Put the clocks back Oct. 30 and luxuriated in bed the extry hour. Next morning on rising found we’d had the first killing frost of the year. It was a cool 23 degrees Fahrenheit. The plastic pail of water we keep under the downspout from the eavestrough had a half inch of ice. Broke off a chunk to show the missus as proof.

Inspecting the garden, it had blackened the few late potato and tomato vines. It makes it earlier than last year’s frost. It seemed we picked tomatoes in November then. The apples stayed sound on the trees way on into December and were still good to eat.

***

Ralph Quaiff received one of them Canadian Tire envelopes in the mail. Figured to spend a few bucks in the hopes he may have been chosen as a High Roller in the percentage discount field, then forgot all about it until after the event was over.

On opening the wee envelope, found he could have been the recipient of a 50 per cent discount. Could have got hisself a new riding mower for half, all kinds of appliances even one of them computer games for half.

The item I wanted was already discounted a good 25 per cent, but when I arrived they were sold out of a good buy. I picked a ten percenter.

Heard that Lakeshore hotel burned to the ground. After a $60,000 dollar feasibility study, wonder if they found it feasible to burn it down? Hope they got rid of the other building wrecks cluttering up in otherwise nice countryside.

It was a wonder the fire was even spotted, being isolated and hidden away with woods. On that shore it don’t even seem to be part of the county. Sincerely hope that the rest of the derelict buildings won’t be left as a memorial to the bygone age or could there be a move afoot to restore the whole shack town as a period piece or an historic site as Dawson city? Wonder how that feasibility study will turn out? Will it be worded:

Dear Sir or Madam to whom it may concern–we had a whale of a time spending that 60,000 bucks, the surroundings were magnificent. It was better than a holiday in the country apart from a bunch of good used lumber. We couldn’t find nuthun’ of historical significance to spend the usual million bucks or so on as such as McAulay House.

So, figure tearing it down and building a six million buck hotel would not only add to the terrain but find work for at least 400 Toronto building employees for at least a year. However, last week some enterprising citizen probably sick of seeing this derelict eye sore, jumped the gun on Hallowe’en and saved everybody further expenses and torched it to the ground.

Mr. Minister, that was the easiest 60,000 bucks I ever made.

A bit of the fall coloring still lingers despite the couple of gales we’ve experienced in the county. Still colorful on the leaward side. The trees at the foot of the mountain at Glenora Ferry and you still chance on a simple colorful tree still clothed in all its glory right out in the open, somehow retaining its leaves.

And believe it or not, we took a trip through Picton’s back streets. Huge elm and maple trees century old or better made for the most colorful of all.

By the way, as you drive around our county even in back roads you come across avenues of maple trees. There are a bunch of them to the west of us from Bell’s to Kelly’s Korner and further up at Vader’s.

A beautiful avenue runs north from Lakeland bordering Keith MacDonald’s farm. Apparently, how these fine specimens happened, round about 1870 or 1880, 100 years or so ago, the Ontario government went on a beautification binge and offered 50 cents for every maple tree planted.

To me that was the best investment the government ever made “wouldn’t you say?”

Reminds me I read that there is a part of Italy where, when a girl is born, the father plants a row of Lombardy Poplar. When his daughter weds, the fast growing trees are cut down and the proceeds of the lumber used as her dowry.

Any tree planted is a wonderful investment.