The Homestone

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Autumn. September on the Meadow

Fall on the meadow. Our favourite time of year here! After a very dry August and some rather exciting wild fire activity in the area this summer; it is especially beautiful right now. The Aspens and willows doing their end of summer dance and the wild roses displaying their ripe red rose hips. The first real poppy we've been able to bring to flower at this elevation. She came up in the greenhouse and put on a glorious show. and a few greenhouse sunflowers too. Just for fun. We hear the coyotes frequently in the evenings now. David spotted a coyote this morning at the near end of the field as the three of us (David, Vincent and I) were finishing breakfast. Here are a few of his pics. . . as she hunts for a vole ~ and squats quickly to relieve herself (letting us know he's a she :) and off she goes. David and I made a run into town yesterday. To visit the post office and to stock up on groceries for a pantry whose contents were looking particularly unexciting. We were down to visit our son and daughter-in-law recently (and of course our amazing and delightful grandson). Jill is a fabulous cook. Every time we visit I learn something new as I watch her whip up another gourmet meal. I spent some time yesterday poking through the Indian food section of my local grocery store and came home with things to literally spice up our dinners on the meadow. Thanks Jilly. It's about a 45 minute trip to town on a good day ~ not a trip we make very often and always a delight. We normally see a few deer on the drive, frequently see black bears and occasionally muskrats, owls and the odd lynx. In the winter we often see moose. Yesterday on our way home, coming down our driveway, David had his camera at the ready and got a couple of really sweet pics of one of our resident grouse. Ahhh yes, the fresh cool air and the glorious colours of fall. So enjoyable.