Back home

Today I came home from my friend's house in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  Just after I crossed the border into Minnesota, I stopped at a scenic lookout and took this picture looking east across Lake Superior.  It was a drizzly morning, but the view was still beautiful. 
While I was in Thunder Bay, we had a great time sewing and going to garage sales; oh, yes, and spray painting--she has the bug now, too.

This is what greeted me when I got home; the rosebush was covered with yellow roses.  And this Siberian iris was also blooming.  Both so pretty!

Garden

The perennial gardens are looking good right now.  The Columbine has just started blooming.  The hosta in the picture to the right has been in that location for a few years, and the three in the back in the picture below have been there for two years.  The hostas in front are two of the six or eight that I just transplanted from out near the road to an area on the west side of the house that is shady for most of the day now.

Here is a picture of another perennial garden.  The only thing blooming here right now is the yellow rose way at the back, but the peonies and Siberian iris all have buds.  The purple birdhouse (at the back) is the one that wrens built a nest in a week or so ago.  However, I think they have abandoned it since I have seen no activity around there for a couple of days.  It's near the back door, which is the one we mostly use, so maybe they decided they wanted a more private place and moved on.

Birds

This is so exciting!!  We have a pair of wrens nesting in a birdhouse I bought purely for decorative purposes a few years ago.  I guess they find it to their liking.



Also, the hummingbirds are back.  They are such fun to watch.

Those are rose-breasted grosbeaks on the feeder in the back.
One more picture.  This is one of the orioles with a red-headed woodpecker on the ground.

I used to feed the birds only in the winter, but started feeding them year-round a couple of years ago.  That way we seem to see more variety.  And the feeders are placed so that I can see the birds out my kitchen window.  Doing the dishes is very pleasant when there are birds to watch at the same time.

Wheat-free cookies and rain

I am so excited about this mix that can be substituted for wheat flour in recipes. I found it on the organizing junkie blog (http://orgjunkie.com) from April 5, 2012. I tried it with the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the bag of chocolate chips, and they were delicious--we couldn't tell that there was no wheat flour in them. 

If you  have a sensitivity to wheat, you might want to try this substitute.  The various ingredients are pricier than regular flour, but as a once-in-a-while treat, it will be great.
Brownies are one of my favorite baked goods, so that will be the next thing I'll try with this mix.  I'll let you know how they turn out.

On another note, we have had approximately 10 inches of rain in the past week, so things are really saturated.  The buffalo aren't venturing too far into the pasture where the creek is because it has definitely overflowed its banks. 

Happy Sunday to you!

Birds

Look who came to the feeder this morning.  He was out on the sunflower seed feeder when I first saw him, so I hurried up and put out the hummingbird feeder.  Within minutes he was there.  We never had orioles until last summer.  I love the songbirds, especially the ones that are so colorful.  I think orioles are even more beautiful than cardinals.