Errands again.....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

The last couple of days have been cold, windy and wet. However I am certain better things lie ahead. After all it is almost the end of April and spring is here, so it will get better soon. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it folks. 

On the nearby Reservation. Not sure what the drive thru is for though.

The last couple of days have been errand days with a number of things getting accomplished. Tuesday had us doing errands in Cobourg. A visit to Staples to have something printed, a visit to Bill Spencer Chevrolet Dealership for the oil issue with the truck and of course groceries at Walmart. We left the city of Cobourg with printed paper in hand, a few groceries and of course an appointment for Wednesday at 4 pm for the Dogsled's oil issue. This is the same dealership I visited last fall for this vary same oil issue. They also repaired the chewed wires.

We are staying near this little town of Roseneath.

Back home we puttered around and did a few more little chores inside but noticed the sharp increase in wind outside. As we are nestled among some very nice pines and a row of cedars we have been pretty shielded from the light breezes. However with wind gusts in the  30 mph/50 km range I was a little worried about those very same trees. As the night grew darker the wind seemed to pick up more and the gusts were longer in duration. We pulled in the slides and moved into the house for the night. 

Some of our views today as we drove the back roads to a couple of errands.

Morning found us with windy conditions but not as windy as the night before. First thing I did was to look out the window, the Igloo & Dogsled waited patiently for us, in the same conditions as the night before. Good to know. With all the rain I was worried the pines may not be able to keep a firm grip in the ground and come toppling down, but it seems I worried for nothing. 

You can see the dull kind of sky we've been having for a while now.

  Wednesday found us once again under over cast skies but not as foreboding as the day before. Morning routines accomplished we loaded up two propane tanks and headed off to the northeast town of Hastings. There is a fuel station that fills tanks and exchanges smaller tanks. I opted to have both filled instead of an exchange just for future reference. I find that the filled tanks do not last as long here in Ontario since they don't bleed the air out of the tank. Exchange tanks usually last a lot longer. However exchanging the bigger tanks is hard to do in all areas. To fill both tanks cost me $52. 59. They charge by the gallon and it was a dollar a gallon. 

The rolling hills offer a good view of the country side.

  
 From Hastings we headed a bit south but mostly east to the town of Campbellford, Ontario. We wanted to go to the G.T. Boutique (Giant Tiger) for the sale they had but alas it was the first day of a new sale instead. Most places the sales start on Thursday, but not there. I looked at the flyers and thought I'd made certain of the sale dates but I guess I missed that one. Oh well, we were in the area anyway. A cute little place for certain, and we even found a No Frills (grocery store) to pick up a few items that we needed. 

Interesting shop in small town Ontario.

 

A sticker shock for us is the price of celery here in Ontario, coming in at $4.95 in all of the grocery stores we've been to in the last few days. Green onions also a shocker at $1.75 for three bunches. I haven't looked at the chicken or turkey yet but I will in the next few weeks. Eggs are approx $2 - 2.50  per dozen.  Milk was also a lot higher in price although at this moment the Ontario price alludes my mind. We needed milk when we arrived in Brantford and I remember being shocked by the price. 

 

Main Street in Campbellford, Ontario.

 

After the quick stop at Campbellford we once again turned our nose for home near Roseneath. We took the country circle tour and included the small town of Warkworth on our site seeing drive. The country side is getting ready to spring into spring, the red haze as you look over the vast stretch of rolling countryside is easy to see. The tulips and daffodils  are starting to show themselves now and the buds on the trees are beginning to appear. Yeah!!!

I'm not sure of the name of this river but it runs through Campbellford. 

 

Back home I chatted with Tammy as she was cleaning up the main flower bed around the house. We met last fall while she was getting the flower beds ready for winter. She is a super nice lady. We also had a quick visit with Alma, she is the part time housekeeper here at Buttercup Ridge. During the winter months she comes by once a week to check on things, collect the mail, etc. She dropped by to ensure all was well. 

 

Approaching the small town of Warkworth.

 By 3:20 pm I was out the door heading for Spencer Chevrolet Dealership in Cobourg once again. Long story short, they think the folks that did the warranty work in Sierra Vista, Arizona didn't put the filter on quite tight enough, or perhaps the Dogsled is just using more oil while it tows. According to Jackie, lady service rep at the dealership it's common for 'newer' trucks to use more oil while towing in hot conditions. I explained it wasn't hot in the desert over the winter but she insisted it's hotter than here. A losing battle and I wasn't going to argue with her, it would not get me anywhere.  I find either of those things a bit too tough to swallow but we shall see how things go over the next few months. The oil was right on the money from the last oil change in Ohio. I have documented proof of that as they put us up on the rack to check out any possible leak. The area around the filter was wettish but not evident of a leak. Which is why the dealership here pushed it off to the dealership in Sierra Vista as not having seated the filter properly. Ah isn't this fun? Even though the warranty is over Jackie seems to think as it's an on going issue with documented proof that if there is still an issue GM might step up and do the right thing. We shall have to wait and see.

 

Yep, that's the name Warkworth.

