day. Add a little sugar and pop it into the fridge to chill for the night and you've got yourself some inexpensive iced tea.
Take advantage of these summer days-they seem to go by all too quickly!

Soccer Night

Tonight was soccer night. What looked like hundreds of kids flooded in to the nearest small town to play in two shifts.
Our daughter, just starting out, was amongst the littlest players who all looked as though they were being eaten by their giant t-shirts. Some of the parents tried to compensate by tying the shirts up in the front, side or back, or rolling up the sleeves until they resembled something that fit.
This week her aunt and grandparents were on the sidelines. Her already short attention span went down to nil shortly thereafter. Although, I think the freezies handed out at break may have contributed. Often, she can be seen doing somersaults in the field or gazing off at some other action, but that's to be expected at her age. I do know she's excited to go back to our homeschool gymnastics so perhaps she's just getting in some early practice. It was nice to hear the voices of our daughter's new friends calling out to say goodbye at the end of the day.
As we packed up to leave I noticed a lovely landscape at the opposite end of the soccer field. It reminds me of why small towns are so wonderful-you're never too far from the country.

Mondays

Mondays for me are traditionally grocery shopping day. Don't ask me how it came to be so but I feel really out of step with routine if I don't shop on Monday.
It looks like its going to be a hot week and as such I thought it would be wise to limit my use of the oven. I'm sure the air conditioner will be working hard enough without me adding to the heat. I'm looking forward to a nice roast in the crock pot and the resulting beef barley soup made from left overs. I'm also anxiously awaiting fresh tomatoes from the garden. In my opinion green house tomatoes can't hold a candle to the garden variety.
I took some time to visit with relatives today and enjoy the sound of the rain pitter pattering on the roof of their covered patio. It cooled things down just enough to enjoy a lovely after dinner bike ride down a quiet gravel road.
For my crafty project of the day I picked wheat stalks from the field and added a braided twine accent to a vase my daughter made for Mother's day. It makes a cute country piece to grace my table.
And now I will end my day curled up in my recliner with a good book in hand.
I hope you have a lovely evening!

Father's Day in Style

This Father's Day I had a brainchild-okay, I actually thought of it last year but forgot to follow through.
Around here every good farmer owns a pair of Big Bill overalls, you know, the kind with the blue stripes that look like a conductors hat. Anyway, my father hasn't seemed to own any shorts for the last ten years so I thought it was time for a change.
I found the perfect candidates for my project hanging out in a heap in the shop so and after a heavy wash cycle they were ready to be converted. The rest was simple-all I did was figure out how long I wanted them to be, measured, marked, cut and then used iron on hem tape to finish. I even added a red handkerchief in the pockets for that extra homey touch.
And voila...
Happy Father's Day!

Accomplishments

Today was a day for getting things done. Some of those little things that roll around in my head as I'm trying to sleep.
First order of the day: laundry. While this wasn't one of the things keeping me awake, it still had to be done. Laundry here seems to pile up as fast as it disappears back into the drawers. The neighborhood air conditioners steadily hummed away as I hung cool, wet laundry to dry in the breeze. Whew, it was a hot one!
Feeling creative, I was lucky enough to find a few old canning jars in the barn that served my purpose perfectly. That old barn has given us a lot of treasures! Taking the glass lids out of the jars turn them into wonderful storage containers, ideal for little hands to reach in a grab a crayon.
The garden was also needing my attention today-a little replanting and weeding were in order. Beans, peas, potatoes, sweet corn and more, all getting taller by the day-it should be a good harvest this year.
The day wound down with a meal on the patio-an early Father's Day celebration; and as a cool breeze blew in we stoked up the bonfire and prepared to end our day in relaxation.

Hello

Why start a blog? 
Well I guess I felt that: a)I have something interesting to say,or at least I hope you'll think so,and b)That it's a way to gather my thoughts at the end of the day.
Why call it My Life: Homestyle?
Well,I actually wanted Life:Homestyle but the address was taken so I had to make do. But really, when it comes down to it there were three reasons: I am a homemaker, I live on my families homestead and I am a homeschooler (Gasp-there I've said it-more about that decision later.)
So what do I do?
Well, I am a wife and mother first, and artist and entrepreneur second and lastly, an amateur gardener. If those things don't keep me busy I like to spend my time doing some reading on my subject of the month. This month: The Victorian time period.I also love to camp and use these adventures as material for my business: Rural Shoots Art Photography. Here's a picture from my recent domestic escapade :

Strawberry freezer jam, Rhubarb muffins
and strawberry lemonade sorbet

So there's a little about me-what did you do today?