One Post, Two Awards, Geese, Horses & Muffins.

I am absolutely honoured to have been selected for not one, but two wonderful awards. The "Honest Scrap Award", from Deborah at Green Theatre, and the "Best Blog Award" from Noelle (aka azplantlady) at Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden. Both of Deborah and Noelle are very special to me. I truly hope I haven't offended either of you by combining both awards into one post, it just seemed to make sense to me.


Deborah (a fellow Canadian) with her wonderful comments & insight, and watching her Kilbourne Grove develop is just enthralling. Living in a somewhat similar zone, I am able to gain lots of useful information, and ideas that I can try to incoporate in my garden. She's also brilliant ;).


Noelle, in Arizona is a breath of fresh air. I am introduced to plants I've never seen before, and a landscape that is vastly different and beautiful. I'm counting on her beautiful blooms to carry me through the cold, dark winter days ahead.

As I was walking today, I saw a large flock of geese, gathering together before heading south. They were spread out across a lake, with numbers in the hundreds. They made me think of all of the bloggers out there, and so I'll include a picture of them:

Just a note, I realize that many of the blogs I mention will have already received one or both awards, but I will re-award them regardless, since they are a cherished part of my blogging community.


I'll start with the Honest Scrap Award:

The rules are:

A. Brag about the award.

Easy

'Dance of Joy, Dance of Joy, my very first blogging award, I'm surprised and honoured that someone thinks so highly of me, I must be great (is that enough?).

B. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

Thank You to Deborah at Green Theatre.


C. Share 10 honest things about yourself.

1) I don't eat blue food. As established in Kiki's post, I have a true blue essence, but not when it comes to food.
2) I have lived in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.
3) I worked in plant genetics research before becoming a stay at home mom.
4) I love nature and wilderness, but am absolutely terrified of bears. Not a great combo living near the Rockies.
5) I really love to cook, I find it as relaxing and rewarding as gardening. I could slice and dice vegetables all day. I sometimes photograph food, and may blog about it one day. I've been tempted to add a recipe here and there but want to stick to one topic. Except today ;).
6) A major passion in my life is horses. I've been smitten since childhood and have been actively involved for decades. For other equestrians out there, Dressage is my discipline of choice.
7) I get a lot of enjoyment out of a quiet cup of coffee with a close friend.
8) I am a big fan of anything that Christopher Guest is involved in.
9) I miss the glorious fall colours of Eastern Canada.
10) Eggplants are perfect.


D. Give the award to 7 more bloggers who inspire you.

Northern Shade is the inspiration for my blogging, I wandered into the blog looking for information on the Mockorange 'blizzard', and was Wowed by the beautiful pictures and knowledgable information. We are both in Alberta, so much of the information is directly applicable to my garden. I had started taking pictures as a record of my garden, and around the same time I started exploring other garden blogs. So I decided to give it a try.

The Garden MsS at Gardening with Lattitude. A beautiful, kind gardener with an adorable youngster. Her blog is lovely and her comments are always appreciated.

Kiki, at Awake with Charm and Spirit. She is a wonderful and enchanted soul. Her blog always gives me a boost of positive energy.

Tatyana from My Secret Garden. Her garden is out of this world gorgeous, she is pleasant and delightful and a joy to correspond with.

Lona, at A Hocking Hills Garden. Her posts always tell a beautiful story and are loaded with stunning pictures.

The Informal Gardener, miss m. Her garden in the Laurentian Mountains takes me back to my childhood. Her fall pictures were wonderful and her posts are always a delight.

Jan, at Thanks for 2day. Her blog name says it all, a wonderful, positive attitude and lovely pictures & collages.

Pravesh, at Whatever. Her garden fairy captured my heart, and her blog in South Africa is filled with pictures of tropical plants.


And now for The Best Blog Award:



Post the award on your blog along with the name of the person who passed it on to you and link to their blog. Then be sure to leave them a comment to let them know that they have been chosen. Choose blogs which you have recently discovered and you think are great and pass it on to them.


Thank you Noelle aka azplantlady @ Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden

Here is my list, in no particular order. I'm very sorry if I've forgotten anyone, it was not intentional.


Northern Shade

Green Theatre

Gardening with Lattitude

Awake with Charm and Spirit

Informal Gardener

The Galloping Gardener

Whatever

The Urban Gardener

My Secret Garden

Garden Joy 4 Me

A Gardener in Progress

Dung Hoe

Thanks for 2 day

Does Everything Grow Better in My Neighbours Yard

Jocko's Plot

The Urban Balcony

A Hocking Hills Garden


This list makes me realize how very boring my blog name is, but I really had intended it for personal use only, otherwise I may have come up with something much more clever.

And since this a completely wacky and self indulgant post, I am going to add the following.


I think this video is gorgeous, anyone who appreciates gardens and/or horses will enjoy it. I prefer to watch it with the volume off, I find the narration doesn't add anything and may detract a little.




And here's recipe for you,


Pumpkin Muffins

Blend together:
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted butter or margerine
1/4 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)


Combine the following, and add to above.
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger


The batter is quite thin, so it's easy to mix by hand with a whisk. Grease 18 muffin cups and fill ~3/4. Bake 25-30 mins at 350C.





Enjoy! And it's been a pleasure meeting all of you. :)