Fall - A Recap ! Tuesday, October 6th.

Tractor hoist- A servicing aid !

Morning Glories on the workbarn.

The obelisk and apple tree !

Paving stones from the pool side.

New skimmer installed.

More Morning Glories.

Baskets, roses and hydrangeas.

Although I haven't been "blogging" for very long, it dawns on me that isn't really the ideal vehicule for most stay-at-home retirees who don't spend a lot of time traveling or relocating as snowbirds for the winter in the South.

Our days are full of activities and events, but somehow they are not terribly newsworthy and are of a cyclical nature. Fall is close down time, and it seems as if I only just the spring opening completed. The only 'exciting' aspect of these phases is that I am constantly seeking ways to make them easier to perform !

I recently added an air-nipple to the cottage water system so that closing is just that much easier. Turn off the pump, open the taps and attach the compressor to the nipple and just let it run 'til all the water has drained. I now have such a system going for the cottage and the main distribution from the Barn to the pool, garden and workbarn. So far so good !

The big job so far this fall has been replacing the skimmer at the pool and changing the sand (250 lbs of soggy/dirty sand to dispose of ) ! Since the skimmer is underground, at the pool side the paving has to be lifted up and moved and the hole to access the piping for the skimmer has to be about 4 feet deep. It was a blessing that Al Hogg came back here after we had drained the water at his summer cottage and he installed the new skimmer for me. Thanks again,Al. I think I would have still beeen struggling with it next Spring !

Between frequent showers I have nearly got the paving re-installed. Our weather has been rather poor for the past week and today is the first clear early morning, with the temperature hovering at about +3 C. With all the rain the grass thinks its spring all over again so once it dries out there is another (hopefully the last) round of mowing and leaf collection to do.

The big excitement here in late August and for much of September was the local township activity on the Shaver Drain, known more familiarily as the creek. High hoes and trucks, and the grass along the stream banks resembles a battle field. From the boundary fence on the west side , right through to our bridge at the entrance a 50 foot swath of mass destruction and huge banks of clay dredged out. It could have been worse I suppose. As it turns out most of the work was a waste of time and effort because once they removed a couple of major beaver dams further upstream the stream rose about three feet for a few hours and has now reverted to a slow trickle. We tried to tell them that all they needed to do was the dams, but to no avail. There is however, a collateral benefit. As you know Stata Road has washed out annually just near our entrance since the melt couldn't get to the stream any other way, coming off the fields to the East. The culvert on the other side of the road leading to the stream was too small and quite useless. Yesterday they came , removed the old piece of junk and put in a longer and larger replacement, and cleared the outlet down to the stream. We'll see if this works come next spring ! Here's hoping !!

Well, we've had a super summer with great visits from family and friends and are looking forward to sharing some Thanksgiving cheer with Vicky, Christopher, Ben, Ollie and Leo this coming weekend.

By the middle of October I should have got all of the pre-winter jobs completed and can then put my mind to getting the snowblower ready ! No great construction projects although I am tempted to build an extension on the work barn at the back to house the machinery and to replace the temporary shelter that is there now. It's fun to dream about such ideas !

Our vegetable garden wasn't the greatest this year, but flowers and baskets, not to mention clematis, roses and morning glories have been just great. We have a lovely bouquest of zinnias with a beautiful late lupin, gracing the dining room table, and the delphinium in front of the work barn is into its third flowering !

Attaching a couple of pictures, but as usual they will end up in this blog, where they want to be rather than where I would put them.

The tractor lift is my latest mechanical toy and should make servicing the mower much easier.

Now it's time to get the bird feeders back in place to see what we can attract to provide on-going entertainment for the Happy Farmer's wife and suitable distraction from her letter writing activities !

Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.