After posting to my blog on Saturday I fired up the mapping software for some fantasy routing. With a stop on Lake Ontario before heading to the Titanium Rally in Niagara Falls next summer we could potentially dip our toes in all but one Great lake next summer. We would traverse Ontario orchards, the bare skeleton of the shield, vast expanses of prairies, and jutting mountains if we follow the route that I laid out. It is too early to cast in stone or even do more than flirt with the idea.
One of these years, we'll spend our fall mapping out a trip to the southern U.S.. But not yet as we have family commitments here that make such a long trip unfeasible. An escape from winter does sound like a dream though!
On Sunday I joined up with my Mom & Dad and brother Graham for an excursion to where my great(7) grandparents settled when they emigrated from Scotland in the early 1800s. My mom was able to get in touch with the current owners, who generously offered a tour. The 100 acre farm lies in an area in Ontario that is not farm friendly. Outcroppings of rock punctuated the farm's fields. Still more stone showed itself in the wide, low fences that embraced each clearing - proof of two centuries of picking the stones grown in the thin soil. Pockets of dense woods remained as a reminder of what once was. Looking at the beautiful farm we could only imagine the strained muscles, blisters, and sheer force of will that it took to carve out the wilderness.
The owners were kind enough to let me bring a little stone from the foundation that once housed my ancestors. It is on my mantle as a reminder of what will power can do.
When I have time to do more research, I'd like to write a semi-factual post about what their lives must have been like. I'll post the rest of the photos then.
Monday afternoon I went over to Christina’s house so that I could admire her garden and go for a walk in the beautiful countryside. Christina and her family are dairy farmers so know what hard work is all about.
Tuesday was a day for appointments and shopping – a total waste of a beautiful September day. Wednesday the poodles got hair cuts, and everyone got a bath. They weren't thrilled with the beauty treatments, but resigned themselves to the torture. This time I didn't make the mistake of turning the ceiling fan on!
A bang head on the wall headache tormented me the rest of the day. I don't get them often, but boy, when I do they are wicked.
Land lasts longer than blood or love. It is not like a river. ~Annick Smith
I think you will enjoy winters in the south, when you get to try one. I lived most of my love in northern climes and do not even think about going back in the winter:)
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