 

Back home by 5:30 pm we spent a bit of time enjoying a movie before I called my dad to check on conditions back on the Big Rock in the middle of Georgian Bay. Still some snow in shady places, still some very cool overnights, down to around the freezing mark, a degree or two either way. Lots of water around in a few places as well, although the flooding seems to be receding. We can probably reach our summer spot without any trouble. Still cold winds in the day time but like here when the sun shines it's a wonderful day. I think we'll be here at Buttercup Ridge for another 4 or 5 days before we head out toward home. 

 

I think he's been there a while.

 

So that was our busy couple of days. I know I should have broken this into two posts, but oh well, I didn't. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have had a wonderful couple of days. 

 

It has the Mercedes star on the front.

 Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

 

 

Quiet, some nicer weather now...

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

So much rain and wet, although the temperatures are rising we still feel the icy fingers of Old Man Winter from time to time here. Yesterday (Monday) we had a marvelous day, sunshine and warmth but with all the soggy ground we didn't get out to do much, although we did sit with the big door open most of the afternoon. A sign that spring is here. 

 

Looking down the driveway toward the road.

 I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, ours was quiet and we enjoyed it very much. Although with the soggy conditions we didn't go anywhere or do much of anything. A bit more cleaning, a few cupboards wiped down and cleaned out, soon I'll be round the whole Igloo and spring cleaning will be finished. 

Everything is soggy and no one will in these fields for a while yet or at least not this one.

 Yesterday I took advantage of the sun to get outside for a bit, I picked up some of the downed branches and did some errands. Some fuel for the Big Dog had me topping up the tank for $1.09 per litre, which would be about $4.15 US per gallon. A US gallon is equal to 3.8 litres, an Imperial gallon is 4.5 litres, so I'll just plunk it in the middle and say it takes approx 4 litres to make a gallon. Not exactly but close enough. 

 

I cropped this photo from the one above so you could see a neighbouring farmhouse across the way.

 

 I also managed to find my way to the dump or waste transfer site. For a bit under $12 CAD I managed to get rid of the garbage we've been holding. We just couldn't find any place to get rid of it and so I thought I'd try the dump. Since the trash was from here from the farm (technically) they agreed I could use their facilities, as it is for residents only. 

Heading back home after walking out to the road to collect the mail in box.

 

From there I headed off to Harwood and the artesian well to leave my donation and fill our drinking jugs. The water comes out very quickly and fills the jugs in record time. Many gallons an hour pump out of the well. The donations keep the little community centre hall and playground in good repair. 

 

Can you see us off to the right tucked up in the trees? This photo was cropped from the one above.

 

Back home I put the crock pot on with some hamburger soup for tomorrow's meal and actually cooked it in the house and stored it in the fridge overnight. Nice to have the use of a full size fridge once in a while. The rest of the day was spent just doing a bit of this and that. Tomorrow we hope to get out again to do a few little things.

 

A very cute sign, don't you think?

 I haven't managed any photos yet but the wild life here is coming around more. A half dozen wild turkeys (Toms) have been strutting their stuff off in the distance a few times and I hear them in the wee morning hours just as my eyes are opening for the day. A raccoon can be seen out in the fields looking for some left over soy beans almost every night. Mike ( the fella with cattle in the barn) says he's seen a few deer around as well but those I haven't seen yet. Now with the nicer weather here I'm hoping to get out and about. I'll have some photos to share of spring arriving at Buttercup Ridge. 

 

 Thanks for stopping by, all photos were taken with my phone on the only walk I've managed to get in since our arrival. It was Sunday morning between rain drops, with fog or mist in the air, and an over cast sky. 

 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

 

Cold, wet, and miserable weather...

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

Happy Easter to everyone. May you all be loved, happy, healthy and safe.

 

 We have had a continuous diet of cold rain, cold winds and the once warmer temperatures we had are now missing. We are barely keeping it above the freezing mark, day or night for the last two days. The steady rain and fairly substantial winds are keeping us indoors and not even venturing out to take any photos. The cold rain makes that bad idea. So no photos.

 

 We have had a quiet couple of days and with the holiday and the weather we haven't been doing anything at all since we arrived. Hopefully the days ahead will get better, warmer, dryer and brighter so that we can get out and about without catching a chill. 

 

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

Family visits, exciting news, arrived at Buttercup Ridge....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

Woodstock was a good stop for us and we rested well there. The rain came down and we were happy we hadn’t stayed farther away. Less than 45 minutes later we arrived at Brantford but found that getting into Bradey’s driveway was not going to work. Even if I could get in, all things had to be aligned before I could get back out. Even one car in the wrong place on the street and we were stuck, so we opted for a different option. The local Catholilc Church (right across the street) wouldn’t allow us to park even for a donation, so we once again reverted to Walmart. A nice assistant manager told us we could stay for 3 nights (it’s what I ask for), knew we would be unhooking and even putting the slides out. He had no issues with it and so we stayed at the Brantford Walmart Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. We spent some money in Walmart to offset our using a piece of the parking lot. For future reference, it is an excellent place, quiet, and easy to get in/out, close to everything and a lot of stores near by. 

 

You can see the grass is starting to turn green. B & D live in this small town now.

