Autumn Leaves

Again  the leaves have started to change colors. Many family events
kept us busy this summer. An Anniversary (actually two), a birth
and a death. The cycle of life.

Here we are back at the acreage- our own little Walden hideway.
Sadly, the boat I had hoped to work on did not see the water. I did make a little progress on some of the boat repairs.  So, the boat is
tarped again and awaits another season to pass. 
 
At the acreage we have a trail that leads through some very tall
spruce trees into a clearing and then continues to the main road.
Along the trail is a dried creek bed which sometimes fills with
water at spring break up.We often notice small trees are flattened
and expect deer or moose have on occassion made it a point to bed
down there. Squirrels are busy shoring up a good supply - which
likely means a cold winter is on its way. A prairie chicken scampers accross the trail. Walking west we pass the old growth
forest which is on our left, to the south. We have purposely left
this area natural, only moving a few fallen limbs from older trees.
We found the remains of a moose. Did it die from old age?  Had
the wolves chased it from down in the valley into our acreage?
We are told the occassional black bear wanders about, but have
not seen any. The coyotes are starting to sing early in the afternoon,
and my wife heard a lone wolf just the other night. The days are
now shorter.

On the weekend I dropped by Jakes farm and picked up some straw
bales for our septic and cistern  at the acreage. Defintely helps
keep away the cold. Jake combines dairy with grain and has some
crossbell performance horses. He is a young, strong ambitious man
with a young family. Jake helped load the straw bales, quietly reminding me that last season I had taken some hay bales - and I confess that was my mistake. Although the deer had a good feast.

At the acreage my wife is in the garden taking out the last of the
potatoes, beets and carrots. Meanwhile I drag about the straw bales
I had gotten from Jake. There is snow and rain in the forecast.

A few days earlier I had trucked some goods to Anzac, to the same
Long Lake project being visited by some American Republican
Senators I do believe. They wanted to see first hand just how Alberta looks after its land, and especially what was being done
with the process of reclamation. There is still a problem of pollution in the Athabasca River and concern of what its doing to the fish. Government has a huge responsibility to work hard and ensure that mother nature is treated right and receives all the care
necessary. After all, future generations depend on it.

The geese fly overhead in the V formation. Sandy and I take another
walk through the woods and discover some low bush cranberries.
Thoreau would approve....