First snowfall ~ October on the meadow

 October on the meadow

October 8th ~ Saturday morning on the meadow.  We awoke to a grey day that soon turned into our first snowfall of the year.  It's almost noon as I write this post, and there is actually a wee bit of accumulation.  
We're ready too, I think.  For the most part.  And that's mostly thanks to the guys. David and Vincent got the plow ready, the travel trailer drained and pinked up with antifreeze and put away under cover for the winter. Equipment shuffled around ~ that kind of thing. Vince has been working on firewood and myriad other things that need to be buttoned up before we're up to our armpits in snow.
Our little dog is experiencing her first ever snowflakes ~ I hope she learns to love romping in the snow as we do have a longish winter.  

Wishing one and all a very Happy Canadian Thanksgiving weekend!  

Fun Factoid :)  The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts! 

 

August on the Meadow

Oh my goodness ~ it's been too long since I posted on the Homestone.  
Life is crazy good.  

David and I just returned from a long overdue and wonderful holiday which we spent visiting family and old friends who we don't see often enough.  
Most of our time was spent in the southern end of the province where summer days are hot and the nights are equally as warm. We were so pleased that it was rainy and cool for the first leg of our journey.  It allowed us to work up to the hotter weather that arrived. 

We got in some wonderful visits, good hugs and conversations and home cooked meals with folks!  We have vowed to get away more often.  

Arriving home to our cool mountain meadow was wonderful too.  It's so great to have Vincent here.  He is the caretaker and steward of our 'solar powered idyll' and having him here means we don't worry about a thing when we take some time away.  


The hummingbirds are due to leave soon. Their numbers have already dwindled.

The swallows that are left are mostly raising their second broods and so there are still little ones in flight school and learning the ropes on how to be swallows.
We have three blue herons who are enjoying the fishing in Mackin Creek and lots of other birds about; finches, siskins, blackbirds, thrushes, nighthawks, kingfishers... and of course our community of marmots. 

It is socked in today on the meadow with weather reports of thunder storms this afternoon. This morning we lit the kitchen wood stove ~ just to take the chill off.  Is that fall in the air??
The potatoes are flourishing in our new outdoor garden area, we have loads of greens that are keeping us well fed.  Chard and Kale and boc choi and chives ... herbs and sunflowers. Corn and beans too though we likely started these guys a bit late.   There is always next year :)  

For now, we are tucking in and getting back to work with much to catch up on.  Emails from so many wonderful people to respond to and rings to build and summer projects to resume.

Here is a sweet pic David got of two of our marmots who were having quite a conversation on the path down by the creek the other day.  Well, that's a quick update. 
As always, thanks for dropping by and much love. Have a great August!  
As ever, Nicola and David

May on the Meadow

It's gone from late winter gray to MAY!!

 The meadow comes alive with swallows and sandhills and hummingbirds

and geese and coyotes and deer

Our rescued honeysuckle is an ancient bush, still, she is giving us some blossoms this spring

as if to say "I like it here, I'm home."

 our greenhouse is giving us some early spring greens

 Willows and wildflowers just beginning to bloom

 An Osprey on the wing

 Pixie Cups and lichen reach for the sun

 and wild strawberries too

A beautiful time of year and spring could go on and on and on

It would be alright.

April on these 48 acres.

K.  I changed my mind.  I can't quit our Homestone blog.  :)  I just can't.  Especially at this time of year when there is so much beauty to record and share.

And so ... I'll continue on with our Warmth of Wood Blog and this 'home on the meadow blog' with perhaps a little less frequency.  

While it is now the second of May ~ I want to share some pics from April on the meadow.

This is such a spectacular time of year.  The arrival of spring.

 we pressed our little flat bottom boat into service to enjoy

 our naturally flooded meadow ~ which gives us a shallow lake for about a month this time of year.

  

 A wonderful and very different way to explore these 48 acres.

Mr Beaver doing what beavers do

  and some forest floor pics

  

                         

 Life is good.  We are so blessed ~ and ever thankful.

Soon, some 'May on the Meadow' pics.

and a quick moment with one of our late April arrivals.

A Slow Motion Spring

It's the last day of March! Spring is just now springing from the snow packed ground. The melt has begun and the birds are returning.  The male Red Winged Blackbirds have been joined now by the females and their mellifluous conversations fill this 48 acre bowl we call the meadow. 

Our first arrival Canada Geese are back.  Yesterday the most magical thing happened ... I was standing outside on the grass when I could hear them honking from over a mile away. As they flew over the house and out toward the hay field, I said "hello you guys, welcome back" and they did an abrupt turn around and flew back over top of me ... so low... closer than I've ever had them come to me in flight ... I knew it was their hello.  

Spring is nothing short of miraculous!!  It's so amazing to be witness to the natural world waking up from winter, a world we know so well after all these years.
We watch for the first Dandelion.  And yesterday, there she was ~ her yellow flower open to the sun.

There have been a few ducks dropping by but the creek is still frozen in lots of spots and the hay fields hasn't yet turned it's snow pack into the temporary lake that we, and the waterfowl, look forward to.  

The warmth of spring is quite a bit later this year than last.  We enjoy the slow melt to spring ~ the slower it goes the more we can enjoy the change of season.  Spring in slow motion.
This is what it looked like last year on about the 28th of March.  And what we have to look forward to.

As you may know, I have written two separate blogs since early in 2005.  I believe it's time to join these two blogs into one.  And so, I am not abandoning "The Homestone", simply moving it all over to the Warmth of Wood blog.  

Our Facebook page is titled; Touch Wood Rings, 48 Acres.  It's an ongoing conversation about what's happening around the meadow and about the work we do (Touch Wood Rings) and the people we have the pleasure of working with.  

I sincerely hope you will join us at the Warmth of Wood  and also follow along on Facebook if you are one of the millions of people who use social media. With love and thanks.  Nicola (and David)