'One of these days, those birds will be sorry!"

Some of you may remember, back in January we welcomed a new member to our family...Nova is now ten months old, and I've started to notice that she is getting big.....

Now that it is warmer outside, she sits on our deck out back, and the birds drive her crazy....Seriously...The blackbirds sit of the telephone wires and chirp to each other....They taunt her.....She just watches.....and meows..I can just imagine what is going through her head...."Sufferinaunt her Succotash!(as Sylvester the Cat used to say)"  But I can also picture her saying...."One of these days.....One of these days, those birds will be sorry!!"

The next Van Gogh? Perhaps not....but in my mind, they're still pretty talented...

I've been meaning to do this for awhile...Hand my two kids two canvas type boards, with several colours of paint...and let them go to town..Paint whatever you want...and then the artwork will hang in my front room...

My daughter and I picked up some art materials at the Dollarama today, and after supper I set them up at the kitchen table, and away they went..

Ta dah!

Now, I just have to decide exactly where I am going to hang them..

The wall painting in our front room, entryway and hallway are now complete...I love it..I took a couple of pictures, but it really hard to tell the exactly colour from the pictures..

It's called Sag Harbour Gray.

Next up, to finish my daughter's room...The purple is almost complete..Just some touch up to do..and the second colour is picked out, and just has to be purchased....

By the time I get all of this painting done, it'll be time to start all over again.....  :)

I have some catching up to do....and "Toonies for Tigers!"

This has probably been one of the busiest weeks.....and I haven't had the energy to write at night...Yes, I know that is just an excuse, but it's true....Sometimes catching up on sleep is more important....So, my apologies to those who have been following my blog and have noticed that I haven't written in over a week....Guess that defeats the 365 thing.....but at this point, I'm thinking, it's the effort that counts...and I still think I've done pretty well with my blog, even if I haven't updated each and every day...

So, where to start....The day after the Easter Eggstravaganza I guess....My daughter was inspired by an event at the Zoo, which I have already posted pictures of..  On the back of the Map, the zoo is advertising a fundraiser they are doing, called "Toonies for Tigers."    There currently are no tigers at the Magnetic Hill Zoo..Back on December 7th, 2007, this story was published in the Charlottetown Guardian(courtesy of the Canadian Press)  This explains what happened to their tiger....It was a sad day indeed...

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/Health/2007-12-07/article-1284360/NEWS-ALERT%3A-Tomar-the-tiger,-mascot-of-N.B.-zoo,-euthanized-after-battle-with-illness/1

MONCTON, N.B. - Tomar the tiger is dead.
The Siberian tiger and beloved mascot of the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton was euthanized Friday after he suffered a dramatic deterioration in his year-long battle with renal failure.
Zoo officials put the cat down because it had become clear he was suffering.
Tomar turned 19 on Nov. 14, an advanced age that's rare for Siberian tigers in captivity - and unheard of for the cats in the wild.
He also defied expectations several times over the course of the past year, when he appeared to bounce back to reasonably good health.
A rapid loss of weight led to his diagnosis last December.
The recent cold of another winter appeared to weaken the tiger.
"He was doing really well until about two days ago," zoo official Bruce Dougan said Friday. "Then he started to go downhill very quickly."
Veterinarian Dr. Andre Saindon said another bout of weight loss and the increasingly cold conditions made it harder for Tomar to fight his illness.
The tiger's playful personality had made him a favourite with zoo visitors, and his struggle of the past year struck a chord with people around the world. International news organizations spread the story of the love the community felt for the majestic creature.

This is Tomar

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That is when it all began....The Zoo decided it wanted to raise the money to buy another tiger for the Zoo....

This story was published on March 4th, 2008...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/03/04/new-tomar.html

Moncton's Magnetic Hill Zoo is launching a fundraising campaign to find a replacement for its deceased mascot Tomar.

Zookeeper Bruce Dougan said about $1 million will need to be raised to help cover the cost of upgrading the large cat exhibit before a new animal can be acquired.

