Dear Neighbor . . .

 

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ESTATE LANE, NS
Frost on the cobbles

Hello my online neighbors.

I love that word, neighbors. It has nothing to do with proximity, it's a state of mind. I always feel like I have neighbors all over the world. Kindred spirits. People who I have never met in person, but through the touching of our hearts, we have become the best of neighbors. People I love to share the details of my life with because I know they will honor them.  Invisible friends as it were. 

It is a very cold morning this morning. After a clear, clear night where the moon shone down in brilliance, the day is dawning clear and very cold. It was 1*C when I got up at 5:30 and has only risen one degree since them.  For those of you who are in America, 1*C is the equivalent of 33.8 in Fahrenheit. So very chilly indeed.  I am glad that I took my outdoor geranium over to Cindy's yesterday so that it could winter in safety along with theirs. I have no windowsill here in my house that is wide enough to hold it now, not without the cats knocking it over.  I really only have two windows, My large front window and my bedroom window. I don't think the doors are actually classify as windows, do you?  Well perhaps, but there are no ledges to hold things. 

Also, the fact is that you cannot have a cat (s) and also have things on the window ledges safely, not unless you don't mind things getting broken. It is in their nature to want to sit at the window and watch the outside world, and I do not, I will not, begrudge them that small pleasure.

 

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The glory of October in Nova Scotia is something most beautiful to behold. The small town where I live is nestled in the heart of a valley snuggled in between two mountains, which are bordered on their outer edges with water. To the North, the Bay of Fundy.  To the South, the wild Atlantic.

Mom always called this God's country and, although you may beg to differ (we all hold particular allegiances to where we are from), I have to agree.  This is God's country. Never more than at most an hour away from the ocean, or twenty minutes from the bay, at this time of year the mountains are coated in changing colors, interspersed between the green of the abundant fir trees that never change, not really.

It is always beautiful here in October. Marked by the blazing splendor of the Maple trees, the pure garnet of oaks, and tawny swathes of harvested fields.  On a good day, bordered by brilliant blue skies with nary a cloud and on a bad day, skies of deepening shades of gray cloud.

Beauty surrounds us.

 

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Our little valley is full of orchards from one end to the other. Apples, pears, peaches.  Fields of pumpkins and corn, onions and potatoes.  In early summer, beautiful berries.  Now the orchards ring with the sounds of the apple pickers as they work. Most come from Jamaica. You see them in town from time to time, balancing their shopping on top of their heads.  It seemed to be most peculiar to me at first, but I am quite used to seeing it now. 

The maple tree in my back yard is finally turning now. It does not get really scarlet as some of them do. But it does turn a burnished yellow.  First to get its leaves in the spring, and last to lose them in the autumn.  It lost a large branch over this past year that broke during a fierce windstorm. It always amazes me that trees can bend and break as they do, and yet still continue.

I suppose that is a bit like us.  We also bend and sometimes break, and yet still . . . we somehow carry on. What does not break us, somehow builds us.

 

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There has been someone camped down in the town park by the river for the last month or so. There is a series of small tents and tarps. My heart goes out to the homeless, especially at this time of year when the temperatures are dropping, and you know the Winter is just around the bend. They are very much at the mercy of the elements.  We live in one of the richest countries in the world and yet we still cannot fully take care of our own. It saddens me to see.

I think if I had the money and means I would buy these people a better tent to protect them from the elements and perhaps a good camp stove to keep them warm.   I saw a couple, a man and a woman, walking down the gravel path towards the encampment as I drove past yesterday, and I had to wonder if these were the poor souls who have found themselves having to exist in such a way.  

It did sadden my heart. I am always very cognizant of my own blessings. I know that there, but for the grace of God, go I.  Those of us who rent are always flying precariously close to homelessness, finding ourselves at the mercy of Landlords who hold our purse-strings tightly.  I am grateful that this place I live in only raises the rent when someone vacates a property. So, my rent will stay relatively stable for as long as I am here. That is an extra special blessing that I do not take for granted.

 

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I try not to think of how precarious my situation is most of the time.  I just keep plugging away. I will do so for as long as I am able, and after that . . .  who knows. What will be will be.  I am not ever going to let the uncertainty of an unknown future deny me the joy that is mine to hold today. I count my blessings where I find them and very much trust in Him to take care of me and mine. He has yet to let me down.

