The apple tree in our front yard tells us fall is here. A neighbor came by the other day asking if she could glean from our tree to make hard cider. We’re looking forward to the result!
I welcome fall every year, though I mourn the light. The Margaree Valley of Cape Breton Island is a beautiful place to witness those changes. The first photos are of the Margaree River and its green and sinuous water meadows winding from the Forks to Margaree Harbour and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Other photos are of the coast at Cheticamp and the beach at Inverness, looking toward enigmatic Margaree Island (now Sea Wolf National Refuge). The golf links shine bright green below the village of Inverness where once coal mines reached deep under the sea. Though a prettier vista than a coal mine, the grandsons of those miners now travel to Albert’s oil fields for work, so it’s a mixed blessing for their families.
Guitarist Max Cohen wrote “Sarah’s Old Piano,” for his grandmother. I somehow turned it from a march to a waltz the first time we jammed together and we recorded this track as a gift for friends in 2005. I’m looking forward to playing with him and George Wilson again in the fall.