"You know the exhibit Tomar lived in his entire life was adequate 20 years ago, but it's no longer adequate for those types of species," Dougan said.

Dougan said the new area will include four sleeping spaces as well as an outdoor exhibit.

The new facility would be able to accommodate several animals, Dougan said, and the zoo won't likely just be purchasing a new tiger.

The zoo is also considering the endangered Amur leopard, Dougan said. The animal is considered the rarest subspecies of leopard in the world with less than 40 currently in existence.

It will take about three years to raise the money and build the new facility, Dougan said.

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The construction of that large cat exhibit is near completion, but there is still the cost involved to purchase a new tiger....So this brings me back to "Toonies for Tigers" campaign I had mentioned earlier....My daughter saw an advertisement at the Zoo for the campaign and she has decided that since pennies will soon be a thing of the past in Canada, she is going to take the pennies from her piggy bank, roll them up and make as many twoonies as she can, and donate them to the Zoo so they can get a new tiger.....She wants everyone to do the same...If you have any pennies to donate, send them along! She'd be happy to include them with her donation!  The more money we raise, the quicker is will be that the Zoo can get its new tiger...She has been collecting pennies since birth, so there is bound to be a few toonies in her bank...

This is my daughter showing her love for "cats" in general...Unfortunately, she can't hold a tiger or a cheetah, leopard or a jaguar like this...although I know she would love to.....I have a big feeling she is going to work with animals when she gets older.   She borrows books from the library about cats, and reads about them..Most recently, she is reading about the lynx and the lion....

She was also inspired by our recent viewing of the movie "We Bought a Zoo"  It also featured a tiger who was getting older, and the time was coming to say "good-bye" 

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/we-bought-a-zoo/       (click on this link for more details and the trailer.....The picture below of Matt Damon with the tiger "Spar"

A fabulous movie, based on a true story..I highly recommend it!

Easter Eggggstravaganza at the Magnetic Hill Zoo

I think almost every child from New Brunswick, along with a few from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were at the Magnetic Hill Zoo today for this event.....Okay maybe not all of them, but quite a few.  The parking lot was full, and the overflow went across the way to Magic Mountain to park....

It was the first day of the season for the Zoo, and it seems everyone came out for the annual hunt, and to see the Easter Bunny.   There was also face painting(for an additional $7 a child).....Each child over the age of 4, got to hunt for eggs.  The way it works is, they hide plastic coloured eggs in a big pile of hay.  Each child gets to find five eggs and once they're found, they are given a bag of goodies(chips, lollipop, mini chocolate bar)...

So, that was an advance bit of fun for the kids before the big hunt at our hunt tomorrow morning.

They also got to sit on the Easter Bunny's knee..

My daughter asked, "Mommy, why was the Easter Bunny wearing shoes?"  Okay how do you explain that?   I think she is kind of catching on...She told me a couple of days ago that she kind of thinks the Easter Bunny isn't real.....She is getting to that age I guess.....As for my son, I don't know if he believes any of the stuff we tell him about the Easter Bunny, Santa, etc, either....It almost as if he just goes along with it....But he doesn't ask any questions....Not sure....

I took a few photos of the animals, but some of them weren't out today because it's still a bit chilly out....(and the batteries in my camera went dead.....I wasn't prepared)   The last time we went to this Eggggggstravagnaza event, which was a couple of years ago, it was snowing.....which brings me to tonight's forecast for Moncton...  Courtesy of Environment Canada...

Snowfall warning in effect.

Tonight

Increasing cloudiness. Snow beginning late this evening. Amount 5 to 10 cm. Wind northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming northwest 40 gusting to 60 except gusting to 80 along exposed areas of the coast overnight. Low minus 1.

