Autumn is my favourite season. I love the crispness of the air after the heat of summer, and the colours of the leaves. When I was a kid in England, autumn also meant harvest festivals at church, with displays of produce more often bought in the local shop than brought in from the field, although my parentshad an allotment and grew much of what we ate; Hallowe’en, with the apostrophe, and a much quieter affair back then, before the candy-grabbing thing migrated across the pond, but there were occasional parties and bobbing for apples; Bonfire Night with fireworks and parkin and the stange ritual of burning home-made effigies of a Catholic rebel; and Remembrance Day observances, trying to Wear One’s Poppy With Pride whilst guarding against the school-wide plague of poppy-swipers.

The fall colours seem to be far more vivid in Canada than they were in England, and leaf peeping is one of the delights of my adopted homeland. I had the chance to check out some rural scenery whilst the offsrping went riding today.

driveway with riders

Apparently rhinos once roamed the area I now call home. Well, just the one, actually. I found this delightful little bit of local history in the local rag yesterday, and you can check it out online here.

Shades of Monty Python and the Monster Raving Loonies, who now have an official website and actually address real issues such as whether the Gurkhas should be allowed to settle in Britain. They claim that they and only they are the Official Loonies; that lot at Westminster are the Unofficial variety. Make of that what you will.