but could have been a goner...but for curiosity with the visiting dog, Dysis. In the last week I have done a number of home visits and taken Dysis with me. The following shots are encounters she had had with 11 year old Black Jack and 3 year old Mango....alot of time just staring at each other and wide circles. Dysis didn't get too fussed and Mango was brave enough to come close and bat an ear!
   

a deer bone. Dysis was given two bones to chew by a neighbour Terry after his hunting on the weekend. Dysis has been extraordinately interested int he smells from his garage where he was butchering and wrapping.
These prizes disappearred when I returned from watching the Grey Cup and suspect
they are buried somewhere in my flower beds.

Anticipating the colder weather spend a few hours on Sunday afternoon distributing the final compost and packing all the tools and lawnmower in the garage....it is now minus 20 and just plain cold! OKAY you arctic residents I know this is not really cold BUT...
   

 who regularily stop at my site and including my daughter Amelia to be with friends in Pt. Roberts ( and take a care pkg home the poor starving grad student she is ) Sometimes we become overwhelmed with the many negative things in our lives or the world situation but I find the " small blessings ' and "gratitutde is an attitude " important as daily reminders.

Blessings to you and yours.

Speaking of holidays i just found out yesterday that I will be north for Christmas HO HO HE HE!
 

Could not believe it in my morning walk in the ravine but where I usually see the row of pigeons on the bridge there was not a crow but a RAVEN! Of course he was being bossy and chasing away all the other birds including about 5 bluejays but i haven't seen a raven since was last north.

Stopped in the usual spot and waited for the chickadees and one actually flew and landed on my jacket for a few seconds.This time the battery in my camera didn't fail...so here are some shots of both the chickadees feeding and a woodpecker hanging upside down on the red mesh suet ball that someone attached to the tree.

Well winter with the minus 12oC I think is definitely here as I have been sweeping snow off the sidewalks and the car before taking off to work in the morning. So no more yard cleanup, but can enjoy some of vestiges of the summer with potted plants such as this geranium brought in from the front porch. One of the things I have enjoyed this fall is the chance to complete a few projects on the inside of the house as well.  The front entry had rubber backed dingy brown 1960s vinyl tiles that took many hours of chipping to remove. Had covered for 3 years with a piece of carpeting, but pleased that I could finally get it re-done. These were 1/2 inch heavy ceramic tiles that had saved from the previous house and just enough for the space.

In October, I made some other serendipitous finds not only at a bi-annual auctions of found bicycles not claimed (good mountain bike and an older road one my only requirement being “tall” ) but also from a neighbors garage sale of an elderly aunt who passed away... got a complete set of stainless steel and copper bottomed pots and pan set. 
Here are my art finds from the same garage sale and where I have hung them. The small mountain scenes not signed but I like the colors and soothing nature in my office. The WK Phillips woodcuts are probably the best investment and I like the detail. The Evans one looks like a snowdrift and is-2/5. The Benjamin Chee Chee one I think is just a print but the craning necks of the Canadian geese are funky.

Have my first cold of the season which has been exceedingly frustrating and energy draining as my nose looks like Rudolph, scratchy throat but hoping with Cold FX it passes quickly…expensive ($15 for 18 tabs) but effective booster of the immune system. My 1991 Honda civic like my own aging body with parts that seems to be wearing out and needing assistance (e.g. succumbed to a pair of “ computer glasses to handle the mid range vision difficulties no longer coping with reading glasses or holding books at arm’s length. The Honda has had battery and ignition difficulties not starting at the most inconvenient times, been thankful for battery charger and booster cables and other kind motorists. The ignition tumbler just got replaced with a bill of $250 and still battery died today at the bank. The insurance company wants a vehicle inspection before policy renewal and I am feeling like I need one too…one 12 point checklist good for another year.

Christmas plans???? I suspect I will probably be in Alberta with travel and work north in early January. Talking with one of my colleagues at the hospital and he said I was the only one he knew who wanted to go north not south for the holidays. Made several inquiries at the beginning of the month and haven’t heard anything yet and it is getting to the point where am starting to schedule December events and not that easy to change at a moments notice.

Keep up with the northern news... noting with much sadness the deaths of the two RCMP members in NT and NWT and the devastating effects being felt in the small communities. Also noted that a flood at the school in Arctic B ay due to a window left open and frozen pipes.

Not certain what too write about this entry as it has been a varied week, but I hosted our women's writing circle last night. On evenings that are getting colder and darker, it was good to gather around a pot of herbal lemon tea  and snacks of muffins, cheese and pears. Of a group that is sometimes up to 10, just four of us last night...but  a good session.

The prompt was to choose a favorite place or room from our childhood, starting with 5 minutes of brainstorming of a list of all the objects or sensations we could remember. You had to let the reader know how much you loved the place through description without saying..this is my favorite place.  Just some intial ideas but after 20 minutes...

Sandra wrote about being a young child at her grandmother's table and the patience of waiting for dessert, hoping for a piece of saskatoon pie; Jane, on her cottage in Cape Breton on hot summer day with a moment pausing from her writing and cool beer to survey the kayaks and sail boats in the water and listen to her grandchildren playing in the sand box; Teresa had us on a walk over the bridges of Millcreek ravine with golden lab Molly who would stop at each back gate on the return trip home until finding her own and I, through looking in a family photo album, went back to my backyard in the late 60s, with the green fringed metal framed swing, to re-visit a teen birthday party and explore relationships of the 3 older sibs and neighbours cat who was too curious on the gold fish pond and drowned trying to catch one.

last night dropped in on Makayla and friends at sleepover 12th birthday. Also present was Kitty who is about 9 months and kept barking at Dysis wanting to play.
 

Clare ( the House and other Musings) reported that the sun has set for the last time in 3 months and in Edmonton the snow is here to stay I think. but it was bright and reflective for our walk this morning in the ravine and consequently a mood lifter, as often November without the snow can be dull and dreary. Stopped for abit to watch some interaction of squirrels gathering mountain ash berries, 5-6 chickadees that so friendly came with in a foot of me, however fleetingly and probably due to an attached bird feeder and a blue jay who kept up a constant chatter. The tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker could be also heard near by but not seen. It was amazing just to stop, listen and watch this interaction. however the moment another party of walkers and dogs came in the paths below all the birds seem to disappear.

The snow and changing from daylight savings felt like a definite change of season, one which i probably have been resisting in my routines as still doing the yard clean up and taking water from the rain barrel late last week but now frozen. Did however have thoughts about planning my next trip  north in december or january and made some phone calls. However so far have heard that there is social work coverage already made  in most communities for the Xmas holidays....seems abit strange as about 6 weeks ago I had a call that help was needed in at least 5 different hamlets. Will wait and see so don't know where I will be for Xmas.

Currently recovering from a visit to the dentist yesterday and the extraction of 3 molars. Timing is not particularily great as I am teaching a seminar this weekend. The head hurts, my jaw hurts and limited to soup and yogurt...just my vent!