Most of my trips out east have been in Summertime except for one April when i went for my Aunt’s 80th birthday and also in hopes of tapping some trees and experiencing the whole process of making maple syrup. We tapped some trees and sap did run but not for long before a huge snowstorm froze things up. i guess i’ll have to return again one year. In Summer a short wander down the road;

takes you past the donkies and horses;

past Jed;

and the kyloes;

to the sugar shack where it sits looking abandoned and ever so curious. One day i’ll see what goes on in there;

check out Jed on the left, waiting for us to return. i should liked to have brought him home with us;

sugar on snow. oooh i was giddy for this! how clever to freeze the snow;

i ate 3 forkfuls.

Every day we wandered around the trails and garden in back of the house.What an amazing playground for children, big & little, to explore and play. A family garden is growing with everyone planting and contributing some thing. i was not at all organized with this and i regret it but Grandma P brought irises out from the Okanagan for the little ones to plant. i had planned to plant an acorn that i found on the trail but i forgot about it in my pocket and found it later in my washing machine once i returned home. So many distractions to keep a plan;

i always think of the wood burning stove when i think of the farm and since i failed to get a decent photograph of the stove, the wood shall serve as the reminder. Who can resist a nicely stacked pile of wood anyhow?;

i’m starting sort of backwards and more towards the middle,  recounting our recent trip “back east” as i refer to it after hearing my mom talk about it so often in this way. i’m sure that when i was really little i believed that “back east” was it’s own farm and that Quebec was made up of the few surrounding farms and including the towns of Danville and Kingsey Falls. For little A “back east” is a different farm from where i mostly played as a kid but nearby at “Uncle Russell and Aunt Susan’s” farm where we stayed in the home that my mom and her siblings were born and raised in. i could go in so many directions from here but since i’m starting sort of backwards and more towards the middle of things (at the time just before my shutter snapped) i’ll begin with the beautiful, shaggy and happy highland cows that roam and graze some hundred + acres. What a lucky fold as i’ve learned they are called rather than a herd.

“Kyloes” Russell calls to them so they won’t be startled as we come near;

still the mama far from her calf instinctively calls to it;

my own maternal instincts were first wary of my little one getting too close to those big horns or the other way round of the big horns getting too close to my little one and so a slow approach felt fair and right. Up close and under the shag those eyes were curious and docile. The bull, however, with his horns tipped forward as if naturally always ready to charge, intimidated me and i worried he’d pick up on that so i retreated.

it’s a happy place for the cows and all the animals and a happy place for my boy.

just a reminder for the local folk about Sunday’s market.

just a wee bit of the lavender that scents the eye pillows;

Our own wee garden is more of an experimental project rather than to sustain us so i’ll be stocking up as usual at the market.

on the fifth. The night before we lay in his bed to tell and listen to our birth story. I imagine this story will be told so many years in a row that eventually he’ll be telling it to me.

Little A requested an all day all night party with all his favorite people and so it was.  Immediately upon waking he ran to his birthday table where he lit his candle while we flipped through his baby book and read his birthday letter. Downstairs at the breakfast table he set up and admired his birthday ring. He loves this as do i.

Outside he discovered a “little fort” and went running for it. Grandma P rocks! and seemingly whipped this little teepee up in no time compared to the length of time i pondered and procrastinated the pattern. Now the 2 of them have a new fort for all seasons, inside or out. The walking blocks were a huge hit and the birthday pants plenty long enough. Whew.

Friends and family joined us for the afternoon and evening of hide & seek, music making, magic, balloon fun, sweets and eats.

i’m so impressed with the magician that Auntie and Uncle james hired. i admit i was stressed that it might be too big of a rah rah show for the low key birthday i aim for (and usually fail at) but this guy was so good meeting us half way between family magic and corporate strolling magic. Little A has already invited him to his 6th birthday party. The balloons were brilliant ( i mean check out the clock) and i think we were all impressed with the magic.

I don’t want to ramble on too much about the cake since i’ve complained enough about it’s process already(including a 4 hour power outage on the trial run amongst other challenges to a first time cake baker) but i do want to thank everyone who listened and gave me moral support and i’m sorry for all of my cursing. It’s too soon to say i’d do it again but while putting it together, the little one squealed in excitement about it being the best looking cake ever so i’m happy he was happy (and full up on just a little piece with reduced amounts of sugar of course - i couldn’t help myself) .

a little later the party continued…Countless times balloons were pumped, let soar, lost, retrieved. Kids were ecstatic, perhaps sugared up some, the porch  full while Alistair & Sandra kept us all fed with real food and duck which i didn’t eat but hear was delicious.

Thanks to everyone who made Little A’s Golden Birthday golden. You’re awesome!

The day following was a satisfying rainy, stay inside, pj, play with new gifts, watch new little bear movie, eat leftover chocolate and organize photos kind of a day. Before bed the little one asked, “so does the world just go on and on?” i’m giddy with excitement for more of these 5 year old ponderings.

oh man the air was thick of sticky sweet strawberries in the fields yesterday. it was difficult not to follow my nose but i kept to the plan and found plenty of raspberries. the test batch of jam is cooled and on the counter. grandma P arrived in time to share her recipe though we changed it up just a little. i had no idea how easy jam making could be, nor how much sugar there really is in it. no wonder my kid eats and eats it. sheesh.  thank you for all the jam making encouragement and sampling!

(photo on the left credit to Margaret who snuck up on us at the farm)

if someone wasn’t turning 5 on Sunday then i’m certain i’d be jamming all weekend, alas i’m going to warm up my kitchen a few more degrees by turning on the oven to bake cake. sorry chocolate lovers but my boy wants a vanilla cake. his design is very specific and with new details each day.  i better just get this baked. that and finish sewing up the birthday pants. this little sprout is growing out of everything.

eying up the blackberries for next month’s jam session;

July is the month of many celebrations.  i thought May was busy but this month and more specifically this week tops it. Canada Day or as Little A recalls it, the lobster sparkler party, was definitely a good kick off;

equally entertaining though in quite a different way, our little friend’s 3rd birthday!

more celebrating to come. did you know it’s National Ice Cream month (in the US)? Little A will be so pleased to hear this.