A Monday Mystery Mosaic

Here is a  Monday Mystery mosaic photo for you to identify?

I'll give you a clue.  It is long and when cut at various places it has different colours. What do you think it is? I'm linking to Mosaic Monday today.

"Soup"er Sunday

Sunday is definitely a "soup"er day around our house.  I usually make a pot of soup, especially on those chilly, winter Sundays. So I have dubbed them"Soup"er Sunday and will share some of my favourite recipes.I recently made a sausage and bean soup.  Now we don't eat the soup on Sunday as I always think it tastes better on the second day.  Serve with nice crusty bread for a tasty dinner.   I also freeze a couple of portions for those days when I don't feel like cooking.  It is also lovely to take to work for lunch on a chilly day.

Ingredients

1 lb. of sausage (you can use whatever type you like depending on how spicy you like your soup)half cup of chopped celeryquarter cup of chopped onion (again it is your choice but I like the sweet onion)mushrooms, the recipe calls for a can of mushrooms but I prefer to use freshtwo cans of baked beans1 can of kidney beansone large can of chopped tomatoestwo cups of tomato juiceThe recipe also includes 1 tsp chili powder, half tsp basil, half tsp pepper and 1 clove of garlic.  But I am a very plain cook and don't add any spicy items.  My insides just would not accept them.
Brown sausage and drain.  Cut into small pieces.  Add celery, mushrooms and seasonings if you wish to add them.  Saute mixture for about 3 minutes and then stir in remaining ingredients.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Makes about 6 servings.This is a nice thick, hearty soup perfect for those cold days.
Have you made some comfort food lately? Thanks for visiting today.

Changeable November

November has certainly been a changeable month.  We had beautiful Fall weather with lots of sun and warm temperatures at the beginning of the month.  We were able to enjoy a lot of time outside, many times in shirt sleeves or sweaters.  The Fall colours were spectacular.  These photos were taken at the beginning of the month.

But the last few days of November have done a complete change and it is now close to 0 Celsius, extrememly windy and the skies have been cloudy and gloomy.  We have had rain and even yesterday a few of those white bits were blowing in the wind.

All the trees are bare now so there are no more colourful reflections in the water.  We are now wearing winter coats, scarves, hats and mittens.

 As I am finishing off this post the white stuff is coming down. Here is the view from the back door.  This photo was taken about 8:30 am and by 9 the snow had all stopped. And as the sun came out most of the snow melted away. I guess that means it time to get the boots out of the closet and dust off the snow shovels from the garage.

Stop by Weekend Reflections and see some more wonderful reflection photos.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

2 Nests for 2sDay

It's 2sDay ... the day for sharing some photos I've taken with 2 of the same thing in it.

Just look at these 2 big nests that I saw in the same tree on one of my walks down by the bay.  They are in the trees right by the water's edge.

 Here are the same 2 nests taken from the opposite side.  They are 2 big, deep nests that make me think they are squirrel nests.  Yet on my walks I really don't see a lot of squirrels by the water.

I wonder who lived in these nests or who still lives in them.  I'll be checking them out on future walks to see if I can see any birds or animals in them.

 Do you have any thoughts who might of built these nests? Thanks for visiting today. It's a rainy 2sDay here.  Hope you are enjoying some sunshine where you are.

Tree Shadows

 I captured these tree shadows one morning about a week ago when the sun was just coming up.  It was shining between the houses and casting shadows of the trees on the stacks of hay in the field across the road from us.

These are wild Eastern red cedars, which actually belong to the juniper family.  In the cold weather they turn brown.
I'm linking to Shadow Shot Sunday. where you can see some amazing shadow photos.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

The Mallard Duck

At the beginning of the week I took a walk at my favourite place ... down by the bay.  It was a clear, bright day but a bit cool.  There were some small ripples and waves on the bay but there were still lots of waterfowl to view for mid November.

There was a group of mallard ducks, both male and female busily scurrying around a small inlet.

Of course I took numerous photos but the one above is my favourite.  I love how in the reflection you can clearly see his eyes and the details on his beak.

Mallards are not diving ducks but are dabbling ducks, which means they feed just below the surface of the water.  This area by the bay will freeze over during the winter so these ducks will probably leave to find a more suitable spot with open water to spend the winter.

These photos fit in perfectly for Weekend Reflections and they the perfect lens friends for linking with Camera Critters.

   Other waterfowl I took phots of were Canada Geese, gulls and two pair of swans.
Thanks for visiting today. Enjoy the weekend.

The Inside Birdhouses

I's Birdhouse Thursday and time to look at some of the birdhouses I have made from yarn and plastic canvas.  Those of you that are regular readers of my blog might remember that I shared these as part of my birdhouse collection a couple of years ago.

This is probably a full size birhouse and it even has a little resident.

These two tiny houses sit on the bookshelf in the library/computer room.  The yellow one is 10 cm. high and the blue one is 8 cm. high.

This small green birhouse hangs on one of the artificial trees in the dining room.

And this yellow one, which was the first one I made, is about 8 cm high and sits on a shelf in the kitchen.



These are perfect sharing for Birdhouse Thursday.  Stop by for a visit to Cheep Rooms and maybe you will be tempted to join in.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Walking 2gether

It's 2sDay ... the day for sharing some photos I've taken with 2 of the same thing in it.

2Day I have a photo of 2 gulls walking 2gether.

It almost looks like they are in step with each other.Perfect lens friends.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Down by the Bay Memories

I've been looking through all the photos I've taken and doing some much needed backup onto DVD and I came across a couple of photos that show some lovely reflections and shadows.

