Harvest Day

 Well folks, the weather people are saying that dreaded F word for us....yes FROST.

M. took the day off to do some administration. When he was finished what he had to do, we hopped on the ATV and went NorthEast, toward Pembroke, on the rail trail. It's not nearly as pleasant a ride as the other direction. The trail is not very nice that way. There are lots of good size rocks. On one side of the trail is a road, for part of the way, then it gives way for farm fields. The other side of the trail is scabby bush. There isn't much in the way of fall color yet. Yes, the birches are yellowing and curling. They aren't much to see to be honest. We did see some folks working on a beautiful log house. There is a big crane hoisting the logs up!

I wanted the herbs to get as much of the sun today before I harvested them, but the time had come. I clipped all of the parsley and quite a bit of oregano. Oregano and thyme grow wild all over my yard. That all went into the dehydrator. We have discovered that dried and ground fresh parsley retains much of it's flavor! The plan is to grow a lot more of it next year. Any of the tomatoes that went nice and krispie in the dehydrator went into the blender and ground into a course powder. The other bits went into a quart canning jar with oil and vinegar. Six quarts of tomatoes are now in a one quart sealer and a small sealer. 

We dove into the refrigerator and pulled all the bits of vegetables out. We enjoyed the vegetable bisque so much last week that we decided to do it again.  I'm going to slice up some kholbasa sausage to make sandwiches to go with.

M. is out cutting firewood again. There aren't too many left. Once he is finished we are going to take the splitter up to our elderly neighbours to see if we can help her. Her wood guy left too many big pieces last year and she has no way to split them smaller.

We are keeping a close eye on the fall color reports. As soon as it looks like a peak we are going to scoop up the afore mentioned lady (she's 85) and take her for a tour to the back country. Her late husband was from that neck of the woods. He died in 1986 and she hasn't been back that way since.

Wet

 I don't know what time the rain started, but it persisted all day.

It was a sweatshirt and pj pants kind of day.

The freezer is now Full and the tomatoes are still coming on strong. I sliced at least six quarts and got the dehydrator going. M made a batch of salsa just for me-because of my food allergies.

Thanks to my shorty legs, I had three pair of new pants to hem. My sewing machine needing some maintenance which held that up, but I still managed two of them.

Tomorrow will likely be more of the same.

Another week in the can

 Saturday! What a nice day!

I picked up daughter from work and off we went to some fall fairs. The first one was in an arena. There was a bit of food and lots of crafters and vendors. We couldn't find some of the features we were hoping to see, like the petting zoo, hehehe.

On the way back into the town we had to stop by her work because she forgot her phone. Then we drove right down town. I"m trying to spice up my fall and winter wardrobe a bit. I haven't bought new clothing for several years. There is a vendor downtown that has really nice local clothing items. I love her fleece sweatshirts. Done and dusted for now I guess!

Next stop was to the second outdoor fair event. It was a big bust. There was supposed to be food trucks and displays of preserves and crafts that were judged. Nowhere in the advertisement did it say the judging was going to be when the fair first opened, and then to be gone forever. We were quite looking forward to that. There was only one food truck on site and it sure didn't appeal to us. 

So we hopped back into the car and headed back into the town. We took a tour through Winners. I needed some good quality vanilla and daughter T bought treat for her son. Then we headed next door to Michaels. I've had some really encouraging comments about a couple of my paintings. (Nothing like some positive reinforcement to keep one focused!) I needed to buy some more canvases, and decided to go a bit bigger than those I've been using.

We stopped at a fast food joint for a refreshing drink to round out our afternoon.  Glad this day is done. I'm knackered!

A couple of visitors up the hill. The little fellow with his back to the camera is a frequent flyer but the older female with the nice white pompom on her tail is new. I wonder if she is his Mom?

Have a great Sunday

Brrrr

 I slept really well last night. The air purifiers are running again so my  congestion has greatly decreased. I still have the bedroom windows open, but my nice 100% cotton duvet keeps me cozy.

The low for the town tonight is only 4C. We might very well have frost out here in the boonies. I've covered up the herbs and zucchini. The tomatoes and beans have been harvested. The carrots are fine in the soil. I pull them as we need them.

