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Summer moving to autumn and then winter.

This transitional time is my favourite time of the year - while I love to watch the world wake up from the frosty cold of winter, I often find that changes happen too quickly in the springtime - the temperatures and precipitation can yo-yo and leave me feeling caught up in a whirlwind of changes. The summer has its warmth and lazy hazy days, however I find it almost too vibrant - too green. When the days start to shorten and the leftover heat of the day cools down, the air takes on a bit of crispness and the leaves on the trees start to take on their autumnal colours - this is my time of year - this is when I feel grateful to be able to spend time outside and soak up the lingering warmth of the season.

I prepare for the chill of winter and actually long for the pristine whiteness of the snow covered scenes. I look forward to the winter activities we enjoy - there is an anticipation of the winter months ahead while I revel in the beauty of autumn.

The changing of the seasons brings a shift in activity level - we move from bbq and outdoor entertaining to raking leaves and buttoning up things for the cold months ahead. It’s tiring work, but it somehow leaves me feeling satisfied and ready to cozy up and nest for the winter months.

How we mark the changing seasons

These last days of lingering summer warmth are precious as we never know when they will come to an abrupt end. We get outside with Roxy as often as possible as she loves to walk in the fall sunshine.

The slightly cooler temperatures are just perfect for her as she’s not a fan of sweltering heat or freezing cold. We’ve discovered a new joy watching her chase pine cones when we toss them about in the back yard.

Time outdoors becomes something to savour in these last days of transition between summer and autumn. The mornings are crisp with a chill in the air, but the afternoons turn into golden warmth that quickly fades again as the sun starts to set.

There is something about the quality of light at this time of year as well - it’s lower in the sky and the golden hues really radiate warmth. I’ve come to really value photography time during autumn with the changing colours of the leaves, the delicate patterns of frost in the mornings and when I’m really lucky the hint of ice frost or fog in the air. It’s just a magical combination of conditions for photography.

Having said this, I do love the shift to cooler colour palettes that comes with that transition to winter. The sight of morning fog or snow is enough to get me leaping out of bed and grabbing my camera gear to head out for a photography walk. There is something exciting and mysterious about this time of year for me.

The fruits of our renovation labours

I’m sure that many people are fed up hearing me talk about our renovations - I know that Kory is just tired of experiencing them as am I. We’ve just finished laying flooring in the downstairs area and putting on baseboards and doors in his music studio area. We’re now moving into the exciting time of doing some final set up.

I’m mostly excited about being able to go downstairs without having to venture outside to do access the lower level - yay!

It has been challenging, however there have been some amazing moments along the way. For example there was the day that I looked out to see the screw pile driver seemingly make its way to the backyard solo (the operator was walking behind, but out of my line of sight - using a remote controller).

It was gratifying to have the deck safe and secure on new piles (the old support posts were rotted and in some cases not even located on the original footings.

Another exciting time for me was when the outdoor barrel sauna was finally hooked up and functional. When we first moved in there was an old disused hot tub on this site. I have to admit to not being a big hot tub fan and neither is Kory, so we couldn’t see ourselves using it.

In addition it needed a lot of work to bring it back to some kind of functional state, so we gave it to a friend who wanted to take on the challenge of repairing it and made the decision to install a barrel sauna.

These units are made locally and they came and did the install for us. The scent of cedar is amazing and we have a corrugated top on it to prevent water/melting snow from dripping into the sauna as the wood will expand and contract over the seasons (there is some maintenance to keep the strapping cinched tight to minimize this effect).

There is nothing better than heading outside for some self care in the sauna and there is the added benefit of recent research showing positive effects for circulation to reduce brain fog and possibly reduce the risk of dementia - something close to my heart as my mother suffered from dementia.

I can see us using this sauna after a vigorous cross country ski or snowshoe through the ravine behind our little forest. We’ve already started using it about 3 times a week.

A last trip to the lake for the season

With all of the renovations we did not get to spend much time in our camper van this year. In fact our only time was spent camping in the driveway while we worked on the house (prior to moving our furniture here). Ironically this really seemed to help Roxy adjust to the new home as we spent nights in her favourite camper.

I took the opportunity to make a quick trip to visit friends at the lake before the cold temperatures and snow really sets in. I had hoped to catch one last kayak on the lake, but I was a bit too late and the dock has been taken out and all the boats tucked away for the winter. This time of year there is a haunting look in the early mornings with amazing sunrises and soft mists creating that mystery.

This year I got to see a large flock of common mergansers - doing some last minute fishing before the lake freezes over, but there was also an unexpected late visitor. A juvenile loon - a lone loon on the lake.

All the others have migrated weeks ago and yet this young fellow continues to swim the lake and make his haunting call in the early morning air.

He doesn’t seem injured, but we haven’t seen him fly either. It’s not clear if he has missed taking off with his fellow loons or if there is something keeping him at the lake.

We’ll have to wait and see as nature has her own plans I’m sure, but I do hope that he heads south before the lake freezes or the lone bald eagle finds him .

After a surprisingly warm day when we did a 10km walk around the lake, we woke up to snow and I was excited about getting out with my camera. The air was definitely crisp at -10C and the snow crunched under my boots. I had forgotten how chilly it can be at the lake and after a few hours my hands and feet were definitely feeling the effects of the cold temperatures - I have definitely not acclimated to the cooler temperatures yet!

I actually found that I didn’t fully warm up until much later in the day and this got me to thinking about how I’m going to manage through this winter - I’ve been looking for solutions to keep my hands warm while out doing photo walks and so far I’ve come up empty handed (so to speak). Well I’ve finally made the plunge and purchased heated gloves and socks. I went with a Canadian company Ewool out of Quebec as they have great reviews and their products appeared to be better aligned with my needs (most heated gloves or mitts heat the back of your hand and not your fingers which is where you need the heat).

The other challenge is the bulk of the gloves or mittens - there is no way to operate a camera and so you have to continually take your gloves or mitts off to use the camera.

I’m not sponsored or receiving anything from them for this “plug”, but I know that there are others looking for cold weather solutions, so I thought I’d share. We will have to see how they work out, but so far I’m really impressed with them - I’ll have to put them to the test in the coming days and weeks.

Wrapping up autumn and moving into winter months

We’re a hardy bunch here in Western Canada - we have to be as our winter can last 6 months or longer. I’ve learned to embrace winter as it can be a long and isolating time otherwise. I have cultivated outdoor activities that make the best of the snow and ice - plus I’m now feeling better equipped to spend longer time outside with my new high tech gloves (more about them soon - remember I do sometimes get GAS).

This is a time of year for slowing down a bit and reflecting on all the activity of the past year - and boy do we have a lot to reflect back on - lots of positive changes. This slowing down is good for my photography as I find the stillness of the winter aligns well with me taking time to pause in my compositions and really explore a scene. There is also time for sitting by a roaring fire or playing games or making puzzles - all of this leads to stronger connections with family and friends - no wonder this is my favourite time of the year.

Do you have a favourite season or time of year? What activities or pastimes do you like to indulge in during this time of year? I’d love to hear about your thoughts and preferences either in the comments below or drop me a note by clicking on the Connect With Me button.

I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.