Foxy Happenings

Last night we went for a drive out to one of our favorite spots... Panel Mine Road which is north of town off of Highway 108. It is a great place to go and "fox watch". As you drive up the road the foxes come out of the bush, right up on to the road to see if you have any food offerings for them. They are so used to being fed they are almost tame. Humans feed them all kinds of food such as
apples, meat and dog cookies. We always see other vehicles stopped alongside the road, watching the foxes, on our treks.



We took my Mom out there one day while she was here and only saw one lonely fox that day. Here is the little fellow.....
Mom was disappointed we didn't see more that day and especially
disappointed she didn't get to see a bear up close and personal.
If she had come in the spring she would have seen one for sure.

Last night we saw a lot of foxes. I think they come out
more in the evening. At the end of the road there were four of them together. They came dashing out onto the road as soon as they saw our car. Sorry to disappoint you... we have no food. A couple of them sat down at the side of the road and yawned and looked bored... or tired. It must have been nearing their bedtime. They are amusing to watch.
We drove to the end of the road and turned around and were heading back home. Still on Panel Mine Road, there was a vehicle stopped up ahead and there was a guy sitting on the road and his buddies were gathered around, one taking pictures. The guy seated on the road was trying to coax the fox over to hand feed it.
Crazy fool... I thought... the fox wouldn't take the food offered... I guess he was nervous and unsure.
A couple of months back we were out there visiting when we saw four babies in the ditch scrambling up to have a peek at us as we drove past. Darn, I didn't have my camera! We stopped to watch them, they didn't move away so we had a good view of them. Last night a couple of them were still quite small in comparison to the others and were likely the babies we saw from before.

Elliot Lake is always entertaining to say the least.

Comfort Food

At the end of summer, as the first hint of autumn is in the air, I get the burning desire to make a meal of comfort foods. This meal always consists of a roast of some kind, and all the autumn vegetables such as squash, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, carrots and turnip, bean salad and today I am also making pickled beets. I wish I had some huge beefsteak tomatoes to slice up and serve. Why can't you get beefsteaks anymore? And of course, for dessert, I have a rhubarb pie.
I put the beef roast into the crockpot first thing this morning to slow cook all day and I am going to make a gravy from the drippings. I made up a jug of home made iced tea and it is chilling in the refrigerator. My salads are made and this afternoon I will prepare the vegetables for roasting and get my squash cut up and garnished, all ready to put into the microwave, and my corn on to boil.
I don't know what it is that fuels this desire. Whether it is the chill in the air, or seeing the vegetable and fruit stands set up selling their cornucopia of harvested vegetables. Every year it happens though and the feeling lasts until after Thanksgiving. It takes me back to a simpler time when families gathered at the table to share a similar feast. Those days are long gone but I like to recreate them in my own home on occasion.

My mouth is watering right now... how about yours?

Kissing Summer Goodbye

I cannot get over the fact that summer is quickly coming to an end. Even though we are still having warmth and humidity I have been noticing that there is a tinge of autumn in the air.
Today we took a drive down the highway towards Blind River and I was so amazed to see that a lot of the leaves on the trees are changing already. For goodness sake, it isn't even the end of August yet.
Although I do love autumn in all it's splendor I am going to miss summer. I am a huge fan of all the seasons... they each have their own uniqueness to offer. The fall leaves in this area are spectacular... a beautiful pallet of colors. In Alberta we got the golden colors only but here we not only see the golden yellow but beautiful reds, burgandy, and orange. It is breathtaking.
As we made our way to Blind River we had a huge downpour. It stormed for quite a while. Lots
of thunder and lightning and the rain just teemed down. We had to pull off the highway until it settled down a bit but it continued to rain for a long while. I have not seen rain that heavy since we moved here. I guess we needed it since everything seemed quite dry.

As soon as the leaves are at their peak I will post some photos to share with you.

Farewell summer..... hello autumn.

