October has come and gone!

Already it is Halloween today!

Mutter under my breath like an old lady......where has the time gone.....?  More important, what did I do with it?

First, the airline industry produced a minor miracle and actually deposited my brother at Ottawa Airport without cancellations, delays, overbooking or weather issues. The last three times he had to cancel just before departure from Dallas, so we had our worried fingers crossed. Unfortunately he "lucked" out on this trip with the first real cold weekend of the fall. Sweaters and wool coats were promptly pulled from closets, and the annoying cold drizzle was endured with the right amount of Canadian pragmatism.

We didn't visit anything in the surroundings due to the cold weather. We went out for dinner one evening and for brunch one morning. And we watched some movies and spent a lot of time catching up and discussing the trip to New York among other things.

Then his flight back home was cancelled. No, he is not still here! He managed to get back via another connection. Jeeesh.

The next weekend was Thanksgiving. As if on cue, Indian Summer arrived. The weather hit the high twenties, and I actually went for a walk in shorts and a t-shirt. There was bright sunshine, and not a cloud in the sky. And there was plenty of nice colour!

Half red and still half green.

 The abandoned house, ethereal in the low light

Nice enough to go fishing 

In the mean time we finally hired a contractor to come and replace the uuuuuuuuuuuuuugly front path and the  uneven and too small patio. This has been on the to-do list for years, but kept getting put off, because we had no idea how much damage would be done when the sewer lines were installed, and the septic system was decommissioned. (A lot, it turned out!) Now that all that is finished we finally could start redesigning the yard.

In the spring I had reshuffled some of the old path tiles we had sitting around to cover the sand pit created when they filled the decommissioned septic tank. This turned out to be a very bad idea. Anything rectangular and filled with sand is considered a litter box by the cats in the neigbourhood.Sigh!

Finally the contractor started the work. For two weeks there was a small excavator and a small bulldozer parked in the yard. When he was finished building the patio and path, we also had him correct the grading, so the water actually drains away from the house when it rains, a particular problem at the front and on the side of the house. Huge amounts of dirt were transported onto the grass, and it was too late to put down new grass seed, so we will have to live with the effect until spring. And I get to go through my gardening books this winter to figure out what to plant in the new beds.

The finished patio in the back, chairs already stored away.

  The front "before" with weedy path, and lovely "lose your keys" gap under the steps.

And now without ugly gap and with new earth.

What was not ripped out was winterized. Roses have been covered, and the new beds have been filled with mulch, to avoid an explosion of weeds in the spring. Next year the contractor will repair the driveway, which needs new crushed stone and repairs to the retaining walls. Wooohooo curb appeal!

In between the work and garden clean up we made plans to go see a show at Absolute Comedy. Six of us went for dinner at Pub Italia (200 kinds of beer!) and then to the show, just down the street. Headlining was Andy Hendrickson, who was very funny, and there were two opening acts. One of the opening acts was a former Montrealer who moved to Ottawa. I can relate! A very fun evening.

This past weekend we finally made a day trip again. We woke up to a cold day with brilliant fall sunshine. It as not too difficult to forget the to-do list and the house cleaning and get outside while there is still some colour.   We took the back roads to Kingston, through Perth and Westport. Not too far past Westport we stopped to take some pictures at Bedford Mills. This is a ghost town where the original mill and the church are still standing, but no other buildings have survived. The church is still in use, and the mill is now a private residence.  They have a nice view!

The mill at Bedford Mills surrounded by the last of the fall colours

At this spot the birds were screaming and chattering the way they usually do in early spring. It was really weird and we could not figure out what could be causing that.

Once in Kingston, we lost the good light,but we still managed to get some nice pictures in the flat autumn light. 

At King and Earl Street.

Tunnel effect under the trees along King Street.

A little colour against the old grey house.

 Outside Earth to Spirit. Do they drag this in every evening?

Courtyard entrance to Chez Piggy's

Without the sun it was below zero with the windchill, so we took refuge in our favourite lunch spot in Kingston, Chez Piggy restaurant. This place never disappoints!  They had something called Pisco on the drinks menu, which was so tasty, we have since picked up a bottle to savour at home.

Once warmed we resumed our walk around and came across this unusual garden:

How much planning went into this? Either a lot, or none at all.

A for originality!

 We drove back in the late afternoon along Hwy 2 and the 1000 Island Parkway. We had unfortunately lost too much of the light for more pictures.

And now it is Halloween. As usual, there isn't a single kid on our street, maybe because none live on this street. So we make a fire and watch a movie. Tomorrow is November. 

Really? Already? We should not complain, though!. Boston got 28 inches of snow yesterday. Usually we get it first!