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Happy Birthday Nana! I looked at the calendar while preparing to write this column. "Geez, November 18," I said to myself. The date is significant-- it's my grandmother's birthday. Yup, born November 18, 1901, Grace Blanche (Herrington) Brown would have been celebrating her 109th birthday, if she was alive today. Unfortunately, `Nana', as my sisters and I called her, didn't enjoy a very long life. She was only 60 when she died, after numerous health problems. But come November 18, I always take a moment to think about her. She and my grandfather always used their birthdays to judge when things should be done on the farm. His birthday was April 26, and he maintained that was the date when farmers who had sandy loam soil should have started planting spring crops. If you weren't started by then, you were late-- plain and simple. By the same token, November 18 was the other pivotal date on the farm. Both of my grandparents were firm believers that the outside work should be done by then. The fall plowing should be finished, the wood shed should be topped up with enough wood to heat the house, and the manure pile should have been spread on the fields by November 18. Later in their lives, the tractors would also be prepared with the snow plow mounted on the big tractor, and the tire chains installed. If any of the tractors' batteries were a bit tired, they'd be replaced as well, so they'd be guaranteed to start, come the cold of winter. So those were their `deadlines'-- dates to be used as a calendar of when things should be done on the farm. 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, November 18, 2010 Discover the Viking Advantages and learn about Vision 2000 special departures. Ted Brown When my grandfather died, naturally, my dad inherited those same dates as his yardstick for measuring whether he was on time or not. And now me. As the calendar flips into November, edging towards the 18th, I find myself a bit antsy, in a subconscious manner. I feel like `time's a wasting' when it comes to the countdown to winter. If you asked me why I was getting itchy to have things done, I couldn't give you a reason. But when I saw that 18 on the calendar, I knew the answer. I'm pleased to say, I'm doing okay. My ancestors would approve. A week ago, I installed the snow blower on the tractor, installed a new battery on that tractor as well, and Monday night, I got the tire chains on. The field work is finished and every piece of machinery is packed away for the winter. Even the manure pile is cleaned out. So all in all, according to the senior Browns' yardstick, I'm right on target, perhaps even a tad early. Old Man Winter can hit me with his best shot, and I don't care. I'm ready, and all before November 18. So here's to a productive fall-- and a Happy Birthday Nana! --Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@independentfreepress.com YOU ARE INVITED To an Evening with Vision 2000 Cruises & Vacations and Viking River Cruises Thursday November 25, 2010 at 7:00 pm The Waterfront Hotel, Downtown Burlington 2020 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, ON L7R4G8 RSVP 905.873.2000 or georgetown@vision2000.ca Georgetown 905-873-2000 Trafalgar Rd., Hillsburgh 328 Guelph St. Georgetown, ON TICO Reg #50018501 Open Saturdays 9am - 4pm w w w. v i s i o n 2 0 0 0 t r a v e l . c o m www.centurychurchtheatre.com presents Century Theatre Guild Robin Hood outwits the Sheriff of Nottingham to save the Babes in the Wood, in this traditional English pantomime by Bev Nicholas, directed by Martyn Worsnop Pantomime Babes in the Wood Great fun for the whole family, ages 3-103 Fri & Sat, Nov 26, 27; Dec 3, 4 at 7:00pm Sat & Sun, Nov 27, 28; Dec 4, 5 at 2:00pm Tickets at Erin and Hillsburgh Libraries $10 Tickets from the Box Office $12 Benefactor Season Sponsors The Erin Arts Foundation Erin Optimist Club Box Office 519.855.4586 Media Partners The OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Gourmet Frozen Foods 519-853-0311 · (800)-387-4039 · November's Fruit of the Month MON. - WED. 9 AM - 6 PM THURS. & FRI. 9 AM - 8 PM SAT. & SUN. 9 AM - 6 PM www.macmillans.ca HWY. 7, 1 MILE WEST OF ACTON "READY TO BAKE PIES" HEARING SCIENCES Audiology and Hearing Aid Centre SLICED APPLES 2 kg 5.49 $ 8" PEACH-RASPBERRY or STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB (MIX & MATCH) "One comes finally to believe whatever one repeats to one's self, whether the statement is true or false." 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