Requiescat in pace

 Today my father died.

Crick Dry, 8 July

The trees are having a good season--good, long candles, healthy needles, no mold, in spite of the rainy season. On this day, 8 July, the Crick ran dry--it's fading before it reaches the outfall. We did some transplanting this year, but no new planting. The little elm is still doing quite well, all things considered--the one against the workshop is growing like mad. I should really chop it down. We have now cut most of the "wild field" next door and at Diane's; only a few troublesome patches remain. I have hacked out most of the spruce stumps from the old tree line north of the garden.  Dogs: Frey (c. 6), Ollie (c. 3). Then there's Abbie (c. 5?).

Valhalla

 We have a new dog: Valhalla (formerly "Vanilla" and "Valla" for short). The acquisition at the SPCA was hilarious. After assuring me that she was very friendly, very good with other pets, the desk officer cleared everyone and every animal out of the lobby. Only then did Valla come forth....

Snow time like the present

Boris shovelled off Di's roof, a job he completed a few days before a heavy rain which was followed by an ice storm. The woods were completely glazed this morning. Thanks to the fine snipping job on the red oak, it was one of the few trees not bowed under scintillating shards. All along the English Settlement Road, the trees were bent over until they reached well into the middle of the north-bound lane. There were slippery patches on the Killarney Road hill. I'm glad I waited until 8:30 to head in. Even so, the "water over road" signs were plentiful; we'll see what it is like on the way home!

Snow Fun

We made up for the slow start of winter with a compressed but busy season: massive snow storms, wind, hail, and extreme cold, most of in the last month. The deck is half buried in frozen masses of snow and ice, the guttering was damaged (I had to take it down), and it's been hard keeping the path to the oil tank clear.

All three dogs--Frey, Ollie, and Abbie--are fine.

Green Christmas

Our Christmas cookout was a little different this year. We all walked out--Diane too--through a complete absence of snow. It was delightful--no awkward trudging. The only disappointment lay in my having bought everyone new snowshoes for Christmas. Still, two or three days later there was enough snow to try them out, and we did. For the last few days, I have been trekking out in rubber boots; there is still a little snow, quite packed down, but nothing that really requires snowshoes or skis. Today there was a little snow; it does not look like much in Fredericton, but we'll see how it is in the woods.

All in all, this has been a wonderful year for the trees. I carefully clipped all the leaves off the red oak, but we really haven't had those dreadful ice storms--yet.