Mather

Why is it so hard to find six-pointed snowflakes these days? Are six-pointed snowflakes difficult to generate on a computer? I am nearly illiterate on computers, but I suspect that creating six rather than eight points should not pose a big problem.

Another rainy November morning. Inspiration to get out and about is hard to come by. It seems better to just stay inside, curled up by the fire. Far too many November days are grey and wet.

Here we are – deeply entrenched in the heart of autumn. The winds have blown from all directions in the past few weeks. What used to be a golden canopy is now a soft yellow carpet of leaves. Autumn has fallen.

Is there still wildlife in the bush around Sudbury? Of course there is.

My garlic grew taller than me this summer. Long, slender “flower” stalks rose to the sky, bearing clusters of tiny garlic clones at their tips. A couple of little purple flowers tried to squeeze out between the fat little clones.

I was out swimming with mask and snorkel, just cruising along looking at the bottom of the lake. I took a look up, and just 15 metres away I saw a loon looking back at me.

After 27 years of our guests telling me I should write a cookbook, I finally did, just in time to send out copies for Christmas last year. Preparing wonderful food goes beyond simply reading and following a recipe.

Early June, quiet morning. The lake quiet, perfect reflections glisten in the clear morning air. The sun rises to the east in a pure blue sky. It lights the shore on the west while the eastern shore remains in darkness.

Some of you who read this column have asked time and again for me to write about gardening. I only wish I could write a gardening column.

The ice wasn’t off the lake for more than a day or two before we packed our bags and were out for our first canoe trip of the year. We planned a trip into a lake just north of us, as we do every year as soon as the ice goes out.