Killdeer

Barry brought the trailer up to Saskatoon for my parents 60th anniversary, so we stayed out at my sister's acreage near Martensville.  We parked it behind the house out by the shop.

 

Every time we stepped out of the trailer, the killdeer went crazy.  

 

They must have had a nest or two close by because there was always a bird or two pretending to be injured.

They would come right up to us and flop around dragging their wing hoping we'd follow them away from the nest.

They must have thought that they were always successful because they led us in the direction of the house (where we were headed anyway).

I heard on the radio while in Saskatoon that a number of killdeer and plover nests near Lake Diefenbaker had to be moved because of the heavy rains and flooding.  These birds at my sister's place were in no danger.

The killdeer have a high-pitched shrill call (I wouldn't really call it a song).  It was interesting to watch them perform.

Lulu in Airdrie

We stopped in Airdrie, AB at an RV dealership to get some parts for the trailer plus have another photo shoot with Lulu and friends.

They had a giant rooster and a giant cowboy that I couldn't resist.

"Hey, mom!" called Lulu.  "Come look at the feet on this guy!"

"I can stand under here for shade or protection from the rain."  chuckled Lulu.

"How come a guy this big doesn't have any food lying around?"  asked Lulu.  "I guess that's why he's so big!" she mused.

"Hey!" exclaimed Lulu.  "I can see a long way from up here!"

"Hey, mom!"  cried Lulu.  "Look!  Our feathers match!  Maybe we're related!"

"This is quite comfy."  said Lulu.  "I could sit here all day and look around."

"Now I had better go check out that big guy over there."

"Boy, he sure needs to polish his boots."  said Lulu.

"Well, goodbye cousin.  It was nice meeting you."  said Lulu just before she climbed in the van to continue her adventures.  ;)

Sourdough Sharing - Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Buns and More

This month's sourdough sharing is cinnamon buns or other variations.  I decided to try some pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls.  I got the original idea from here.  I got the dough recipe from Sourdough Cookery by Rita Davenport.  

Ingredients
dough
1 1/2 c sourdough
3/4 c milk (I used 1 c pumpkin puree instead)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter or marg
1 tsp salt
2 - 2 1/2 c flour (I needed about 4 c flour)

filling
1 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c butter
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla

My sourdough was very bubbly but not as thick as usual.  So that plus using pumpkin instead of milk may have accounted for the need for that much extra flour.

To make the dough
To sourdough add and mix in all ingredients except flour.  Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.  Knead until smooth, adding more flour if needed.

 

Place in a greased bowl and let rise until double.  The original recipe said 2 hours but mine took all day.

Roll dough into a rectangle.

To make filling
Combine pumpkin (I used homemade puree) with other ingredients and stir well.  I did not add the butter at this stage but you may if you wish.

I spread the butter evenly on the dough like you do for regular cinnamon buns.

Spread the pumpkin filling evenly, leaving a bit of dough at the edges uncovered.

Roll up dough sealing the edges.

Cut and place in greased pans.

Cover and let rise until double.

 

Bake at 400°F for 25 - 30 minutes.

 

Rita Davenport suggests drizzling on a mixture of icing sugar, milk and vanilla (no amounts given).

 

Mama Taney suggests pumpkin cream cheese icing.

 

I did neither and we ate them as is.  Usually I find icing on cinnamon buns too much sweetness but these would have been nice with the cream cheese icing as they are not too sweet.  They were tasty and the spiced pumpkin had a nice flavour.

 

I wouldn't bother adding the pumpkin to the dough next time because all it did was turn the dough a nice golden colour.  Pumpkin doesn't have much taste by itself so I don't think it added to the taste.

 

Enjoy these or some of the other recipes below.

 

 

 

 

Lulu and Her Fans in Cochrane

We had some business in Calgary, AB and made a detour to Cochrane, AB so we could visit this statue by Don and Shirley Begg.  It had just finished raining before we arrived so the ground was damp.

The artists made three statues in the same series - one in Calgary, one in Cochrane and another in Saskatoon.

I love how Lulu looked with the bronze chickens.

She was very curious and looked around at everything.

While we were there, three families with numerous kids came along and wanted their pictures taken with Lulu.

While I was taking pics, they were all talking and asking me questions about Lulu.

Lulu behaved very well with all the chattering, talking and laughing.

She is not a big people person and usually prefers peace and quiet.

Some of the kids wanted to pet Lulu and I helped them with that while their parents snapped pics.  Several of the parents wanted their picture taken with me so somewhere there are pics of me smiling with a friendly strangers arm around my shoulders. 

They were a lively, friendly bunch but Lulu finally had enough and it was time to leave.  So off we went and continued our trip back up to Bonnyville with another photo-op coming up at Airdrie.  Til next time.  ;)

New Plants in the Garden

Several of the blueberries we planted last year are bearing fruit and some of the berries are ready to eat.  Last year we planted 8 blueberries and 4 of them have fruit this year.

We have 3 Saskatoon bushes that produced while we were gone so we missed out on those berries.  :(   I tried to give Lulu the dried berries to eat but she turned her beak up at them - she wanted fresh blueberries instead.  Fussy girl!

While we were away I purchased 2 more Saskatoon bushes  - a Thiessen and a Smokey.

I also bought 2 haskaps - a Tundra and a Polar Jewel.  Haskaps are also known as Honeyberries.  They are edible blue honeysuckles that are very cold hardy.  They are supposed to taste blueberry-ish with undertones of currents or raspberries.  I can't wait.

I also bought a Bailey Cranberry bush.  I already had a lingonberry was started from a shoot brought to Canada from Norway by Barry's grandmother in the late 1940's.  I plan on using these 2 bushes to make jelly to use with roast turkey, whenever I get enough berries.  The lingonberry had some berries last year but I transplanted it this year to its final resting place and it did not produce any this year.

Last year I also got some perennials from a friend cleaning out her perennial bed.  These hydrangeas bloomed last year but not as prolific as this year.

Not as large as this year either.  Look at the size of these blooms compared to my hand!  ;)

Lulu and the Giant Mushrooms

Lulu and I are finally home from our three weeks away.  I will be posting pics taken throughout our travels.

The first leg of our trip took us to Bonnyville, AB. to visit Barry.  On the way, Lulu and I stopped at Vilna, AB to see the World's Largest Mushrooms.

We had tried to visit them earlier this year but the street was flooded and muddy and we couldn't get near them.

This time we made it and Lulu enjoyed picking at the grass that grew between the paving stones.

It was a very small park and the grass was covered with dandelions, which do not interest Lulu in the slightest.

The mushrooms were not a big thrill for Lulu, but she doesn't eat them in real life either so naturally she ignored these.

Lulu was more interested in checking out the lawn and looking for bugs. 

I thought the mushrooms looked kind of neat for a photo-op but Lulu was done and wanted to be on her way.

The mushrooms represent the tricholoma uspale mushroom that grows wild in the area and is either dried or cooked by local mushroom hunters.