Our Neighborhood's Beautiful Trees

You'd better take a picture of those two trees at the end of the street, Terry said... The leaves will soon be gone...

The trees he was referring to are relatively new - planted when the college landscaped a few years ago.

I'm more drawn to older trees - ones a few streets over that welcomed us when we first drove into the neighborhood, house-hunting. At the time, our daughter was a year and a half old.

I could live here, I remember telling Terry. I love these trees!

It was October when we first saw our house and made an offer...  We moved in on December 31.

The neighborhood made such an impression - all because of the trees!

Late Autumn Flowers

The last of the flowers have bloomed in my garden... But others on my street still have some blooms.

These pink anemones are still growing profusely in my neighbor Diane's south-facing front yard.

She also has white ones - seen here through some ornamental grass.

Also a few blooms left on her carpet roses...

Admiring my neighbors flowers makes me realize that I need to plant a few more late-bloomers - if I can find a place to put them!

They give the illusion that winter is still a long way off!

Almonte River Walk in Fall

The day was sunny and warm - so Terry and I drove to Almonte to enjoy both a ride in the country, and to walk around in town.

It's always interesting to see new things...

Even old familiar places - like the walkway along the Mississippi River near the dam- look different when the leaves change

Terry stopped to enjoy the scenery at the gazebo...

Just think... this might be our last visit here, until spring... if snow arrives early...

Thinking about that makes me want to go for a drive in the country every sunny day...

Beautiful Farm Country...

On our way back from Almonte, Terry decided to take a new route - down a road we had never taken.

There were lots of lovely looking farms...

Some had fields of horses...

Others sheep and goats...

It's interesting to be reminded that not everyone lives in the city - and that some people drive home from Ottawa to the relative seclusion of a rural home...

It's definitely more isolated than city living...

Especially when the snow falls...

And that could be any time now!

Interesting Historic Town Hall

There should be apps that tell you where to find public bathrooms, I commented to one of my sons...

There is an app for that, he replied...

(I don't have that useful app... but fortunately there is also Google...!)

On a recent trip to Almonte, a picturesque town near Ottawa, I discovered that there was a public bathroom - as well as a tourist information centre - at the town's former city hall, a historic building, next to the river path Terry and I often walk on.

The people who work there were very helpful, suggesting we take the elevator to the top floor to see the meeting room that is still used for events like weddings and concerts.

She commented that the wooden ceiling is also impressive...

She was right!

When we returned from exploring the upstairs...

... she showed us the former town jail - in the same building.

We picked up some brochures that gave us more ideas of things to see...

Such useful information!

Glad we stopped in ... to use the bathroom!

Halloween!

It's Halloween...

... the day when some wear a costume to work!

This "costume" - a cat puppet - on a sweater - startled me at first! What a surprise!

Flour-less Pumpkin Muffins

My daughter recently passed on a Pumpkin Muffin Recipe that a friend had given her.

It's made with oats and almond flour (which is really ground almonds - healthy for type 2 diabetics.) They really don't rise, but they don't seem heavy - probably because they have baking soda in them. Also pumpkin and chocolate chips...

I found them easy to make and delicious.





Here's the recipe:

1. Blend together 2 cups of almond flour and 1 1/2 cups of oats. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 a cup of brown sugar (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup) and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted a generous teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and a dash of allspice and nutmeg.
2. In another container mix together 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened canned pumpkin puree, 3 eggs, and 1/3 of a cup of olive oil or melted butter.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until blended. 
4. Add 1/2 cup or more of chocolate chips. I added a tablespoon of cocoa nibs as well.
5. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
6. Makes about 18 muffins.