I Love Muskoka

I LOVE Muskoka...I could move there in a minute.  I love it's lakes, it's quaint shops...

it's delicious food, it's amazing dedication to carrying on Tom Thomson's beauty, ahhhh.

Simple Sketching With Jelly

Some of my happiest days this summer and this Fall were/are just quiet ones...

 ...spent outside with my Jelly & some sketching, his tenacity inspires me so much.

24 Years

24 years ago today I went on my first date with this amazing human being...
We were lucky to have found one another young.

Every single day I count my lucky stars that he is mine & that I am his.
He is my favorite and best thing in this world.

Cuteness & Carving

I carve my linos in the mornings...

She stretches and naps with a full belly looking all adorable...it works for us both.

Works Almost Done

The lovelies signed up to Keep In Touch with me & the buns usually get to see new works first...

These guys are coming up, I am excited to show you, Sign up Here if you want first peeks/dibs too.

Worth The Work

It was a pretty wet season with horrible mosquitoes early on.

Now our nights are getting too cold and the flowers are dying out but I love the cooler weather

So we've all been outside more now that the mosquitoes are gone. Flynn had a nice long season enjoying his newly refinished deck, he's one spoiled bun, a deck all to himself, he loves it!

Canadian Beauty

We kayaked a lot this season, it's a happy place for me, it's one place I breath deeply & feel at peace...

How can I not be when there is this kind of beauty surrounding me (I see these in pastels do you?).

The Piebird

One of my favorite all time places is The Piebird Farm Sanctuary and Vegan Farmstay.

(If your even in Northern Ontario & looking for a unique and beautiful place to stay check them out).

We had a special morning there early on in the summer, we grabbed some delicious vegan eats

from our favorite vegan eatery, The NorthStar and we brought our niece with us to visit

all the animal friends and family of Yan & Sherry at the Piebird

(check out the links, they have three wonderfully inspiring & beautiful streams on Instagram).

My favorite part of the day was watching a turkey take a sand bath, I've never seen that,

it was amazing and beautiful and just so completely reminded me of why I don't eat animals

(not that I needed a reminder!)

Seeing that turkey happy as can be with her sand bath...
she wants to enjoy & live life as much as I do

and what right do I or anyone else have to take that away from her, let alone for a passing meal!
(I am so glad we'll be celebrating & giving Thanks this Thanksgiving with a kind vegan meal!)

My other favorite part of many was Momma-Bill,

nicknamed William, a 14 or 15 year old goat who has free-run of the whole place,

he's happy on his own, coming & going where he pleases,
away from the antics of the younger rowdier crowd,
eating all of Sherry's flowers, joining them on the house deck for breakfasts.

The whole place just speaks of natural way of life,
a peace-filled existence with ample happy room for and with happy free animal friends.

It reminds me of what I possibly want to do in my near future...

move out to the country and create a place like this for us and bunnies,
maybe other animals too...what we're doing now basically but on a much larger scale.

Visiting with Sherry and Yan, reminds me of my long-standing dream...
It's a place that reminds me that there is kindness out there in this big bad dark world...
that there are kindred hearts living & making beautiful homes & family with animals friends
Much the way we live ours with our rabbits.
It's all about having huge hearts & compassion for all beings because why the heck not!!!

A Typical Day

My days look a lot like this lately...
I spend a lot of time outside with the different buns,
sketching, often stopping for heat/cold packs for my head & cleaning up for Winter.
I am out there rotating between 7 buns;
Korra-Soleil, Misa Adora, Henrie Biggens,
Leisel The Weasel, Yuuji Pudding,
Jaky Jelly Bean and Flynn the Flea...
I miss having 9 buns in the house...
but I keep busy whiles desperately missing
the dearest hearts no longer here...

Than after the chilly air chases us all in,
as dinner cooks, everyone settles in for a cozy evening
all together blessedly inside.
And as the sun slides away for another day
(and with running around & errands done)
I usually curl up and continue my sketching inside,
or if my head allows more serious work,
I'll dive into my colours during tv shows,
and  in between rabbit snugs & pain rests...
this is often our usual Fall routine...
all goodness and beauty intermingled with tender tender hearts,
all rotating around each other late into the night.

What does your Fall routine look like?

Art & Buns...Goodbyes...Buns & Art

Whenever I loose a bun-babe part of my mourning prcoess always brings two plans to mind!

1) to never adopt an animal ever ever again

because it hurts too damn much to say goodbye!

(I don't know if my brain has fully processed that Min-Min is gone

even if I just paid for his private cremation & confirmed what's to be written on his urn!)

and 2) to pack away all my art supplies

because I feel like I'll never be happy again so what's the point in making pictures!

Sometimes these feelings stick around for a short time, sometimes longer...

but who am I kidding...it all comes back around to buns and art doesn't it!

1) adopting animals and giving house rabbits a good home is what I am made for.

It's a huge huge part of what makes me tick and what makes me happy.

2) when I am happy I make art because how can I not be so inspired by all of these furry souls.

Oh I'll be okay...Misa is helping me, all the others are helping me, my art is helping me.

I will carry on Elsie's, Min's & every-buns else's spirit in my heart and ultimately in my work XO.

Goodbye Min-Min

He is gone our adorable Emmett, our Min-Min, our Meep.

His heart just gave out on him at 3:30am Thursday night....

he died as he came home, wrapped ever so tightly in my arms.

Our sweet as pie, adorable energetic box troll...what will we be without you,

your leaving such a huge hole, for us, for Korra-Soleil...our world without you will never be right.

Loosing you so suddenly, so unexpectedly...you weren't sick,

you didn't seem sick at all, but the doctor said your heart was very sick,

that there was nothing for us to do, that sometimes it just happens like that,

super quickly, nobody none the wiser...I know it's nature, that it's life but I am so so so angry....

I know I will eventually carry on and be happy again because to not do so would be me
ignoring all the beauty you gave and taught me...
being your mama has made me a better happier person and I thank you for that forever baby,

but I just don't want to be without you, it doesn't make sense, I can't let go yet.

Your zest for life every single day was more than I see in a lot of people.

You were only 5, we adopted you only a short 3 years ago, it wasn't enough time

and we had so much more to make up to you after this awful world gave you such a horrible start.

First Elsie a few mere weeks ago, now you our wild little house brownie...

I think my heart is going to give out too.

Food Friday

Like I was telling you last Friday, we got TONS of lettuce from our sweet little garden this year,

Green leaf, Red leaf, Romaine, Head, Boston, yum yum yum...my tummy LOVES leafy greens.

Give this mix a try...loads of leafy greens & sunflower seeds with grape seed oil, lemon & agave

It's a super simple super fast mix and a favorite go-to of mine.