It's a few miles from our home but we don't often drive that way.

I've never taken a picture of it before, but the sight of the massive sugar maples stopped my car like magic. The golden foliage almost completely obscured the house  - I'll have to go back in a week or so when the leaves fall and  take another picture just for posterity.

After I parked the car and snapped a few pictures of the tree, I noticed something that I had never noticed before - a long, low, sandstone wall in front of the house.

The stones are old - very old.

Most old Island homes had sandstone foundations. The stones were cut by hand. Many of those foundations have been replaced with cement basements now. Often people will use the old stones in landscaping and garden design.

This wall was most likely made with the original foundational stones of this house.

Foundational stones that were maybe, just maybe, shaped by my children's great-great-great grandfather's hands.

Now that's something to think about.

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nov 2nd

Bright blue sky

And a hard frost.

Autumn's glory days are numbered.

A Island country lane in Autumn (click to enlarge)Nathaniel and I are of the same mind.

Happy Monday!

with love,

and join with Suzanne and the gang

for

1. Hooray! We've had more sun this week.

Blue sky is definitely a favourite.

2. Apple-picking on a sunny day.

Apples for eating fresh, applesauce, crisps, cakes and pies. Sweet!

3. Fall hikes with a great walking partner ~ Sophie!

She loves to run,

so posing for a picture is quite a test of patience and obedience.

She's such a good dog.

4. Sarah and the kitties are a little easier to capture on film.

Kitty love!

Kitty in the late afternoon sun.

5. Goldengrove Unleaving ~ the wind is dancing with the leaves this week. The maples have lost almost all their scarlet, burnt orange and amber finery. The birch, poplar and oak are adding their yellow and russet brown.

But we're not grieving too much around here.  Hiding in the piles of fallen leaves is all part of autumn fun too!

There are still a few trees holding on. This oak tree, that my beloved planted over 20 years ago, shines golden in the evening light.

Golden Oak (click to enlarge)Hope you are finding time to savour autumn's golden beauty this week!

Thanks so much for joining me today.

Many blessings!

with love,

Remember my little friend who loves to "help" in the garden?

Well, he's grown into a quite a big kitty.

His original name was India but we re-named him Rollie

1. because he actually turned out to be a little boy kitten - not a girl as we first thought.
2. he loves to roll on his back to greet you - all the easier to scratch his tummy.
3. And we sometimes add Pollie because he's so fluffy that he looks like a rollie-pollie ball of fur.

As you can see, he still enjoys pouncing on unsuspecting gardeners.

I have to be careful when clipping!

Most of my flowers are through blooming but there are still a few left in the October garden.

I am amazed at this daylily - I have 3 daylily plants and this one hardly bloomed all summer. I wondered if I should even pull it out. Maybe it heard me because all of a sudden, in late September, it burst out in profuse blooms. Even now, it's still producing its cheery yellow flowers.

Do you remember the primula that I purchased last winter? A certain someone, who remained nameless, had his doubts as to whether I could keep them alive -  I took that as a challenge.

And look!

They not only survived the winter indoors, I planted them outside in the spring and they are still blooming in late October.

Ha! :)

(I'm actually amazed myself that they survived - greatly encouraged but amazed.)

My sedum is still going strong. It's aptly named "Autumn Joy"

Autumn JoyI bought a new variety this year. It's not quite as showy as my deep red sedum, but still pretty.

I also added this plant below to my perennial garden this spring, but for the life of me, I can't remember the name.

The buds/blooms are very tiny - I keep waiting for them to open but they haven't changed at all in the last week or so.

Any gardeners out there who recognize this plant? Could it be an aster that just hasn't opened?

My final show and tell item is the most spectacular fall entry.

My Burning Bush - fiery red leaves and bright orange berries.

Autumn's glory reminder.

The sun is shining again today - it's been lovely this week! Such a nice break from all the rain we've experienced this October.

I noticed a heavy frost on the grass so I'm hoping my parsley and mint survived.

My final garden chore is to gather them in and pop them in the freezer. I'm not sure how I'll use up the mint, but the parsley is great in soups and stews.

The only thing left for this year is planning and dreaming about next year's garden.

Sitting in front of the cozy fire on a winter's evening in my big comfy chair, I'll sip a cup of hot tea and browse leisurely through my garden books and the seed catalogue.

Help me not to get too ambitious, will you??

I tend to forget garden clean-up time :)

Happy Thursday!

with love,

Combine in a saucepan:

• 2 cups seeded raisins
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons fat (shortening or butter)
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ginger

Boil mixture for 5 minutes. Let cool.

Add 3 cups of flour, 2 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp salt.

Bake at 350 degrees for around 50 minutes.

This cake is also known as Poor Man's Cake, Boiled Fruit Cake or War Cake. It doesn't require eggs although I have seen some recipes that use eggs. You can also add mixed fruit and/or nuts which make it more like a Christmas Fruitcake - but my family prefers it this way.

It's a lovely moist, spicy cake. The combination of raisins, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger simmering on the stove makes the house smell so delicious!

This cake tastes very good plain ~ but if you spread some butter on top . . .

oh. my.

