Folks,

Dux:

Quote: 'No one wants to play outside in October.'

That sounds like a woeful comment from one of our grandchildren. It is the Pavilion's loss and the loss of all those who might have braved the un-sociable Derbyshire weather. You might manage a solo? Anyone who will stand and deliver music in a downpour with electrical cords running through pools of water has my vote for bravery. From what you have written in the past, I understand that you have accomplished that feat without dire results already.

It is a pity about the gig being canceled due to weather. Over here the week has been nearly perfect with unseasonably warm temps and blue skies. Naturally that is predicted to change markedly for our moving day. Rain is predicted for Friday and Saturday. If it were possible to bet on the weather I might have managed a big win since it has rained or sleeted on all of our previous moves.....

The good weather seems to be spread across the eastern seaboard. C51 wrote a tantalizing description of the fine fall weather around the wilder edges of Toronto. I received it this morning and I'll share it with you now rather than by unpredictable e-mail.

C51 wrote regarding yesterday:

"The weather was glorious, the trees in brilliant colour, the leaves golden, orange and crimson gently fluttering down on me. The aroma of the last remaining wild herbs mixed with the decaying leaves was like a soothing balm. Amazing. The summer being as cool and rainy as it was, the woods were alive with fungi and mushrooms of all descriptions. Artisit's conks, velvety polypores oyster mushrooms, puff balls, yellow and orange slime moulds, pink wolf's milk, a large black stinkhorn and quite a few I had not seen before. Quite a treat."

Indeed, it is amazing how one's life can be crammed into a finite number of cardboard boxes. Since we are only moving a few miles from here we have been moving car loads every day since last weekend. The truck arrives Saturday morning for the heavy stuff. Change of address with the post managed, utilities switched, all is going according to schedule...so far. Naturally this is deceptive, something always goes wrong with any move. We will be living on hard rations by Friday with a minimal of comforts but it will be worth it. I will sorely miss our little grove of trees but I now have another one and I'll be back here to oversee things on this property most every day for a while.

Yesterday a little gray squirrel greeted us as we turned into the circular drive in front of the new house. He ran in front of our car for a bit and then he darted right up a convenient tree. Later on in the afternoon, I spied him sitting on a pine branch just outside one of the bedrooms.

He had seen me at the window and apparently he took umbrage with my being there for he was chattering away and twitching his bushy tail in a most agitated fashion. I am not reasonably conversant with squirrel-speak to know if it was cursing or words of warning pouring forth from the little rodent. I took it to be a territorial dispute that he was bravely bringing to my attention.

Naturally I would have loved to rise to his challenge and enter into a tail twitching contest with the feisty little fellow but alas my sister-in-law being in the house and as my wife's side of the family has always thought me a tad peculiar, I felt entering such a contest in her presence might have been misunderstood. I'll get the cheeky little blighter next week. I'll get the squirrel...not my sister-in-law that is.