 

Sunday

Snow at times heavy becoming mixed with rain early in the afternoon. Snowfall amount 10 cm. Local blowing snow in the morning. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 except gusting to 80 along exposed areas of the coast in the morning and early in the afternoon. Wind becoming southwest 30 gusting to 50 early in the afternoon. High plus 2.

Yes, it's not over yet.....Hopefully this is Old Man Winter's last blast though....

Here are those pics from the Zoo....

The Sea Otter!  My daughter's favourite!

We'll pay a visit to the Zoo again later this year, when the weather warms up a bit more...

A Good Friday afternoon in the yard....

The great thing about a new barbecue to the parents, is the barbecue....To the kids, it's the great big box that is came in.....There's a lot you can do with a big box...You can make a homemade house, or you can rip it open, lay it out on the deck and colour to your hearts content.....That's what my kids love to do..

There's no real full picture there, just a lot of doodling.....and for my son, he practices writing his name amongst other things...

Now, if you have been following my blog at all, you may recall our concern for my son, and not being ready for Kindergarten....I think he has come leaps and bounds from then....This is an example of his writing skills now..Two months ago he couldn't have done all of this....The fact that he can write Winnie the Pooh's name from memory is pretty impressive in my opinion...And the writing of his own name has come a long way as well...So, I'm not as concerned as I used to be that he wouldn't be ready..I think he'll do just fine.... 

The Morning Doves were visiting again.  This one landed on our deck....

I think the birds just like to torment Nova, our cat.....

And we have our first official sign of spring in our garden....

I have a really good feeling about our garden this year!

Mmmm.....Our first barbecue of the season...

My husband is officially a man now.  He has a new barbecue that is worth bragging about...You know what they say about "a man with a big barbecue"  wink wink nudge nudge...  LOL

We knew at the end of last season that we were going to need a new one, because the metal on the old one had rusted through, and frankly it would have been unsafe to use this year....This is our fourth barbecue since we met over 12 years ago, so when we came to the conclusion that we would need a new one, my husband decided that we would invest in a half decent one, instead of finding a cheap one at  the store....We've proven that "You get what you pay for"  when it comes to barbecues...

This afternoon, he decided to put it together...

Almost there!!!

Complete!

We had steak.....

The kids had hot dogs(by their choice....I don't get it)

Here's the barbecue..dirty for the first time...and this one you're not supposed to use scrapers with wire bristles  on this one...After I read that news story about the number of cases in the United States of individuals who have ended up in hospital because of those wire bristles...Apparently they've had individuals who have ended up in Emergency because they've cleaned their BBQ off with the scrapers, and the bristles have stuck to the grill.  Then when they've cooked their food, the wire bristles have gotten stuck in the food and then have been swallowed.....and have caused injury to the stomach or bowels..I would think with some of those scrapers(especially the ones from the dollar stores) that the wire bristles come off easily..

I imagine there will be many more steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs to come this summer!  I'll be stocking up on the barbecue sauce and HP.....Now all we need is a trampoline and a pool for the backyard and we'll be all set! (and a lottery win to pay for it all!) :)

Silly hat anyone?

Okay, here's one of the joys of being a parent....7 o'clock at night..."Mom, tomorrow is silly hat day!  I need a silly hat to wear to school!  Can you go out and buy one?"  My response, "Go talk to your father.."  His response, "Go talk to your mother..."    So, the wonderful mommy I am, headed out to Value Village, with only an hour to go before bedtime,  to see if I could find a silly hat...because of course those kinds of things are donated on a daily basis...(can you sense my sarcasm here?)  Anyway, I did come home with a cute little hat that I figured we could decorate up with pom poms and feathers and such.....

So I hauled out the glue gun....and here's what we came up with...

Not bad for something we threw together in a matter of twenty minutes eh?

Here's my daughter modelling it...

I actually kind of felt badly for ruining a perfectly good hat...It was pretty cute before we added all of the decorations....

My daughter looks pretty cute in just about any hat!  Even if it is a silly hat!

See Mom and Darlene!   I CAN be creative!!!  ;)