We did a big grocery shop this afternoon then came home to make pasta sauce.

It was a good day.

Sad

 I popped into Facebook today to see the news. I should have stayed out...

I didn't know that Sunday past was Grandparents Day. I have five children and seven grandchildren and two greatgrands. I've never been wished, ever. (I know it's a gimmick, but still...)

You can't imagine how it would lift my spirits to have one of mine call and just say "Hi! How are you Mum?" They are all on cell phones now and I don't know their numbers. Well, I do know the daughter here, but she always seems busy.

 Sorry for the blather. My friends posts just sent me in a mood. I know I'm not the only one.

Knitting News

 I have about six pair of socks ready to go in the Christmas boxes! 

Next up are going to be the cowls. For those who don't know, it's like a nice bulky turtleneck, minus the sweater. They work a lot better than a scarf for some folks.

Attention Rosalea, this is the yarn I bought in blood red (the vendor calls it Christmas Red) and Saffire blue. She is from Renfrew too. If you  want the contact info. I have her card.

I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself with knitting projects. I keep one downstairs and one up, where I watch TV in the evenings. There is a fair isle toque/beanie on the needles up there. I'll try to remember to post a photo when it's done.

Whooped

 I'm quite knackered after that trip yesterday.

I failed to mention that my walker went with us. I wasn't sure how my gimpy leg would stand walking around on a cement floor. We did walk down to the !museum without it though. That was okay. The wonky old wood floors in the old mill building had me being uber cautious.

Mostly I laid about today, even having a good solid 2.5 hour nap!

This evening we installed the new solar lights along the stairs of the side porch. They  are nice and bright and motion activated.

Road trip!

 My knitterly pal Paula and I went to Almonte, Ontario for Fiber Fest 23. It was great to see so much yarn, fleece, fabric and notions. I bought three beautiful skeins of gorgeoness to knit cowls.

This part sure was a highlight though.

This is the lovely Noreen Young and her  famous friends. Her wonderful puppets were major players in Canadian children's programs for years. That is Little Gloria sitting on my shoulder. I loved it! Seeing the reaction of some of the younger adults around us was priceless. One young mother in particular got all teary and breathless. Noreen and Gloria engaged her young child while the mum got herself back together.

It was a lovely day. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze.

An ATV adventure: Part One

 We took a ride on the ATV/Quad along the old rail trail today. It's a beautiful trail. Nicely shaded so not to hot. They are doing seasonal maintenance on the "B" Trail as it is called in our area. It was pretty washboarded at the entry lot up our road, but it was nice further on.

The early morning fog soon burns off in the heat

Indian River Rapids

Steam trains, then modern trains used to rumble across this bridge into Algonquin Park. This bridge is called Indian Crossing. It's about five miles from the Algonquin park boundary. I have to do some research about the age of the line and why it went into the park. We could hardly wrap our heads around the work that went into these old rail lines. 

Who is that fellow looking at the river a LONGGG way down.

Many of the old rail lines have been torn up in Canada and the US, and turned into recreational trails. In the winter this trail is very popular with snowmobiles.  It was pretty quiet today.

The lovely Indian River. Once upon a time, during the spring freshette, it would have been roaring and filled with logs. 

Looking off into the Algonquin Park. That's the river down there, close to where it comes out of Sec Lake.

Rapids on both sides of the bridge.

Tomorrow I'll post the photos of our ride up the logging road past my place.

Before the heat

 It's going to be another hot one today. Yesterday we walked a forest trail not far from here. There is a small lake at the end of it. We figured the fur child could go for a swim. We were so hot and knackered by the time we got to the "lake". Unfortunately it was pretty dry and boggy near the shore so she couldn't get in the water. By the time we got back to the car we just wanted to get the heck back to a nice cool house.

We have lots of food leftover from the birthday boys BBQ on Saturday, so thankfully no cooking was required.

