Springtime Garden

I think it's safe to say that Spring has finally arrived! The trees are blooming with wonderful smelling flowers, everything has turned beautiful shades of green. The birds have all returned and are gracing us with songs at all hours of the day.

The bird feeder we installed over the winter is a bit hit this Spring. We even have a family of birds living in the birdhouse our oldest son built. Babies should be appearing soon, we think.

One thing I didn't realize was that all of the smaller birds disappear over the winter here. The ravens and crows chase them all away. It's pretty cold for them here anyway, so it's probably best that they head South like they do. Sure explains why there was no activity at the bird feeder all winter though! I was starting to get disappointed thinking that no birds would ever find it and pay us a visit!

The crab apple tree we planted last spring is just gorgeous! I had no idea it would produce so many flowers. The smell is heavenly, and it's the first thing I notice on my way up the walkway from the drive.

Enjoy some photos of Springtime in Northern Alberta:

Backyard. New bird feeder and fire benches!

Flowering Crab Apple tree in our front yard

Bumble bee busy making his rounds on a warm spring evening

Crab Apple Tree, planted Spring 2011

Our newest Addition!

In his favourite field

Crab Apple bud getting read to bloom

Trees starting to bud

Field near our house

Getting focused

One of the most difficult things about blogging has got to be coming up with new content all the time. Since this little blog of mine isn't focused on any one thing, which is how I'm used to working, I'm finding it difficult.

With my online businesses,  I have a clear focus. There are keywords and phrases that people are searching for. I research them and write about it. Usually taking photos as I go, to post along with the content.

Here, it's hard. I don't have a set of keywords to use. While I love the freedom this gives me, as I talked about yesterday, at the same time, it makes it hard to choose a topic to write about! There are so many. What do I share first? What would YOU like to read about?

I'm thinking of searching out some keywords about the home, baking, maybe even photography, since that one of my favourite hobbies, and writing about those things, amongst all the life posts. That would give me more focus, something to work towards completing as I work my way through the list (I love setting goals), and a place to channel creative energy. I like doing something constructive with my time, and people love to read about what others are up to and how to do certain things. This should be win-win.

I'm also bothered by the look of this site. It's been irritating me for months now, and since it's finally Spring here and everything outside looks fresh and new, it's time to bring some of that online! Mini-blog makeover time. I'm excited and also a bit nervous, since I've never re-designed a blog before. Creating new headers for websites I have done, so this probably isn't much different. It's just the behind the scenes stuff that's new, so a bit of a learning curve for me.  Given a bit of time and effort I'll figure it out. Keep an eye out for changes happening soon!

Breaking the Rules (of web building)

I follow the rules (usually), and am starting to feel boxed in over on my website Eco-Inspired-Organics

There are rules for how many words on a page, how often keywords are used, etc, etc, ETC. Sometimes a girl needs to just WRITE, with no regard to whether or not it's a word people are searching for, or what the Search Engines would like.

I'm going to try harder to link my website with this blog.. I'd like to write once and have my audience able to choose what they'd like to read. Where doesn't really matter to the user, what we all want when we venture online is content, right?

Some of my recipes don't really fit on the organic site. And some of the things I think about, discover or admire don't fit there at all! Expect to see more posts about cleaning, recipes links and meal plans here. This is just as much for my own reference as it is to share.

Poor, neglected blog

I started this and didn't get very far! I keep thinking about writing, but then don't end up actually DOING it.

We are coming up on our last year here already. It's gone quickly. I have a ton of photos to post from the past few years.

Things I'll miss:

• Beautiful summer, it is so gorgeous here, green everywhere 
• So MANY trees!
•  The lake, not huge, but not tiny either. 
• The way the lake looks different everyday. 
• Little traffic, and few traffic lights- there were 9 when we got here, think we're up to 11 now?
• Outdoor fires in the backyard. 
• Our house (nearly done with renos!) 
• My sister being just 6 hours away

What I won't miss:

• Lack of amenities
• Distance to the city
• How far away the airport is- 4 hours one way is TOO far!
• Being so remote
• At the same time, having neighbours so close. Why build on top of each other when we have infinite space available?
• The long winter. Nine months of snow is just too much
• No humidity. It never truly gets warm enough for me to want to wear shorts. On the flip side, out East is TOO humid. I know where the perfect balance does exist- Hawaii!

We've had a good couple of years here. Heading into our third summer, we have some plans to enjoy what may be our last one before we are thrown into the chaos once again of selling, buying, moving and settling in someplace new.

Cupcakes!

