I finally got around to blogging about our wonderful House Concert with Romi Mayes & Jay Nowicki of the perpetrators.  It was truly a spectacular evening, and a fantastic weekend for us!  Romi and Jay put on a great performance, and we were very blessed to have a house FULL of friends and neighbors.  Close to 70 people came through our door, and were entertained by some great music, and fed some delicious food by our friend Mark Haberl of Simply Rosie Photography - www.simplyrosie.ca.  Mark took over my kitchen with great enthusiasm and came up with some amazing creations.  His lovely wife Rosie, photographed the food prep and the concert festivities (stay tuned for more photos from her).  We felt very blessed to have them and their 3 beautiful boys in our home for the weekend.   Here is a sampling of a couple of Rosie's photos from the evening!

Sitting and looking out our Master Bedroom windows today we saw a group of 4 White Tailed Deer making their way to the meadow just north of the house.  A common site in the area!  Wildlife viewing opportunities like these are abundant on our property adjacent - Riding Mountain National Park.  Book your visit and see what you can discover and experience!

I tried a new Cornbread recipe today using Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Corn Meal.  A dairy-free cornbread recipe which turned out to be amazing - proven by the fact that my very picky 2 year old gobbled it up and asked for more "curnbread" over and over. 

While I was busy baking away the kids and their sitter took a walk in the yard, and brought me back a lovely bouquet ;).  Flowers in October are hard to come by!

The fire in RMNP is now reported to be under control.  Less smoke in the air the last couple of days!  Special thanks to all of the firefighters who helped to preserve our beautiful forests!  Below is a press release issued by Parks Canada regarding the fire.

UPDATE ON THE MUSKRAT CREEK WILDFIRE IN
RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK (RMNP)
Wasagaming, Manitoba, October 9, 2011,  12:00 p.m. – Cooler weather and some rain have slowed the spread of the Muskrat Creek wildfire. Parks Canada fire specialists do not expect a significant amount of fire activity today. At this time, the fire poses no threat to people or property.  Winds are coming from the west today..., pushing smoke toward the communities of Kelwood, Riding Mountain and Birnie. Residents in and nearby those locations can expect smoke throughout the day; smoke may settle more significantly overnight.

Fire crews are presently focusing on: extinguishing a small area burning west of
Rolling River Road, monitoring the south section of the fire, and further
strengthening the fireguard on the western flank of the fire.  A fireguard was
completed on October 7 on the southwest flank of the fire and a hose line was
laid along it to protect adjacent landowners. Currently, there are five Parks
Canada fire crews, three helicopters, an incident management team and numerous
RMNP staff working on fire operations.

 An evacuation alert that had been issued by the Rural Municipality of Clanwilliam, and the Erickson and District Fire Department, in consultation with Parks Canada, has been lifted. 

Fortunately, at no time were any residents required to leave their homes. It is
likely that residents living near the fire line will experience localized smoke
in their communities for the next several days.
The following areas have been closed to the public: Highway 19, Rolling River Road, and all trails east of Highway 10. A fire ban has also been put in place throughout the park.

The fire covers 2000 hectares of Riding Mountain National Park (note: park is
300,000 hectares) and stretches from north to south 14 km. 

Background:

High winds and temperatures fanned the prescribed burn back to life to become a
wildfire in the Muskrat Creek area of Riding Mountain National Park. Fire
specialists ignited a 14 hectare prescribed fire unit on September 23, 2011. On
the evening of October 5, though previous monitoring had indicated that the fire
was contained within the unit, strong winds and unusually warm, dry weather
fanned the fire back to life to exceed the containment line.  

For more information or to redirect public inquiries, please contact:
Cate Watrous

Communications Officer
Riding Mountain National Park
Tel.: 204-210-0213
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_E.asp?oID=7646&oPark=100373See More
 
 
 

I thought today - while the rain is drizzling outside, I would share a yummy recipe for "Molasses Crinkles with Lemon Ginger Icing".  Great for a cool day in the fall, or any time you are feeling like a spice-cookie treat!  I found this recipe in my handy "Allergy-free Desserts" cookbook by Elizabeth Gordon.

Cookies:

6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
2 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 cup packed dark prown sugar
3/4 cup organic palm fruit oil shortening
1/4 cup molasses

Bake at 350 for  8 - 10 minutes.

Icing:

Icing Sugar
Cream Cheese
Lemon Juice
Candied Ginger

~We like to eat these as cookie sandwiches~

For thanksgiving this year our entire family decided to take advantage of the beautiful October weather, and take our turkey outdoors!  Since there is a fire ban in place within the boundaries of Riding Mountain National Park, we took our thanksgiving picnic to nearby "Big Valley" near Birnie Mb, on the Eastern side of RMNP.  We skipped stones on the creek, tossed the football and enjoyed a delicious meal under the warm October sun.  So many wonderful things to be thankful for.

While Jason was working a night-shift last night (at the fire hall), the kids & I decided to enjoy the beautiful fall weather with a little bonfire.  On the menu was...fire-roasted corn on the cob, honey-ham, and of course a large helping of roasted Marshmallows!  Delicious!

Morning coffee on the deck while being serenaded by the sound of honking Canada Geese.  

Spent a lovely day playing at the creek!  The colors of fall are all around us and are  beautiful and inspiring.  Treated the kids to some home made lemon-ginger cookies with cream filling and some great 'Pop Shoppe' sodas!