Nov 29th!

My back yard, this was the first snowfall of the winterit is now knee deep out there.

Tomorrow I am off to Vancouver for Christmas! Karen and Andrew are treating me to a Leonard Cohen Concert on Thursday! My Christmas Present. I love to travel but I abhor packing so its been hectic. WE have snow! Too much, I hired a fellow to shovel the stuff off my roof . My driveway was done by a neighbor, who has a tractor with a scoop on the front so it goes fast. No shoveling! After the wet summer and now this snow, spring flooding is a possiblity.With the blowing snow roads have been bad, people insist on driving, and so you have a lot of accidents and fatalities.

Daughter Cathie and I have been busy making Christmas Puddings and Vinetarte which we sell as our fundraiser for our little church. The towns around hold Bazaars, selling crafts and home baking. We did very well!

Chickens!

Last summer, Glenn my son in law, acquired some 20 chickens and two roosters, one big RED and a lttle Black They are great at waking you up at dawn! They are good layers. big brown eggs. Two of his hens went broody, and have hatched out seven chicks, one is black, so we know who the father is. Last week Cathie went to close up the chicken house and guess who she met up with? Another skunk!

Called in the militia. one more dead skunk, and all the chickens are fine!

Remembrance Day Nov 14

Our little church marked Remembrance Day on Sunday. St. Helen's has served the native and the white community since 1842. Men and women from both communities , served their country in the two world wars. Yesterday they were remembered twenty six of us, gathered to stand in silence, place a wreath on the cairn, recite "In Flanders Field" a prayer was said and then we went inside. Two plaques list the men and women from our area who served in those wars. Their names were read. Familiar names, their descendants are here. One elderly man reminds us his late father's name is on the plaque from the first world war. The veteran who recited the poem is 85 years old, there aren't many of them left We remember two from our community who paid the sacrifice, one was a young 20 year old who wanted adventure and joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers, it took him to Hong Kong ! A road is named in his memory.
The other man was 27 years old died on D Day! I went to school with his sister and brother and remember their grief. "They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old" And so we gathered to remember them!

November 13

Sunrise in my back yard! We have had a beautiful warm fall. It has been pleasant to be outdoors with only a light jacket. Many a year we have had snow before this. Tuesday Cath and I went to Winnipeg stayed over till Wednesday had dinner with friends and then did some shopping. We usually just go for the day, it was nice to have two days, it was a pleasant break.

We arrived home before the rain started and the next day we had rain . Watched the Remembrance Day Service from Ottawa, it is always so impressive. There was a servic e at the local legion. Tomorrow, we will have a service at our church. The two minute silence will be observed, Singing of O Canada, and God Save the Queen, names on the two plaques will be read. I remember a local boy who was killed on D Day and how sad it was for the family. When will have peace?

A herd of elk, they are raised here for market. Snow Geese, with hay bales in background

Part of the scene on our Sunday Drive.

Tis November!

A friend of my son in law is building this

1600 sq ft cottage! This is Steep Rock Cottage Development, gone are the rustic summer cottages of yesteryear, now people are constructing retirement homes. They were sheating the house in preparation for the snows of winter Can you see the lake , the picture below is the view facing the lake.

The weather here has been changeable We experienced a weather bomb back in October-three days of rain and high winds. It played havoc with Lake Winnipeg, the strong north winds caused erosion and flooding along the south shores. Six to eight foot waves crashing onto houses along the shore taking away dikes, sand dunes, boardwalks My yard was a lake, my house an island , and my sidewalk became a causeway! I had watered and fertilized my spruce trees in preparation for winter, which you are supposed to do, if I had known we were to get all that rain, oh well! Since than the weather has been summer like, here it is November sixth and a forecast of 11 deg today.