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Friday 16 October 2020

Notes from the isle

Every so often, the weather surprises us. It was hot and humid in the latter part of September and has now turned cold. However, there was a wind storm last week which lasted three days. The wind gusts on the first day were as high as 89 km/h or 55 mph. It lifted six pieces of soffit from our house. While I was willing to wait out the wind storm, my husband was determined to save the remainder of the soffit. Out went our huge step ladder, with husband on it screwing in pieces of soffit hanging from the deck above. I held onto the ladder, feet firmly planted, steeled against the wind gusts. Success! We didn’t lose any more soffit and retrieved the pieces from around the neighbourhood for reuse. The winds were the strongest I have ever experienced while working outside. With a friend’s help, the soffit was fixed after the storm.


One grape vine winds its way around one of the support poles of our patio deck. Usually we share the grapes with the crows, stealthy thieves that they are. This year they didn’t get many of the grapes which is unusual. Maybe they are social distancing. This meant I had some grapes for juicing. It results in quite a mess in and around the juicer. However, the glassful of juice which resulted was tasty, just shy of sweet. I made it last two days, drinking it in sips, savouring the rare home grown treat.


Soup season has begun again for us. As the weather turns colder in the fall, the soup pot comes out. Our most recent soup was a creamy butternut squash with carrot and onion. We like ginger, nutmeg, allspice and garlic in the soup too. I always add a touch of turmeric. For our main meal, we have a sandwich with it. So good! Stew season is also on the horizon. 


Our grandchildren have been back at school for over a month and dance classes have resumed after school. While there have been new Covid cases on the island, there isn’t any community spread to date, no hospitalization or deaths from over 60 infections. The cases are the result of travel outside the four Atlantic provinces, known as the Atlantic Bubble, but the people self isolated when they returned. This Bubble has kept people here safe thus far. We were able to get together with family for Thanksgiving last weekend. A recent outbreak in neighbouring New Brunswick however, keeps us on alert and following precautions strictly.


Listening to the world news every day can bring one to despair. However, a local news story about a city park has caught our attention. Beavers moved into the park where they cut trees, like beavers do. Residents who frequent the park are unhappy with the rodents’ tree cutting activity. The city has responded saying it will relocate the furry lumberjacks. I feel bad for the beavers but they should realize you can’t set up chop just anywhere these days.


Have a great weekend!



30 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

We had one day of windy weather, today it is raining and colder.
Soup weather is great, I love soup. I am glad you could save your soffit. The homemade grape juice sounds delicious. The Covid cases here go up and down every day, just in my state. Schools here are mostly online, they do not have enough teachers. I feel sorry for the beavers losing their home. Take care, enjoy your weekend!

Goldendaze-Ginnie said...

Cute ending ... I lived near a small lake once where beavers were known for "setting up chop". I'm glad that you had a nice Thanksgiving ... mine will be in isolation but with lots of phone calls.

Martha said...

I'm glad you were able to safely fix the soffit. Sounds a bit dangerous out in those kind of winds. glad you were able to get a special treat with the grape juice. It's still so hot here in Florida, no soups or stews for us yet. Hopefully soon. Stay safe and have a great weekend :)

Anita said...

Funny about the crows "Usually we share the grapes with the crows, stealthy thieves that they are" I had to laugh bec I have the same problem here..They steal alot from the bird feeder. Now I have got a bird feeder they can not reach..Instead they have messed around on my terrace and chopped chair hahah Surely revenge

It is good your community do it well against Covid.It is best to live with it and dont let it take control bec then it will be chaos

Here at my place many students have Covid, 20 I think in my town, but they are not sick but since they spread it to more exposed groups they are all in Carantene

At my work,place for the drugs addicted and a alcohol related injuries there is no one infected.In fact no one of those poor people are infected in Norway.Strange!

Ok Marie !Thanx for great notes on a friday

Be well and happy:)

Anita

Debra She Who Seeks said...

We're supposed to get our first winter storm here in Edmonton today.

Anvilcloud said...

I am impressed with your saving the soffits in the storm.

I have been thinking that it almost time to make cauliflower soup. Maybe next week.

Elephant's Child said...

I am glad (and impressed) that you could do the repairs before the damage became bigger.
Hooray for soups/casseroles/stews.
And yes, I feel for the beavers too.

DJan said...

I laughed at your joke about beavers setting up chop. They must chew down trees or their incisors just keep growing! Now you made me hungry for soup. Maybe that's my next project. :-)

William Kendall said...

I'd be more interested in having the opportunity to watch beavers at work.

Rhodesia said...

Yes, we are now on soup as well. We have grown enough pumpkins and butternut to (I think) keep us going all of winter.
Naughty Beavers :-))))
Have a good weekend, Diane

Bill said...