I made some cupcakes the other day, and they turned out cuter than I expected they would.  They were pretty time-consuming to make, but I think you'll agree, worth the trouble!

Chocolate Butterflies on top of green frosted chocolate cupcakes

Cute little puppy!

I used jelly beans for the eyes and noses. Smaller ones for the eyes, since the large ones were TOO big and looked kind of scary!

The tongues were tricky, since I didn't have the right candy. I ended up cutting apart some of those gummy teeth (found at the Bulk Food store). I used a knife to cut off the white "tooth" portion, then rolled out the pink "gums". It took a bit of manipulation to get the shape right, but like how they turned out.

The ears were another component that took some time to do. I used mini tootsie rolls,  unwrapped and microwaved them (2 at a time, so they wouldn't cool before I had time to shape them) for about 10 seconds to soften. I then rolled them out so they would be flat, then used a paring knife to cut away and help shape them into ears.

Muzzles are just 1/2 of a large marshmallow with frosting on top.

For the butterflies, I first found a photo of a butterfly online that had a good silhouette, printed it off and traced the outline onto a few small pieces of paper. I then put a piece of paper under some wax paper, and used melted chocolate to trace the outline.

After I traced 4 or so, I switched colours and flooded the inside of the wings with melted orange chocolate. I only did a few at a time, because I wanted to be able to work with the dark chocolate before it set. After flooding, I used a toothpick to make lines from the dark into the orange.

Once all that was done, the whole lot got put into the freezer to set while I worked on creating the antenna out of more chocolate. They got put in the freezer for a few minutes as well.

Once all the chocolate was set, it was time to assemble. So exciting, I just couldn't wait to see if they would turn out or not, and if the wings would melt. I put both wings pretty close together on top of a cupcake, then filled in the small gap I left with more chocolate.  Added the antenna, and they were done!

To keep the wings from toppling over, I pipped a bit of extra frosting underneath to help stabilize.

Chilliwack and Cultus Lake

On our way home, the final destination place (meaning places we wanted to tour and not just stop at on our drive) was Chilliwack, BC. Beautiful! I love how close it is to Seattle.

It's a pretty quiet here, but with Vancouver and Seattle being close by, they don't really need much in the way of amenities.  I think farming was and probably still is what this bit of B.C. paradise is all about.

It's somewhat surrounded by mountains. I say somewhat, because they are on three sides, with the fourth side being open. That's the way to the ocean, Seattle and all that lies there. I like it very much for this reason. It suits hubby and I, since he's from BC and used to being surrounded by mountains. I'm an Ontario girl and used to some rolling hills, but mainly open spaces. The mountains get too claustrophobic for me. Chilliwack is the perfect balance.

We camped just outside and up the mountain from Chilliwack in a place called Cultus Lake. This was a mistake. While it's very pretty, the campground is overcrowded. The trailers and tents are within arm's reach of each other. The trees are tall and offer no privacy. Nothing like getting away from it all just to have your neighbours closer to you here than they are at home!

I will say this though, the lake up there is beautiful! Just don't camp unless you don't mind having people watch you build and enjoy your fire, as well as make note of what time you get up in the morning, go to bed at night, and how often you use the camp facilities. Most unpleasant camping experience to date.

Chilliwack's Suburbia

Chilliwack Valley

Frasier River

Cultus Lake at Sunrise

Cultus Lake

Dock at Cultus Lake

Watching sunrise over lake

Beach and swimming area

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We were told before going that Cannon Beach is possibly the nicest place along the Oregon Coast. I think this is true! While busy and FULL of tourists, it manages to keep it's charm.

It is so quaint. The little shops and houses are very well kept, there are window boxes everywhere.

The beach here is fantastic. This is the home of Haystack Rock and it's, well, a giant rock. It's fun to watch how the tide moves in on it and then away as the day goes on. Sometimes it's possible to walk right up to it, and other times not, depending on the tide. The water here is VERY cold. Too cold for me to bother swimming. Actually, there wasn't much swimming done by anyone. Children played along the edges of the water, but that's about it.

There was a stream feeding into the ocean out to once side, so we took the boys there. The water was a bit warmer here. Still not warm enough for my liking, but the boys seemed to enjoy it, along with a number of other children.

As always, lots of photos to share!

Haystack Rock

Enjoying goodies from the bakery

Cute little bakery we discovered

This is a kite shop! How cute is this?

I believe this is called Corn dogging

Cafe in Cannon Beach

Sunset over a stream where it meets the Pacific

We love Cannon Beach!