Halloween Has Arrived

Sue does read my blog, and so she did reply to a comment from yesterdays afghan post. I'll leave it here for all to see before proceeding on to my Halloween silliness.

... it's the videos that help me do these stitches, as I consider myself a basic single or double crochet kinda girl. I have trouble reading a pattern,, but can follow the clear steps in a video by Mikey at Red Heart crochet crowd, or Bonnie at Bonnie Bay Crochet. Look at the videos and give them a try. You will be surprised at how clear they are, and easy to follow. The Poinsettia one was really difficult as it involved cross-stitching on top of the crochet and I had trouble finding the squares. Other than that, it was a fun one to follow along with Mikey at Red Heart Crochet Crowd. I made 5 Peppermint throws, and had to have Mikey's help with each one, but he made it easy. Give one of them a try. You can do it!

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As October hums along, I tend to think that I still have weeks to get ready for Halloween and to get out and make some new photos. Whilst sitting at my computer yesterday, I realized that I hadn't done anything, which is probably the thing that I do best.

So I did set myself down and fooled around with a couple of old photos. The first is necessarily dark to set the mood. You will probably be able to see it better if you click on it.

Do I look ominous? Creepy? Just dumb?

You've seen this spider not too long ago, but I thought I could work it into a Halloween theme.

After fiddling with the above, I was still thinking of taking a little photo excursion to some of the more decorated homes last night. However, ennui overtook me, so instead of going out,  I sat at my desk and made this composite using two photos that I already had on hand. I applied a texture over top to try to make it look a little bit creepier.

The creepy day is already here, but the night isn't here yet, so it is still appropriate to wish you a good Halloween.

Happy Crafter

Do you know what Sue is doing in this photo? 

The hint is in her lap.

Yes, winter is on the way, and Sue is crocheting another afghan or throw as is her usual winter habit. Note: spellcheck does not like afghan, but that is what we have called them here in the Great White North.

Sue wasn't sure if she would be physically able to crochet this year because she has developed a pain in her right hand. However, she has adjusted how she holds the needle, and it's working for her. In fact, it is working so well that she is already about halfway through her supposed winter project — before the end of October, if you please. Somehow, I suspect there will be another afghan or two crocheted this season.

Now,  let's go back to the photo and try to figure out what is going on.

Sue tends to choose some pretty complex patterns that require sophisticated stitching. She watches a video that explains the stitches and process, and she makes notes accordingly, learning as she goes. For example: the stitch at the top of this photo is a popcorn stitch. It took a little time, patience and work to master it, but of course she did.

This newest throw pattern is called Winter White

Below, are a few other throws that Sue has crafted over the years. The cream afghan at the top is is the first one of the two that she crocheted last winter. The pattern is called Celtic Cable, and of course, involved a cable stitch, which Sue does not want to try ever again as it required much unravelling and remaking before she mastered it. If you are interested in obtaining the directions click here for the instructional video, but be advised that it is 90+ minutes long.

The Peppermint throw is bottom left in the above photo. It is gorgeous and brighter than it looks in the photo. Although Sue had made other afghans before this, this one was the first really complicated pattern that she followed via video. She crafted four of these before she moved on to the green throw, which is called Christmas Poinsettia link. It was a very difficult task for it also involved cross-stitching mixed in with the crocheting. 

Currently on our bed, below, is the second afghan that she made last year, one that she made without following a pattern. She had lots of wool left over from the Celtic Cable throw, so this was how she used it.

As you can see, our household fur-thing likes it well enough.

As awkward as the new grip is for Sue, or was at the beginning, it is great that she found a new way to hold the needle so that she can do what she loves to do in the long cold season.

Remembering Dad on October 29

Suddenly, it is October 29th, which was my father's birth day way back in 1912. I remembered a photo of him playing a banjo, but I couldn't find a scanned version, so I decided on a simple closeup that I had scanned at some point in the past, actually 2010 as it turns out.

It is quite possible that I had edited it somewhat in 2010, but I thought that modern technology could do a better job so I put it through Photoshop's new photo restoration algorithm. I don't know if you will see much of a difference at this Blogger resolution, but the revised version is much clearer. The things is that if there had been tears and scratches, they would have been repaired too.

I have a book on photo restoration, so I was able to accomplish some decent results in the distant past, but it wasn't a task for the faint of heart. However, this algorithm just required a click, and poof it was done.

