The province is a tinder box. So there will be no walking or biking on the trails we have been planning to go on, at least until October.

And no cool place to walk Joni through our woods either. But I get it.. It's scary, honestly.

"The Nova Scotia government has announced it's banning hiking, camping, fishing and use of vehicles such as ATVs in the woods as of 4 p.m. Tuesday due to an elevated wildfire risk.
Camping in campgrounds is still permitted, but trail systems through woods are off-limits under the new rules.
The rules are in place for provincial Crown and private land until Oct. 15 or until weather conditions allow them to be lifted.
The fine for violating the ban is $25,000."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/hiking-ban-vehicles-wildfire-concerns-1.7019695

Bikey Talkies*

Does anyone else find it hard to communicate with cycling companions while biking? One of my friends says she would hate to talk to others while she's going along. It would irritate her. For us, though, communication is part of the safety and fun of the ride, as we point out possible hazards, interesting things we spot in the fields or woods as we go along, or if we want to check plans for the next turn. Often, though, we end up shouting ineffectually at each other, especially if we've had to separate due to traffic, or if the wind is strong.

We've just bought a pair of the Sena Bikom20 devices, which we hope will make things a lot easier. (They've just arrived and seem really well made.) What does anyone else do? Or do you hate to communicate, like my friend?

*I invented the term Bikey Talkies, so don't go looking for such a device!

Steve Miller band 2025 tour abruptly cancelled:
"Blame it on the weather .... The tour is cancelled"

https://www.stevemillerband.com/tour/#/

As today is the kind of day when you are trying to serve up the cold baked beans at the same time as your cat decides to jump onto your shoulders and misses and lands in the pot of beans with her back feet and carries on to your shoulder and gets beans all over the kitchen and the floor and in your hair and on your clothes... Be glad if you have either beans or a cat. But not both.
(Edited as I would not do without beans, and definitely not do without a cat!)

Tofu 'bacon' with local veggies

I just had the most delicious plant based lunch made from local ingredients from my Wolfville Farmers Market 2 Go delivery today.

My home made tofu bacon (see below) with roasted golden beets, roasted sweet potato, local snap peas, beet greens, broccolini stems.

The tofu bacon is made by slicing the pressed tofu really thin using a vegetable peeler or the like, marinating for a short while in:
1-2 tbsp 30ml Olive or avocado oil
1.5 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce or similar
1 tbsp (15 ml) maple syrup
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch sea salt
pinch garlic powder
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

I use the air fryer set to 375° for about 20 minutes or so turning frequently until it was all brown and crispy. I use a silicon mat in the air fryer to catch all the crunchy bits and I roasted the beet and the sweet potato in the same pan.

Bon appetit!

#EllieKPosts #recipe #plantBased @vegan @wfpb #fueledByPlants

Timeline cleanse. Not silent, too many birds singing.

Your Sunday deer family.

Have a lovely day, friends.

Zaz discovers that tolerance makes for a more peaceful and happier life. Badger's the best teacher, with her vast experience of life.

We all wish you a peaceful, fun day! Happy Caturday to all who celebrate.

I hope everyone is doing as well as we all can under the circumstances.

This was so tiny, but the photo might be deceiving, so I included the grass next to it for scale. For fungi Friday, seen on our walk through the woods today.

Have a lovely weekend, all!

Grand Pré National Historic Site

Part way through one of the most challenging rides I've taken, we stopped at the Grand Pré site to have a snack. When I spotted the huge trunk on this beautiful Willow over our picnic table, I thought it would be perfect for thick trunk Tuesday. So I got Steven to take this picture of me to give an idea of scale.

The ride was actually 56 km in total which was not the most challenging part. What caused us the most difficulty was what I thought would be an easier route across a path which turned out to have 3 km or so of dried straw-like hay on the top of it. We got through it, but it was extremely hard and I twisted my knee at one point as it was so slippery even to stand on. So much for my great ideas!

Warning! Deer drinking!

In some circles, slurping your tea is considered a sign of appreciation. Not in any circles I've ever been part of, which just goes to show something.

I guess the fox left this drinker alone last night and forbore from marking his territory.

Amazing elegance, despite the slurping. And she has her headlights on!

Calling for room service. We need a water bowl refresh!
That pesky fox must have been marking the water bowl again.

There's no question about it: gardening is not for the faint of heart, nor the easily discouraged.
So is this creature the one that's been feasting on our baby dahlias? If so, what can I do?

What do you think? @colinpurrington Should this work to deter mosquitos? My brother (thanks to him for the image) says it worked for him today:

"Cloth on ants nest. Wait for them to attack it with formic acid. Shake ants off. Wipe arms and legs and face. No mosquitoes."

Can someone please help me identify this tiny worm in my garden? It's like a piece of hair and it moves in a twisting motion. I think it's eating some of my plants, but I can't find out what it is. Anyone? At first I thought it was a hair, that's how thin it is.
It is in a bed where I have sown some red mustard plants which do seem to be chomped on. But maybe they're not the culprits. They look too tiny to cause much damage. If it's them, will diatomaceous earth control them?

@colinpurrington is this something you recognize?

Golden Raccoon!

We have 2 golden raccoons that walked through our back garden yesterday afternoon! 2! I thought I had seen a very pale looking raccoon at the top of the field, but it was too far away to be sure it wasn't a fox or just an ordinary raccoon with the light playing tricks on me. Then yesterday afternoon I clearly saw one amble by just under my bedroom window, followed by a second one a minute later. Great fat things they are, too!

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/have-you-ever-heard-of-a-golden-raccoon/

I'll have to try to get a photo, but it's probably unlikely I'll see them again so clearly.

In the meantime, here's a screenshot of what it looks like.

Road Rage

Had to deal with road rage on our bike ride today. Some pickup truck was behind us and beeped his horn. The side of the road was very uneven, we didn't want to go into the ditch, and so we kept the lane, single file. He had plenty of room to pass us in the other lane if he wanted, with good visibility and nothing coming. But no, he kept his hand on the horn for another 2-300 meters. We totally ignored him until we turned as planned, down a road and he speeded past. Ignoring him was the only thing to do, but that probably wound him up. Oh well. At least he didn't drive into us.

CAT HELP PLEASE!

I've got a problem with our cats so I hope someone here can help with a suggestion.
I have the three cats and use 4 littler boxes, have never had any problems as long as I put one of them by their running wheel in case they get caught short while exercising.
We've been using clay litter up to now, but when I had to clean one out using a flashlight I saw the terrible amount of dust that comes off it, I realised I needed to change to a different litter, for their lungs and mine. (This was the least dusty of the clay litter, so another clay one is not the solution.)
I have liked and used the wheat based Swheat litter in the past and there's much less dust, so that's what I have bought. I've gradually changed each of the trays, one at a time until I now have only one with clay - the one by the wheel. They will pee in the Swheat, grudgingly, but so far only one lot of poo. Now that only one tray of clay is left, they are pooing on the floor by it, during the night. And in the clay one, but also on the floor.
So what can I do? Shut them in a small room with 2 trays of the Swheat? Or what?
Suggestions?
#help #catHelp #EllieKPosts