“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ― L. M. Montgomery
A handsome month for weather in 2020! Although cooler, things were perfect for enjoying those outdoor moments worth waiting for. The fall colors challenge the blend of summer greens, breezes bring out the cozy flannel work shirts, casting of long morning shadows, and the welcome comfort of the wood stove lends to “all day” cooks in the dutch oven. Walks in the woods show signs of late blooming mushrooms, water levels in the lakes rise and one eyes windfalls for potential warmth in the change of season. This is October.
Tardiness found me detailing an October blog post in December, as the fall was such a blur I had to resort to the camera roll on the iPhone to recollect the month that was. Hoping I hadn’t squandered the opportunity, the pics revealed that the month was actually hopping with events. For example, we made our return to an actual live concert, getting up to see Troy at the DeCoste and front row seats to Matt A’s first concert since the Covid outbreak. Awesome show! Also put the finishing touches on our new kitchen… one never really knows how integral a kitchen sink is until “it isn’t”. Great to have that completed and we were so happy with the result! Put teaching at SAJS and StFX on top of that and you have a productive autumn!
And, of course, chores take up camp time in the fall. October saw the lifting of the main waterline, storage of items such as the raft / shower heater / batteries / clean up of brush / off-cuts from summer clearing in the fire pit / trimming of the Smelt Lake boat slip area. Underlying every work day was wood storage… with the chainsaw and splitting axe weighing heavily in each trip. By months end the larder was getting full, with plenty of dry wood to last into next summer. Each visit saw several windfalls being schlepped back for blocking, splitting and piling. Hurricanes have left the nearby woods with a bevy of trees destined to rot. Funny how what would be work at home (i.e. cutting/splitting/piling wood) is down right a pleasure in the back woods!