If I thought Saturday was a great day I hadn't met Sunday yet. With sunrise making it’s way through our sleeping Park's pine trees Pheebe & I were up, out the door, & on the road early. Did not want to miss a moment of this fine Autumn weather. At this time of year with seasons changing these are indeed precious days before the weather turns & plunges into the dregs of November in another few weeks. I have always found November to be the most depressing month of the year in these parts so it was important now to be out & about soaking up as much of these Autumn wonders as possible.
WE’VE TRAVELLED MANY HAPPY MILES THESE PAST COUPLE DAYS ON ROADS JUST LIKE THIS
Again we had no hard & fast destinations but thought we'd wander South-east of Bayfield towards Exeter for a change. Just a delightfully peaceful Sunday morning slowly rolling through Huron Counties countryside. Deep blue sky with nary a cloud & a slight breeze playing through fields of corn. I stopped at one point, shut the engine off & just sat quietly listening to the leaves rustling through the corn stalks. Fields are already a golden brown & the corn harvest has begun. Some fields are bare with farmers already having brought the crop in. Saw a lot of farm machinery today sitting in fields resting up for the busy week head.
JUST SITTING HERE QUIETLY LISTENING TO THE WIND RUSTLING THROUGH THE CORN STALKS
THIS CORN IS PROBABLY ONLY DAYS AWAY FROM BEING HARVESTED
A BEAN FIELD, A CORN FIELD, & AN AUTUMN FOREST
STILL A FEW RIPENING BEAN FIELDS HERE & THERE
We slipped through McDonalds in Exeter picking ourselves up a Burrito then headed further east. I hadn't intended on taking any more barn photos but I found myself on some roads I hadn't traveled for a few years & of course there were many new barns to see. Well I couldn't just pass them by without a look & by the time we arrived home later this afternoon I had another 35 barns under my belt. I'm just going to have to start another barn album & that's all there is to it. Truth is I really love looking at barns now. So many shapes & sizes & colors. Old barns, new barns, tumble down barns & what makes them especially appealing right now is the time of year with many of them surrounded by Fall foliage.
Having not been on some of the roads for a number of years I did manage to get myself a little befuddled for a short while. I had driven into Perth County & they don't name their country roads, they put numbers on them. I have a much better time remembering road names as opposed to numbers. Knew generally where I was but not exactly. How nice to finally wander into the little burg of Woodham. Probably been close to 15 years since I last drove through that area. Headed east on the Woodham road taking a lot of barn photos along the way. I remembered two winters ago when a nice farm couple dropped in to see us at our Arizona house in Congress. As I recall they lived either on the Woodham or Kirkton road but I couldn't remember where.
SEEING A 5TH WHEEL PARKED AT THIS FARM ON WOODHAM ROAD MADE ME WONDER IF THESE WERE THE FOLKS WHO DROPPED IN TO SEE US
A HOPPER LOAD OF HARVESTED CORN READY TO BE AUGURED INTO A TRUCK TRAILER FOR TRANSPORT TO A SILO SOMEWHERE
WEATHER’S BEEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR SOME FARMERS TO BEGIN TILLING & PREPARING FIELDS FOR SPRING PLANTING……KEEP IN MIND I AM ONLY GUESSING AT WHAT THESE FELLAS ARE DOING OR WHAT SOME OF THE MACHINES ARE FOR & IN SOME CASES YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE
From Woodham I knew where the town of St. Marys was so we headed in that direction but didn't go right into the town instead veering north of St. Marys following a country road alongside a river. Beautiful scenic drive bringing back many old memories. I was in very familiar territory now & in fact the next 15 miles or so was a pleasant trip down memory lane for me. I always find Autumn a time of reflection, a time of remembering, a time of pleasant thoughts. Kelly & I spent 7 great years in the area living in an old rented farm house we often refer to as the Weenie Roast Ranch. Located maybe 7 or 8 miles north of St. Marys near the tiny community of Fullerton both Kelly & I traveled these gravel roads many times. St. Marys was our 'go to' town for groceries, shopping, car repairs, etc. We both drove school bus for Murphy Bus lines in St. Marys & I also drove the St. Mary's mobility bus part time for a few years as well. If I ever had to pick a small town to live in it would be the town of St. Marys. It's a town of hills with two rivers converging in the downtown & with it's large old stone buildings you would think you were somewhere in England.