I am guessing that he was ~30 in the photo, for he is balding, but his skin also looks pretty youthful. If so, the year was 1942, and I came along 5 years later in 1947 when dad was just a month and a bit shy of 35. However, I think that he could be anytime from his late 20s to mid 30s.

I also asked Photoshop to colourize it, but the result was awful in this case, so I discarded that version. It was not nearly as good as the restoration that it did on this photo that I posted last October 29th. While I had touched up Photoshop's result a bit last year, the program had done the lion's share of the work. This year, it was beyond both Photoshop et moi.

I once coloured a b&w photo myself from scratch, but that was for homework for an online course that I once took, and I have no desire to ever try that again.

I kept looking back for October 29 posts from previous years. I thought that I must have done a bunch of Dad posts, but I only found the one post from last year. What a bad son am I!

Maybe some year, I will write a more thorough biography, but truthfully, I don't really think of his birthday until the the day is just about upon us. To repeat: bad son.

Jonathan Was Mortified

Jonathan was mortified at family dinner last week when we ended up talking about catheters.

Here's how this odd, non-family-oriented discission came about.

Perhaps you recall that I have been self-catheterizing once daily since sometime in June. It wasn't my idea you understand. My urologist recommended that I try it, and so I have.

It does help: at least enough for me to defer the dilation procedure that was scheduled to occur this week until late next month. I hope to then postpone it again because dilation is not a whole lot of fun.

This is while I await an appointment with the specialist in Ottawa. It has only been 8 months, and I was told the wait might be that long,

Yes, I am now getting back around to the family discussion, but one has to ease into these things, for there is always a backstory to unravel.

Back in June when this all began, I was left high and dry without a supplier for catheters. The nurse had come and shown me how to do the procedure, but she then departed, leaving me with a handful of catheters. She said that she'd get back to me with a supplier, but she didn't.

While we were searching, Shauna came through and ordered some through her workplace: a seniors home that she manages.

The second set of catheters that she sourced for us were pricey, so we got to calling the manufacturing company directly. They were even more expensive for individuals like us to purchase. Each catheter could have cost me close to four bucks. A hundred and twenty bucks/month is a heckuva lot for this guy. 

So, we have been trying to work through Shauna's connections again, and so, the topic came up at supper, or I should say, after supper while we were sitting around the living room.

It was then that Jonathan asked, "What is a catheter?"

I had to tell him, and that is when he became mortified. I offered to show him one, but he didn't want to have anything to do with it.

That, my friends is the story of Jonathan's mortification.

Except to say that I think that I have a two month supply coming from Shauna that will not cost $4/day.

Fall Has Now Mostly Fallen

To delve a little deeper into my Blogger commenting issues, I went into Settings and under the Comments section, I switced from whatever I was using to the  Embedded option. I wasn't sure what would happen, but the reply issue seems to be resolved. Finally. Fingers crossed anyway. 🤞

The new format is also now on my tablet too, but I still have to login to comment on many posts. For example: if I login to comment to Charlie, when I get to April, I might have to do it again, and so on. Still, I can now access most blogs on my iPad, so that is also progress.

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We got to the park and took a short walk, but our outing turned out to be shorter than we had intended. It was a cold 7C, and the wind was blowing pretty fiercely, so I turned tail after the second photo, which was not all that far into the park from where we had parked.

There is some colour remaining, but you are about to see that it is falling fast. Most trees that aren't bare already have lost half their leaves. You can see the leaves on the ground in both photos. The fallen leaves in the second photo are red from nearby red maples.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. May your Sunday be sunny.

Replying and Compositing

Just so you know, because I have an ornery template, if you want to see my replies to your previous comments, you will encounter a hurdle. All you will see is my replies, but you won't see to whom. So, believe it or not, another step is required. Go to the bottom of the comments, and  click the Post a Comment link. There you can find what reply I made to whom. I know, I know, but that's how it goes with me and my silly life.

I will say that I am now being pretty faithful about replying, but I am still not perfect. I am also doing better at checking your replies to me on your blogs. I am getting to know who replies. like Boud and Barb, for example, and trying to remember to have a look. Sometimes, heaven help us all, I even reply to the reply, but I probably wouldn't think to go back to that one because the chain could go on forever, and my memory doesn't do that.