Beavers are hard workers and can create mayhem for communities. Glad they are going to be relocated. Covid is still going crazy here so we might go to a lockdown and lots of people want it. We have lots of visitors coming in from Northern Ireland which is basically the UK and numbers are increasing for them fast. The border counties are the worst. Hopefully what the government decides, we'll know very soon. Crazy times indeed, nice post Marie glad your island is doing pretty good. Have a wonderful weekend!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Continue to stay safe. We have had a spike in covid cases recently, so I am getting nervous about getting out too much. Only for the necessities .

Tabor said...

Your beaver story reminds me of when the beavers visit the Washington Mall and started working on the cherry trees. The beaver family was quickly dispatched elsewhere to save our relationship with the Japanese.

At Home In New Zealand said...

Oh, what naughty beavers LOL. But it is a shame people don't appreciate nature in action.
Soups and stews are perfect for colder days. On this side of the world, I am looking forward to more salads as our weather warms up!

Joanne Noragon said...

Poor beavers. Had they gone to the planning commission they would have learned they are not free to mess with the streams, either.

Debbie said...

schools here are part time in-school, and part time remote. i am not sure remote learning really works, but i guess it is a small piece to the puzzle of learning!!

we love soup also, with a big piece of crusty bread, it is an awesome winter meal!!!

awww the poor beavers, i hope they do well with their move!!

Red said...

It's sad that they move the beavers at this time of year because they do not have enough time to store up food or make a new lodge.

Catarina said...

You were quite busy.
We think of comfort food at this time... I'm thinking now of making that kind of soup.
The beavers don't really care where they set up chop...
: )

Tanza Erlambang said...

Covid 19 infection "rises" again everywhere in recent days....
Hope, this problem disappear soon.

glad to hear your grandkids start dancing class ...must be exciting.

# Stay safe, healthy and virus free

Helen said...

Such a lovely collection of notes! I had to smile at the social distancing crows and beavers setting up 'chops'!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Now it just seems to me that being on a step ladder in a storm of that magnitude is just not the smartest thing to do! Glad it all worked out well.

Margaret said...

We've been having quite a bit of wind lately too and it will soon be soup weather. (or chili!) I wish many Americans could be as smart and careful about the virus; it's discouraging.

photowannabe said...

Wow, that sounds like some kind of wind storm...it's still hot here 90+F..we are hitting some new temp. records for this time of year. It's playing havoc with the trees though. No color just dry and brown..
Nice how things are opening up for you..praying that will happen around here too...some things open and Hubby and I try to stay safe but still sort of enjoy "Life".
Sue

Rose said...

That soffit does not sound like fun...I don't think I have ever been out in wind that strong, and hope I never have to.

Our county had its first death a few weeks ago.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Your beaver story made me smile Marie 😊 They certainly were strong winds, I did have to Google soffit though 😉 Pumpkin soup is one of my favourite also, we are heading into salad weather over here ✨

Shammickite said...

Ah soup! Especially butternut with some garlic and ginger. I made some last week, and now it's all gone! Yes, it's definitely starting to be soup weather.
It was windy here in S Ontario too, almost blew me over!

John's Island said...

Hi Marie, I admire the way you and your hubby live. Congrats on getting the roof back in place without injury or paying someone else to do it. Your cooking sounds like the kind of dishes I prefer. And you are so right … the season for soups and stews is back again. Lastly, “you can’t set up chop just anywhere these days.” So true! :-) Thanks for another fine post and for your kind comments on my blog.

Liz Hinds said...

Success also that Husband didn't fall off the ladder.
How lovely to drink your own grape juice.
I'm a soup lover - I put chilli and coconut milk in my butternut squash soup - but Husband isn't keen on it.
And finally it looks like we're gong back into almost full lockdown soon as a 'circuit breaker'. I really hope it will be worth it.

Angela said...

Love the story about the crows and the grapes! We also love all the soups we can have in the Fall with homemade crusty bread. That wind storm went through here as well but the winds were faster at PEI. Poor rodents now will have to relocate. Hope you and your family keep safe from this virus. Our state here is one of worse in the US. They don't like to follow guidelines about masks and such. Now they are number 1 in America in terms of numbers of infected. Ohh North Dakota. Thank you for the lovely photos Marie!

baili said...

story of mischievous crows was so amusing dear Marie as crows and squirrels are naughtiest creatures we have here too :)

they spoil our pomegranates each year and now we are used to it
glad you were able to sip your grape drink made by home grown grapes ,such a pleasure :)

it is not windy season here anymore though it is airy and gusts are stronger sometimes ,i love airy season so i enjoy it a alot

this is nice that your grandchildren are back and now you can probably get along during holidays
i am sorry for your area is bearing more cases ,i have heard and read that it is because of cooler weather there
our cool weather will start in second week of December probably ,let's see what happens
more blessings to you and your's my friend!