Fancy Feast

So, this obviously isn't really a post about photography. It's more me bragging about a really yummy dish Brannon made tonight. He's made it before but it's been a long time so I enjoyed it a lot. He made beef roulade. He pounded out some (marinated) steak, and rolled it up with pickles, peppers, onions and bacon. Then he baked it in the remainder of the marinade. He served it with roasted potatoes and green beans. YUM-O!
This is after I cut it in half...

Stop and smell the....lilacs

I picked some lilacs from my garden today so we could enjoy them inside. They smell SO nice!
Even Blue seems to be enjoying them :)

Ponies and Pigtails

We went to Pickering to celebrate Liz's 30th birthday this past weekend. Most of their friends have children so the party was geared towards both the kids and the adults. Her awesome husband threw a great party - compete with pony rides, a clown, a keg and tonne of food!
I had great aspirations to take photos but that didn't really happen :(

Alex and Miss Dani on one of the ponies. This was a very quick moment, she started to scream a minute later :)

I wish my eyelashes were as long!
Miss Jenna was sporting pigtails, I thought they were cute :)

Happy cactus :)

I always have trouble photographing solid red things but anyway....
My mom's (adopted) cactus is in bloom and it has magnificent flowers (for such an ugly plant!).

I like how green the stamens look in the centre :)

In other news, I recently noticed that my orchid (the one shown in my header) appeared to be sprouting some new roots. I had hoped that maybe it was a sign that she was happy and maybe thinking about blooming again. Well, over the last couple of days that so-called 'root' has started to grow straight up in the air. Methinks it might actually be a new stalk which will, in all likeliness, produce new blooms. I'm really excited because I've never been able to get an orchid to bloom again once it's done. Wish me luck!

It's Trillium Time!

Could Ontario be represented by a more beautiful flower?!?!?! I took these photos while I was visiting my parents yesterday. I didn't want to miss my chance since the next time I'm there they'll likely be done for the season. For some reason, the red ones never look as healthy as the white ones. Apparently, it's not because they're 'unhealthy' but because they tend to turn pink as they age. Who knew?!?!

In case you're interested, there are ~43 known trillium species - I'm pretty sure the ones shown above are of the T. graniflorum spp, meaning they have large flowers. Everyone thinks it's illegal to pick them but according to wikipedia (great source, I know - haha) that's not actually the case, except for one species.

Home Sweet Home

I went home to spend the day with my mom, and she showed me this little treasure. Sadly, she had to remove this nest from inside of their boat lift. Not necessarily because they didn't want it there but it's a dangerous spot for the nest, with the boat being lifted up and down so often. I never thought to ask what kind of bird is responsible for this incredible craftiness but it's pretty impressive! It's full of grass, moss, feathers, twigs, and even has the odd thin little piece of plastic. I love how the outside is completely covered in moss, although you might think it would be more appropriate inside for 'softness'.

Here, you can see the feather incorporated into the nest.
I like how you can see how absolutely perfect the circular opening is, and how the materials are distributed!

In my back yard

I swear none of these buds were in bloom yesterday but when I looked outside this morning this is what I saw. When the rain ceased for a bit I ran out with my camera and took a few shots of the pretty trees/bushes. I love raindrops on leaves!

This is the serviceberry/juneberry bush we got from the city of Ottawa last spring. We weren't sure it would survive the winter but it has! It turns out we have another one too, but it was done blooming by the time we moved in so we didn't realize it.
I really like how different parts of the plant are in and out of focus...

We have a lilac bush!

I'm not actually sure what this shrub is but it's part of our 'living fence'.

More of Baby Devon

I've been struggling with editing these photos (shot in RAW and now my computer isn't cooperating) but here are a few more edited with picnik. Isn't he just adorable???

There is a baby under that blanket :)