On Tuesday of last week, Dave and I managed to get out for a day of thrifting. We went down to Chatham, where there’s a whole bunch of thrift stores we don’t often get to visit. The drive there is a nice one – all country roads that go through a few small towns. And I noticed how gorgeous the fall colour was. Unfortunately, as I was driving.. there are no pictures to show you. I’ve tried to make up for it with pics from my walk to the post office instead.

There are a lot of old maples in town, and they really seem to give the best colour.

This house has a couple of very old maples (my guess is over 100 years old) and they turn the most gorgeous shade of bright red every year. They absolutely glow in the sunshine. The owners also tap these trees each spring.

This Maple is just down the street from us. Its not as old as the red one, but it’s much fuller and lusher. And you can see it’s leaves are more orange than red. I think it’s just as pretty.

Our only tree is a purple Norway Maple. It’s leaves are beautiful in the summer, with it’s red/green/purple tints… but they just turn brown and fall off in the autumn

They do give a satisfying crunch underfoot though! They also provide a nice bit of insulation for the plants and critters in my Woodland Garden.

The colour will probably only last another week or so. A couple good windstorms, or a really hard frost, and all the leaves will be stripped from the branches.

At least I can enjoy the view out my sewing room window until then!

The garden is definitely beginning to decline, and we are just one good hard frost from it being all over. But I’ve got a couple last minute wins to celebrate

This first is this little guy.

He’s a Checkered Skipper, and I’ve been chasing him (or a relative) all summer trying to get pictures. But I always seemed to see him when I didn’t have the camera, or was otherwise engaged with something. He’s very small (that’s a Cosmos bloom he’s sitting on), and fast.

But about a week and a half ago, I saw him, ran in, got the camera and managed to get a couple pictures.

It was a fairly warm afternoon and he must have been out taking advantage of the last days.

At the same time, in the same garden, I came across a NEW butterfly to add to my collection.

He’s a Common Buckeye. But they can’t be that common, because this is the first time I’ve seen one in the garden. He was easily three times the size of the Skipper.

Like the Skipper, he seemed to be taking advantage of the last few flowers.

Since then, the nights have been appreciably colder and the butterflies are all gone (even the Cabbage Whites). There’s still a bee or two around if the afternoon gets warm enough, but soon enough they will sleep for the winter.

And the last wonder is one I’ve been waiting a few years for.

This is a flower called Monkshood (also known and Aconite or Wolfsbane. I planted it last year (or maybe the year before) in Willow Grove, and while it grew well enough – it never bloomed. I was starting to think I needed to find a new spot for it.

I’m thrilled to finally see it in flower, and hope to see more next year!

But I went out the other week and noticed it was budding up. I wasn’t sure if it would manage to bloom completely before the cold weather hit – but there it is! Most Monkshood is a solid blue-purple, but this one is a hybrid, giving it a lovley bi-colour.

The gardens aren’t quite done yet – though there’s frost damage all around the garden, there are still flowers hanging on to the bitter end. But it won’t be long now… fall is well and truly here and winter won’t be far behind. And now we wait for the wonders of another summer.

When the cold winds rise – sometimes you need double the dose of Ginger Spice to keep you warm!

Another year has passed with this big guy at my side.

And as time goes on, I realize how much we compliment each other. You may or may not know… I am fiercely independent (sometimes stupidly so). If you talk to my Mom, she’ll tell you I was born that way. I don’t like to be told what or how to do anything. Even if it’s well-meant. I want to do everything myself, my way.

And that can be hard in a relationship. But it’s never really been an issue for us. Dave’s always been content to be my wing man – providing support when I ask for it, but letting my fly on my own otherwise.

Now… that’s not to say he keeps his opinions to himself – because he has no problem speaking up when he feels he needs to – but he rarely says “I told you so” when I disregard his advice and it turns out just like he said it would.

I really couldn’t ask for a better partner in life. And today marks a total of 22 years since we first met and said “You’re cute, I think I’ll keep you”

I look forward to another year of adventures in love.

It didn’t take long after my last post to wrap up the the last sock. They went on the blockers for a picture then we’re right on my feet. And they were perfect!

The pattern is Undine – one of my own and a fairly frequent one in my repertoire because it fits me so well.

The sock yarn is Opal – its one of the their Rainforest collection, but I don’t remember which because I tossed the label. It is nice and warm, and was very nice to knit with. I bought a bunch of Opal in a sale at Yarn Canada a couple years ago. I’ve got a couple other balls in the stash – but nothing as colourful as this.

