Three stages of being a Chicken.

 Three stages of Chickendom.

These hens started out in April as 25 one day old chicks, the meat chicken version, not the egg laying version. They were cared for in a brooder with a nice warm heat lamp through the cold nights, losing only 2 birds. They were fed and watered and looked after in the chicken coop under some shady trees for about 8 or 9 weeks, and then it was time to say goodbye. 

It was a good life, but a short life.

They had a ride to the processor, a Mennonite business, and turned into prepared roasting hens for the freezer, each around 7lb in weight. This one was marinated overnight in a marinade of salt, some sugar,  olive oil, garlic, an assortment of herbs and spices and sauces. Secret recipe, my son won't divulge the ingredients. 

Split down the backbone, and "spatchcocked" on the BBQ, then after a couple of hours on a very low flame and lots of basting with a home made BBQ sauce......

...... the best BBQ juicy chicken ever tasted!

Apologies to any vegetarians/vegans reading this.

Toadstool or Mushroom?

 Any Amateur Mycologists out there? Or even a Professional Mycologist, perchance?

There has been a lot of damp humid weather recently, and the fungus population has sprouted overnight. Does anyone recognise these? There are lots of them growing in an area of spare ground at the back of a nearby house. Some were only an inch across, and others as wide as 4 inches. 

Could be Common Agrocype  or Spring Agrocype. Apparently edible, but I'm definitely not going to try it.

And a bit further along, there were these tiny little mushrooms hiding along the edge of the sidewalk. About the size of a little fingernail.

I think this might be Pear-shaped Puffball, Lycoperdon pyriforme. Large clumps of these small puffballs can be found on logs or growing in woodchips along park trails. Puffballs have a small pore on the top where the spores are released. When a large rain drop lands on a mature puffball the force is sufficient to release a "puff" of spores. The spongy filling helps the puffball regain its shape after being compressed.

Spidey, is that you?

This morning the wet grass had lots of these delicate spider webs decorated with tiny dewdrops. This one was about 4 inches across, but there were many more smaller ones.

What are they? What kind of spider makes these webs?

I had to ask know-it-all Professor Google, and he told me that these are not really spider webs. The webs are branching mycelium of dollar spot fungus, Sclerotinia homeocarpa, often appearing on lawns in warm and damp summer mornings.  These webs disappear when the grass dries, but the fungus is still there. It causes brown spots about the size of a dollar coin, and can grow to cover much larger areas. There has been a lot of rain over the last few days, and the lawn watering system has been working too, so the dollar spot fungus is probably feeling very happy!

The Dead End of Town

Sometimes my morning walk takes me through the local cemetery. It's cool and shady and quiet there, with not many people about. And if there are people walking their dogs, they are always happy to stop and chat. 

I don't think I'm the only person who likes to wander among the graves and read the names and dates of former residents of town. The earliest legible memorial stone here dates from 1849, but there are probably a few earlier than that.

Nathan Forsyth 1852-1948 was the builder of many of the Victorian red brick houses that still stand on  the older streets. In fact, I lived in a Forsyth house for many years. He also built the United Church, the Presbyterian Church and the original Fire Hall. His grave memorial is in the shape of a house with windows and doors.

There are some lovely stone angels marking graves. But they look so sad. A lasting memorial to a family's grief.

Walking around the newer section of the cemetery I came across many familiar family names of friends and neighbours. One was Eddie Luther, the original "Eye in the Sky" traffic reporter for CFRB. He was a radio pioneer, the first to report on Toronto rush hour traffic from his helicopter starting in 1961.

Bee in the Brick Update: This was a couple of weeks ago. The hole in the brick is now completely sealed, so I'll be watching for a happy event.

Lucy

I just returned from spending a few days chicken sitting. And egg collecting. And garden, dog, cat and goose sitting while YoungerSon and family visited my daughter-in-law's aunt. I took lots of photos with my trusty little point-and-shoot camera, and then stupidly left the camera behind when I came home. Oh well.... I'll get it next time I visit again in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, here's the only photo I can show you of Lucy the goose. She's an Embden goose, 3 months old and is getting bigger every day. She is very used to people being around and likes to have her head scratched and her wings petted. She loves her blue bucket of water, and sometimes tries to get into it, not an easy task seeing she is quite a bit bigger than the bucket. 

Snoozing with your head on the edge of a bucket seems hard but she manages to look very relaxed.

