Sharing What We Love To Do
This year we were lucky to get just the perfect tree!!!
We had to make room! We moved a few things (like the Birch Tree going to the Office) and got the floor ready!
And we created a path through the living room! …
The tree’s up! 16 feet of balsam fir … wired to the beams and towels to catch the drips! And this year it didn’t get jammed into the front entry way of the house!! 😂
All decorated! …
And The Polar Express and Village is underneath! …
From the loft! …
I went to my final Dragonfly class to make a Centerpiece! My last creation ended up a tad too tall for my “spot”, so this time I worked to make it just the right size! I also wanted something quite simple, but with lots of boughs!
A wee cardinal with 3 wee Christmas balls!
It’s not for the center of the table, but for the center of “Snowman Land”! …
I was back at Dragonfly Greenhouses this past week… making a Tabletop Pot!
Cedar and white pine and… pine cones … always pine cones!! It’s perhaps a wee bit tall, coming close to the Christmas balls hanging from the Dining Room light…
And the tin/pot carries on the “Truck Theme”! …
“Aengus flushed a bird in here, I know it! I know it’s here! It’s right up… there!” …
“In this tree, I’m certain!” …
“Well… maybe it’s over there!” …
“Nope, up here! I’m sure!” …
“Nah Katie, it flew further than that!!”
One of our local greenhouses (Dragonfly Greenhouses) has classes I go to this time of year to make Christmas arrangements. Ursula, the owner, brings in beautiful boughs, ribbons, and decorations, and helps me to make these beautiful arrangements. I couldn’t do it without her!!
Here’s my first arrangement … cedar, white pine and silver fir boughs from B.C. and local birch …
I love snowmen and pine cones … couldn’t have a better addition than this little guy!
And a ribbon with “our truck”! Well, close to the same as our ’51 GMC…
With Fall coming (and going), I’ve been reminiscing about our hunting days with Mark. We had some incredible days out in Eastern Alberta!
October 1st, 2015
It may be prairie, but it was spectacular out there, especially overlooking the Red Deer River Valley! …
2015 was still “pre-Aengus”, so Katie did all the doggie work by herself!
Our “Lunch Spot” … overlooking the Red Deer River Valley! …
October 7th, 2015
Our next day out, Christian and Aaron joined us!
October 15th, 2015
There were times when Katie would get all “birdy” but with a slight difference to her behaviour … turns out the porcupine has an odor she picks up! Fortunately she stayed clear and didn’t get a snoot full of quills!
November 14th, 2015
Mid-November and still spectacular Fall weather! …
The plant, below left, is I think Wild Licorice. What I KNOW is that it may be pretty in the Fall, but it gets wound and wound in the dogs’ hair and is a b*tch to get out!! Katie cries, well howls, if we try to pull them out of her; but you should see how she yanks on them herself!! She does manage to get alot of them out herself though!
October 1st, 2016
We got Aengus in September, 2016 and he started joining us on our hunting adventures! At the beginning of October, he was about 4 months old!
Katie wasn’t too jealous here!! As the Seasons went on, she did get more protective of the birds we’d shot – she didn’t want Aengus anywhere near them – she’d growl at Aengus when he went anywhere near the box of birds! 😂
… why, continue Merry Making!!! It was time to bottle the wine and port, and start a new kit – another Pinot Grigio kit!
The wine and port were re-racked and filtered before bottling. Here, Brian is filtering the wine …
The wine’s all bottled up …
The port had a couple additions after filtering … a bottle of Metaxa was added, as well as the Essence Bag from the kit (a syrupy, sweet, port flavoring).
We decided to go with bottles for the port this time. We bought 375 ml Bordeaux bottles, and after we filled all 30, we had enough port left for 3 x 500 ml mason jars. We corked the bottles (left) and put on shrink sleeves (right) …
And then we named and labeled them!!
Long Shadow Port! …
And Blue Moon Montepulciano! …
Both require a minimum of 4 months of aging, but taste-testing while bottling indicates both are a HIT!!!
… why, light brush piles!! And the doggies got a good run too!!
A tiger torch gets ’em goin’ in a hurray! …
Brrrrr … cold northeast wind blowing through “the crack in me head” at this spot …
There was lots of hoarfrost, but no sun to make it look spectacular. This photo is in the brightest light we had …
This one’s goin’ good now! …
Katie absolutely loves the heat vents, sun beams and fireplace in the house! Guess she likes “campfire heat” too! It was downright HOT where she’s laying! …
After a couple month break, we started up our Merry Making again in the middle of October – three kits, different brands/styles from what we’ve done before.
A new port kit (left) – hoping to get a bit closer to commercial ports; a new red wine kit (center) – a montepulciano, with 100% un-concentrated grape juice; and a brown ale kit (right) – a Winter beer for Brian …
Adding yeast to the port …
Mixing up the wort …
After a couple days, the brown ale wort was racked into a carboy for secondary fermentation …
Then the port was racked into a carboy for secondary fermentation …
At the end of the month, the port was ready for stabilizing and clearing. It was re-racked into a carboy …
The montepulciano was also ready for stabilizing and clearing …
Then the port and the wine went downstairs for 3 weeks until they finished this latest process!
The brown ale was ready for priming (for carbonating in the bottle) and bottling …
And the brown ale gets a name… Dirty Dog Brown Ale!! 😂 …
And where did this name come from? Have a boo back at our post from May 2nd “Katie & The Mud Hole” (under RTR)!
This little Red Fox decided to come in and enjoy some apples that had fallen onto the ground … right outside the living room window! I thought Aengus’ heart was gonna explode, it was beating so fast when he was sitting on my lap! Brian grabbed the camera to get a few snaps…
“I see you in there, trying to take my picture!” …
“So, I’m gonna take a hike!” …
“Oh, these strawberries look good! Maybe I’ll just stop here a bit!” …
He’s been around since mid-October, although usually a little further away than right outside the living room! Maybe he’ll make Redtail Rise his home for the Winter!