Fall in NS has always been my time. Leaves crunching under foot, warm days & cool nights, set in an array of gold, red and orange that has one wondering if there is anywhere more appealing. Daylight shifts dramatically as the sun’s influence shortens and thoughts turn to prep for colder months. We did get into the spirit some, Janie doing preserves with apples growing right in the backyard and trying our best to touch up trimming around the house while the weather still says “Get outdoors”! Ever present was the Blue Jays post-season run, and a pleasant distraction as it has been some time since they’ve had the privilege.
October saw us spring from the weight of a month long reno and we were so very pleased at the facelift / efficiencies we’d set out to accomplish at the homestead. Looking great and noticeably “tighter” in regard to home heating / cooling. A mammoth project that we hope will set our modest home up for another 20 years of service. Thanks to everyone that pitched in!!! We still had several “contracts” being undertaken (re: stove / trim/ eavestrough) but the bulk of the work we’d assumed was complete 👍.
This year saw more of a convoluted approach for Thanksgiving. I needed to pivot, as Camp Lumsden had been sorely neglected over the past several months and was indeed in need of some attention. Waterline, wood stores and wildlife watch were all on the to-do list. Meanwhile, Janie hunkered down in Cloverville, expecting Monica, Pete, and their crew to tumble through on the way from music festivities in Cape Breton. Big gang hot off some celebrating and in need of a “fix-me-up”. The MacKinnon’s also rolled through tending to a Dundee shut down of camper. Add in some MacNeils (Eileen/JP) and it all evolved into big family dinner with lots of coming and going. In short, the confluence of travel in multiple directions manifested at 204 Cloverville, resulting in a darn busy weekend!
The rest of October zipped by! More camp chores (wood / eavestrough) and house reno (eavestrough) were captured. We caught a “Pete show” in Guysborough with Jud Gunning which was a great evening, also getting a moment to yarn with some Guysborough friends. NSTU Conference Day this year saw us at ATEC and we participated in a day of PD offerings. That Saturday included lots of hi jinx at a very spontaneous birthday 🎂 music session on a fun but busy weekend. Cloverville Halloween, although soggy, also came and went.
All was delivered with the clatter of an awesome October 2025 Toronto Blue Jays run that saw them scramble all the way to a World Series Game 7 heartbreak loss to the Dodgers. Best year of baseball in Canada in at least a decade (and maybe 30 years)! Not the result we were hoping for, super hard to watch, but incredibly entertaining. Fingers crossed 🤞 that the team can survive free agency with core intact and field another contender for next season! ⚾️