Busy days continue...

September 17, 2025

This stretch of warm sunny days we are experiencing, is perfect for getting on with winter preparation. We did have a touch of frost one early morning. 

Apple-ing:

  

Canning:

Picking:

 

Finding: 

lots of acorns...

 and loaded down apple trees.

There shouldn't be any hungry bears this fall!

Another trip to Ottawa. 

Golden Lake, a bank of mist rising, on a cool September morning.

Visiting the Arboretum at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. 

What an amazing collection of trees have been grown here. This large oak tree was at the bottom of a somewhat steep slope, but above and behind the photographer is a very large grove of many, many different trees, many unfamiliar. 

Within the area dedicated to maple species was the largest Sugar Maple I've ever seen.

This amazing looking tree was in the W.T. Macoun memorial gardens.

A beautiful place to visit, well worth a trip in every season of the year.

Here are some visitors to our place. 
 

 

From basketball to balls of fire...

 August 31, 2025

The inch and 5/8ths of beautiful rain that fell on Thursday, plus the half inch from last Sunday, has resulted in a reprieve from watering the gardens, and reduced the Total Fire Ban that has been in place in this area, to a less restrictive ban. Temperatures have moderated, early mornings are a little chilly, but the days are sunny and comfortably warm, with no humidity. The sun is very noticeably rising later and setting earlier.

We had occasion to travel south to the 'Big Smoke', (Ottawa), mid-week, and decided to meander home along back roads. We visited Almonte, where the Mississippi River, (not that one!) once powered woollen mills, and still produces hydro-electric power. The volume of water cascading down the stepped falls is noticeably diminished, due to the drought.

We came across this fellow, Dr. James Naismith the inventor of basketball, seated on this bench, with a ball and peach basket, in a little parkette along the main street.

The clock tower on top of the old Post Office, seen from the bottom of Mill Street is an impressive sight.

Garden production has slowed a little, giving some breathing room. The first planting of carrots was unearthed and layered away on moistened sawdust in milk crates in the root cellar.

Although a little gnarly, the roots have no blemishes on them, so this year will be the first time for storing carrots in the root cellar. We'll see how that goes.

A morning wander around the garden beds yields a variety of produce, ingredients for a 'garden medley' stir fry, and a salad.

 This fall 'greens' bed is really liking the cooler temperatures. Nibbling deer have begun to be more prevalent, hence the screen of hardware cloth.

Aji Charapita peppers, apparently one of the most expensive peppers in the world to buy....why grow them? Because I can...! Three plants, loaded with fruit. 

Their Scoville rating is 30,000 to 50,000, compared to 2,500 to 8,000 for the humble Jalapeno pepper. 

Two shots from the trail camera over the apple pile behind the barn. A couple of critters eyeing each other,

and a bruin passing through.

The sun beautifully high-lit this spider web along the trail, from this morning's walk.

 

Whitewater....

 July 6, 2025

As a family, we have decided that experiences are more important than 'stuff', so Thursday past, we celebrated a belated family birthday with a thrilling whitewater rafting trip on the Madawaska River.

We arrived with time to spare before our trip, so walked down and looked at the river where it flows by the headquarters.

There were a couple of playboats in the rapids there.

We were togged up in helmets and life vests, individually checked for correct fit, then loaded onto the buses, and driven to the put-in.

The bigger rafts, the bottom one on the tier of three, (and the solo one to the right) were for folk who just sat inside them and rode along, one river guide steering with big oars from the back of the raft. 

Once at the put-in, those who wished could jump into the river from this un-used bridge. 

The recent rains had increased the water flow rate, and Thursday was the first day it was deemed safe to do this, as the river had started to recede slightly. The leaders were standing by with throw ropes, and the big raft was stationed in the lee of the bridge abutment. We watched the lone oars-woman battle the big raft across the current to station it there. What amazing muscles that girl will have by summer's end!

Us 'Adventure rafters', were each given a paddle and loaded into the smaller rafts, instructed how to sit up on the side of the raft and wedge our feet inside along the middle bolsters.

 Just under the highway bridge, which is quite close downstream from the one pictured, we eddied out of the current, and were given paddling instructions, which would be yelled from the stern by our guide, as we proceeded. Instructions were included about how to ride the rapids if we were thrown from the raft. We practiced the strokes as instructed, then headed out onto the river. The river is quite swift with 4 sets of vigorous rapids along the stretch used for this endeavour. We bucked through the rough water and got liberally soused many times, eddying out several times along the way. It was a hot, sunny day, and just before the take-out, we all rolled off of the rafts into the river for a swim.   