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I didn't have anything else to post today, but I was looking at pictures that Sue wanted from me for her daily prompt.

Once I sent the three of them, I decided to do this.

In the olden days, like about two years ago (which is old in computer time), I used to do composites quite often. The trouble was that it was a manual, time-consuming process for me. Mind you, it did give me some satisfaction, so it was worth it back then. When Sue was able to make fancier composites in a flash, I stopped, but I decided to play around again this morning and made the above image.

Then I asked Sue to do one with her phone app. She can whip them up pretty quickly, and I chose to show you this composite of the four or five that she made. In theory, I could also do shapes like that, but it would become an even more intensive labour project than it already is.

When I was doing composites before Sue's app came into being, I would often make them for photo albums: Jonathan and Danica, both at three weeks.

Here are two from Shauna's wedding.

Despite the effort, tt actually felt good to make that new one today, and I enjoyed looking back at the old albums too.

Furnace and Truck

I succumbed yesterday and started up the furnace. It was after I looked at the long term forecast and saw that it was not going to get warm again. It wasn't that we needed it yesterday, but it seemed to be time to acknowledge the truth. However, we did turn it off again as the day heated up. We didn't even turn it back on overnight. The temperature dropped below freezing and wiped our our pots of petunias, but the house didn't get too cold.

Three years ago, we made it one day longer: until today, October 25. Last year, we didn't turn the heat on until November 01. Back in 2020, however, We relented on October 12th.

In terms of synchronicity, yesterday was also the day that the guy came to service the furnace. We have him come every fall for the furnace and every spring for the air conditioner.

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Yesterday, as I turned the corner onto our street, I spotted a truck and admired how it fine looked against the row of colourful trees along the edge of the street. Actually it was the trees that looked fine, but I was also interested int he truck as the principal subject.

There is a Happy Truck Thursday group on Flickr. I seldom post to it, but since it was Thursday, I seized the opportunity, stopped, and took out my iPhone.

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Today, there shall be coffee with the boys. Bob will pick me up at 9:45 because Sue has some errands to run with our car this morning.

Now for my second cup of coffee.

Montreal Memories Evoked

We left Montreal in 1962. I will say for the general audience that we moved to Toronto, but we were well outside of the city then although it has since expanded to where we settled. I turned 15 a day or three after the move but returned to Montreal for visits in the next two summers. However, that its pretty much the only time spent there in the past 62 years, except for two days when I visited with Sue more than 30 years after the move in 1995.

Recently, I have been following a Facebook page called Montreal Golden Oldies. I like looking at their old photos to see what might connect with my memory after such a long absence. This is the first one that caught my attention this morning: a Woolworths lunch counter in the heart of downtown Montreal. We called it uptown back then in the early fifties because we could walk there, and it was kind of up from where we lived. Unfortunately, we did not know enough to do the Uptown Funk back then. (After we moved farther away from the area, we called it downtown.)

I have a memory of mom taking me to this very Woolworth and ordering chocolate cake for us. We were not a family that got out much, so it was quite a treat that stands out in my memory. I am sure that I liked the cake, but, if memory serves, I think that it was the outing itself that was special: to think that a stranger would bring me cake!

My uncle worked in Eatons which was close by, and I expect that we paid him a little visit that day although I can't swear to it. I was very young, you understand, probably only 4 or 5 years old.

Later, on the same Oldies FB stream, I saw a picture of the Orange Julep.

I have never been to the Orange Julep or any Orange Julep if there were more than one, but I remember passing it often when we took the streetcar to and from church. It was near a spot where the tram went up a hill and then down the other side. We weren't going over a physical hill but an overpass of some sort, and it was a fairly steep little rise and fall.

Boyhood me thought that going down the the other side was quite exciting, for the streetcar driver would seem to let it speed up a little on the downslope. I remember that I even had nervous dreams about speeding down the hill, almost like it was a runaway tram.

Speaking of streetcars, I also found a photo of Garland Terminus where we would change streetcars, and later, buses, going to and from church.

A car on the Outremont line. They were a little niftier style on
that line for some reason.

In the early sixties, a year or two before we moved away, I would sometimes bike to Garland Terminus to buy a Gazette newspaper. I was 13 or 14 and crazy about football in those days and wanted all of the news that I could get about the Montreal Alouettes football team. As far as I can tell from G-Maps it was about a 20 minute, 6 km bike ride along urban streets from our flat to the terminus. I would ride all over on my bike back then and thought nothing of being out and about out there on my own. Life was different then.

