A proud raven, with a shiny red piece of meat in it’s beak, flew and perched on our roof. I distracted Willow, so she wouldn’t see, but she caught a whiff. The barking started, the raven took off into the grey November sky.
Used the last of the summer onions today. The ones I plucked out of the dry earth when the sky was shrouded in smoke from forest fires. They were tucked away and it was lucky I’d found them.
We still have plenty of beets, spuds, carrots, garlic and smoke. The firewood is also plenty, more than holding up.
November, when the ground is either froze or not, can be harsh. The light continues to diminish, colours disappear and are replaced by grey. It can rain or snow and footing must be tested.
There’ll come a day, sure as hell, we’ll suffer shortages. But for now, thank God, it’s only money.
***
Rode into the bush tonight just to make sure the stars were still up there. It’s been awhile since the sky has cleared. Sure enough there they were between breaks in the clouds. They were all out of place from the last time I looked. It is reassuring to become aligned once again.
We were treated to two owls hooting back and forth. The one who started first sounded like a dog barking. Willow’s hackles went up. Her circle got smaller and she barked back. Then another owl started. It was the the barking owl, the barking dog and then the hooting owl, over and over, for about ten minutes. Finally, between the three of them, they must have worked out their differences and stopped the chatter. Quiet returned. Willow’s circle grew.
***
Down in the valley or up in the mountains, at my age, I’m lucky, I walk where I want, I’m either not worth the bother or too much trouble. Willow stays alert just in case my bluff is called.
Palliser Pass 
Jim R
“It is reassuring to become aligned once again.” Always a good thing.
Hoot – Bark – Hoot ✨
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underswansea
Absolutely! And nothing does it, for me, like being in the mountains looking at the stars. Thanks for your comment. Take care.
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Anonymous
Loved this post Bob….for me, it read like poetry. And, as always, the picture is stunning.
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underswansea
Thanks Deb! Got lucky with the photo.
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mountaincoward
When I used to be able to do owl hoots (which, for some reason I no longer can), I used to set off all the owls around the village hooting! I also used to go around setting all the dogs off barking too. I was quite an annoying child really…
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underswansea
Sounds like we would have got along as children. I can’t bark or hoot like I used to.
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Julie@frogpondfarm
Ah good to hear that garden of yours is still feeding you! Great post Bob … and that image is something else 🙂
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underswansea
Hi Julie, we will still have spuds for Christmas. How about you? I bet your garden is looking great. Thanks for stopping by. Bob
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Julie@frogpondfarm
Think we just might miss Chrissy .. but not too long after! I need to get some pics together 🙂
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