Mary Soderstrom's Blog, page 8

 One of the sadder things about winter here is the disappearance of flowers.  After the leaves have changed colour and fallen off the trees, the world is much drabber.  And if the snow has not fallen, there's not even the splendour of sunlight on a white landscape with a blue sky as a backdrop.

 

Except...except people fight back with flowers in windows.  These geraniums were peeking out from a window in le Vieux Québec the last time we were there.  A brave and cheering sight.

 Where Canada keeps its memories: Took a trip to Gatineau to lend a hand during the current teachers' strike, but I also visited the Preservation facility of the Library and Archives of Canada. Couldn't see inside, but very impressive outside. The aim is to shelter both hard copy and digital records and documents for 500 years. @dundurnpress

A little outing Friday to the Musée des Abénakis in Odanak on the St-François river. Very interesting, and afterwards lunch at Café Masko.

 Snow this week, the second flurry of the year. My birthday is November 8, and last year was the first year since I arrived in Montreal decades ago that it hadn't snowed before then. This year, as if to make up for its tardy appearance in 2022, we had snow on the ground October 30 and again on Nov. 9. Gone now, but there are still leaves on the trees even though it's kind of cold.

 
Great fun at the Read Quebec Book Fair.  Got to show off my books and talk to some interesting follks. The event was held both Friday and Saturday in the gorgeous atrium of the J.W. McConnell building at Concordia University

The way it was in the forest on the north side of Mount Royal this week.  The warm weather in September seems to have delayed the trees' gorgeous progression into autumn this year, but things are becoming lovely now.  I feel ambivalent about this, because the delay is due to climate change.  But I will take a few moments to enjoy the display now...
 

Well, you can't see it, but this week a female cardinal visited our grape vine several mornings to feast on the wild grapes growing there.

It was a bad year for pears in out little garden--only three after the squirrels got to them--but the grape vine, which is a volunteer one growing out of our compost heap, had lots of grapes.

They aren't very good to eat because they don't have much flesh, the seeds are big, and the taste is sour.  But obviously that hasn't stopped the cardinals from feasting.

That we have cardinals at all in the backyard is something new, and probably the result of climate change.  Twenty years ago they were a rare sight in the neighborhood but now are rather frequent visitors.   

I have, as you might imagine, mixed feelings about this.  Nice to see the birds, but not happy about what their presence indicates. 

A shower of crabapples!  Went for a walk in Mount Royal Cemetery this morning to find that the squirrels and other critters have an abundance of goodies on the ground right now.  Looks like more than they can eat at the moment!
 

 Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone. It's raining here--and much needed--but this is the way I like to think of fall. It's a good moment to stop and reflect on all one has...

I've been asked by a couple of websites that gives suggestions for reading to create a list or two.  

 

Here's the one  on BookList: