This is a repeat of a previous entry but I thought worth repeating in light of our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and the beautiful weather we have had. I have always liked the richness of late afternoon colors but this time of year we are treated to a whole season of these colors, albeit Alberta is just usually a few weeks of "Indian Summer" These shots are both from my yard and
a walk along the river valley.

September 19, 2005


  Lingering edge of summer…beautiful morning, dappled light sitting on the back porch, red-green clay pot with matching hanging ivy, wicker basket pots. Houseplants outdoors for the summer, repotted, divided, rejuvenated. The Boston fern originally from mother-in-law’s 1940 plant, again in three, just before the threat of frost to force the inside retreat.

Full harvest moon and already I have has my first phone call. " When can you come ? " on my next work stint in the Canadian arctic, this time in the Baffin region, a small Inuit community of 600, with an eleven letter name I cannot pronounce and have yet to locate on the map.

Summer in Edmonton has not even come to an end with the autumnal equinox of September 21, nor has the first frost arrived and the trees are mixtures of green, yellows and touches of red.

Pockets of beauty, corners of color and texture in my yard that I try and maintain as I begin the fall clean-up.

Roma tomato plants beginning to ripen with oblong fruit like mini- green pears peering through the circular wire cage, three bushy plants in a row on a south facing wall, grown in a bed too dry other years, but now with the soaker hose from the rain barrel managed to survive.

Persistence beauty and abundance.

Potted nodding faces of yellows, pinks and blues of pansies and mini-violets amid green foliage that wilted and announced daily the need for nourishment, but quickly filled again the container with glory. I pull off seed pods deceased blooms and " dead head " to produce more, and wonder at the validity of this work, trying to preserve this lingering edge of summer and wonder at the transitions to come.


    

The balance of my week in Ontario sported some mighty fine fall weather and good visits with friends and family….love these shots of 2 yr old Ethan, friend’s first grand child .Times included breakfast on the patio or an outdoor dinner at the local Irish pub where my neice works as a server on her weekends home from Queens…(NB the local bartender in the background ) a walk along various points of the lakeshore trails,with the discovery of historic sites like this Adamson estate now a music conservatory
local marshes and visiting small shops in Port Hope,  very reminiscent of Whyte Ave in Edmonton. That weekend was an outdoor Canadian jazz festival complete with the small town parade, Sunday service with jazz reflections and a Saturday evening concert in memory of Doug Riley who passed away on August 31.

Cooler but still colorful weather back in Alberta. Ian Tyson sings about getting there ““before the snow flies “ but in all practicality it means getting those outdoor chores done.

Well yours truly, other than doing the usual yard work with the discovery of still MORE cherries to pick ( the only thing in my freezer ) and distraction of scenes like this one of the holly hock flower in the midst, decided to embark on a few house fix up chores!

As much as I do enjoy painting trim and doors and doing minor repairs on screen doors and weather stripping, replacing incandescent bulbs with energy saving ones and so on… it has all become more time consuming than planned. Repeated lessons learned take samples with you when shopping at the home and garden shop including LARGE paint chips….there are many shades of green  and remember how you took the item  apart and what screws belong to what door assembly!

Dysis has a new squeaky toy and has a much more laid back attitude.