On Friday, all the leaves on the farm were still green,
pretty much. On Saturday it was a beautiful day and the Farmer decided to take
his canoe out to the creek to water-test it.
I watched as he drove the ATV out over the pasture, down the tractor
lane and into the cornfield, his handmade cedar-strip canoe bouncing along
behind him on the trailer. The soft, refracted light of autumn was shining on
the trees, and the leaves seemed to be changing colour before my eyes. I was
supposed to be spending the morning writing, but who could resist? Fall is my
favourite season. I grabbed my camera, pulled on my rubber boots and headed for
the creek.
I followed the winding path that the animals had made down
the side of the pasture, followed the tree-lined tractor lane under a canopy of
branches and stopped to take some photos of the cows. Mocha came over for her close-up.
The calves stopped eating and turned to stare at me. I hauled myself over the
gate into the cornfield. The Farmer only had about a half-hour lead on me but
he was already out of sight around the bend in the creek. There was no sign
which way he had gone, north or south.
I went back to the water’s edge and found a turtle. He posed
nicely for a photograph, blinking at the sun. When I bent to return him to his
mucky home, I lost my footing and put one boot deep into the quicksand mud. I
sat down on the edge of a big old tractor tire to empty my boot just as the
Farmer rounded the bend. He has a knack for showing up just as I’m doing
something stupid.
I took a few shots of my husband proudly paddling his canoe
in the sunshine. It really is a beautiful boat. I managed to climb in without
tipping us over and we paddled up the creek. Passing through a murky spot, we scattered a
school of mud pout. As the water cleared again we came across a few mounds of
branches and noticed a huge beaver sunning himself. He submitted to a photo
session before sliding silently into the water. The lack of rain hadn’t
completely dried up the creek but it was very shallow. I acted as lookout as we
navigated our way through boulders and the bedrock bridge that the deer use for
crossing. It really was the perfect day for a paddle. But after about twenty
minutes, my crushed legs were pins and needles. We turned around and headed for
home.
Saturday evening we were invited to the Metcalfe Fair by our
friends Lynda Parke and Stan Carruthers. Stan is something of a legend in the
horsing community in this area. He was featured in the book “Horse of a
Lifetime” and he just received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee award for his work
with 4-H and the Clydesdale Association. We were treated to a behind-the-scenes
look at the work that goes into preparing the animals for competition, the cows
and horses standing stock still for a bath and grooming.
As I sat in the lounge for the potential buyers of the 4-H
animals, I watched the kids working the crowd.
We met the little girl who became famous last year for bursting into
tears as she showed her prize lamb, realizing that it was being sent to slaughter.
The woman who bought her lamb last year was so touched she gave the animal back
to the little girl to take home. I wanted to buy her little black ewe lamb this
year, and was prepared to pay $4 a pound for it, which was pretty much the
minimum (but the most we high-rollers can afford). The 100-pound lamb was sold
to the same woman again this year, for $12 a pound.
It was impressive to see the kids working so comfortably and
confidently with their animals. In some cases, young women were leading 1200-pound
steers into the ring for auction. It was somewhat emotional to watch, seeing
how they cared for these animals that would be sold for meat. But alas, that is
the farming life. At the end of the evening I realized I hadn’t seen a single
young person with a cell phone. They had more important things on their mind.
As I looked out my window Sunday morning, I saw orange
leaves covering the ground under our first naked tree. Hello fall. I love you.
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