The memories kept coming, and I soon came across a photo of the Val Royal train station near where we lived. It was a station on a commuter train line that would take us through the tunnel under Mount Royal to downtown Montreal. If memory serves, the ride cost 25¢. When my friend, Peter, moved we could also take the train in the other direction to St. Eustache to visit him. I think that Nelson and I once rode all of the way out there on our bikes because we would do that sort of thing.

One winter day, my friend, Nelson, and I were playing down the embankment on the other side of the train. The snow was deep, and I got stuck and lost my boot in the effort to extricate myself. I hopped home on one foot in the cold. When spring came, I found and retrieved the boot. I soon outgrew that pair, but they fit my mother, and they even came with us on the move to Toronto.

Almost next to the train station, but down the left side this time, was an old tree that we could climb. I would sometimes take a lunch there and sit on a big limb with Nelson and his sister, Doris. I am still in touch with Doris; she is a poet and animal rights activist, and sometimes blogs at Thoughts and Things. If you read her most recent posts, you will see that she has recently had some tv exposure in her bid to get public buildings to mark windows to prevent birds from flying into them.

Since most of these memories have to do with transportation, including cycling, I will post one more photo: this one of Bois Franc Road. It wasn't far from where we lived, but as the photo reveals it was quite rural back then, and it made for another little bicycle expedition.

This 1967 photo of Bois Franc Road from 1963 would be close to
what I would have seen on those excursions.

We found an abandoned farmhouse out that way and loved to explore it. I remember that it had a trapdoor leading to the second storey. The stairs would stop abruptly at the ceiling of the first floor, and we could lift the trapdoor to access the upper floor, which was a proper storey and not an attic. I have no idea why it was constructed like that, but it was a neat place to explore. Actually, I don't think we ever had to lift that trap door. If memory serves, it was left like that.

I enjoyed the memories and feelings that the photos evoked. If you have read along on my sentimental wallow and have made it this far, I congratulate you heartily and hope you weren't too bored.

Two Outta Three

Generated by Adobe AI: photo of a surprised, old man in a ball cap and getting a vaccination.

When you're past 75, they recommend that you get a high dose flu shot. That is all well and good, but they are scarce as the denticles of domestic fowl. High Dose wasn't even presented as an option at the online registration site of our pharmacy, so we signed up for a regular flu shot and a COVID booster. 

We mentioned this at family dinner on Monday night. The next day, Tuesday, Danica, who works at another pharmacy, texted that she could secure us high dose flu shots, for they had five remaining of the 80 that they had been sent.

So that is what we did this morning. Unfortunately, they did not have C-jabs available, so we'll keep the appointment at our pharmacy for next week.

Then there is the RSV jab, but there is no hope of getting that one at this time. Although we are of an age, we would have to be in a facility of some sort to get it from the government without cost. (It's a Conservative government, you see.) The other option would be to pay $300 to get the serum and take it to our doctor to administer.

Ah well, as the old saying goes, two outta three ain't bad.

Replies to Comments

Many Blogger bloggers, as opposed to Wordpress etc bloggers,  frequently reply to comments on their own posts. It wasn’t always so because the reply feature did not exist for a very long time. It’s a cool addition, but it is still awkward because for most people it means you have to make the effort to go back to the persons’ previous post, scroll down, and maybe or maybe not see a reply. And if you do, do you then reply to the reply? As I wrote, it’s awkward. 

My template has not supported the feature until recently, and it is still iffy. A week or two ago, I noticed that it appeared on my phone but not on my tablet or computer. I don’t blog from my phone but did go to it just a few times when a reply seemed to be in order. In fact, I have usually endeavoured to reply to a specific question in the past, even if I had to write @Someone to direct my comments, but I never did a lot of this sort of replying. 

Yesterday, the reply option also showed up on my tablet. It still wasn’t available on the computer, or at least not in my Chrome browser. I had the idea of trying it on Microsoft’s Edge browser, and it worked. But then it didn’t. Go figure. I just checked again this morning, but it is still absent on the computer, but I don't know about the other device yet.

I wrote that to write this: that I may try to Reply more frequently if the option remains available to me although I continue to find in awkward and poorly implemented. People on other platforms can respond directly via email, but it is not so with Blogger (or not easily so), and that is a pity. But I shall make some sort of an effort, and we'll see how it goes.