Now there’s still half of the month left, so I’m going to see if I can whip up another pair of shortie socks for me. Then I’ll turn my attention to something else for November.

Another weekend gone with not much time for stitching. And where there was, it was severely hampered…

I don’t know what was going on with him, but every time I got a moment to sit in my chair, he was in my lap, demanding attention. And it’s not like I can say no.

So I managed to finish the leaves on the right side, and get a very small start on the leaves on the left side. Hopefully, this coming weekend will be a little more productive.

Today is Thanksgiving Day, so naturally good day to reflect on all the wonderful blessings in my life. Naturally, thats’ my husband, my kitties, my family, my home, my garden, my health, etc., etc, etc.,

But another thing I’m grateful for is WHERE we live. Long-time readers may recall, that I grew up in the country (from age 4 to 12) Though I lived in cities and large towns for the majority of my life, those eight years made a huge impact on me, and I’ve longed to get back to those country roots.

We aren’t quite there yet. We now live in a VERY small town… one in which a five minute walk in any direction takes me to endless open countryside/forest.

And on Thursday night, I got a HUGE reminder of why I love it so much.

Now “see” might be a bit of a misnomer. Because I couldn’t see what shows in the picture. I could see the pillars on the sky, and movement, but I could barely see the colours. I was in an area that wasn’t quite as dark as I would have liked…. but it sufficed.

You see Monday night, Dave and I went out hunting the lights (I follow a group on Facebook that distills the scientific data and lets people know when/where to look). We found a great spot in the middle of nowhere, though we didn’t get an lights action.

On Thursday, it became very clear that it was going to be an almost 100% chance. But Dave was working and I didn’t want to miss it. He was not comfortable with me going out to our previous place alone (understandable). So I promised to stick closer to home.

I found a place to park just outside the local conservation area (which has an RV Park, and lots of people there until the end of October).

I got there just before sunset, set up my camera, texted Dave my location including pics (it’s a five minute drive from the house) and set into wait. And I didn’t have to wait long.

I spent about 2 hours out there, snapping away, experimenting with different lenses and settings on my camera and just generally having a great time all by myself.

And I learned several things, including that I need to invest in a wide-angled lens. And also that digital camera photography has advanced immensely since my camera came out (2008). I was a little limited because my ISO only went up to 1600, which limits how much light I can let into my camera (and get the bright colours), while trying to keep the pictures sharp.

For instance, my niece was able to get this picture with her iphone, in the middle of her city (with a good amount of light pollution

(My iphone is too old and doesn’t have night mode)

The lights had died out by about nine o’clock, so I headed home. Apparently they put on a better show after 10, and then again after 1 am. But I was already in bed by then.

And apparently the sun is going through a very active cycle right now, so there will be many more chances to capture this amazing natural phenomenon! Now that’s something to be grateful for!

Though we’ve had frost warnings, it hasn’t seem to have made much of a difference on the gardens.

Several of the roses are still blooming beautifully.

So many of the annuals I planted are still going strong.

But the colours of fall are making themselves apparent.

My Burning Bush is starting to smolder.

The end of the gardens will be here soon.

As of 5 pm yesterday, I am officially on vacation. I always take this week off for several reasons.

1. Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving so I only have to use four vacation days opposed to five.
2. The weather is almost always perfect – warm days, cool nice – just autumn perfection
3. It’s time to put the gardens to bed and do some prepping for spring (ie planting spring bulbs!)

Admittedly, I did a few of those task last weekend. I trimmed up all the roses, chopped down the asters and a few other perennials that I don’t leave for the birds over winter.

I do leave a lot standing. The coneflowers are a favourite of the finches.

I’m not sure who eats the globe thistle (above) but someone has definitely been enjoying it!

While in the veg beds, I pulled the last of the carrots.

These were planted after I pulled the garlic from the bed – which was late June. Since they were planted so late, I didn’t really expect much from them. But I was pleasantly surprised… a few were big enough to peel and cut up for the pot.

Of course, I didn’t get to do that, because almost as soon as they were cleaned off… Dave was eating them. That boy does love raw carrots!

With the carrots out, I got some more garlic in

It’s the same garlic I planted last year – though I bought new bulbs instead of using some of the ones I grew. I want to see if the ones I grew will get us all the way to the next garlic harvest – that will give me an idea of how much I need to plant in future harvests. I got 14 bulbs this year – and if all the ones I planted this year grow – I’ll get 18.

