October - My Favourite Month

September is the death of summer's freedoms and boasts of forcing children (and teachers) back to school. November is shortened days filled with dreary skies.

October stands between these dreadful months and offers hope to the about to become depressed! Sunlight illuminates trees filled with gold and amber. Crisp days hint of winter, but still recall better days. Harvest time reveals its bounty, most importantly the pumpkin. And as if that was not enough, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and my birthday are jammed into it!

For the Bonnar family, October meant first of all a trip to Aldor Acres farm. Tiernan and Zéphyrine both loved the chance to take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch where we were able to pick up several pumpkins. Here you can see that Zéphyrine is actually more interested in eating hay than having her picture taken. Right now, she is in the "stick everything in your mouth" mode - not the best thing at a farm!

Tiernan got the chance to pet a number of the animals including goats, sheep, cows, and rabbits. He especially enjoyed the goats, because they needed chasing before you could pet them! Zéphyrine also pet a rabbit, though she really couldn't figure out what the heck was happening. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were able to spend several hours at the farm. You can check out more photos in the Fall 2009 album.




In the middle of October, Deb and the kids took a trip to Shawville, Quebec, which is quite near Ottawa. They all had the chance to visit with a large number of members of the Duncan clan, many of whom the kids don't get to see enough - Grandma & Grandpa, Great-Grandma, Uncle Graham, Uncle Dave & Aunt Danielle, and Great-Uncle John and Great-Aunt Priscilla.

Grandma & Grandpa have a large backyard filled with tall trees. Here you can see the kids (yes, they're both there) enjoying the chance to play in the leaf piles. We've got a few more photos of this trip in the album, but not that many, because Deb's not as much of a shutterbug as I am. Hopefully some of the relatives will be able to provide some additional photos.

Not long after the rest of the family got back from the trip out east, it was time for Halloween. Needless to say, Tiernan was extremely excited about this event this year. Here you can see the pumpkins that our family carved. The one Tiernan and I did is on the left. Andy and Anthony (our homestays) did the one on the right.

Tiernan dressed as a cowboy for Halloween. Zéphyrine said she wanted to dress as Amelia Earhart because Amelia is a real role model for her. You can see more pictures in the Fall 2009 album.

It's November now, a month that doesn't have much to offer. Cold, rainy days. Longer and longer nights. A long wait until Christmas. Well, at least there's still all that leftover Halloween candy. Speaking of which, I think it's time to sign off....