Blog

Ah, the signs of fall in the Kootenays. Some of the trees have started to change their colours a bit early. The nights have a distinct chill to them: not quite frosty yet, but there is definitely a sense of that coming. The robins seem to have gotten quieter, and some tiny birds are performing strange flocking dances that don’t appear earlier in the year.

The strongest indicators of fall for me, though, come down to three annual chores that I’ve grown accustomed to.

1. Winterizing (‘blowing out’) the sprinklers: the sprinkler system has to be emptied of water lest the first hard frost causes damage to the pipes.
2. Switching out the lawn tractor’s mowing deck for the snowblower: this is a bit of a game where I gamble on whether I’ll need to mow the lawn again.
3. Putting winter tires on the truck: studded tires are wise in this area. They aren’t necessary for driving in to town (Castlegar or Trail), but they are nearly mandatory if a trip over the passes is required

Yesterday we completed step (1): the sprinkler system is shut down for the year. I am thinking that the last time for mowing the lawn will likely happen a couple of weeks from now, so step (2) is coming up fast. And I’m about to book my truck with the tire shop to have its winter shoes fitted.

2024’s summer was pretty good. Irene and I made it to the lower mainland for some visiting. We had a visit from my niece Marnie and her boyfriend Greg and another one from Irene’s cousin Anne and her husband Lester. And I was able to fit in a motorcycle road trip to Edmonton just a couple of weeks ago to wrap up the summer.

I’m happy with my first few months of retirement, although my list of post-retirement accomplishments is pretty slim. My original plans have largely been procrastinated into 2025, although I’ve done a few ‘new’ things. I’ve tried to make some progress on a few larger household projects like getting parts of our deck refinished and having some new lighting installed. But the contractors here all work on something called “Kootenay time” which seems to make such things move pretty slowly.

I spent a lot more time working on my blogs and posting than I have in at least a decade: I even participated in a blogging event so that is something. I put a new tour pack on my motorcycle, and have started anticipating and playing a few more computer games.

There are still a couple of months left in the year, and a lot of craziness going with our national neighbours to the South. I’m going to try to be optimistic and hopeful about that, but I expect I’ll have a few ranting blog posts in the couple of weeks.