Haliburton Forest

 I went to the Haliburton Forest where my Mom has a camp site, and apart from being bitten many times by mosquitoes, I had a very good experience. First of all, I saw these fascinating mushrooms everywhere.  I believe the above species is a Fly Agaric.....which is most commonly known as being red with white spots, but I discovered there are orange/yellow varieties.
 Below look to me like "Jack o'lantern". All are very poisonous.

 I got to hear Loons calling out in their hauntingly beautiful voices. This was as close as I could photograph this one from the shore with my zoom lens at maximum capacity. They're very shy birds, and if you get too close to them, they dive like a little penguin and pop up in a completely new location.....with only their head peeking above the water.

 We went out in my Mom's canoe, and visited the rocks where there is graffiti from 1877!

 In the morning, I startled a little Red Squirrel who gave me quite a scolding! I quickly photographed him before he ran up the tree!

 Below is the lake in the still of the morning....approx. 8:00 A.M. This is MacDonald Lake. A wonderfully clean lake which made me feel as though I'd had a spa treatment after swimming in those waters!

 Later, we went for a walk and I spotted these butterflies. I believe they are Bog Fritillaries.

 We then visited the moose that had been rescued when he was orphaned from his mother who had been killed by a truck on a highway. He's much bigger now than he was when they rescued him.

 Part of the Haliburton Forest is dedicated to being a sanctuary for animals in danger.

Back at my mother's campsite is a stump that would make a perfect little fairy house.

 My Mom pointed out these fascinating mushrooms called "Earth's Tongue"

Wintergreen with flowers

Wintergreen with berries

Lichen

A curious fungus emitting a rusty coloured powder growing from a stump

Interesting black cup mushrooms growing nearby the above fungus

I was fascinated by the tiny world amongst the lichen and Sphagnum Moss

It looks like an alien landscape

Japanese Parasol Inky Caps

I found these adorable, tiny mushrooms growing underneath my bird feeder. They dry up and disappear after noon, so I had to get these photos at around 7 AM this morning.

A Spider Story

 I saw a cute little Phidippus Audax jumping spider in my garden.

 She was hiding in a red poppy.

 She began to get annoyed at my camera lens almost touching her.

 She leapt onto the lens right after I took this last photo! Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of her silhouette on the lens, but I jumped.....then I blew her off the lens onto the grass below. She was okay, because then I saw her going back into the garden again.

Dollhouse Bathroom Upgrade

 I never liked the way I did the bathroom in my Haunted/Hallowe'en House, so I decided it was time to fix it. The above photo shows it "gutted"

 After a lot of searching for the right wallpaper, I decide to make my own and print it out myself.
I referred to designs other people had done, but I didn't want to do a blatant rip off......so I did what you see here. It's the "bat-room". (groan)

 I filled in the gap left by squaring the interior from the Mansard roof with an exposed lathe and plaster effect. I still have to weather it a bit....it's too clean looking.
Of course I used my favorite Chrysnbon kit for the bathroom fixtures as well.

A New Dollhouse

 I just received a kit from a friend who is too busy working on her other kits to ever get around to building this one....so I have eagerly begun it. It's the Alison Jr. by Real Good Toys.  It's the MDF version...which I would personally never choose again in the future because I hate working with MDF. The only advantage it has is the clapboards are milled directly into the exterior walls.

 Here I was using anything in the house that had some weight to it to clamp the parts down as the glue set. I ended up using Weldbond, which is a wonderful, Canadian product.

 I decided to do quite a few customizations....such as the dormer windows. I didn't like the perfect symmetry of the ones that came with the kit.....so I filled in their holes and cut a new hole for the dormer window I bought.

 This is my progress to date.