Borrowed Ideas

I have to admit I have been feeling intimidated about writing a blog. I don't feel that my life is exciting enough to put out there for the world to read about. So I cheated and had a look again at Catharine's blog for ideas and I made a list. I don't think it is so bad to have a look at other people's blogs for inspiration... do you???

One of Catharine's ideas was "My Most Cherished Possessions". I am such a materialistic person that this one should be easy. I have tried over the years to simplify my life by disposing of some of my possessions. I think I have done fairly well. I got rid of a lot of stuff when we moved back to Ontario. This was mostly done in order to save money on the move.
It is a difficult thing to do... to sell, give away or just plain throw away items, even if they are not being used. Don't you know as soon as the item is gone, all of a sudden you need it. Go figure.
Anyway... most of what is gone I do not miss. I have continued to thin out my belongings and even had a yard sale... thanks to my neighbors, Debi and John, who did most of the planning. All I had to do was gather things to sell. And I did toughen up and found quite a bit to put out. But why is it that the house still looks as crowded as ever???

Back to the topic at hand..... my most cherished possessions..............................................................

Top of the list would be my family history scrapbooks. I have made up five large binders full of information, and photos, and documents such as birth, marriage, and death certificates and other items that I have found through my research the last seven years. It has been the most rewarding hobby I have ever undertaken.

My family has no heirlooms to speak of which is really unfortunate. I have come to love antiques and wish there were some passed down. I do have Bruce's Grandmother's cedar chest which his Mom gave to me. Bruce's Grandfather made it for her when they got married.... how romantic! I love having it. It sits in my upstairs hallway with a pine shelf above filled with my treasures.

Bruce bought me a mantle clock. I love clocks... I love the tick tock sound they make. I love the look of them.

I love my lamps. I can't seem to get enough of lamps and I keep buying new ones when I find one that strikes my fancy. I have some tiffany lamps and I really love lamps that glow amber.

I also love candles and have quite the collection of them.

I love my Mac. It's so great to have the technology to keep in touch with loved ones in various ways and to have all that information available at our fingertips. I don't know how I managed before computers.

I love my IPod. To have my entire collection of favorite music on one small player is just so wonderful.

I love my books... I love them so much I keep buying new ones. I had a lot of books when I was a child. When I was in public school there was a book club. We received a catalog every so often that we could order from. My Mom would let me order as many books as I wanted. I would be so excited when my order would arrive. Some of the titles of my books were "Harriett the Spy", "Gone Away Lake", "The Secret Language", "Emily of New Moon", "The Five Peppers" just to name a few of my favorites. I gave my collection away when I left home and now I regret doing that. I have since collected some of my favorites as I remember them, and when I can find them.

Well that is a pretty fair list of my cherished possessions. This was a good exercise to stop and think about the things that have special meaning to me.

Thanks again Catharine for the inspiration!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Well, we are home from our visit down Belleville way. It was a good visit, we saw some family... Lynda, her husband Allan, and Dale, their son. Lynda is Mom's cousin. They have been very good to my Mom, especially since my Dad died, going above and beyond the call of duty for her. Thanks so much guys! That day Lynda and Dale attended an auction to bid on a mattress and boxspring for my Mom's bed and they brought it out to Mom in Dale's truck and set up the bed for her and then took away her old mattress and springs. You can't ask for better service than that.
My brother Dave came to see us. We have not seen that much of Dave over the years while we were living out west so it is good to see more of him now. He arrived on Saturday afternoon and he, Mom and I went out for lunch and then back to the house. Dave and I reminisced about when we were still living at home in our teen years. We had a lot of fun back then. We talked about how we would stay up late during the summer to watch "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman". Do you remember that show? It was a seventies sitcom starring Louise Lasser and Greg Mullavy.
My brothers loved to tease me when I was just a young girl. One time they told me that the government was going to come after me for operating a car wash business without a business license. And they had an ongoing story of how I was adopted. I was pretty gullible back then and it wasn't hard to get me going. But they loved me, or at least I think they did. Mike was good to me and bought me 45's, records of music he thought I would like. And Dave and I spent a lot of time together, laughing and carrying on. It was nice remembering and if there was such a thing as a time machine I would love to go back to those simpler times.

