ready or not

 fall is pretty well entrenched here already, with the sudden drop in temperatures, and then a mini-heatwave and so on, enough to mess with our heads and make me bring the fall clothes back from storage etc. everyone had a cold at the same time back in the beginning of september - fortunately only the snot +throatache + sneezes, no fever, but enough to show how bad something like this can upset a delicate balance like ours. Rada sick and away from school feels like some divine punishment - everyone is suddenly tied up and cranky and trying hard to not yell at her all the time. 

now we are good - knock on wood - but B.'s paternity leave is over, which means i have to take up some of the cooking, and that we only shop for groceries on weekends, but otherwise, while we're not sick, it's pretty doable. 

the side of our yard (with a view of the neighbours that have 3 cats) is the most reliable for getting a day-to-day glimpse of  fall colors evolution. mostly because i currently live/spend 20 hrs a day in the room with a window opening to this. not a bad way to wake up in the morning. (i remember andrew sullivan's "view from my window" series that i wrote to 8 years ago from cluj - those were the days )

next to the fence, this hydrangea, inherited from 2 owners ago (like most things in our yard). it's the first year when i've had a chance (and time) to observe it from august through october - it blooms pure white, then it slowwwwwly turns pink, and then a bit greenish, i think, and its leaves in turn go gradually yellow. calmly spectacular.

and these little asters are everywhere. not only in our yard, but merrily on the - tended or untended -lawns of almost every house in the neighbourhood. it's the first time we have them, all along the fence. plants-wise, this year has really been much more plentiful than last year. 

most recent (from this morning) picture taken from a slightly different angle, with the sun all in my face. not bad for mid-october. the dew is very shiny in the sun. i think we have about 3 more weeks of turning leaves and all that...then there will be a strong wind, and a lot of last-minute raking.

we take things slow around here, but the one job we had to do this fall was the chimney demolition - we'd been having leaks in the kitchen and were afraid it would collapse through the roof when the snow got serious. so it had to be goodbye, 90-year old chimney! 

at the end of half a day's work (and a bunch of money: obviously we had to hire people to do it!! they came with SUCH a ladder system!) this is our chimney-less wall now: the tarp is supposed to protect the wood from the elements until next season, when we'll install proper siding. we were cutting it really close this season, and even without fall weather, there was covid: the job got done on monday, and on thursday montreal was in lockdown again (meaning no teams of people can come to look at your chimney). oh well.

in the meantime, this is us hiding under blankets from the cooold. (also bought a small heater, but that's less interesting than the new clothes and toys that came from romania in the fall package)

and it's jacket weather for this small baby! 3 months old and still hasn't had a birth post dedicated to her by her lazy mother. i mean, she doesn't seem to have a problem with it, so we'll keep trying to keep her alive and maybe do that post before the end of the year.