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, despite the original trepidation when we all had to sign waivers! 

 

Road Trip!!

 June 26, 2025

 

One can't get enough of these beauties! This is our third year visiting,

It is a Mississippi Valley Conservation Area in Lanark County, which butts up against the south side of Renfrew County. 
A nice new, wider, boardwalk is being built going into the fen where the orchids grow. 

Back on the home front, the Barn Swallows have been working away on their nest, and over the course of four days it has gone from this...

to this.

Here is a grainy picture of the pair of them working on it.

We are trying very hard to disturb them as little as possible.

The storm and heavy rain (a good 3 inches) we experienced overnight on Saturday, absolutely soaked the gardens, and left puddles where snow melt puddles usually accumulate. They didn't soak away for a few days, partially because of the extreme heat and humidity that came next. That storm was very severe north of us, where there were down bursts of wind that toppled trees, and torrential rain that washed out roads. Our road is also a little "worse for the wear". Monday and Tuesday were brutally hot and humid days, when we were able to do a few outside chores very early in the morning, and basically just endured being indoors until the heat broke on Wednesday evening. The "feel-like" temperatures were well into the low 40's C. (104 - 113F) At those temperatures, one does not even feel like eating! One does adjust to the heat and humidity, but would prefer it to happen more gradually! After our coolish spring, it was a sudden jolt.

Everything in the gardens has put on a growth spurt. Peas are blooming and forming pods,

peppers are forming,

and the tomatoes are blooming and there are even a few little green guys growing.

I found this guy in the corner of my net-covered brassica bed one morning.

 A closer look at a Gray Treefrog.

Throughout the few days of extreme heat, the Treefrogs were calling continually. They have the ability to camouflage themselves somewhat, depending on the environment around them.

 And just take a sniff of these!  

 

Thunderin' moose, and aerial acrobats....

 June 22, 2025

On Wednesday evening, I was sitting out on the verandah, enjoying the evening bird chorus, when a strange hollow thundering sound assailed my ears. Before I could figure out what it was, a pair of moose materialized on the east side of the verandah, and stopped. My efforts to get Hubby's attention caused them to walk further toward the two apple trees in the corner of the front yard, where he managed to get a pic of them. We figure they were spooked out of the bush behind the barn, and came at a run right up the yard, between the end of the garden beds and the field garden. It is not unusual at all to see moose here, but thrilling when they are so close and let us get a good look. Hubby figures they are siblings, a yearling cow and bull from last year. If you look close, you can see growing antlers on the head of the moose in the foreground. 

Could it get any better??? YES, yes it could!

On Thursday evening, I was preparing dinner, and at a lull in the action, was looking out the west window. Just across the driveway, there were two little birds perched up on the decorative edging under the eaves on the Battery House. Odd. Was it baby Tree Swallows, back to visit?? Seems odd they would do that and perch there as Tree Swallows prefer poles. It just isn't in character, and they'd fledged and gone, a week or so ago. Then I noticed a bit of buffish colour on their throats, then I noticed longish forked tails..... Out came the binos, a pair of which are at almost every window in the house. Did you hear the WHOOP when I identified Barn Swallows!!!! Now that may not seem like much to most folk, but, long ago child hood and young adult memories hold pictures in my mind of country telephone wires laden with rows and rows of Barn Swallows. You'd be hard pressed to find that nowadays, and the Barn Swallow is on the list of Special Concern on the Species At Risk Act in Canada. I am absolutely ecstatic that a pair has chosen us. I lamented the fact when we moved here, that we had a barn, but no Barn Swallows. I contented myself, that we had Tree Swallows, such chittering, happy sounding aeralists. But now...just watching these guys, who swoop and fly much lower, and zip across the pond....Joy incarnate!  

Under the eaves, along that board on which they were perching....Look...a line of mud on the board. A nest in the making???

 Yesterday, we headed south to join a friend for a little bass fishing. We were up and away before dawn, driving along back roads, the dips shrouded in fog, and watched the skies lighten and the sun rise as we journeyed, an amazing feast for the eyes in itself. When we returned late in the afternoon, along the driveway on the way in, just barely off to the side of the wheel rut.....

A Blandings turtle was laying eggs. I temporarily marked the spot and will take serious protection measures today, and good thing I did, as it poured torrential buckets of rain last night, and the spot would now be indeterminable.  Blandings turtles were added to the Ontario Species At Risk Act in 2008.

Its been an exciting week here. Lots of needed rain, the sun is shining and every growing thing, will be surging. 

                                My Home and Native Land.