Mather

A couple of decades ago, we knew our local trapper well. He had a little log trappers' cabin not too far from us, and would stop in now and then for a cup of tea.

There is an old, old trail that begins on the other side of a beaver dam. Hunters use it a lot in the fall. Walking across the long, skinny expanse of the dam, I made my way along the trail.

We get back to Standard Time today.- Now, which way do we turn the clock?- It is really quite simple.- Adjust your clock so you get to sleep an extra hour Monday morning.

I am not a birder.- Birders are people who can see just a flicker of feathers flying by, and tell you what it is.- Often they don't even need to see the bird, but can identify it by hearing just a few notes of its song.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the cranberries are still ripening in these closing days of October. It looks like it is going to be a good year for cranberries.- The little blossoms were abundant on the vines in the middle of summer.

The most beautiful show of fall colours I've seen since I was 10 years old, now lies on the ground on the forest floor.A soft carpet of yellow and gold rustles underfoot as Kate and I walk each morning.

I'm not ready for the cold. I step outside on this frosty fall morning and BRRR!!! I'm just not ready for this. I loved those two weeks of September with summer-like days. But summer is gone. Winter is on its way.

We are so lucky to live in Canada. We are even luckier to live in Northern Ontario. Our air and water are clean, our lakes and forests are abundant, our children are well fed and educated.

The storm began long before I walked down to the sauna. I was reading Charlotte's Web to Kate when the rain came pouring down in torrents. I listened to it pound on the roof while I tucked her into bed. A little while later, the rain lightened.

When I was very young, we lived in a big old house in the country. Like most rural families, we had a huge garden. I remember Septembers filled with warm red tomatoes, deep yellow corn, green and yellow beans.