That evening we went to a restaurant called "Chubby's" located at Hoards Stn, which is close to Campbellford ( a really nice town). I would love to live there! Mom, Dave, Lynda and family and I went. The building was a cheese factory at one time. It is now a large restaurant with wood floors and filled with antique furniture and colorful oil lanterns. They are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only and they serve buffet style with hot and cold items as well as home made desserts.

Bruce had made plans with his brother to go to the Quinte Ribfest. It was a hot day but they enjoyed themselves.

On our last day Bruce and I went for a drive out Picton way. We passed through some small towns... Wellington ( a very pretty place), Bloomfield, where we had lunch at a nice cafe, and looked around some shops and out to Picton . On our way home we stopped at Brighton at one of my favorite antique shops for a quick look. It was a really hot, humid day and as we headed back to Mom's it was clouding over. That evening we had bad thunderstorms with heavy rain. Haven't seen rain like that in a long time. The next morning it was lovely and sunny but much cooler as we prepared to head back home to Elliot Lake. It was an uneventful trip and we were both glad to be home.

It's nice to visit but also nice to return home.

"Do you want some coffee, Mary Hartman????"

Some Gone, Some Remain

Mike and Debbie left on Thursday. We were sad to see them go so soon, their time here seemed short. Time flew by, as it always does. They were able to get in a couple of games of golf at our local golf course while they were here and the weather cooperated.
















And we took them out one afternoon for some sight seeing. We went north of town to a lovely resort called Laurentian Lodge. We stopped there for a drink and sat out by the lake.











We spent a lot of time just visiting and catching up. Lots of laughter and chatter. It was enjoyable. The house seemed quiet after they left. We needed that day to recuperate. Mom is still here and we are enjoying her stay.

We have not done much. Mom is wanting to go and play bingo one evening and I hope we can go to the show and see "Mamma Mia". And I would like to take Mom to the Dragonfly in Massey. It is one of my favorite restaurants in this area. The food is great and the decor is really interesting.












We will be leaving by Thursday to take Mom home and then spend a few days down there. There is a Ribfest in Belleville we would like to go to. And more family on both Bruce's side and mine to visit. By the time we get back home and our friends Mike and Barb arrive for a visit summer will be almost over and fall will have set in. I cannot believe how fast this summer has gone.

Summers are so fleeting... I wish they were longer!

Off Topic For Just a Moment

I want to take a wee break from the thread I have been working on.... places that I have lived.

My brother Mike and my sister-in-law Debbie, and my Mother are coming for a visit this week. This is the first time they have visited us here in Elliot Lake since we moved back to Ontario. And it is the first time in a long time Mike and Debbie have come to my home for a visit. I am so pleased to have them come.
This is a much different place than what they are used to, being from the city (Toronto). But I am hopeful they will see and understand what it is that has brought us here. When we decided to retire to Ontario we chose Elliot Lake from an economical standpoint. We could easily afford to buy a house and live modestly without having to find work. We wanted to experience freedom at a young age that we would be able to enjoy the years ahead. And the beauty of our surroundings was a bonus. We are living in cottage country!!!!
When I "came home" it was my wish that I would have many years left with my parents to be able to enjoy precious time with them. I was looking forward to going to visit with them often and having them come up here often to see where we live. But it was not to be as we found out very soon after arriving my Father had terminal cancer and would not be with us much longer. My dream to have him come to visit us would not happen and sadly he passed away just six months (almost to the day) later.
We were all anticipating spending our first Christmas together in years but Dad did not make it to Christmas.
It is bittersweet that my Mom is coming here with Mike and Deb and I am grateful to still have her in my life and be able to share the newest chapter in our lives.

Welcome to Elliot Lake...... I hope you enjoy your stay!