Wait for me!

#ThreeGoodThings

1. Today was a day I went for a joyride (bike ride that brought me joy), but all on my own. I had Tony with me (more on Tony another time, he's my mascot), but Steven was busy finishing our stereo unit (wait for that one!) and I went to get the mail (1km away) in a roundabout trip of 10km. I had to go slowly through the puddles in the woods as we had had some quite heavy rain, but otherwise it was a quick ride around the block. I gambled and took a road that we usually try and avoid due to the usual traffic. In all the distance I only met one vehicle coming towards me and one behind me, both at the same time and the one behind me decided to overtake below the brow of the hill. The good thing is that there was no collision! The driver of the car coming towards me might never recover his nerves, but mine (and Tony's) stayed steady.

2. I managed to arrange my father-in-law's usual grocery delivery (he's in the UK, I'm in Canada) with minimum stress, despite the fact that Tesco's online ordering calender is one day out of true (book your delivery for Saturday the 9th for actual delivery Sunday the 10th) and everything went smoothly.

3. There were 2 more deer on the #trailcam so here they are for you.

#3goodThings #EllieKPosts #deer #bicycle

We have Spring here too.

#3goodThings

1. Not to bee outdone (sorry), our Spring is starting with a vengeance, so even a bad night (they happen, don't they?) didn't dampen my delight at seeing this busy Bumblebee on what I think is a maple tree at the start of our trail.

2. It is a very warm 23ºC and we can go for a walk without putting on lots of layers and boots. Hooray!

3. This morning I really hoped to see deer on my trail cam from overnight, something I knew would make me feel better. And I did! There were several videos, some with one, two and even one with three deer nibbling at new leaves on the bushes. That's 3 Good Things on its own!

Happy Wednesday evening to all!

#EllieKPosts #pollinators #bumblebee #bees

Today's lunch was so good!

I made vegan halloumi yesterday ready for today and so we had some air fried with air fryer parsnip chips, whole grain rice and an onion, garlic, mushroom, spinach and Bok Choy dish with a vegan yogurt and lemon sauce we both enjoyed.

I've been working on that creamy mushroom spinach Bok Choy recipe for a few days now and with the addition of a little smoked paprika, nutritional yeast and some lemon juice, I have to say that today it was 👌. I had a little oat yogurt left and some coconut milk yogurt, so combined the two.

That meal was the third of my #ThreeGoodThings for the day. A success!

#EllieKPosts #wholeFoodPlants #veganFood

From today's bike ride and lunch:

#3goodThings

1. We decided to do a quick mental reset ride at noon. And it worked. The weather was lovely, sunny and warm with only a light wind.

2. I found some lovely things to photograph on that ride.

First image shows the side of part of the path through the woods that leads from just below our house. It's rained quite a bit over the past few days, leaving boggy areas on and around the path.

It seems that children (little vandals) have been ripping up dandelions and throwing them in the water. But the effect was a little Andy Goldsworthy which is what caught my eye. I love the contrast of the bright yellow flowers and the warm peaty tones of the ground under the blue water.

The second image was taken along a country road we like to take as there's not usually much traffic and there's a farm with lots of black cats that hang around in the yard and on the deck of The farmhouse. We always have to go by and see how many cats are outside. Even if it's not on our way!

The trunk of this tree has been attacked by a bird vandal (pileated woodpecker), but that's okay. He has to live. There must have been so much to eat in that trunk!

3. I made a delicious lunch of vegan halloumi, air fried parsnips, rice and an onion, garlic, mushroom, spinach and Bok Choy dish with a yogurt and lemon sauce we both enjoyed which I'll post a separate photo of. Then Steven made me a coffee to have with our little superfood bites (from a previous posting). Perfect.

Now he's out finishing the stereo cabinet he's making us in figured maple and I'm about to clear up my kitchen.

Have a good Tuesday, friends.
#EllieKPosts #NovaScotia #spring #countryside #woodland

Happy Monday!
(Food/chocolate question)
Calling sweet cooks!

With the current astronomical rise in the price of dark chocolate and as we're keenly feeling the lack of it in our coffee time and dessert treat department, I have had to come up with an alternative solution.

These little superfood bites (whole food, vegan) are the answer as they are quick to make and delicious. (Recipe from the How Not to Die cookbook, I'll post if anyone's interested). I rolled these in desiccated coconut (not in the recipe) but thought they might be nice with one side rolled in melted chocolate. I have quite a bit of unsweetened baking chocolate (100% cacao).

Does anyone have any tips? I've never worked with cooking chocolate and came across the word "tempered" which makes me think it's not just a case of putting it in a double boiler and dipping when melted. Or maybe it is?

Edit: maybe they're okay as they are with no chocolate. Just had one. Mmmm

#EllieKPosts #chocolate #wholeFoodPlants #veganFood #fediHelp #cookingHelp

#SilentSunday

#EllieKPosts #wildlifeWednesday #WildlifePhotography

I saved a bee and did a bike ride.

It's a little hard these days, isn't it?

But #3goodThings

1. I found a tiny wild bee in the kitchen and at first I thought it was dead. I was just about to put it into the compost when I saw it was struggling feebly. I don't know how it got there but I remembered that you don't give them honey and so I put him in a little plastic pot with holes in the lid and left him overnight with a little hummingbird sugar water. I was thrilled to see him start to eat it. In the morning he was climbing around inside the pot and, once the sun came up and warmed the outside, I opened the lid and let him acclimate. An hour later I was outside and saw him get to the edge of the pot and fly off!

2. I had a nice long conversation on Signal with my brother in Nepal, during which I got my baked beans, vegan ricotta and lentils made.

3. I went for a lovely long bike ride to the Bay with Steven. Highlight of the day (after the bee).

What are yours?

#EllieKPosts

Good Thursday, friends!

This is a throwback to my Flower A Day project I undertook in 2021-2022 to cheer myself up.

Our crocuses are almost finished this year, so next up will be the magnolia flowers, very soon I hope.

Have a lovely day as best you can.

#EllieKPosts #bloomScrolling #flowers #spring #bees #helios44

Zaz agrees with me even more than I do*, that today should be an excellent #WhiskersWednesday!

So that's what we wish for you all today, friends.

We're here with filled hummingbird feeders just waiting for the first visitors. It can't be long now, they've already been spotted 5km down the road.

Have a good one!

#EllieKPosts #catsOfMastodon #ZazTheCat #CornishRexCats
*ifkyk

Zaz is a great fan of James Taylor, I think.
Most people tap their feet to music, but not Zaz.
That tail is like a living being, just doing it's own thing, apart from her.

Have a great Tuesday, if you can. I'm going to try!

#EllieKPosts #Zaz #ZazTheCat #music #caturdayEveryDay #catsOfMastodon