The last three mornings we have woken to a thick fog over the water.. It forms a wall of silence. It is spooky and eerie, and I love it.

                                                                                                                                                                               The sea is flat calm. But, looking closely, it is similar to the water in my large canner on the stove just before the water comes to a rolling boil. Small random bubbles break the surface. I know the fish are there just below , they are nibbling their morning food. The seals couldn’t be far. Yesterday, I saw a sea-lion swim below my window. I haven’t seen one since the early spring. I am happy they are back.

The cut yesterday..

The cut this morning.

My canning pot has been busy this week. The fruit on the island is coming ripe and the tomato vines need reaping every second day…. I have made jars and jars and jars of plum chutney, plum jam, pear salsa, HP sauce , tomato and apple sauce. The pantry is almost full. I will have plenty to distribute to friends and family at Christmas.

E took down some dead cedar next to our property this week. Our neighbours offered us the wood if we took it down. E dropped them where he wanted them and then bucked and stack the wood under a tarp. More wood for 2014. We have to work a couple of years in advance as the wood needs to season… Most of the fall will be spent working on chopping wood, stacking the wood piles. Clearing  and burning the slash on the upper portion of the property is on our list too. As long as it isn’t raining, the colder weather is perfect for these projects.

Our fall chores are preparation for the winter. Last year we were spoiled with a mild winter. We didn’t even have a frost. But still we prepare for whatever may be ahead for us this year. We went to Costco last Monday and bought a car full of supplies… If we are stranded due to wind, fog or snow I know that we won’t run out of toilet paper !!!!!  We go to the big city this week for Doctor appointments and E’s medications. Soon we will be set to settle in for a cozy winter. 

I haven’t written here all summer as I really haven’t had much time inside. I will try to catch up.

Although the temperatures are still fairly mild, there is a chill in the air.

Yesterday E put the winter quilt on the bed, changed the sheets on the bed to the flannel

and we said goodbye to the silks.