Autumnal Shift

I found this meme at total random online, on a Facebook group I follow. I just love it, so I decided to share it. "That little stutter in the season" is so very true. Yes, yes, it has been very hot recently, but thankfully temperatures have been gradually going down. You can feel a change in the air and yes, in the light too. Evenings are definitely more autumnal. Mornings also do feel different, cooler and less bright as well. As for the woods, I haven't walked in them recently, just to check. In any case, I can definitely feel the autumnal shift.

Dungeons & Dragons (about an anniversary)

I try to mark the time every year, even though I don't know the exact date. But anyway: my brothers and I, as well as some friends who were playing with us at the time, started our Dungeons & Dragons campaign back in August 1992. The world we had invented wasn't as developed as it became, but he already had potential. Now decades later, my brothers and I don't play together anymore, however I have started a new campaign in the same world with Wolfie. So the world lives on and helps develop someone else's imagination.

Green Vehicles

 Wolfie and I have noticed it during the school run: there seems to be quite a lot of green cars rolling around these days. We saw a couple of jeeps and I guess green is a normal colour for a jeep, but also "ordinary" cars. And all sorts of green: Lincoln green, forest green, olive green, lime green. But mostly forest green, I think. My son and I love green, but my wife doesn't. Anyway, back in 2023, we had noticed a high number of orange vehicles, this year green seems to be in fashion, at least where we are.

Military 1st(?)

 I don't know what the YouTube algorithms tell me about myself, but for the last few weeks, I have been seeing adverts about Military 1st, an army surplus shop that sells, among other things, combat clothing, outdoor clothing and tactical gears. Maybe because I like olive and forest green clothes? (Ironically enough, my wife hates green clothes.) But surely, YouTube cannot know this about me. Anyway, I had a look on their website. There are a few of their clothing articles that look nice in a totally unpretentious way and, well, green, but I don't do enough outdoors activities to order any. Still, it's kind of spooky to get such marketing every time I watch a YouTube video.

A herd of deer

 A couple of weeks ago, we went to visit my parents-in-law. The roads we take to get there are surrounded by shrubbery, woodlands and also grazing fields. As we were passing by one of these fields, we saw a herd of deer running through them, jumping over the fences when they needed. They were fast, gracious, and running in total harmony. It only lasted a few seconds, but we were very impressed. We often see deer on the road, sometimes very close to it, sometimes sadly we see a roadside kill. But we never saw a herd before. It really made our day. Since then, Wolfie keeps an eye out for deer, especially when we pass by the grazing fields. I'm not sure if we will be so lucky again, but you never know.

"Into The Wild" Mug

 I blogged last Monday about the closure of our local Mountain Warehouse. Which is making me very sad. I buy lots of things there, even though I am not one for outdoor activities. But they have some many nice and/or useful things. Such as their enamel mugs. I buy them for Wolfie and for me, my wife isn't quite so fond of them. Not for hot drinks, because then the metal catches the heat and you end up burning your fingers. No, I only use them for cold drinks. The good thing about them is that they don't break easily. And they often have cool images on them. This is so far my favourite. I find it ironic, as like I said I don't go into the wild all that much. Barely at all, in fact. I don't go deep in the forest or on camping, where I guess this mug would be really useful. All the same, you look at this image and it's as if you're there.

Sunday Roast In the Pub

Two Sundays ago, after a friend informed me that we could walk to a country pub from our house, we did just that. We walked from our home, into the nearby woods and we walked to a country pub in a nearby village. It used to be one of our favourite pubs, before we became parents, but since then it had shut down, had new owners and we hadn't had the chance to go and eat there. Of course I had a Sunday roast. The first one I had in a long while. In fact, I can't remember the last time I ate one. It was long overdue. As you can see on this picture, I didn't stay hungry. And there is not many things as rewarding as talking a walk and then having a hearty meal in a country pub.

Un ours en "forêt"

J'ai pris cette photo en 2024 à l'Ulster Museum de Belfast. Vous connaissez sans doute ma fascination pour la taxidermie, j'ai donc passé beaucoup de temps à regarder des bêtes empaillées, comme cet ours. Sur ses deux pattes, il a l'air presque vivant et, si on ne voyait pas les angles de la photo d'arrière-plan, on le croirait vraiment en forêt. C'est ce que j'aime aussi des animaux empaillés: avec le bon décor, on se croirait vraiment dans un autre environnement.

"Dans la forêt, la nuit..."

 Quand j'étais en quatrième année, j'adorais notre livre de français, Les dires de Piloé, d'où j'ai pris cette photo. C'était l'introduction au Module 18, sur les animaux de nuit. Il faut le dire: ils saveitn créer une ambiance. J'ai toujours été fasciné par cette image et l'introduction qui va avec, j'ai toujours été déçu qu'on n'ait jamais utilisé le module 18 en classe.

