We have a couple of birthdays this month. Our grandson Orin turned one on the 10th and his mum has a birthday later in the week. It really looks like November outside now. All the leaves are down, the trees have their gray look now and the sun reaches places it hasn’t seen since last spring. I love walking through the woods at this time of the year – as long as it is not hunting season – as the woods are much brighter and oh so full of character that cannot be seen when the leaves are out.

Columbus

However, it now gets very dark around here and way too early. We were away last weekend at a board retreat in Columbus, Ohio. John and I are members of the board of the Wabun Foundation that owns and supports a wonderful camp on Lake Temagami in Northern Ontario. We have been associated with the camp since the 90’s when our daughter, Margot, went there to work as a trip staff. More recently our older grandchildren have been campers and now staff at the camp as well. The camp gives teens between the ages of 10 and 17 a terrific opportunity to unplug from the world and paddle a canoe through the lakes and rivers of Ontario and Quebec. Here is a link for more information Camp Wabun. I can tell you that what we saw of Columbus, we liked. The weather was fantastic, the city clean, the restaurants amazing, all making for a very fun break. Back home, the fur crowd went to the sitters. Percy’s first time and it went very well. The sitter has two dogs of her own and all had quite a fun time. Our three slept for two days after coming home. Here they are with their new friends.

Standard Time

During our time in Columbus the clocks were turned back to Standard Time. The first thing I did when we got home was to organize all my Christmas lights and to get them on the trees and the porch. It was an especially dark week around here so I am more than delighted to have the lights come on around 4:30pm and bring some little bit of joy to the neighborhood. My neighbor across the street, who has never had any Christmas lights, put some out on his little tree in his side yard. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. His tree is the perfect size and shape and his lights twinkle. No snow here yet. We had a very light dusting a couple of weeks ago but so far nothing very exciting. Our gang out in Colorado have been digging out for a week now. Good for the skiers, not so great for the commuters.

Walking

Wyke, Bean, Percy and I continue to walk almost every day. We are mixing our walks up between the Rail Trail and the Morris Trail. Both walks are fun for them and wonderful for me. There is no hunting on either trails but I think it is about time to put the orange vests on. Just in case. I am enjoying a fantasy book by Nora Roberts called “The Inheritance”, not my usual fare but the audio version is very well done and keeps me going as I look forward to the next chapter. It is part of a three book series but the second book is not out yet so I have a feeling I’ll have to wait awhile for book three. The weather continues to be excellent for walking so we are really enjoying fall at the moment.

I put the ghosts away and brought out the Thanksgiving people to decorate the mantle pieces in the house. We had the chimney cleaned so are happily burning a fire most nights again. You might be able to tell that John polished the brass andirons. They look nice and shiny again. It’s the little things that lift up our spirits during this time of the year.