SOME OF THESE FARM PROPERTIES ALONG THE RIVER NORTHWEST OF ST, MARYS ARE JUST BEAUTIFUL & OH HOW I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS ONE
MANY, MANY, TIMES I HAVE CROSSED THAT IRON BRIDGE IN THE DISTANCE EITHER COMING FROM OR GOING TO ST. MARYS
Our drive took us past the Science Hill golf course & I thought of my Aunt Jean & I seemed to recall us playing golf there one time many years ago. Another 3 or 4 miles & I was driving past the old Weenie Roast Ranch itself. Oh so many memories flooded my mind but alas the house & property is far from the way I remember how nice we had it fixed up. But no matter, all those memories are still very much alive in my mind & I held them close as I drove on by.
I HAVE PLAYED THIS VERY SCENIC ‘SCIENCE HILL’ GOLF COURSE 3 OR 4 TIMES
THE SCIENCE HILL CLUB HOUSE ONCE AN OLD FARM SITE
An hour later with another half dozen or so barns under my belt Pheebs & I were once again back home. What a wonderful 5 hours we had ourselves for the second day in a row. My favorite time of year spent with my best Pal just doing the kind of things my best Pal & I love to do.
DROOPING SUNFLOWERS
ONCE THE ‘MOTHERWELL’ GENERAL STORE
Busied myself right away editing the 223 photos I had taken. How can one not take so many photos when one is continuously surrounded by the beautiful wonders of Mother Nature. 223 photos is but a mere fraction of what my eyes saw today. For every photo I take I miss a thousand & for every thousand missed I take another photo.
AHEAD ON THE RIGHT IS THE OLD ‘WEENIE ROAST RANCH’ BUT ALL THOSE BALES OF TARPED HAY WERE NEVER THERE
IT SURE DIDN’T LOOK LIKE THIS WHEN WE LIVED HERE:((
YEP, WE SPENT 7 WHOLE YEARS HERE
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF A ONCE PROUD BARN WHERE I USED TO STORE MY MOTORCYCLE EVERY WINTER
LOTS OF OLD MEMORIES OF THIS POND ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE WEENIE ROAST RANCH
Kelly rolled in from Guelph & Cambridge a couple hours after Pheebs & I did. She had a great time visiting so many family members some of which she had not seen for many years. Her two days had gone well, she was exhausted & happy to be home but also so very glad she had made the extra effort to get around & see everyone. She even stopped into a Cambridge arena to see one of her Grandson's playing hockey. I went out to ask her something a few minutes ago & she was asleep in her chair with her laptop on her lap. Needless to say I tip toed back into our sunroom:))
PULLED OVER FOR ONE OF OUR LEG STRETCHING PIT STOPS
According to the weather folks Monday is to be a repeat of Saturday & Sunday. Don't think Pheebs & I will be doing a road trip but for sure we'll be outside doing something to soak up all the goodness of another mighty fine Autumn day here in South-western Ontario Canada.
AND HERE WE ARE ARRIVING HOME THIS AFTERNOON AFTER ANOTHER MIGHTY FINE DAY OF AIMLESS WANDERING:))
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, Air Traffic Control asked, "What was your last known position?" Student: "When I was number one for takeoff".
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On the first day of a skiing vacation a girl fell and broke her leg. As the doctor examined her, she moaned, "Why couldn't this have happened on my last day of skiing?" The doctor replied, "This IS your last day of skiing."
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Sczyelski, my last name, is a mouthful, so I was thrilled when my three-year-old niece learned to spell it. That is until my cousin said, "You can spell it any way you like but who'll ever know if it's wrong?"