The Season of the Witch

For today's countdown to Halloween post, a meme I saw a few days ago, which I thought looked so good I had to share it. Halloween and the month of October is truly the season of the witch. I also find this autumnal picture both beautiful and eerie. It looks like a perfect setting for a horror story. And witches make for great antagonists in horror stories, although maybe seldom used these days. Because we now find them sympathetic characters? I don't know, but I wouldn't want to cross path with one. I did write a scary story about a witch, if it gets published, I will tell you where you can buy it. Until then, watch this image and give yourself a good chill.

Les promenades au Parc Urbain

Photo prise par mon père au Parc de la Rivière-du-Moulin,communément appelé le Parc Urbain. À regarder les photos qu'il m'a envoyées, je me suis rappelé les nombreuses fois où j'y allais en famille. C'était vraiment comme avoir une forêt en ville et ça nourissait mon imagination fertile. Mais j'écrirai plus en détials sur le sujet un jour sans doute.

Le Gars d'la Compagnie

Parce que c'est la Saint-Jean bientôt, voici une des Cowboys Fringants. La première que j'ai entendue, il y a de cela des années, dans un bar de Chicoutimi. Une chanson engagée en plus, et une des meilleures du genre, à la fois amère et festive.

Montréal sous le smog

Des fois, j'ai mal à mon Québec et à mon Montréal. Enfin bref, triste nouvelle: j'apprends dans la grosse Presse que les feux de forêt ont donné du smog à Montréal. L'horreur, l'horreur. L'ambiance (je n'ose pas dire l'atmosphère) était paraît-il apocalyptique. C'est vraiment triste de voir ma ville souffrir ainsi.

Renard sur fond hivernal

 Je partage encore une fois une photo prise sur le lot de mes oncles. Rien que parce que c'est beau, un renard dans la neige.

Un renard dans la neige

Je partage encore une fois une des photos des caméras de surveillance sur le lot de mes oncles, envoyées par mon père. Rien que parce que c'est vraiment beau, un renard dans une forêt enneigée. J'en enverrai d'autres dans les prochains jours.

Chevreuil ou orignal?

Je partage une photo prise par une des caméras de surveillance sur le lot de mes oncles. Est-ce un chevreuil ou un original? Quelqu'un qui s'y connaît parmi mes lecteurs? Je crois que c'est un orignal, parce qu'il semble un peu gros pour un chevreuil, mais je peux me tromper.

A fox in the snow

My father sent me pictures from the surveillance cameras on my uncle's allotment in the forest. There are some really nice snapshots of a fox. I love foxes, especially on a snowy background. Anyway, I am sharing it here, because it's a really nice picture.

Les promenades en forêt...

Photo prise en... janvier 2023. Je la partage ici car elle sert mon propos, même s'il se peut que je l'ai déjà mise sur le blogue. Il y a un boispas loin de chez nous. Du temps de la pandémie, nous allions y marcher assez souvent, en famille, ça nous faisait quelque chose à faire. Même si c'était parfois boueux, c'était assez plaisant: de chez nous à travers le bois, en s'arrêtant à un hôtel, puis de l'hôtel à travers le bois, ou simplement à travers le voisinage jusqu'à chez nous. Parfois, je n'étais pas d'humeur à marcher, à cause de la boue justement. Mais ces temps-ci, je crois que ça nous ferait du bien de faire revivre cette tradition familiale.

Concerto pour bûcherons

 Vous savez sans doute que nous vivons près d'une forêt, enfin d'un grand boisé, de l'autre bord de la route. Entre ladite route et notre rue, il y a aussi un bosquet qui longe notre rue. Il y a aussi des arbres derrière chez nous, pas loin du stationnement d'un édifice à bureaux. Or, depuis quelques jours, à mon grand désarroi, on entend le bruit des scies toute la matinée, parfois en après-midi aussi. Les arbres, en tout cas leurs branches, se font couper. C'est assez détestable, même si je concède que ce soit peut-être nécessaire. J'espère que ça ne durera pas trop longtemps et qu'ils ne déboiseront pas trop.

Caiman

We went to the Biôdome a few days ago, a most-see when you visit Montreal. One of its sections is the tropical rainforest, which is the most exotic one. I was happily surprised to see that they even have a caiman. Not only parrots and monkeys, but a bona fide caiman. I have a certain fascination for all lizards and saurians. Kind of scared fascinated, like all dangerous, cold blooded predators. I see a caiman, I get a shiver, because that thing is dangerous. And it feels even more real with the humid heat you feel in this "rainforest".