Fall Stuff

I've been a lazy blogger for the past month, somehow I lost the blogging-get-up-and-go, but here goes with what's been happening around the Rook's Nest.

Fall has been happening. This display of colour just outside the Community Centre windows.

And a Great Blue Heron is checking out the fishing rights at the local reservoir.

End of September always means a visit to Markham Fair to see the prize potatoes and cabbages and livestock displays. And the overgrown giant pumpkins. Check out these veggies.... all from a friend's garden.

Saturday night at Markham Fair is the Demolition Derby, lots of steam and smoke and noise and hot metal crunches. I sat up in the grandstand with Older Son and Oldest grandson. We munched fairground food.... blooming onion (very greasy but delicious) and polished off a couple of bags of those Tiny Tim Donuts. 

And now... the big excitement. The only Major League Baseball team in Canada.... the Toronto Blue Jays..... are battling with the Seattle Mariners for the Championship title, and the right to challenge the mighty Dodgers in the World Series. It's a best of 7 games. Blue Jays lost 2 games, then won 2, then lost1, then won 1, so tonight is Game 7.... which is a must-win for both teams.

Older Son managed to get tickets for Game 2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Even though the team lost, it was a very exciting time to be in the middle of a noisy super-loud crazy crowd of almost 45,000 rabid Jays fans. Younger Son was watching on his TV and saw us in the crowd.... see the red circle!

Let's Go Blue Jays!

Update: The Jays are off to the World Series!

Going, Going, Gone!

 

This little maple tree is going to sleep for a while.  Stay cosy through the winter months, little tree.  See you in the spring with a fresh coat of pale green. 

Kicking up the Leaves....

 I'm following a trail around the local reservoir. This trail was well used a few years ago, but for some reason the local council closed it... safety reasons I suppose.  But it's still being used although I only met one family and one runner on my way though.

Looks like there is an eager beaver planning some homebuilding in the neighbourhood.

I went as far as the bridge before I turned back, I'll finish the trail next time.  The bridge has been there at least 20 years, maybe longer, I am amazed that it has lasted this long, through all those harsh Canadian winters. (Actually the winters don't seem to be as harsh any more .... climate change???)

The Baby Tree

 My new neighbour planted a baby red maple tree in the spring.  I've watched as the little tree sprouted new pale green leaves as the temperatures got warmer, then maturing to a darker green as the summer arrived. And now, after a couple of cold nights..... scarlet foliage that glows in the autumn sunshine.

And another view of the little tree through my living room window. Winter is coming!

Reflecting on the Reflections

 Walking along by a nearby pond and admiring the autumn colours reflected in the water.

Just looking at this photo is rather disorienting... everything is upside down. Makes me feel a bit dizzy.

Shaggy Ink Cap

This Shaggy Ink Cap (coprinus comatus) is definitely past its prime. When these mushrooms are young, they have a grey shaggy appearance and they are edible, although I've never tried one. Once picked, it should be cooked and eaten fast, as it literally degrades into a black puddle very fast.

Because the gills under the mushroom cap are very close together, its hard for the spores to be released, so as the mushroom matures, the edges start to dissolve into a black inky liquid and curl upwards, enabling the spores to escape and make more Shaggy Ink Caps!

To actually make ink, the black ink cap liquid can be heated with a little water and some cloves, and voila! you have ink! I think the world of fungi is fascinating. I'm a closet mycologist.

The Ironwood Tree

Along one of the main trails at Drysdale Woods is a large Ironwood tree, (ostrya virginiana), and according to this plaque, it's believed to be the largest Ironwood tree in the Province of Ontario.

I had never heard of an Ironwood tree, but they have the hardest and densest wood of any native tree species in Canada, hence the reference to iron. In the past the wood was used for tool handles, sled runners, mallets, ladder rungs and firewood, but owing to the rarity of these trees, they are no longer harvested and should be protected.

Another common name for this tree is hophornbeam.....  "hop" refers to the similarity of the fruit clusters to hops, an ingredient in beer-making; "horn" refers to the hardness of the wood; and "beam" comes from an archaic English word for tree. 

The tree is growing on a slippery slope, so I didn't climb up to measure the trunk, but it's wider than my outstretched arms. There are a few baby hophornbeams growing around it too. It's a slow growing tree, so I think this tree is over 100 years old.

