THIS IS THE WEEK THAT WAS

Today is Sunday, a restful day. Actually the Bear's whole week is often restful. But it has been particularly good.

First, autumn is in the air. Definitely. We've had an evening of frost, though it didn't bother the pumpkins. (We got those in the afternoon before the frost.)

But the leaves are changing. As more and more of them hit the ground,

the bright autumn colours

become much more dull.

 

Dr. Ron Banks, from Duke University and Duke Medical School (Durum, North Carolina) was up and did a couple of presentations related to medical research, and the place of animals in it. One of the presentations was to the university faculty; the other, at the main public library, for the community. Both were reasonably attended.

On Thursday, J's nephew and his wife came for a visit, bringing their four week old son with them.

Sleepy Bear; sleepy baby

It was not only a chance for us to see them, but for our son and his kids to visit with their cousins.

On Saturday, Bear celebrated another birthday (his 66th), our team won in the Canadian Football League game, and our daughter brought a birthday cake when she came to see the game with us. Bear also got a ton of birthday greetings from friends via Facebook; all much appreciated.

Bear thinks that was a good week.

AUTUMN IS A-COMIN' IN

It is the beginning of autumn in the land of the Bear.

Yes, I know; autumn doesn't really start until September 21, or thereabouts. But, well, autumn is "in the air," so let's go with experienced reality, rather than some astronomic chart.

(BTW, the Australians share something of the same experience. They fervently believe that spring starts September first.  I'm not sure whether this is some kind of universal folie à deux, or something found entirely within the "British" Commonwealth.)

Yet the signs are all here. The "younglings" are returning to school.

(Nutana Collegiate — River City's first high school, located across the street from the Bears' den)

The green leaves of summer are turning to yellow, brown, and red.

It's also Labour Day in Canada, the annual holiday to celebrating the economic and social achievements of workers. In Canada, this has been a calendar event since about 1880.

Part of the Labour Day activity in River City is a big fireworks display. The incendiaries are launched from the Broadway Bridge, a couple of hundred yards downstream from the Bears' Den. They organize the display across the river from our place,

then haul everything up on to the Bridge.

We stand in our corporate box (our balcony) and get an ideal view of the whole thing. No pictures, though; need to keep a sharp eye on the sleepy grandkids.

Nice way to end the summer!

Sadly, I have learned that there will be no Labor (American spelling) Day events across the US this year. Our reporter, Andy Borowitz, tells us that the entire holiday has been outsourced. To China. We Canadians offer our condolences to our American kin, friends, and neighbours on this loss. We hope you don't lose Thanksgiving as well.

Blessings and Bear hugs to all.

SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT …

 The sun is high. The sky is bright blue, with no clouds. 

The air is warm (about 10°C, or 50°F). 

The Elms and Poplars have lost most of their leaves. 

 Even the Larches are shedding their needles (leaves) on cue. 

(Larches are the only coniferous trees to loose all their leaves

at one time.)

While I can usually walk only about a kilometre at a time,

Sadie and I have done three today,

two this morning, another one this evening.

Too nice a day to be inside.

I hope you had a wonderful day, too!

GOOSE PARADISE?

Sadie and I went for our usual walk last night, just after sunset. It was dark, but we could still see things farily easily.

No fewer than seven flocks of Canada Geese flew over us, all heading for the sand bar on the river, just below our house.

When we walked this morning, the sandbar was covered with geese, and a large number had been resting along the shoreline (which they quickly left as Sadie and I approached).

This of course, got me thinking. Are there more Canadians in Canada than Canada Geese, or are there more geese than people? If anyone has any ideas, I'd be interested in knowing. If this fall has been any indication, I would think more geese than people. But I'm only a Bear -- what do I know?

PHRIDAY PHOTOS (On Saturday)

JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWE'EN!!

Oh the weather outside is frightful . . .

(First there was snow; then came the freezing rain)

The roads and walkways were quite treacherous.

But, inside, the fire is so delightful!

(It's nice to have a gas stove in the basement)

But by time the "Trick or Treaters" were out, the temperature had moderated some, and some of the icy spots were quite a bit better. When I took Sadie pup out for a walk later, things weren't too bad.

But the gas stove was still nice to have, in the meantime.

I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE . . .

A billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all.

~ Ogden Nash, "Song of the Open Road," 1933

Now that I'm starting to feel better, Sadie puppy is taking me for walks more often. Today we walked through the civic park just a block from our house, and had a chance to observe some of the beautiful trees there.

(The Larches are turning. These are the only coniferous trees to shed
their leaves, or needles, all at the same time.
The Aspen at the borders of the picture have already shed their leaves)

(The Blue Spruce stand tall and ready for winter. In the
background you can see the stately elms, which are tuning.)

(The Junipers are ready for winter too, and will continue to be
green while the shrubs in the background are leafless.)

It is really such a joy to live where we do. One block to the east, we're at the river. One block to the west, we're at the park (where there are also play structures for children, and a baseball diamond further west).

PHRIDAY PHOTO

To V or not to V? That is the question.

Canada Geese on a sandbar at the south edge of the city

The day before I took these pictures, there were about ten times as many geese on the sand bars. (Of course, I didn't have my camera with me!)

We have hundreds of geese that nest on the sand bars every year; hundreds more stop here on their migration south.

I'm still waiting to get a good picture of flock in flight, in their typical "V" formation. It's quite magnificent. These were "talking" about it; a couple did a bit of a "test flight," but the group wasn't quite ready to move on. Perhaps they were waiting for others to join them.

The snow which had fallen a few days earlier was mostly gone, but the temperatures were still around the freezing mark.
picture