This morning I went out to the back porch with my tea to enjoy the coolish morning and fresh air. (I have a love/hate relationship with air conditioning.) I clipped some weird vine that has taken over the railing. Whoops, the wire for the fairy lights managed to get clipped too! Too bad, so sad, but hey, watching the moon set was a treat.

My retired neighbour,  (eccentric Fred), has a bunch of his army buddies out for a camping adventure every labour day weekend. Last night they had a LOT of fireworks going off over the pond. I'm sure glad my dog isn't freaked out over loud noises! She sleeps right through it all, though the cats will jump to the occasional loud boom. Fred's little dog is deaf so she doesn't mind either.

What the hey?

 We were sitting on the side porch enjoying a nice breeze and sufficient shade when there was the biggest loudest BOOM!  The military isn't shooting. It wasn't an earthquake. So what was it? Facebook lit up with folks in our area all concerned.

The BBQ was great. The chef outdid himself once again. He should get paid for this. 

Labour Day Weekend

 After quite a chilly spell, the heat is really rolling in hard for the next week. Tonight the windows are all wide open. I'm enjoying the night sounds. The crickets are busy!

Lots of birds have come out of the woods into the front field. When the dog and I went for our walk this evening we saw turkeys, robins, blue jays, crows, a couple of woodpeckers and several finches. The later in particular ate enjoying the millet that the other birds toss out of the feeder down by the garden. The dove couple was out there this morning. They had been m.i.a. for weeks.

The logging company fixed the road that has been washed out for more than a month. Neither the township or the atv club was making any moves to repair it. Every rain eroded it even more. The logging guys did a great job. The municipal roads department could take some lessons! We hope to jump on pur quad and head back for a tour!

Tomorrow we have a bbq celebration for the two lads who have birthdays this week.

My leg continues to improve, though I'm still babying it.

I see fall

 Autumn that is! It's surprising how fast trees are turning. I'm going to start taking a photo of my big maple every couple of days.

It was Brrr, chilly this morning. I put on a sweatshirt first thing.

My leg is a bit better. I'm being very careful and conscientious of where and how I step.

We even managed to do some grocery shopping this afternoon. I had a long list for the dollar store and we needed a few things at the grocery store. We have a birthday BBQ for the "lads" this Saturday. Tomorrow we are doing yard work and M. has service calls booked for Friday so we needed to do our running about. I was pretty much okay in the dollarstore, but I told M. the grocery run was on him. He likes to wander up and down every aisle and I know my leg would not cooperate with all that.

It's going to be really cold again tonight. We're well into the single digits at night now. A town just upriver has frost warnings!!! My tomato plants are growing so densely that I'm not worried about them if it gets that cold here. Every day now I'm finding orange fruit on the ground. They ripen pretty fast in the bowl.

We had some visitors up back the past couple of days. Don't pay the dates any mind. One of these days I'll figure out how to set them so they stay.

A nice little doe showed up early afternoon

\

Then a second wandered into the frame

I call this little fellow Coy Boy. Young Coyote

We have lots of shots of the racoon family and some bunnies that go hopping by. Those night shots aren't really clear enough to post. After dinner today we had four very nice turkeys wandering around out front! We went out to fix the wobbly bird feeder by the garden so they went off to hide behind the woodpile, so no photos.

The Change

 It was darn cold when I peeped my toes out of the covers this morning! Brrrr.......  It's starting to feel rather autumnal.  Every day there is a little more color in the maples.

So, I'm off my feet! I've had a tender calf for a couple of days. Earlier this afternoon, after wrestling a duvet over the railing to finish drying, I toddled off downstairs. At the lower landing I felt (and I swear I heard it too) a POP. The pain was excruciating.  It looks like the something or other tendon, the one above the Achilles, has had a hissy fit. The solution is much rest and anti-inflammatories, then easy stretching exercises as it starts to feel better. It reminds me of rehab exercise after my knee replacement surgery. Anyway, I have plans in the coming weeks, so I'm doing what needs to be done to heal it up. My dog doesn't understand why we aren't going for a walk....  I feel really bad that M. is going to have to take on some of my day to day stuff for a bit. He's so whipped when he finishes work at the end of a day.

