Mowing the Hay Field (a.k.a. Front Lawn)

Holy macaroni... the grass sure grows fast. This was back in April and... a bear could get lost in this!

It's definitely time for a mow... and I think I better supervise this...

And... we're off!!!

And done... more or less... it's a shaggy cut because the grass was so long and lush. But at least a bear can see a few feet in front of him!

Bees!

Guess what - we have Bee Stamps!!! Yes we dooooo!!! I think a couple of little bears named Jerry & Ben might be interested in this.

You what they say... where there's bees... there's honey somewhere!

There are two stamps....

The left one is the rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) - the first Endangered Bee species in Canada... huh... that is NOT good! The metallic green bee (Agapostemon virescens) is one of many sweat bee species that dig their nests in the ground. Hmmm... I wonder if that's where the honey is too?

Save the BEES!!! Without them... there would be no honey... and a bunch of other stuff!

Backyard BBQ

Hiya! Look at that bleeding heart - soooo beautiful... but... the real action is....

over here... yep... some super-yummy sausages roasting on the campfire...

I thought of inviting some friends but... sekrebeary issues meant that didn't happen. Ugh.

They look good, don't they?

And with potato salad too...

This is a bear's life!!!

Garden Update (out of date)

Er... hello... this post is a bit... ummm... delayed... These photos were taken in mid... *cough*Ap*hack*ril*wheeze*. Ah-hem... let's get on then, shall we?

Right, so we planted some kale... it's always good in smoothies.

There are some leeks left over from last year. We read that if you leave them in the ground, the bulbs multiply underground and you'll get young leeks next to them... so we are trying it.

We're also trying some kohlrabi this year... because it's supposed to be good in coleslaw... hoping it works OK.

And in this trench... are our baby potatoes...

It's hard to dig a trench in a raised bed but... we'll give it a shot. And along the bag of that bed are peas and sweet peas.

Ummm... yes... the grass is a bit long...

Note to self... do not leave pots on lawn too long...

Hey, tulips are coming! They look unhappy though - don't think they like their neighbours in this bed...

Trying to rat-proof the compost bins. Made a frame for the base with that super-duper rat-proof wire underneath. Silly rats.

And here we have spinach and mesclan...

Great in salads!

Our winter kale is still going strong (well... it was in mid...*cough*Ap*wheeze*ril*hack*...)

Rock garden is looking very good.

It's good to have lots of flowers for the bees you know.

Those pink things are primroses we got from an old abandoned property up the road (before the backhoes tore the place apart). They are WAY better than store-bought primroses. More flowers and more hardy too....

So pretty!

We have one Euphorbia plant - it has nice chartreuse-coloured flowers but... when they start to go to seed, we have to cut them off otherwise we'd have a million baby Euphorbias!

Love bleeding hearts!

Oh... and in the greenhouse we have some squash seeds incubating....

Gramma and Sandy cook Salmon Chowder

Me again with Gramma!!! It's always good when Gramma comes because she helps with so many things. And cooks us nut cake... mmmm....

She helped hem the living room curtains this time...

We also made some onion muffins...

Originally it was a recipe for zucchini muffins, but a few years ago, Gramma experimented and came up with onion muffins... they have a touch of jalapeno in them... Soooo good!!! I'm thinking Little Fox's friend, Reindeer, might like them?

But today, the big project is making salmon chowder.... First we dice up some garlic, onions, carrot and celery with some... wait for it... bacon!!! (Hi Droopy... I know... two posts with bacon in it back-to-back... go figure).

Then you saute the bacon... and then the veggies...

Then you add the salmon broth...

 And let it simmer away...

This is hard work you know... watching things simmer....

Are we done yet? I've never had salmon chowder? Is it any good? Silly question... anything that Gramma cooks is good!!

Oh yum... towards the end, we added the salmon into it (it was already cooked)...

Oh, and we added some peas and corn from the freezer just to bulk it up a bit... mmmm...

Chef Sandy cooks Rouladen (with a bit of help)

Hullo, Chef Sandy here. Today I am going to supervise the creation of rouladen. Mmmm... sooo yummy!!!  We have three packages of rouladen meat...

Certified Angus beef... yum!

And now we need some diced bacon...

I know a certain Droopy Dog who is probably going nuts right now... yes... that bacon looks good, doesn't it?

And some thinly sliced onions...

Wait, what is this??? Someone has pulled out the least fatty bits of the bacon for their rouladen? Who would do that???

Surprise!!!! It's Gramma!!! She's here for a visit!!

 Nose noogies with Gramma...

Now we pound the heck out of the meat...

It's hard being a Chef supervisor you know...

Squeeze on some mustard and smear it around...

Then add bacon and onions...

Not so hard is it? Well.... not when you have Gramma to help!

Then you roll up the rouladen, poke them together with toothpicks and tie them up with string for good measure.... And now we roll the rouladen in flour (we forgot that part last time).

Make sure to pat off excess flour....

Now the messy part... you get a pot going at super high heat and then drop them into a bit of oil so that they sear on the outside...

Then we put them in the slow-cooker with some onions on the bottom. And some water that has gotten all the ooey-gooey goodness of the pot that you just seared them in. And now we wait...

Or... maybe not... Gramma's making something else? With eggs and sugar? Hmmm...

A certain Jerry bear might be a little interested now!

And finally... we sit down to dinner with fall-apart rouladen, potato dumplings and red cabbage... and gravy of course. Mmmm....

But wait... there is more...

For dessert we get a Nut Cake or Nut Torte... just basically ground hazelnuts, sugar and eggs I think... with a bit of rum aroma... mmmmm...

 Chef Sandy signing off... stay-tuned for more Adventures with Gramma!