Thanksgiving

It has been a glorious October.

I decided that it was important to document this in both words and photos.  It will be invaluable this winter.
We were so happy to have Heather and the girls here for Thanksgiving weekend.  Zachary is in the middle of a project that has been all consuming since about May.  As a result he stayed at home working all weekend.
We took advantage of the great weather to do some walking on the trails we have groomed.

It was a motorized weekend as well, the girls were thrilled to drive the skid steer with Pop.

Pat tells me they took to it very well, Norah's short arms were a bit of a problem but she still managed to do turns with the sticks.
The cab in the bobcat is small and you have to be able to put the safety bar down before it will start.  No room for me to get in the cab with Pat and get firsthand driving tips like the girls, I will have go solo someday.

The next country visit highlight involved a ride in the combine.

Both girls were quite excited about their ride.  Modern combines come equipped with a ride along seat that even includes a seat belt. Somebodies thinking.

Garden harvest was another item on the agenda.  As we were away all of June we planted a limited number of vegetables.  We had a great bean,carrot and parsnip crop. The garlic suffered the most from the hail but we were satisfied with what we harvested.  I will repeat last years comment, the absence of large trees and lots of sunshine is a good thing.

After the girls left we got busy with our garden expansion plans.  We about doubled the vegetable part.  

We tried not to get carried away keeping in mind that we have a large area in front of the house that is slotted for fruit trees and berry bushes and I also plan to put some vegetables there as well.  

The angle of the photo makes it look bigger than it is ( that's what I tell myself ). The area you see in the background in front of the door and window will also be planted.  It is south facing so we are expecting it to be a great spot for heat loving vegetables and herbs.
With all the soil moving that was done the great pile of weed covered topsoil that was behind the garage has been cleared away. It is now up to mother nature to reclaim the forest.

It is satisfying to see this outside work completed and we are so thankful for the sunny dry weather.
Pat is out right now starting work on the second area on our road that has drainage problems.  Photos next time, unless it is buried under snow.

Autumn is the best time of year for sunrise/sunset photos.  I will leave you with this sunrise photo  from the land of living skies.