My cat is locked upstairs on time out! M. had a delivery that came in a nice big box. It was on it's side and Emmy was getting in and out of it. Meanwhile, Miss Kitty came upstairs and was walking across the rug. I guess Emmy thought Kitty was going for HER box so she went after her. Kitty got her face boxed by Emmy's clawless paws. Kitty and Emmy both made a lot of noise! M. had a fit so his yelling was added to the noise. Kitty is easily twice Emmy's weight and has her claws, but she won't fight back, rather, she will run and hide. I think Emmy is sulking now. 

Random photos from around and about

 

Crossroads around the village of Wilno have these crosses

Waterlilies on Turners Road

Highway near Wilno looking toward the lake

St. Mary's Wilno. Autumn photos to come

The road home

Killaloe!

Hot Dog

St. Casamiers Round Lake Center (I obviously don't know how to spell St. Casamier)

Chips for A.C. (John)

Blackbirds are flocking up

World famous Killaloe, home of the Beavertails.

It was nice to get out with my girl

 My dog was whimpering at 6AM this morning. The sky was orange as I flew out of bed and let her outdoors. It was CHILLY! 

Daughter and I finally hooked up and went out on the town today. I haven't seen her since her birthday back in June! She works a lot and has a family and a boyfriend so it's hard to connect with her sometime. She is on holiday this week and the family is away so she's on the relax.

We had a bite of lunch then made the rounds of the stores in the east end. Forget trying to get downtown with all the construction. I did have to go to Value Village hoping to find a really cheap blanket to make a new cover for the dog bed. That was a 3.50 well spent!

Our next destination was a nursery well out of town. They have their potted perennials on sale at Buy Two get One Free. I scored there!

I had to go to the dreaded WalMart to get my shampoo. The company has discontinued this certain one so I'm scrambling. WM had five of them on a high shelf! A lovely young lad, I swear he was close to seven feet tall, reached way back on the high shelf and pulled them all down for me. I'll be good for a year.

We were pretty knackered and happy to call it a day. 

I just ate fresh farmed veggies for dinner. I'm quite off meat lately. When that was done, I went out to do some work in the garden. I think some animal is walking through the back garden and breaking down the tomatoes. There were also squashed fruits on the ground. The front garden boxes have yielded 15 peppers and probably another couple of quarts of green tomatoes that were on the gound. One of the trellises snapped off with the weight of the fruit! They are all in the big bowl with the bananas ripening quickly. Once there are five pounds ripe I will whip up the chilli sauce. I got apples and onions for it today. Goodness knows, we have enough green peppers in the house! My daughter and grandson love Grandma Jean's chilli sauce.

Trying to stay focused

 As much as I want to stay with the "program" for my blog, it just wants to take on a life of it's own and go willy nilly in every direction.  Just like my life, hahaha.

Today I'm going to focus on Domestic Affairs

It is cooler today and the humidity seems to have lifted. There is smoke in the air, though I can't smell it. My burning eyes, scratchy sore throat and headache tell. We can see quite a haze looking in the distance too.

I went outdoors and pulled weeds and threw some seed down this morning. My neighbour friend gave me seed from her lilies and lupins. I have another patch of lupins that Cindy from North of the Checkerboard gave me five years ago. They are growing vigorously, but have yet to flower. Hmmmm.

When the seeding and weeding was done, it was time to do a mini harvest. I picked the beans and collected the orange tomatoes that fell off the plants. There are a dozen or more every day now. I put them in a dark cupboard with a banana to "finish". In a couple of days they are fully ripe. I am starting to bag them up and put them in the freezer. Once there are enough the chilli factory will start up! 

Friday evening we did up 21 quarts of dill cucumbers into 22 jars of pickles. On Saturday we did half a bushel of peppers into pickles. I'm not a pickle person, but I guess they taste okay. We trade some and M. gives a lot to his family.

The carrots are doing well this year! I pull them as I need them, generally a couple every two days.

22 jars of dills, we didn't take a photo of the pepper pickles

average days harvest

a bag goes into the freezer every couple of days

flower bouquet from my sweetie. 

flowers growing in the garden