Autumn/Fall has always been my favorite season. When I was a child, the excitement of returning to school was paramount. Now, as an adult, Fall means a release from hot temperatures and unending acreage work. Yes, it is beautiful here in the Foothills, but it also means many, many hours spent doing acreage work.
We enjoyed several visits from friends and family this summer with lots of fun activities, particularly with our adult children and grandchildren. Thanks also to our friends reading this post who came to visit.
We did some travelling in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Of particular interest was a 'cousins get-together' at two ranches, one in southern Alberta and one in south western Saskatchewan. We had first been invited to visit in 2007 so it took a few years, but we finally got there. In between the two ranch visits with lots of visiting and great food, we enjoyed quality accommodation, wonderful meals and friendly hosts at the Historic Reesor Ranch. Check it out if you're interested in a holiday in the Cypress Hills area.
Back at home, we had several sightings of black bear scat in our garden, near the back deck and on our laneway. We didn't see the black bear or bears, but I was more cautious, particularly with the grandchildren. (My husband says he can out-run me so he's not worried!) We think it may be the black bear first sighted in 2019 with evidence of scat sighted in the intervening years. The ravine behind our home is an ideal place for all wildlife, and the saskatoons--both wild and domestic--are a big draw.
We picked and froze 75 - 750 ml containers of saskatoons so we'll definitely be eating saskatoons every morning until late next spring. We leave the wild saskatoons for the birds and mammals. One morning when we went down to pick saskatoons, there were many berries scattered on the ground so that was further proof that there was a bear as they are messy eaters. We also saw prints in the garden after a rain.
The raspberries were good while they lasted. Unfortunately, as in most places, we had swarms of wasps. For the first time here, the raspberries were totally covered by wasps who make pulp of the berries. So, I was only able to rescue about two-thirds of the raspberries. I also got stung once which was enough for me!
I had a busy summer volunteering--obviously not running--at the Half-Marathon Run to the Market in June and at the Priddis & Millarville Fair in August. The Fair set an attendance record of 7,000 people over the two days. Our Adult Horticulture area (Flowers, Vegetables & Fruit) had a total of 217 exhibits and 64 exhibitors spread over 21 tables, up substantially from 2023. We were delighted to have several new exhibitors to our bench exhibits. We had five long days setting up, assisting the judges, chatting with the visitors to our display, and then cleaning up. We had 12 wonderful volunteers in our area along with a total of about 250 volunteers for the entire 117th Fair.
I hope that you had a good summer, and that the swarms of wasps are leaving you alone now that we have cooler weather. Enjoy autumn!
We enjoyed several visits from friends and family this summer with lots of fun activities, particularly with our adult children and grandchildren. Thanks also to our friends reading this post who came to visit.
We did some travelling in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Of particular interest was a 'cousins get-together' at two ranches, one in southern Alberta and one in south western Saskatchewan. We had first been invited to visit in 2007 so it took a few years, but we finally got there. In between the two ranch visits with lots of visiting and great food, we enjoyed quality accommodation, wonderful meals and friendly hosts at the Historic Reesor Ranch. Check it out if you're interested in a holiday in the Cypress Hills area.
Back at home, we had several sightings of black bear scat in our garden, near the back deck and on our laneway. We didn't see the black bear or bears, but I was more cautious, particularly with the grandchildren. (My husband says he can out-run me so he's not worried!) We think it may be the black bear first sighted in 2019 with evidence of scat sighted in the intervening years. The ravine behind our home is an ideal place for all wildlife, and the saskatoons--both wild and domestic--are a big draw.
We picked and froze 75 - 750 ml containers of saskatoons so we'll definitely be eating saskatoons every morning until late next spring. We leave the wild saskatoons for the birds and mammals. One morning when we went down to pick saskatoons, there were many berries scattered on the ground so that was further proof that there was a bear as they are messy eaters. We also saw prints in the garden after a rain.
The raspberries were good while they lasted. Unfortunately, as in most places, we had swarms of wasps. For the first time here, the raspberries were totally covered by wasps who make pulp of the berries. So, I was only able to rescue about two-thirds of the raspberries. I also got stung once which was enough for me!
I had a busy summer volunteering--obviously not running--at the Half-Marathon Run to the Market in June and at the Priddis & Millarville Fair in August. The Fair set an attendance record of 7,000 people over the two days. Our Adult Horticulture area (Flowers, Vegetables & Fruit) had a total of 217 exhibits and 64 exhibitors spread over 21 tables, up substantially from 2023. We were delighted to have several new exhibitors to our bench exhibits. We had five long days setting up, assisting the judges, chatting with the visitors to our display, and then cleaning up. We had 12 wonderful volunteers in our area along with a total of about 250 volunteers for the entire 117th Fair.
I hope that you had a good summer, and that the swarms of wasps are leaving you alone now that we have cooler weather. Enjoy autumn!
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