Fall has arrived, so yesterday we went for our usual Tim Horton coffee, and I said let's go to the Park to see if the leaves are beginning to change. Since yesterday was the first day of Fall we did so. As you can see some of the leaves are changing already. The weather was cool, and it felt like fall. They were having some kind of kid's picnic further down the road. We did not want to interfere so we turned around and left. I am sure there are going to be lots of pretty fall colors and scenery. If I can I shall post some photos later on. My friend sent me an email today and she was talking about our ancestors in the winter time how hard it must have been with all the snow falling. Snowbanks so very very high, how did they manage? They managed somehow, because if they did not survive there would be fewer folks like you and I around.

But getting back to Fall, this must have been their harvesting time, and preparing for the winter ahead. So the men must have been hunting to get their meat for the winter, and the woman must have been home salting the vegetables and fish .Probably the children were helping with storing the turnips, cabbages, potatoes in cold cellars so they would keep for the winter. I wonder if the ladies made preserves back then? If so, I am sure they would have made jams and jellies from the wild berries and pumpkin preserves with the pumkins from their gardens. The men and boys probably had to make sure they had lots of hay for their animals to last the winter too.

Now what about their heat? The men would have to cut wood to burn and store it , I remember going to an acadian village and being told that some of our ancestors stored their wood right inside the house, they had a back room for their wood. That would make a lot of sense, it would prevent them from having to go out in the freezing cold to get wood that would be buried under all the snow. brrrrr.

The women would also have to knit woolen clothing for their families,mittens,stockings,probably some kind of sweater, do you think they attempted to knit "underwear or longjohns?" If so, I bet you that they were awful itchy. grin. I remember my Dad wore them, his were grey flannel. I never looked to see if there was a flap at the back tho. grin.

Can you imagine having no electricity? Today if we lose power it is a big thing, of course back then , they didn't have freezers where the food would go bad if there was no power, but they had lamps and candles, that must have been dangerous for fires but that was all that they had so they had to settle for that kind of thing.

Outhouses that I spoke about in my earlier blog, well I am sure in the winter time, they did not venture out unless they had to, so I would say they had a bucket or pail they called it a Slop Pail, and they must have used that during the night. And I know they did not have Lysol Spray back then. grin. Oh Times must have been so hard for our ancestors, we are so very lucky to be living in this generation instead of way back then. And again, since this was the only life they knew, how do we know that they were not content, they must have had many happy times too, maybe they sang, and danced and had fun, their own kind of entertainment. One thing that hasnt changed is that they lived, and they loved and they cried,and they hurt,just like we do today.

They must have loved the beauty of nature also, the trees in the fall so pretty, all the different colors of greens,yellows,reds, and oranges. I know I love taking a drive in the fall of the year, just to enjoy the beauty of the fall colors.

I do hope you enjoyed today's blog ,thank you for the lovely visit. If you decide you want to give a toy for some needy child I have set up the link to my website on the right side of the blog.

Have a great day

Aline