Adam & his butter sculptures

On Friday, I went to Toronto to surprise Adam at the Royal Winter Fair, hoping to catch him happily sculpting butter in the cooler.  Thanks to texting between siblings, it didn't work out to be a surprise, but it was a great visit.   There were some beautiful sculptures in the slippery substance, and Adam won 1st prize for his barnyard animals.  He was busy sculpting a rooster when I arrived.

I've had a little time to do some additional dyeing of the handspun wool--on the left is the zinnia dye, the centre skein is dyed with fennel in the dyepot and a few rusty screws for iron, and on the right a rich brown obtained from sumac flowers & wild grapes

some gorgeous lichen on a birch log

Lauren's finished cape

Lauren was home for a whirlwind visit, and she finished her 'Woodland Hoodlet' project that she started in July.....https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AODko_qdDIAz7QcFbOcTSeYmZvFisRVNPK1RLDMo7F1jumsoLhZElXDSbKRrI93C3RYraX5_CE6Qf7n8wjiPOU2j_UaEm0HBDbLu5d0RyKhdVAIh9Ia-TNdEdHgWoDY6i6AbLtpMYQY/s1600/IMG_3573.JPG

....what a dreamy cape!  She started a new pale pink mohair sweater on teeny tiny needles.....

......and we had time to make a batch of Pear Vanilla Jam laced with dark chocolate just before she left.  The pears were Flemish Beauty from Moore's Orchard down the road--the perfume of the raw pears in the house is enough to make you weak. I found the recipe in 'Fruits of the Earth' by Gloria Nicol, but used only 150 g. of grated chocolate per 8 lbs. of pears.  It is a little sweeter than most of the jams I make, but we thought it would be perfect spread inside a crepe, tucked in a 'poffertje', or spread on a warm croissant

straw-coloured wool

the results of the zinnia dye-pot:  a straw-coloured wool that I am planning to use for a little project with 2 other hand dyed, hand spun wool skeins.  I'm waiting for the other 2 to dry and then I'll photograph them together.....

the amazing difference in the colour of honey this past season; the darker honey is from the earlier harvest, the lighter is a late-season golden rod honey.  We numbered the supers this year so that we could enjoy each one separately.

....a little note I received last week that made me smile

a pic of Adam's wax mold; he has started a blog chronicling the adventures of his sculptures from start to finish (including the ceramic dip).      http://www.adamisworking.blogspot.com/

Our gorgeous canine nephews & niece hangin' out on Church Street in Toronto; we had a few moments to visit with them and have a coffee with my sister, Dorothy

Dyeing with zinnias & a windy Saturday in October

a basket of zinnias picked from the garden a few days ago; ready for the dyepot

I covered the flowers with water and simmered for a few hours over 2 days, letting it cool in between

When it came time to strain the brew, I used one of my favourite tools--a milk strainer.  A few years ago, my Mom came up with the idea of using our old milk strainer from the farm; it was used with a filter to pour milk into the milk cans used for shipping.  When she gave it to me, she had actually sourced some milk filters for the bottom of the strainer--I'll often use the filter if the dye stuff is fine.  Who knew these filters still existed?

All of the colour is bleached (or cooked!) out of the zinnias.  Love the colour of the zinnias with the steel strainer!  Today I put the fibre into the dyepot--we"ll see results in a day or so!

Archie & I were out for our daily walk at Cobourg beach; the winds were brisk, but the waves were spectacular on the pier and around the lighthouse

One of 3 skimboarders enjoying the waves and not minding the cold temperatures!

The usual high traffic on the Cobourg pier; today drivers seemed to be enjoying the overspray.  Some brave souls were venturing out of their vehicles and walking under the waves that were crashing over the end of the pier. It reminded me of my son Adam--he came home one day with the car covered in green algae--it looked like one of those Toronto Hippo buses dragging stuff around from the bottom of the lake; he had parked at the end of the pier on a day just like this one.

enjoying the fruits & flowers of fall

We are fortunate enough to live a minute away from Moore's Orchards; their shed filled with hampers & hampers of all varieties of apples, fresh pressed cider, frozen berries & these crab apples that caught my eye.....

one 4 litre basket of crab apples + sugar + a touch of lemon = 8 tasty jars of crab apple jelly

www.scottsbarn.ca

a mirrored window on Pat Scott's barn reflects the gorgeous sky

one year ago today!

One year ago today we picked up Archie from a shelter in Whitby!  We couldn't imagine life without him & celebrated with a few new squeak toys and a sweet potato baked just for him (one of his favourite foods)

a perfect day for exploring.....

A cold first day of October--the perfect time to visit 1812 Antiques in Grafton.  Pat Poisson, the owner, always has a beautiful chandelier in the shop window, and artfully arranges her treasures

a sweet dollhouse for sale--the roof opens up to reveal the interior

another dollhouse made by the same person; this one does not open.  Wouldn't it be perfect under a Christmas tree or in a window?

Pat's dog, a Shiba Inu named Rennie, is always in the shop.  She told me that her Japanese name is 'Little Princess Falling Blossom'!

lots of activity at the Cobourg harbour today; boats were being taken out of the water with a crane and lined up on the pier awaiting storage

there are still some gorgeous dahlias hanging on in my garden

the frogs in our pond have multiplied to an incredible number

a pic of the cutting garden

luscious colours of a fading rose

the garden seems even more precious now that a frost is only days (or weeks) away

this is Lisa's favourite dahlia this season

.......and this might be mine, although that will probably change by next week!

the zinnias have been amazing this summer; I started several varieties from seed and all were beautiful.  Hopefully I'll have time to try dyeing wool with some of the blossoms before frost