Hey, good morning! It’s very nice to see you. I hope you had a great week.
It’s been a busy one over here, with a bunch of things all happening at once. We’re at that stage of the summer where we can see it whooshing by in an instant, and we’re trying to find a way to hit the brakes.
You’ve caught me at a friend’s house this morning. I’m dog- and house-sitting for the better part of the week. Luckily, my friend keeps some pretty nice tea around, so go grab a couple of mugs from that cupboard over there. No, not that one. That one.
Perfect. Let’s catch up.
New Dutch oven
Just two weeks ago, I was at my pals’ place, admiring their lovely cast iron Dutch oven. We’ve had our old Dutch oven for about 17 years (give or take), and the enamel is starting to flake off (I’m a little disappointed, actually! That’s not supposed to happen!).
Erin and some friends toured around a bunch of yard sales last week. Mid-morning, she texted me that she was coming home with a big surprise. She came home with a wonderful, never-used-once cast iron Dutch oven.
Of course I danced around the kitchen.
I baked my first batch of sourdough bread in it two days later.
It worked out perfectly.
A little whistle
I was in the kitchen the other day, putzing about as per my usual, when I heard a distinct, but soft, whistle come through my window.
I gasped.
“They’re back!” I cried.
“Who is back?” called Erin from the next room.
I was already dashing out the back door.
“Our cedar waxwings!” I said.
Sure enough, high in the dead branches at the top of our aspen tree sat two little birds.
We had a pair of cedar waxwings build a nest in our Manitoba Maple two summers ago. I love those little birds, which, to me, look like cartoons come to life. It was over their summer with us I came to recognize their gentle whistle call.
They returned last summer, but only for a few days. They must have decided to build their nest elsewhere. I’m really hoping they reconsider for this year. I’d love to have them in our yard for the next few months. They really are a joy.
Under the elm
The house I’m sitting at is downtown on a one-way street without a lot of parking. I’ve been back and forth to our house several times a day since I’ve been here, and I’ve come to realize the best way make that commute is by bike, which I should be riding more anyway.
Yesterday afternoon, Erin was popping by with the van to pick up Alice and me. To avoid the one-way street, I advised she pick us up at the park up the street.
Alice and I arrived at the park and settled ourselves in the shade of a leafy tree. I looked up, and wondered aloud what type of tree it was.
The raised ridges and serrated edges said elm to me, but I know we’ve lost quite a few elm trees in the last ten years, so I was hesitant to say it out loud. Most of the elms in Charlottetown, to my knowledge, are older trees. There are a bunch of them at the university.
Alice hopped up with their phone and pointed the Seek app at a few leaves.
“American elm,” they announced definitively.
“Well there we have it,” I said.
This particular specimen is in the southwest corner of Hillsborough Square park, if you’d like to make a pilgrimage.
The other Henry
This little guy is my charge for the week. His name is Henry. He’s a lovely little guy.
We have differing opinions on the topic of licking. The debate is still in progress, but we’ve agreed to disagree for now.
Dunnock Bay
Over in Dunnock Bay, Hari has decided to take the boys on a great backyard camping adventure. Pop on over to see how it’s going. It’s one of the few times, the activities in Dunnock Bay reflect something that happened in the real world.
Thanks for hanging out with me this morning. Thanks also to some wonderful friends of the Quack who came to watch me preach last week at Trinity United. It was really special to look out and see friends there supporting me.
I hope you have a super week. Flip a few bucks into the coffee account, if you have the means. Every bit helps.