The first one I'm sharing is of some lovely reflections into the Bay of Quinte.  This is one of my favourite places to go and watch wildlife.  You can see from the stillness of the water that it was the perfect day for capturing reflections in the water.

And here is one of my favourite wildlife lens friends that I love to capture with my camera.It pays to sort through photos taken awhile ago as it brings back lovely memories.
These are the perfect photos for linking with Shadow Shot Sunday and Weekend Reflections.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Enjoying the November Sun

It's time for sharing some Lens Friends ... those birds and animals that I spend a lot of time photographing.  The lovely weather for November continues and the chipmunk is perhaps enjoying the last time to sit in the sun and soak up some warmth. We can watch him hopping through the garden with his tail up in the air.

He has chosen a high spot to enjoy the sun.   I don't imagine we will be seeing him much longer as he will be hibernating into his home along with all the sunflower seeds he has been collecting all year long from the bird feeders.

Chips is the perfect lens friend for linking with Camera Critters.   Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Eye on the Sky for Mid November

I can't believe how lucky we have been with the weather this Fall.  We've been having frosty mornings but by afternoon the temperatures are about 11 Celsius. It's hard not to have your eye on the sky on days like this. This morning while I was doing some cleaning up in the kitchen an airplane flew across the clear blue sky.  So I grabbed the camera off the table, stepped out on the deck and snapped a photo of the vapour trail.

There was no breeze as you can see from the flag in the corner of the photo.

I've been out in the garden trimming down some of the taller plants and now the grass is getting cut, probably for the last time this year.  It really isn't so much as cutting the grass as it it mulching up the last of the leaves. If you love sky photos as much as I do be sure to check out the other participants in Sky Watch Friday.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

What's The Time Mr. Wolf?

Over the weekend Daylight Savings Time came to an end and supposedly we were to get an extra hour of sleep.  However no one told my internal clock and I still woke up at the same time of 6:30 but on the now Standard time it was an hour earlier at 5:30.  No sleep in for me. And now a timely mosaic of some of the time pieces I had to change.

And then I started the changing of the clocks. So what is the time Mr. Wolf?I started changing clocks at just before 7 am, which was still 8 am in my mind.  By the time I got around to all the clocks it was a few minutes after 7 and then I decided I should take some photos of these time pieces and create a mosaic for Mosaic Monday, so of course the time in all the photos varies.  I'm sure over the next day or so I will go around and tweek the time of some of these clocks. Why oh why can't all clocks be like computers and automatically reset themselves.   I guess if I wanted to spend big bucks I could find clocks to do that, but for now I manually go around and change the 18 clocks in the house.  Good grief ... 18!!! Are we obsessed with time?  We aren't, but it seems that so many gadgets come with clocks these days ... telephones, microwaves, ovens, televisions, vcrs, etc. etc.  And if they don't have the correct time they don't work properly. I'm linking to Mosaic Monday today.  Are you on the right time for today?  Of course if you live in Saskatchewan you don't have to worry about doing any of this as you stay on the same time all year round.

Remembrance

November 11th is the time for Remembrance.On this day we remember the men and women who served and continue to serve our country during war and during peace keeping missions.This cenotaph is in Confederation Square in Ottawa and it is a tribute to all those men and women.

We visited Ottawa on a lovely sunny day in June 2010 and through my lens I captured some photos of this beautiful monument including a couple of shadows.

Ottawa is also home to the Canadian War Museum.

 Wear your poppy proudly on November 11.  I'm linking to Shadow Shot Sunday  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Birdhouse Thursday

It has been awhile since I've shown some birdhouses for Birdhouse Thursday.

In the summer we visited Birdhouse City in Picton and I took lots of photos. Did you know that birds go on train trips?  This is their mode of transportation.

I wonder where they are headed?  Probably down south as it's a long way to fly.

And after their long trip they need to stop at McDonalds for some refeshement.  I hope they make some healthy choices.

These are a couple more of the fun birdhouses you can see if you stop by McCauley Mountain and visit Birdhouse City. Birdhouse Thursday, hosted at Cheep Rooms, is the time to show off some birdhouses from your garden or ones you might have seen out on your travels. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

When-sday Revisit to Pot Holder Towels

When-sday revisit is a way to showcase some of my previous posts.


When were they previously posted ...  way back when.
Today the When-sday revisit was originally posted on November 21, 2008.

If you are a crafter you know how important it is to get started on those gift projects as early as possible.   These pot holder towels were a huge hit when I made them a couple of years ago.  They are quick and easy to make and you can sew up a bunch in just a couple of hours.

to pot holder towels.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you looking for a simple and quick gift to make for the upcoming holiday season?

Pot holder towels make up very quickly and are great to tuck in with gifts, in a Christmas stocking, or make several all the same and give as a gift on its own.

You need one pot holder and one hand towel. Both can be purchased at various dollar stores.

Find the center of the pot holder and the center of the towel.
Pin together.
You will need to gather the towel in to fit the potholder.
Stitch securely on your sewing machine.

Fold the pot holder in half, stitch a button on the opposite side to the loop. You can hang this on your oven door, fridge door or on a hook. It doubles as a pot holder and a hand towel.

Have a look at some other quick and easy gifts you can make.

 Thanks for visiting today.

Blue Socks Off the Needles

I'm thrilled to have finished my first pair of socks.  Now my feet will be cozy and warm over the approaching cold winter months.

I'm also thrilled to have mastered the dpns.

I'm linking in with Blue Monday today.  Stop by and see some other posts that feature the colour blue.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.