This, that and the other -

Well, first of all - after five wonderful great grandsons, a second precious great granddaughter to grace our family, - what a joyous welcome she received!!!  In her honour the sky is blue, the sun is moderate and kindly warm, the birds sing and the colours of fall are subtle and mellow along the roadsides and through the hills....

Everyone and all things are elated!!

 And she lies in her little crib, rosy lipped and content, and full of promise.

I find as one grows older new lives are ever more precious, dear and enduring.

I have been poking about in the garden this afternoon, cutting back the phlox and

encouraging the chrysanthemums which seem late in blooming this year.

I look with dismay at a number of our trees that are afflicted with aphids 

and the way the syrup drips from the branches and glosses

the leaves of the plants beneath.

Desperate pruning and spraying seem to be the order of the season,

either now, in the fall, or next spring.

And when I have not been in the garden these lovely autumn days

I have been knitting or reading or weaving towels for Christmas.  A pretty lace scarf finished

while I watched and listened to the Berlin Philharmoniker in concert yeseterday morning

with Zubin Mehta

(my favourite conductor) 

Or I have been reading.  After poking into the history of Kingcome Inlet

for an ABC Wednesday blog I went looking for a copy of Margaret Craven's

novel "I Heard the Owl Call my Name" and have enjoyed re-reading it after

many, many years.  Well, I have enjoyed it, but I was also in tears part of the time,

in the very sad parts.  I an thankful now that there is a greater

respect and familiarity between First Nations and the later inhabitants of this land (us).

Although, in the Similkameen, where there has always been a sharing of schooling,

there has been great friendships amongst those First Nations people in the valley who are

the same generation as we were, as our children are, and their children, too!

Then in church this morning, I was mentioning Kingcome Inlet and the book

to our priest, and he told me

that he had been in Seminary at the same time "Mark Brian" * was preparing

for the Anglican priesthood.

*(the name of the protagonist in the book)

And the friend who was sitting beside me when we were having coffee

told me that in the fifties Kingcome Inlet had been on her husband's itinerary, 

and so she was familiar with it, and with the book......

How life all fits together when we are aware......

Tonight I am planning to start another scarf  (Christmas coming....), watch the first episode

of Indian Summers on PBS, and look at the moon do its scheduled

dance with the sun and the earth.  This will be my last chance,

as I don't expect to be here in 2033....

But now it is time to go and warm up my supper.........