The bark is composed of shaggy peeling narrow strips that look a bit like strips of fried bacon! These trees rarely grow taller than 12 m (40') but I don't know how tall this one is, it looks pretty big to me.

I'll go back to visit this Ironwood tree again, and I'm keen to see it in the spring with its male and female catkins.

Giving Thanks!

It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. The weekend where families get together around the dinner table and feast on roast turkey, or ham, and an array of vegetables, usually followed by dessert of traditional pumpkin pie. And we give thanks that we all live in such a great country!

Sadly, the Covid 19 infection numbers are steadily rising here. The advice from both the government and the docs is that we should all stay within our own households this year. No large Thanksgiving family gatherings. No big parties. No travelling long distances to see relatives. Stay safe. Stay at home. Keep the infection numbers low.

And so there's no big family dinner happening for me this year. I am at home by myself. Older Son is at home with his family, and Younger Son is at home with his family. It's just not worth the risk. But even though we can't celebrate our togetherness, there's a lot to be thankful for. We are all healthy, no positive Covid tests thank heavens, nobody has lost a job through the lockdown, the grandies are back in the swing of school, and we all have a positive attitude.

It has been a beautiful warm sunny day so I explored the trails through the nearby Drysdale Woods. This area of 55 hectares was a Christmas Tree farm operated by the Drysdale family for over 60 years, and was given to the York Regional Forest in 2014. There's a spruce and pine area, and lots of maple, oak and beech too. This is a wonderful time of year to walk in the trees... so of course, more photos.

Michaelmas Day

Today is Michaelmas Day.... the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, celebrated on 29 September.   Saint Michael is the patron saint of the sea and maritime lands, of ships and boatmen, of horses and horsemen. Traditionally he was the Angel who hurled Lucifer (the devil) down from Heaven for his treachery. 

Michaelmas is one the four quarter days in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due.  The quarter days have been observed at least since the Middle Ages, and they ensured that debts and unresolved lawsuits were not allowed to linger on. Accounts had to be settled, a reckoning had to be made and publicly recorded on the quarter days.

And as the Autumn Equinox happened just a couple of days ago,  here are some Autumn colours. The reds, golds, yellows and purples.... a beautiful time of the year.

First Day of Autmn

Autumn Solstice happens today 22 September, unless of course, you're located on the Southern Hemisphere where you'll be welcoming Spring.  The weather here in Ontario has a touch of chill in the evenings and the maple leaves are starting to show patches of red and gold. But it's still a beautiful sunny day, definitely shirtsleeve weather, and winter's a very distant threat!

Time to get the harvest in from the fields.

There's still a long way to go to get this cornfield done.

But it will all be complete by the end of the day with the use of the harvester farm equipment. Time to get onto the next field tomorrow.

The Musical Ride

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride were at our local Fall Fair at the beginning of October. They performed in a much smaller area than they are used to and had to cut some pretty sharp corners with their horses when executing some of the more complicated maneuvers.

I spoke to one of the riders while we both waited for lunch to be ready at the hamburger stand. She said she had been a rider for 3 years, and had almost finished her time with the Musical Ride and was going on to other duties in December.  I was surprised to learn that many of the riders had no knowledge of horses in their previous civilian lives, and when they apply to be part of the Ride they go through a year of training, and then are able to complete all the complicated patterns. I enjoyed watching the Ride so much, I watched it twice!

A Walk in the Woods

With the sun shining and the sky a vivid blue, I decided to get some fresh air. There are not many of these lovely days left and the cold winter winds are not far away. We haven't had a real frost yet, although one is forecast for tonight.
So I walked though the nearby woods by the local reservoir. The sign says "No Pedestrians, Sensitive Environment" or words to that effect, but if I stick to the path I'll be OK.  I could hear the Canada Geese on the water, honking and flapping their wings. No geese pics.... the bulrushes were too tall and I didn't want to get my feet wet!

 And a big surprise.... art in the forest! Lovely idea.

Window

Looking out through the window of the McKay Art Gallery. Autumn has arrived.

 
Such a beautiful time of the year.

Painted Ladies

Well, I don't know if they are ladies at all, but they are wearing their beautiful autumn colours.... and these photos were taken on dull showery days. So much brighter in the sunshine.

In the bottom left corner, a sign indicating our annual Artist Studio Tour. I've been invited to participate in the Tour in 2017..... I'd better get painting!

Circle of Life

Bracket fungus or shelf fungus, also known as a polypore.