Blogtober 12: A Quiet Day

 

This morning's joke was "it's a day off!" Well, when retired, most days are free. I always thought a Monday holiday after the weekend was the best of all. 

After our lovely Thanksgiving yesterday (and the preparations beforehand during the week), I did very little today. No cooking because there were plenty of leftovers. I do love to cook, but a day off is very relaxing. I read, I sewed, and we walked at Tod Inlet.

The forest is as dry as I have ever seen it. Normally, the fallen leaves would be sodden on the ground. Now they are dry and blowing up with the slightest movement. There is some chance of rain in the forecast and I hope we get a good amount. 

Lots of people had the same idea as we did. Families with young children, teenaged couples, groups of friends - it was a busier than normal little hike. Going down the trail we met a large group of people returning, many of them carrying similar bags and coolers. I assume they were down at the water for a Thanksgiving picnic. 

It was certainly a beautiful day for a picnic, if one brought along a jacket and didn't mind a bit of wind. Lots of blue sky and sunshine. 

A frequently seen quotation at this time of year is from L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. I'm sure you'll recognize the one sentence I'm talking about, and I thought to include the larger setting of Anne's words. 

October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the land put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths. 

Anne revelled in the world of colour about her.

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill - several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."

"Messy things," said Marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeably developed.

I have to laugh. Marilla has such a matter-of-fact way that contrasts beautifully with Anne's flowery language. 

Much of the colour is fading in the woods, but I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and the reflections in the water. 

Clear skies mean colder nights and this morning I noticed frost on the roofs in our neighbourhood. The outdoor thermometer registered barely over 0 Celsius. I brought in what is very likely the last harvest from the summer garden - the remaining basil which I'll dry, a few ripe tomatoes and plenty of green ones, a few radishes, and one slender zucchini. I also popped a few ripe raspberries in my mouth. 

Other things will grow over the winter - kale, Swiss Chard, and a few carrots. I threw my leftover seeds in the ground in early September when it was still very warm, and a mixed bed of carrots, radishes, and lettuce is springing up nicely. 

I finished a very enjoyable little book - Love and Saffron by Kim Fay - a short epistolary novel taking place in the 1960s. I found it charming. Have you read it?

This evening I'm going to settle in with Miranda Mills' Cozy Commonplace Book.