More Apple Picking at Noggins

2023-09-30.

Returned to Noggins Corner for more apple picking. (Previously.)

But first, the much-anticipated children’s play area, and a walk around the corn maze (same as last year, we just did the kiddie mini-maze off in the corner, as the main corn maze was a huge all-day affair)

For actual apple picking, this time around we favoured the Cox Orange variety, a small, sweet-and-slightly-tangy, firm and crisp apple, great for dessert or snacking by itself. (Though I find after too many the mouthfeel starts to get a bit mealy, so all in moderation.)

A little nose note: there was poop smell in the area as the wind was just right to carry over odours from the dairy farm — pretty standard for any farm, of course — but we found that our CA99 masks for respiratory protection doubled as effective odour filters, perfectly blocking the fragrance of cow poop, so those were good to have.

More photos in the photoset, Apple Picking at Noggins Corner (Sep 2023).

Cats Sharing Chairs and Sunbeams

2023-09-27.

Smoky and Amelia being nice and cuddling together on the IKEA POANG armchair:

And from a few days back, sharing an afternoon sunbeam:

And a couple golden-hour closeups of Smoky:

Canadian Tire Playing Cards

2023-09-26.

For no particular reason, I bought a pack of Bicycle brand Canadian Tire 100th Anniversary playing cards — ironically made in the USA. (Bicycle is a US company after all.)

Hey Blue Jay

2023-09-25.

Look at this inquisitive blue jay that landed on the swing set in the backyard and watched me for a bit while I was working outside. (They know I give the local crows peanuts sometimes and as fellow corvids will occasionally swoop in to steal some.)

Clued Down

2023-09-24.

Joined some friends in Halifax for a “CluedUpp” game, kind of a PokemonGo-like fairytale-themed augmented reality app scavenger hunt around the city. Amusingly the game producers appear to not have taken into account that the main quest giver’s virtual location on the Grand Parade was the site of a real life military ceremony the same day, making one of the waypoints inaccessible for a bit. (Note the homeless encampments.)

En route to other waypoints I paused a bit to appreciate this message on a traffic light pole.

After we’d finished* with the game we walked along the waterfront a bit, where souvenir shirts were on sale.

* We didn’t actually finish the game. The theme of this one was “Beauty and the Beast,” with a bunch of other fairytale crossovers, and it got a bit tiring with lots of tedious text-heavy storyline between the AR waypoints. At some point we lost interest and just went to get food and go for a walk. Seems other CluedUpp players were disappointed too, though others went all out and even dressed up in costumes.

E Mari Merces

2023-09-18.

At the Gardens to meet up with old DC friend Keith, I noticed the old Halifax coat of arms on the gates.

The city’s motto, “E Mari Merces” — “From The Sea, Wealth” — with a sailor and a fisherman flanking a kingfisher beneath a mayflower. Since amalgamation this has been replaced with the newer Halifax Regional Municipality arms but I still like the classic one.

Fort Needham Memorial Park

2023-09-03.

Some shots from around Fort Needham Memorial Park, with monuments commemorating the Halifax Explosion: terraced walls with casualty statistics, a bell tower that chimes the time, and Vince Coleman’s last transmission.

Couple things I wish I’d also captured: the rusted steel walls with the names of the ships, and the labels for the explosive cargo engraved in the planks of the benches. More on the the memorial from its designers at Fathom Studio.

Smoky and Martha

2023-09-01.

Got a photo of Smoky on our deck railing, in almost the same location and pose as in a photo I took of Martha outside shortly before her death last year.

Both of them being Joneses, I guess Smoky carries on Martha’s legacy in some feline way, just with a much bushier tail.

More photos of Smoky the kitten’s first year.

On Making a Pizza

2023-08-29.

Tried making a pizza for the first time, crust and all.

I went with this quick dough recipe, mixed and stretched by hand and topped with some canned tomato paste, a bag of shredded mozzarella, and some Chris Brothers pizza toppings.

It turned out pretty well, but since the quick crust recipe didn’t include much proofing time the dough was not very flexible, so I had trouble stretching the crust without getting holes. (And yes I did try the spinny throw thing.) The solution is to just stretch it out and let holes form, then tear off dough from some other thicker part of the crust to just patch up the holes.

I used plain canned tomato paste, which turned out a bit too tangy, so I’ll need to sweeten it next time, or go with a prepared pizza sauce. I also tried putting the toppings under the cheese — inadvisable, it turns out, for greasy cured meats which need space for moisture evaporation so you don’t end up with soggy pizza.

Still, after about 20 minutes at 450F in the oven, the pizza that emerged made for an excellent lunch.

Thicker, denser crust than I’m used to, so next time I’m going to give it at least a few hours of proofing, see if I can get it flexible enough to split into two thin crusts.

Lake and Fireworks

2023-08-28.

Spent some of Natal Day weekend in early August at Cole Harbour Kiwanis Park on the shores of Morris Lake, looking at ducks.

…and watching fireworks over the Harbour on Sunday night.

More on Natal Day, a holiday to commemorate the founding of Halifax.

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