By way of interest, please tell me what you see when you go to my comment section. Do you see the reply feature enabled? If you commented yesterday, would you take a minute to go back to see if you can see my reply to you? Oh . . . and just in general and not referring to my blog, do you return to someone's post from the previous day to see if the poster replied to your comment?

Bit O Orange

We've been doing autumn colour here recently, and I was hoping to see more on our recent stroll along the trail bridge. Disappointment awaited, but I found a few small spots. Orange was the colour of the day.

Sue was also impressed with the orange leaves.

Even our shadows from the bridge landed in orange, but that colouring required a little help from your beloved photo editor to bring out the desired colour. 😉

This delightful car was waiting beside ours when we were done walking. What a delight: a vintage VW Beetle! There was a sticker indicating that it had been connected with a tour of Brasil.

I tried changing the colour to orange, but it seemed a tad sacrilegious to interfere with this little beauty. 😇

A Little Autumn Jaunt

On Friday we did get ourselves and out automobile in gear and took our almost annual, little colour trip. We passed some nice stands of colour here and there, but passed is the operative word. Sometimes we just have appreciate glimpses as we drive by because there is nowhere to stop.

Despite those colourful sections, much of our usual route was past peak. For example: we have stopped at this spot many times over the past few years, but this is the least amount of colour that we have seen. Nevertheless, I like the photos well enough.

From there we drove along a very woodsy road. Here and there, we spotted some colour back off the road in the bush although the first photo was more or less along the road.

We came out of the more woodsy section where there is a fork. We always keep going to the right, but the copse between the two roads is rather nice.

Now look at what Adobe's latest version of Photoshop can do — eliminate wires. We we more or less always could do this, but it could be quite a procedure. In this case, I just told the app to remove wires, and it did just that in probably a minute or less. It didn't remove the two poles: both to the left and one very small in the distance. It was another step to remove the poles but not a difficult one.

Even though we were late in the season and did not see autumn at its best, it was a grand day to be out and about. Besides, we have already had the trip to the sugar bush, and we'll still be seeing colour here and there for a little while.

Caturday 69: Sabine is a True Canadian Cat

Good Canadians watch hockey. Even better Canadians play hockey. Sabine watches and plays. Sabine is a very good Canadian Cat.

This clip is cute but watch the cat, not the game.

Colour in the Park

While we didn't manage to get out for an autumn drive yesterday (maybe today!), we did go for a walk in the park. It was a sunny day, and the colours were pretty darn ... uh ... pretty. The final two photos were my favs of the day.

The first thing that we saw when we exited the car.
I find the two colours appealing.

This tree still had a lot of leaves.

Taking a picture of Sue taking a picture of a picturesque scene.

Trees lining the walking path, at least on one side.

Pretty nice backlight on this section of the tree.
I was trying to highlight the lighted section.

I like being able to see the bones of the tree within the colours.

Awake and Playing the Furnace Game

This morning when I got up at 2:30 (don't ask), I checked the temperature. The outside temperature was 4C/40 F, but more critically for me, it was 15.5C/60 F inside the house – not balmy for sure. I don't know how much cooler it got afterward, but I did notice that the house temperature was down another half degree and hour or so later.

I did not turn on the furnace but doubled and even tripled layered my apparel, and I also turned on the little heater under my desk – the one that is usually in the bathroom and will be again soon to heat it up before I shower. Hot coffee helped too, and I am actually snuggy warm as I compose this. In point of fact, I am almost too warm, so I think I shall disengage the heater for now.

Lacey just appeared from her downstairs bed. She has another bed here in my den, but she usually spends the nights down there. Our odd feeding ritual begins, and I handfeed her kibble even though her dish is just across the hall. Soon, when she is sated, she will head back down until morning comes. Odd human and odd cat pairing we are . . . And as predicted off she goes, disdaining the last four kibbles that I dropped for her.

If you can't tell already, we (Sue and I, not Lacey) are playing the silly furnace game again. The object is to put off running the furnace for as long as possible. Every day delayed is a small victory, and by golly, if you make it all of the way to November, you've won the game.

While there is no official prize, you get to feel very Canadian-proud of yourself.

