Coffee Cake...Tea...Friends...Christmas Cactus

 When I decided to have 2 of my favorite friends over for tea today, I decided it was also a good time to make a coffee cake. I have had this recipe for about 20 years, and is always a welcome treat. I have included a step-by step recipe in pictures,for those who are so inclined to try  the recipe.   It is pretty simple, and best of all low-fat!!!

This is how it should look at the end

! cup low-fat sour cream, with 1 tsp of baking soda..mix together and let stand for 20 minutes...it becomes very fluffy

1/2 cup melted margarine

2 eggs...but only the whites

whip together

                                      

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

put 1/2 the batter into a greased pan

mix together 3/4 cup brown sugar...cinnamon...chopped nuts

add rest of batter...if you do this in dollops, it is easier to spread...top with the rest of the brown sugar mixture...put in preheated 325 degree oven for 30-40 minutes

now....clean up your mess!!!

get out your best tea pot and cups and saucers

ready for the cake

We had a lovely visit today. With some things getting in the way..... like my stupid foot... we had not been together for a while. We laughed....I cried!!!! (what else is new)...and we had a good old gossip session! It just goes to show you....friends rock!!!!

 After we each had 2 pieces of cake each  and many cups of tea, I gave my friends a small gift. There were squeals of delight!!!! Just like Christmas morning when you were a kid. They had both admired my Christmas Cactus, so I got them each one for themselves. Hopefully they will  bloom for a long time, and bring some colour to these drab days of winter ahead.




                                                    Cheers To Friends!!   :o)

 We also had an unexpected visitor!!!

The Incredible Native Milkweed

 I have long been a fan of the native Milkweed plant. I remember them mostly from my childhood....blowing the feathery seeds in the Fall. A few years ago, some Milkweed started growing at the cottage, and I became enthralled with it , all over again. I have actually done some research, to make this post more credible... other than just a bunch of photos I have taken. This is almost, a lesson, you could say,  in the more lesser known facts of the Milkweed.


What I have growing, is called the Common Milkweed...or..."Asclepias Syriaca" ( pretty good, eh, Honor?). It is the host plant for the Monarch Butterfly, and mandatory food source. I have also seen Hummingbirds loving it, as the flower resembles a Lilac.

This is the beautiful flower it produces in June.

This is how it looks when it first emerges in the spring. This was in the lawn!

These are the pods that appear before the flowers....these are the Milkweed Bug.."Hemipteran"..they lay their eggs on the seed pods in May

I removed a branch to the beach,and they continued to feed and lay their eggs there

The flowers really are extraordinary

The bees also love them

When fall comes, the pods crack open, and the seeds and feathery bits fly away. Apparently in the second World War ,   schoolkids would gather the fluff, to stuff life preservers for the Armed Forces in the Pacific. You can buy quilts today, stuffed with the Milkweed fluff!!

Beautiful!

This is how they look all winter...."til spring, when I cut them down

 I hope I have enlightened you to the mystical world of the Native Milkweed....I enjoyed learning more about them.

Have a great day!!

Forgot This Little Stick Guy!!!

When I did my post yesterday, I forgot to add this little fellow, that I met in July. He appeared on our of our lawn chairs. At first we thought it was actually a stick!!!! but on closer inspection (after he clung to greg's arm, after trying to remove him from the chair) , we realized he was an insect. Not sure what he is called.....but pretty cool, none the less!!

You can actually see his front legs...they look like claws!!

ain't Nature grand??!!

The Log People

 As we drive along HWY #3, towards Dunnville, we have noticed these 2 " Log People",  some very talented person has put together, on the boulevard in front of their house. I finally stopped the other day, to take a few pics....how could you ever describe these guys, without some documentation!!

This guy is sitting in his chair, reading a book..with  his legs crossed...on an ottoman!! How comfy is that!!

This looks like a caterpillar...or perhaps a centipede..very happy fellow!!

His hair is a piece of tire tread...his teeth are an old brush..and his eyeballs are golfballs

but the best "Stick Guy",  is the one that we made at the cottage!!

 

We "made" this guy with a log from our tree trimming...his hat is from an old bird feeder, his eyes and nose from a "tree face" that the moustache fell off of....and the mushrooms in his mouth are courtesy of Mother Nature....


Hope you enjoyed the  "Stick People" as much as I did.....I am on the hunt for more interesting photos to share with you......


Ahhhhhhhhhhh...ain't life grand??

The aftermath of a vicious wind storm at the lake

We took a drive to the cottage yesterday, to see if "the old girl" was still standing, after that big wind storm on  Wednesday night. I have never mentioned that the cottage was originally built in the mid 30's, and has even survived Hurricane Hazel ,when it blew up through Lake Erie, in 1956,  I think it was.  When the rain and wind come from the South,or even worse,  the South West, you know there will be trouble!!  One year,the lawn was covered in stones from the beach, and even tossed a huge log onto the lawn, which I quickly used as an edging  for one of my flower beds!  When we first bought the cottage, the previous owners (who were reeeealy old), told us about all the wooden shutters we had to install every fall. We actually put one over the living room window that year......and that was the end of that!  It was so dark and cold inside..very uninviting. There weren't a lot of fallen twigs this time,  as Greg gathers these up, to use as kindling for our fire pit, or inside fireplace.

The waves were still pretty high, as the wind was coming for the south West

Most of the leaves blew away in the wind

The milk Weed is just cracking open...the seeds fly like feathers

Grasses on the rod side are turning a lovely yellow..they will stand all winter long

Smaller Miscanthus near the deck

The damage is evident. The waves drag stuff from everywhere , and dumps it anywhere!! One year somebodys dock rolled in!!!

Greg surveys the mess...his tarp for his woodpile, was tangled in the neighbours rocks

In the end,  we breathed a sigh of relief, as no trees down...or worse...no trees through any windows or the porch screens. We now await the arrival of our "handy-man" to start work on refurbishing the sun porch.

We drove home through hail, freezing rain, and even some snow! Went through Vineland and took a shot from the hill down into town, and the lake is in the far distance...Lake Ontario that is!!

Finally............ some Fall Yard Work!

Usually by this time of the year, I have put both the cottage garden(massive job) and my home garden to rest. But with the ankle injury, I have been hard pressed to get any yard work done....if any! I also have a few annual plants that I like to bring indoors to over-winter. I finally made some time today, to do JUST that.

As I wandered around the yard, I had to take a few photos.

 

Who knew that the variegated eunonymous had such beautiful dainty berries?

The Ivy is nearly bare...only a few berries and leaves left

The Finches and Chickadees love to nibble on the coneflower seeds all winter long

These Geraniums will make their way inside. They will continue to bloom, usually into January

There seems to be an endless supply of pink mums....

The Hydrangeas just get more beautiful

Hopefully, I will be able to return them to the out doors next Spring