She's got an old kiddie pool that she splashes about in.... sorry, no photos until I get the camera back!

A couple of photos from my container garden on my deck. These tomatoes are Oxheart variety, a heritage tomato. They are really lumpy, strange shapes, but I'm told they are very tasty.  I'll be able to taste them when they're ready to harvest in August.

And my Scarlet Runner beans.... doing really well, full of flowers that I hope will provide lots of beans.... and the bonus is that the hummingbirds love the red flowers.

Lots of vigorous growth this year, probably due to the well rotted cow poo that was dug into the soil in the spring. 

In a Jam

June means red juicy delicious strawberries. When I was growing up in sunny Devon, my dad's main product of his market garden was strawberries so June and July were busy times at our house, and he even got a second crop in September. His strawberries often won prizes at the annual village Horticultural Show. We lived close to the seaside, and there were plenty of people on holiday who would buy his fresh strawberries, and he had a regular delivery to markets in South Wales and London.

Strawberries every day! I ate so many strawberries that I broke out in red blobs. My mum would make strawberry jam with the smaller berries, and the jam would last all winter, until the next strawberry season.

I think it must be genetic, and I have jam making in my DNA too.

I've already given some to my neighbours, some will go to friends and family, and the rest will brighten up my breakfasts on snowy winter days.

Mama Turtle

I was out for an evening walk around the neighbourhood pond, and I noticed a dark green shape in the grass.  Turtle! She didn't really appreciate me staring at her while she was going through the delicate process of egg laying, so she pulled her head in and peeped at me from the safety of her shell.

She's a Painted Turtle - Chrysemys Picta - one of the eight species of turtle that are native to Ontario. Turtles are ectothermic – or ‘cold-blooded’, which means that they cannot generate their own body heat, and rely on the environmental temperature for this; they warm themselves by basking in the sun. 

These eggs will probably hatch in late summer or early fall. Less than one in a hundred turtle eggs laid will hatch and grow into an adult turtle. Unlike birds, turtles do not tend their nests once laid, nor care for their young once they hatch. Once the female has finished laying her eggs she never sees them again. The babies are on their own!

Painted Turtles have recently been reclassified from Not at Risk, to Species of Special Concern. Extensive road mortality has been the main reason for the change of classification for this species.

Such a pretty face!

Pain Avec Tout

 Pain avec tout.... Bread with everything!

Two loaves made with a combination of white bread flour, whole wheat flour, oats, garlic, onion flakes, grated old Cheddar cheese, chopped fresh herbs from my garden..... parsley, basil and summer savoury. I wish I could transfer the aroma as the loaves came out of the oven. Mmmmmm

A couple of slices toasted with butter, and fresh coffee, breakfast time!

To BEE or Not To BEE

Last year I posted about the mason bee (or perhaps it was a mason wasp?) that was making a home in a tiny hole in the brick at the back of my house. Remember this post?  but I never caught a photo of the actual insect.

It's the perfect spot for enjoying my early morning coffee, and this year the bee, or a family member, was back again. I was ready with the camera.

She (or he?) is extremely industrious, in and out of the hole every few minutes, probably making a nest of some sort, but I haven't noticed her carrying anything. She can crawl in but has to back out. And the actual mouth of the hole seem to be getting bigger. Interesting goings on.

Glass Reflections

A yard sale find, a couple of years ago.... $0.25, yes, 25 cents, a real bargain. 

Daum egg-shaped decorative paperweight, signed, made in France. Daum Glass is made in Nancy, the history of the company is here.

Where there's Smoke, there's Fire

Yesterday afternoon. 

The sun was shining and it was a hot June day, the sky was a brilliant blue, then suddenly.... a column of black smoke billowing upwards. The sound of sirens in the distance. A fire truck zooms by at top speed. Then another one. Then the wail of police cars. This isn't good news.

The view from my deck at the back of the house.

Photo by VS.

Photo by VS.

Everyone, including the cat and the dog, is safe, thank goodness.

The local pool construction company showed up with a tanker truck full of water. There were five fire trucks there at the height of the blaze, and a couple were still there into the evening, with the police and the Fire Chief, just making sure there were no flareups. Those firemen are heroes, no contest!

Dandy Lions Roar!

Some people hate them, and spend hours and hours battling them every spring. Some people tolerate them, some love them. I think they are like a field of sunshine.