If there were no weather relief in sight, I would be tempted to give up, give in, and put the furnace on, but starting later today, it looks like we are in for a warm week in which temperatures will reach the high teens C (or the mid 60s F). That is quite livable for us, at least in the short term.

When I picked up the thanksgiving pies on the weekend, I took a slight detour through the hamlet of Appleton and found a few sports of colour.

The next day, on my way to the grocery store, I took a photo of these trees around the corner from us.

Our plan for today is to take a a little colour trip into the more rural areas to see what we shall see. Our hope is to find some colour, even though it shall be past peak, which, in point of fact, was not actually all that peakish this year.

Hanging onto the Moments

We did our quasi daily stroll yesterday, just around the block, but a good-sized block, I guess you'd say.

It was nippy in the 7℃ (45F) weather, especially with a very stiff breeze blowing, but it was a good walk. As we neared the end, I actually felt almost exultant, for I was feeling less leg pain than I have in some time. Yes, there was pain, but no, it wasn't overbearing. Physio seems to be finally helping. Even my chronic foot, which is beyond help, was not at its worst on that day. Yay!

Dragging my leg along after me all summer has not been fun, but it was much less of a drag yesterday, and the diminution of pain buoyed my spirits.

It pleased me so much to be able to walk with less difficulty. I guess, for me it was Thanksgiving, just a day late. While I am not a candidate for the Appalachian Trail, it did feel good to walk more freely.

Maybe it was a one-off, and maybe the next walk will not go so well, but one grabs and hangs onto the moments that life offers.

I am thinking that it really is appreciating the little things that make a life a good life. I am mindful that even in the difficult phases of life, there may be brief moments when the sun chooses to shine and that those are the moments to hang on to.

A Thankless Thanksgiving Sleep but a Good but Messy Thanksgiving Nevertheless

Let us begin by considering why it came to be that I was puzzling over my finger whilst I was abluting in my Thanksgiving Day shower.

I was cogitating on my finger because I had just checked Sleepwatch, and it confirmed that my night wasn't the best when it reported that I had experienced only 4.2 hours of sleep. 

I know that I do go on and on about sleep or rather lack of same, but that was an unusual night, which I shall now explicate by telling you what my flippin finger has to do my sleeplessness, for on this occasion, it is my finger which is to blame.

Finger? you ask. How does that work AC?

Well . . . I was just settling in for the my Thanksgiving Eve repose when my ring finger decided that  would be a fine time to assert itself and wreck my night. I know it sounds stupid, but oh brother! how that finger attacked me. The sudden pain was quite fierce, and just when it it would abate for a few seconds and I would begin to relax, it would return with a vengeance. The sharpness and irregularity made sleep impossible for hours. 

Who can say why my own finger would decide to attack sweet, innocent me out of the blue like that, but attack me it defiantly did. I don't understand, for I think I've always been as nice to it as possible. I mean, we really do need each other. In point of fact, it needs me more than I need it. Are you listening, finger? So why it decided to attack me at bedtime must remain a deep mystery.

It's difficult to sleep when pain erupts like that, especially when you feel that you are getting some momentary respite but the pain then returns strongly and at length. I know that it is just a finger and that it sounds silly, but man-oh-man, it was so sharp and painful.

I actually handled the next day pretty well. I helped Sue with our Thanksgiving preparation by chopping the stuffing ingredients and stirring the gravy. We then ported our half of the meal over to the kids'. We would normally have it here but Sha was expecting a repair guy (who never showed), so off we went.

Sue did the turkey and stuffing and I brought the pies that I had purchased from the Ashton Church ladies' group. Meanwhile Sha and the kids had cooked the creamy, cheesy potatoes and roasted carrots. Everyone did a fine job, and the meal was quite superb.

The only hitch, and it wasn't a hitch for others, was that rather that sitting at a table as we would have done here, we ate from our laps because space is tight over there. At my advanced age and dodderiness, I think I am the only one who currently has a gravy-stained shirt in the wash.

Hoo boy! This post went in unexpected directions. I will have to see if there are any snaps worth sharing with you. I will look later today.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is here. It may not be quite as huge of an event as it is down south, but it is a very fine and appreciated event, timed to occur when autumn is just about at its peak and when the weather is still usually moderate.

We'll head over to the kids' this afternoon to feast on turkey and pie and more, but for now I leave you with a few more autumn photos from the Wheeler's sugar bush.