Happy Thanksgiving

Ottawa had amazing weather yesterday, with a sunny high of 21°C: a perfect Lord's day/day of rest/Thanksgiving Sunday. We had invited friends over a few weeks ago, but their plans ended up changing in the meanwhile, so we took advantage of the time to ourselves. After attending the late service at The Met (because James was up way too late enjoying his sound system, etc.) we returned home, changed clothes, ate lunch quickly, and then headed off - like the other copycats - to see the Fall Rhapsody at Gatineau Park. (If you follow the link to the NCC site, you can watch an instructional video entitled "Why do leaves change colour?" - very informative if it's been a while since you studied photosynthesis, etc.).

great minds think alike...or maybe it's fools seldom differ

near the beginning of the trail, looking left and right

Walking through tree-lined paths is always delightful, and every now and then we experienced a confetti of leaves showering down on us. Very cool. We spent about an hour and a half on the trail. Lots of cyclists were out, as were people with progeny and pooches.

dryads

It's a shame that more of the red maples are not obvious in the photos, although there were plenty of red leaves all over the ground, and the color meter indicates it's peak season. There's nothing like an Ottawa autumn, and I doubt the bright reds will ever cease to thrill me. I'll note, though, that the EasyWorship image projected on the screens yesterday morning was of a farmhouse & field, very flat landscape, very prairie-ish, and it became difficult for me to sing, 'cause I got all choked up wishing I was back home. Won't be long now - I've already booked my December flight.

cityscape on our way back to the Info Centre/parking lot

Today has been more overcast, with occasional sunny breaks. James has cleaned out and reorganized the garage, while I've looked after the l's - laundry, litterbox, and lilac tree. Darth and Curli enjoyed a taste of the outdoors while I watered the lilac and heaped more dirt around it. I pulled a few weeds and discovered the tiniest black slug on a leaf. Contrary to my first impulse, I did not squish it, but rather returned it to the grass, where it can continue to do its little slug stuff. I also baked bran muffins and made apple crisp. With the exception of the one guy who decided to sand wood in his front yard, and the other guy who cut his lawn, the neighborhood has been relatively quiet all day, so I guess everybody's children must have been celebrating the holiday with their grandparents or at the family cottage. I'm just now hearing the sounds that usually signify Roman, Cedric, and sometimes Ferris are preparing to engage in swordplay (the plastic light-sabre variety). As far as I know, the only store open today was Shoppers Drug Mart, and it was extremely busy. (I know: I ran over for oil and raisins.)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Here's to a short week ahead!