The perfect medium for a couple of outdoor art installation projects.

Or a subject for a lino print.

And did you know that many parts of the humble dandelion are edible? Have you ever tried Dandelion Fritters? Now's your chance, while there are lots of golden dandelions outside, just waiting for you to pick them.

Dandelion Fritters

Ingredients:  4 cups of fresh picked (washed) dandelion flowers,  2 cups flour,  2 eggs,  2 cups milk

Mix the milk, flour and eggs and beat until blended well.
Warm some olive oil in a skillet on the stove (keep at medium heat). Holding the underneath of the flowers, dip into the batter until totally covered in the fritter batter then place into skillet, flower side down.
Once they are brown, flip and brown the other side. If need be, continue flipping until the batter coating is light brown.
Remove from oil and allow excess oil to soak onto a towel or paper towel.
Eat plain or drizzle with maple syrup, honey, or even roll them in icing sugar while they are still warm.
Be creative – add your favourite spices or herbs to the fritter batter!

Forest Ramble

The York Regional Forest trails are coming to life after a long winter. We walked part of Holledge Tract.... mostly flat, just a couple of small slopes. The woodland flowers are blooming.

Sessile Bellwort uvularia sessifolia also known as Merrybells or Wild Oats

Wood Anemone  anemone memorosa

Bulbous Buttercup ranunculous bulbosus  also known as St Anthony's Turnip!

Trout Lily erythronium americanum  also known as Adder's Tongue or Dogtooth Violet.

Star Wars and Sign Wars

 Do you know what day it is today? It's Star Wars Day...... May the 4th be with you!

I'll let you to celebrate this special Star Wars Day with whichever of the Star Wars films is your favourite.  Meanwhile.... in my small town just north of the big city, a bitter war of words is breaking out. A word of warning..... this could be rather punny.

And it's not over yet! We won't see the white flag waving for quite a while.

Note: Photos have been "borrowed" from the local facebook page. Not my camera work.

Spring is Sprung

Most of Spring is finally Sprung.... leaves are starting to appear on the bare trees and the April showers have boosted the brownish dead-looking winter grass to be a vivid green, and of course now dotted with pretty golden dandelions. 

The little garden in front of the train station is blooming with tulips, glowing in the sunshine.

The daffodils that were planted around the pond two years ago have started to multiply. The weather has been perfect for them... cool and rather damp, so the blooms last a long time. They wilt when it's hot weather in early spring... and so do I.

Meet Larry, Curly and Moe.  They look very happy sunning them selves on this flat rock at the edge of the pond, but sadly when I walked past a day later, someone had removed the rock.... so now where were the turtles going to bask in the sun? I hope someone will provide another rock for them.

As soon as they heard the click of the camera, all three sploshed back into the water, double quick. Obviously camera shy. 

Update: The rain raised the water level and I couldn't see the rock.... of course it's still there. Who would want to nick a rock? Sometimes I can be so dense.

Keeping it Clean

Not all heroes wear capes, as we know, and Roger is definitely a local hero. He'll often be seen patrolling the streets and the hiking trails around town with his dog Bosco, and his grabber stick and his trash bucket in his hand.

Photo: Steve Somerville / Metroland, (Stouffville Sun- Tribune)

Roger has been picking up garbage from the trails on his walks twice a day for the past four years. The main problem used to be discarded water bottles, paper coffee cups, and candy wrappers. But more and more the current collection of garbage seems to be discarded PPE and the ever present dog poo bags.

Roger estimates that he has collected over 5000 disposable face masks since the pandemic began in March 2020. Some have been dropped by accident, but many have been deliberately discarded, like the four or five that were wrapped into a ball and tied in a knot. Why? 

And there seem to be a large number of pet owners who aren't sure what to do with a dog poop bag once it's in use, so the bag is left on the path, or hung on a nearby branch. In just one day Roger found 17 poop bags along a forest trail. If you have the energy to bend over and scoop the poop, surely you have enough energy to take it home or to the nearest bin. Hard to understand.

Photo: Steve Somerville / Metroland   (Stouffville Sun-Tribune)

Roger has picked up thousands of cigarette butts on his trailwalking. Very nasty. I can't imagine what this smells like. Come on smokers... dispose of your butts safely, not throwing them on the ground.

In 2019 Roger was acclaimed the Citizen of the Year for his work. Let's help him by keeping our trails, our town, our country.... CLEAN!