 

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“I see quite clearly that all good things must come to an end. 

The summer has been splendid, but it has lasted long enough. 

This morning I welcomed the chill in the air and 

viewed the falling leaves with cheerfulness.”

 ~A.A.Milne

Cindy and dad are almost back to normal now. Testing negative, although Dan is still not recovered.  But it has only been a few days for him.  Dad took us out for supper last night. He is still coughing but that is residual and will gradually go away.  I hope.  Dan did not go. He stayed home.  The other three of us enjoyed fish and chips at the restaurant which is only just around the corner from where I live.  The fish was very nice, perfectly cooked with a beautiful crisp batter.  The fries were also very nice.  I was grateful that we were all there, having weathered their recent illnesses.  Thankfully I did not come down with the virus. Not this time anyways.  Dare I mark myself as being out of the woods now? It has been 8 days since my exposure.  

Cindy and I did go out to do a few errands yesterday in the car.  Both masked.  Not taking any chances.  I see more and more masked people out and about. I think it is a wise thing for the moment.

This week I have had the maintenance man from these rental units come and clean the filters in my heat pump and air exchanger. He also fixed my doorbell which was not working. He used to work with his brother, but he is on his own now.  Sheila next door says that his brother quit and is now working for the people who take care of cutting the grass and the snow clearing in the Winter.

 

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I picked up some Halloween treats yesterday. They have gone way up in price it seems. I did get reductions on them. I would not pay the full price they were asking. One box of candy bars was regularly $16.99, but I got it for $12.99 with my club card. The other was $21.99, and I got it also for $12.99. Plus tax of course.  It will have to do.  I won't be buying boxes of potato chips to also hand out this year. I cannot imagine paying full price for those treats. Such tiny bars they are.  

We do get a lot of children that come in here where I live. It is always fun to see them all dressed up in their costumes. A lot of the parents dress up as well now. I did not dress up when my children were young and trick or treating. It was enough to be able to get them costumes to wear.  One year my oldest son wanted to be a robot.  We made him a costume using cardboard boxes and dryer vent hoses.  My husband covered the boxes with plaster of pairs and spray painted it all with silver paint.  My son was so pleased with his costume, although the plaster had made the boxes very heavy. He did have aching shoulders at the end of the night, but he felt it was worth it to be a robot.

I cannot remember all of the things my children dressed up as each year. I wish I had taken more photos, or better note of things. I suppose back then I was too busy with everything that I had to do to be able to really drink in these simple things. Now I am older and have more time on my hands to think, etc. and I would do a much better job of holding in the memories. At least I like to think that I would.

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We have come to the time in autumn where it rains leaves. With all of the rainy weather and winds we had last weekend, quite a few of the trees have been stripped of their leaf, the ground beneath them being littered with branches, twigs, leaves, bark and dead flowers.  Nature's tantrum.  

Back in the day we used to take such delight in raking up piles of leaves for the children to play in. I remember too as a child, playing in the fallen leaves.  We would rake them into rough piles and columns. Into circles that designated rooms, and we would play house within those leaf-colored walls. It was always such fun.  

Yesterday I heard the plaintive cry of geese overhead, and this morning the earth is covered with a thick mantle of frost. There is no denying that the colder weather is well on its way and will soon be with us.

But for now, we will enjoy whatever color and warmth that we may find in each day.  Made all the more precious for the knowledge that it will not be with us for much longer.  I shall truly be able to say, "It was lovely while it lasted."

It is time now to break out the woolies in earnest.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.°In solitude we give passionate attention

to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.

~Virginia Woolf° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

In The English Kitchen today, Baked French Eggs. Ouefs En Cocotte.  Rich and delicious and very simple to make.  Enjoyed as an indulgent breakfast or a simple supper.  You decide.

I hope that you have a beautiful day.  I was right, the sun has risen to expose a heavily frosted ground and rooftop. I was right to take my geranium to a much safer place.  Whatever you get up to today, I hope you stay safe and are blessed with things which make your day a happy day.  Don't ever forget, my dear online neighbors . . . 

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And I do too!