The Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold winter. We've been trying to prepare for it, when we're not just frolicking around our land. I've spent the past 3 days limb-lopping the trees that will be processed into easy-to-handle firewood this weekend. This Sunday we will finish posting our land as a "no hunting, no trespassing" zone. Deer season starts soon, but bird season has already begun and Luba is wearing hunter-orange at all times. We have orange knit caps we wear outside, which have the added benefit of being warm.

I've discovered a "real" cafe, not too far from home. I'm thrilled. Tim Horton's really only has it's hours to recommend it. This cafe has books to read, good coffee, and old wood floors! It's everything a cafe ought to be, and it's in a bustling little downtown with a co-op and a tiny bookstore!

I'm getting more and more at home with being out of town and alone with the natural world. Recently I've been putting off my trips to town in favour of staying on the land. I have less need to run in for "just a couple things" and more desire to make do with whats there and save myself the trip. Now I make my trips longer, more productive, and less often. I make a list and check it dozens of times. I write out my blogs before-hand (well, not this one), and spend the rest of my time carving a life out of the raw beauty around me, or reading beside the fire, or writing, or playing in the trees.