It's amazing!

If you give this recipe a try, let me know how it turns out.

Better yet, invite me over.

*grin*

with love,

A glorious

golden day

on the Island

 yesterday.

Today is cool and cloudy.

Banging, rattling and thumping sounds are coming from the roof.

It's chimney cleaning day.

Inside?

Well, we'll have to wait a bit for a cheery fire in the woodstove.

But there's a warm spicy fragrance flooding the kitchen.

Cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and raisins simmering on the stove top.

Hard-working chimney sweeps need the occasional treat.

Recipe tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

and

welcome to

Last week was a little hectic so I missed my favourite Friday routine. I love to join in weekly with Suzanne and the Friday Favers as we highlight the blessings, the favourite moments, those things that bring a smile and give you joy.

1. Early morning light. I generally wake up early in the morning ~ and it's paid off this month. We've had an exceptionally wet, rainy October but the rain doesn't start until later in the day. It's odd, but for quite a few mornings we've had sunlight break through the clouds - just for a bit.

It's lovely to see the light stream in through the windows, even for a brief moment.

On this particularly dreary morning, a single ray "just happened" to spotlight the plaque that hangs on the brick wall behind our woodstove.

Light for the eyes and for the soul.

2. More light  ~ I've been joining with friends to pray for 15 minutes every morning. We stop whatever we are doing at 8:30 and pray for our church, our community and our Island. We choose a different Scripture passage each week to pray through. This week we are praying through Isaiah 44 with a special emphasis on verse 3:

  For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
       and streams on the dry ground;
       I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
       and my blessing on your descendants.

It's so encouraging.

3. and more light . . . I was privileged to attend a prayer retreat last Saturday. We met at this cozy cabin in the woods.

The theme of the retreat was Ps 44 - God is our Refuge and our Strength.

Our window view.

A perfect place to reflect while on our prayer walk - "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God..."

A lovely time apart.

4. Autumn light ~ It seems like I've been chasing the sunlight this week. We had a few breaks in the cloud cover and I didn't waste a minute of it. I grabbed my camera, threw an apple and a drink in my backpack, whistled for Sophie and we were off.

There are a myriad of little country roads on the Island - all interconnected.

I just drive where ever I want -  following the light and the breaks in the clouds.

Light and shadows make the most interesting pictures.

The sun was behind the clouds for this shot.

Look at the difference when the sun breaks through.

Light and shadow = autumn gold.

I never know where I am going on my drives, but I don't worry about losing my way. After all, I live on a small Island with very friendly natives. You can ask for directions as long as you are not looking for north or south or  highway numbers.

When you get directions, they usually sound like this:

"Well now . . . drive a spell down this road, turn left at that old grey barn, drive a mile or two, and then you'll come to a pond. Keep going and you'll see a red tractor parked at the end of the road. Turn right and you'll be on the main road. By the way, what was your father's name?"  :)

Anyway, when you live on an Island you can't really get lost. Just keep driving.

 Sooner or later, you'll end up at the shore.

5. Sophie and I made the annual autumn visit to a favourite spot this week.

Moore's Bird Sanctuary

A place of refuge for birds

and people.

Autumn splendour

on forest floor

and in the canopy.

following trails,

crossing streams,

just meandering along

quietly dreaming,

listening,

observing,

marvelling,

so much glory ~ touched by the finger of God.

My heart can't hold it.

The whole earth is filled with His glory.

Thanks so much for joining me. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Many blessings to you and yours this week.

with love,

to sad

Garden clean-up on the schedule for today.

Before the rain hits,

this afternoon.

again.

:)

but now my lips have tasted . . .

The maker of the pumpkin spice latte is in town.

(you're right Suzanne - it's that good!)

Something else has arrived this morning.

The sun!

It's shining - a rare moment in a month of (almost) record rain and overcast skies.

Not that I'm complaining - I've heard tales of s**w from the south and the west.

But this is potato country and our farmers need some sunshine and dry weather so they can harvest the crop.

And, of course, leaf lovers are happy to see blue sky too.

My camera batteries are all charged.

I'm ready to go.

Maybe I'll stop in at our newest coffee shop

and

pick up a pumpkin spice latte ~ to go, of course!

Happy day!

with love,

Coziness inside.

A good time for reading.

In the current bookpile:

1. Kristen Lavransdatter ~ by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset.

A trilogy of historical novels

set in 14th century Norway.

A beloved re-read.

2. Journey Through The Night by Anne DeVries

I read it in one weekend,

now 19 yr old daughter is reading it

and husband is in line.

Thanks to Ann and Caleb V for the recommendation.

Check out Caleb's list of best books for more.

3. The Library a picture book by Sarah Stewart

Linger over the charming illustrations by David Small.

HT  Nan at Letters from A Hill Farm and Book Psmith - thanks!

4. David Rocco's Dolce Vita

I've never watched the show but the book is a lovely read.

Gorgeous photography

Classic Italian recipes

First on my list to try ~ a Bolognese sauce with cream.

fire crackling in the woodstove

lamplight flickering

a simple supper

and

books.

What could be better?

with love,