The Tiny Tree

Persistence:

Continuing firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

When my oldest was just tiny she became attached to a tiny little sprig of a spruce tree that was growing in a small crack in the big rock that is at the front of our cottage. We never thought the tree would make it but bit by bit the tree has grown. It has forced the crack in the giant rock to get bigger and bigger. The crack gathers bits of moss, the lake washes over the crack and bits of material collect in the depression feeding and watering the tree.
It is exposed to the snow ice and winds  and sometimes in storms the lake washes completely over the rock with great force but that tree, still grows taller every year.

The Troll in our Kitchen

Elizabeth brought back a surprise to keep at the cottage. This handsome little troll is an oven mitt that she picked up in Norway on her last big trip. I pulled it over a canister that was just the right size and put in on a higher shelf so he can keep an eye on us when we are cooking.

Making Rhubarb Bread

Elizabeth took a much needed break at the cottage this past weekend. She read, she wrote, she swam and she made very yummy rhubarb bread.

It is moist and rich with a streusel kind of topping. I think we need to freeze some chopped rhubarb so we can have some of this summer tasting bread on a cold day in the middle of the winter

The recipe is from Canadian Living.