I was hoping to try some elephant garlic too – but the place I went didn’t have any. I might get lucky and come across some this week.

Elsewhere in the garden, the cherry tomatoes are finally done. While the days are still warm, the temps drop considerably at night, and the ones that do ripen split before we get a chance to bring them in. I’ll be pulling the plants this week.

I am happy to say, I did manage to get a few ripe fruit from the yellow tomato I started from seed. My seedlings did terribly, and I only managed to nurse one through to a spindly plant. But it still produced some fruit, so I count that as a success!

I’m still enjoying a handful of red raspberries every day. And I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough of the golden raspberries to make a small batch of jam (maybe 3 jars)

And would you believe I still have strawberries?

My plants are everbearing, so we get fruit on and off all summer and into fall. The later ones aren’t super big, but they are still delicious!

Over all, it was a very successful growing season for the edibles.

• My cucumbers did amazing and I’ll be growing the same ones next year.
• Same with the snap peas – they really resisted the powdery mildew – something my first crop the year before succumbed to.
• Though the broccoli I grew did well, I don’t think I’ll plant broccoli again. It’s much easier to just buy it at the store.
• I am definitely going to plant less beans next year, because there’s definitely only so many beans two people can eat! Basically the beans did TOO well.
• My squash harvest was of course, mostly a complete bust. As you will recall, the squash bugs/squash vine borer did their worst, and I harvested what fruit I had early, hoping I could ripen it on the porch. All but one of the squash rotted. I baked it up with a roast last weekend. It was a little under-ripe… but baked well, and mixed with a little brown sugar it was still pretty good. And… I have a strategy for next year to ensure a better harvest!

• The gourds and pumpkins did exceptionally well and I may try a few different types next year.
• Jury is out on whether I will grow zucchini again or not. I don’t eat it, though Dave enjoys it grilled on the bbq. But it did take up a lot of space, and we didn’t get a tonne of fruit from it.
• I will definitely grow cucamelons again – they’ve been so much fun to pick each day – just like the cherry tomatoes – they don’t stop until the weather stops them. In fact – they are still going!

So we’ve got a ways to go until I’m planting food again… but I’m definitely thinking I need to dedicate at least TWO beds to carrots!

What’s your favourite food to grow?

This is Relic.

Relic is sad.

Relic has had a rough week. He got two needles. Had goo stuck on the back of his neck. Got a pill shoved down his throat. And had his ears assaulted with liquids and probing. (And he doesn’t know we have to repeat all but the needles in a couple weeks)

It actually started last Friday. I’ve been having trouble keeping his ears clean. We’ve had a couple bouts of ear mite issues in this house over the years, so I was already thinking about booking him a vet appointment.

And then I noticed what looked like a bunch of dried blood beside his right nostril. It’s not unusual for the boys to tussle and get a little too rough, so I cleaned it up and went about my business. Then Saturday, I noticed the same thing… but it was wetter. That’s when I realized his nose was running (like a cold) but with a little blood mixed in. I kept and eye on him all weekend, but other than occasionally having to clean up a little blood and mucus from his face – he was his usually happy fat cat self. I called the vet first thing Monday morning and the got him in late in the afternoon.

The ears were easy – if apparently unusual. It was a mix of dirt, a little yeast, and a Demodex mite infestation. Demodex mites are apparently naturally found on cats, but not in any amounts that cause issues. But… they can in immune compromised cats.. like cats with FIV (which Relic has). The vet and vet tech however, had never seen an infestation inside a cat’s ears like that. So Relic is just special, but we already knew that. (And thankfully, unlike regular ear mites, they aren’t an issue for the other cats)

The remedy is fairly straight forward…. treatment with Revolution, Ivermectin, and regular ear cleanings administered by me (I’d already been doing this with Relic, so that’s no worry)

The nasal issue is trickier…. and the vet is concerned. If it was both nostrils, he’d be less concerned because then it would likely be a respiratory issue and treatable with antibiotics. That it’s one nostril, and contains blood… well the big C came up. But because his ears are so bad – it is possible it’s related to that. So we decided to treat the ears and see if the nose clears up on its own. If not… we’ll explore other options.

And if he wasn’t poked and prodded at the vet’s office enough… they also gave him his regular vaccinations (which were overdue because they’d been closed for renos)

So friends…. we’re asking for your good thoughts and purrs.

Because healing is always better with friends!