Friday 15 October 2010

Fall spectacular

While there is plenty to recommend living here, one of the great negatives is the short riding season. If you’re a wimp like I am (hey, I earned my stripes; I’m just older and smarter now) who doesn’t care to ride in the snow, on frost-coated roads, or in freezing rain or sleet, the riding season is about 6 months long, with rides on both ends of that spectrum being few and far between.
However that doesn’t keep us from hoping for that one last ride of the year when Indian Summer is in full swing, the sun is shining brightly on the yellow and red and orange of the forest in its full fall livery, and the temperature is somewhere above absolute zero. But this year, with near-record rain for much of August and all of September, I was almost ready to give up, thinking perhaps it was time for the fall oil change and then beddy-bye for the next 5 months.
Then came this past weekend.
The (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend is usually marked by extremes here. It’s either absolutely miserable with leaden skies and any combination of rain/snow/sleet, or it’s spectacular with clear deep-blue skies and mild temperatures. This year we lucked in to the latter with a fantastic 3 days of sun and mid-40’s temps. And though other commitments kept me occupied for a lot of that time I did get out for a short 2 1/2 hour ride.
Here’s some of what Mother Nature had to share.
 
Mushrooms on forest floor
Saw these mushrooms beside the driveway as I was heading to the garage.
Sugar maple for web
Sugar maple at the end of the lane.
Snye Road for web
Snye Road.
Laneway coming home
Coming home to our lane in full colour…
Doe and fawn in laneway
complete with doe and fawn as welcoming committee.
And barring an amazing turn in the weather over the next couple of weeks, that’s going to be just about it for this year, so I might as well give her some fresh oil and cover her up with her winter blankie. Perhaps that’s a job for tomorrow as the cold and rain is expected to continue for a few more days at least.

9 comments:

  1. Awesome pictures and wonderful scenery. Get out when you can thats what I say. Like to stay warm and dry If I can but if not well thats fine too!

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  2. Lovely pics from the fall foliage. Haven't seen this in a long time, last time was October 1999 in Montreal. I hope to return one day to see these rich colours again. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Beautiful colours, especially that Sugar Maple! It must be terrible to have a five month period of no riding though, here in SA we can pretty much ride all year round, even in winter we get lovely riding days.

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  4. Truly magnificent photos. You may have a 6 month riding season but don't you Canadians then leap on snowmobiles and do all sorts of insane things on them?

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  5. All - Thanks for the comments and compliments.

    Geoff - Not really into snowmobiles, but they have an even shorter riding season - about 3 months - when there's enough snow to really get out and enjoy them. However I am thinking about putting studs in the XL500 tires and playing on the ice a bit. We'll see.

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  6. Spectacular is right. Beautiful pics man.

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  7. Fall is so awesome. Mother nature really shows off her colors. Too bad it don't last long.

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  8. Dear Canajun:

    What a magnificent driveway you have! I envy your surroundings. The trees here are not yet that advanced into fall colors, but that will come next week. I have not been able to ride, owing to a really advancedarthritis flare-up. But I do hope to get out again if I can get the pain under control.

    My plan was to ride whenever the roads were dry and salt/sand free. I love your pictures. However, those damn deer would be in a pot on the stove if that were my place.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads

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