 

We enjoyed our visits with Bradey and David very much. We spent a good deal of Sunday with them, Monday evening and part of Tuesday evening as well. They have settled into life in their new to them home, and are looking forward to the future. Held up by magnets on the fridge door are the first ultra sound pictures of the baby that will bless our lives. A first child for them, a first niece or nephew for their of the siblings (all sisters as a matter of fact, Courtney & Riley are Bradey’s sisters of course, and Nicole & Danielle are David’s sisters) and of course a first grandchild for myself and for Peter & Mary. (David’s parents). Some exciting times ahead. We wish for them a healthy baby, and the joys that children bring to a home.
 

Middle daughter, her future husband and their puppy.

 While parked in Brantford we journeyed to Hamilton for a couple of errands. First thing Monday morning had me at Dr. Bobba’s office, he’s my Rheumatologist. A few things have changed but we agreed to leave everything the same and will access again in the fall when I see him next. From there Riley and I headed for the blood labs as I was over due for blood work. Long story short, we couldn’t get in to either location we tried and eventually ended up back at the first one later in the day. Our next stop was the storage unit on Barton Street. We had a few things to remove from there and distribute to their rightful owners. Took us a while to find them but we managed to get everything packed into the Dogsled and storage unit locked back up before heading off for a quick stop at Timmie’s for a drink. A quick phone call to find that the meeting I thought I would have on Tuesday wasn’t necessary. Yeah, now Tuesday would be pretty clear for us.
 

David, Riley and Bradey.

 From that fun filled morning we stopped again at the blood lab, bingo, in and out in less than 20 minutes and we were off to our last errand in the city. The dentist and our friend MaryAnne to catch up and have some dental work accomplished. Cleaning for me, cleaning and some fillings for Riley, a nice long chat with MaryAnne and we were off by 3:30 pm heading back to Brantford. Riley and I had a very late lunch after which we had a visit with Bradey & David before calling it a night.
 

That is the Hamilton skyline in the distance.

 

Tuesday was a day to stock up on a few things that we needed and just to sort of relax a bit. We like those days without too much planned. Warmer but still damp and cold outside. An evening visit with B & D topped off the day.

 

Moving toward Toronto, close to the airport.

  Wednesday morning at 9:30 am found us getting on the road to head further east along the 401. A slow down on the Ancaster Hill in Hamilton pretty much set the tone for the first half of the drive. Stop and go from Ancaster to about the middle of Toronto before traffic picked up and moved along. Toronto is always busy now, and I doubt there is ever a fast trip to or thru the city these days. Like all major cities around the world the amount of people, vehicles and businesses just make it ‘rush hour’ all the time. Ironically, not much construction along the way, only in a couple of spots. 

 

Riley liked the ball atop of that cement piece. Of course this is Toronto.

  

We arrived at Buttercup Ridge (Janet & Dennis’ farm) before 1:30 pm. The driveway is long and very rough as the winter has been a tough one. Thaw, freeze, thaw, freeze, snow, ice, water, rain, sleet, thaw, freeze, and repeat. You know what that does for a gravel driveway. Closer to the house and the barn the ground turned soft and I was worried about getting stuck but we managed to get ourselves backed into the far driveway and get leveled up before 2:30 pm. Sounds like a long time but it wasn’t. I’ll take some photos to show you in another post. A call to dad, a text to Janet, we had lunch and just kind of fell into our chairs. We are closer to home but not quite there yet. A couple of weeks should see us arriving on the Island to hopefully warmer weather. 

Welcome to Toronto.

 

Today I had a quick chat with Mike (he rents the barn here at Buttercup Ridge), says they had a long winter here in Southern Ontario as well. Lots of snow, lots of cold and overcast days were the norm. Like everyone else he’s in a hurry to see spring arrive. We can see it coming though, flowers are poking up from the beds, trees are taking on new shades of red, yellow and green. The grass is losing its brown to a tiny hint of green. Birds are chirping and singing everywhere, water is open and not frozen, and of course everywhere you look Robins are busy gathering nesting material. Spring is coming soon. 

Of course Toronto is a sprawling city on the northern shores of Lake Ontario.

 

A belated Happy Birthday mention (I called on the actual day) to my older brother Rick. We won’t discuss how old he actually is but he’s older than I am. April 16 found him another year older, wiser and more handsome than the last year. Hope you had a great day Rick.
 

Here we are heading north of Cobourg on Hwy 45 toward the town of Roseneath.

 

So there you have it, a catch up of the last number of days. I’ll be catching up on the reading and commenting as well over the next couple of days. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

One day we'll get some BBQ from this spot.

 

Until next time.. take care, be safe,

Deb

Back in Ontario....

Our Location: Woodstock, Ontario

We woke to rain on Friday morning in Oakdale Campground and decided we’d give it a couple of hours to see what the weather would do over the morning hours. If it continued raining we would stay for another day and head out on Saturday, if it stopped we would head out Friday. 

Along our travels in Ohio after leaving Oakdale Campground in Quincy.

 

 About 9 am it stopped and we finished hooking up and headed out. It took us about 30 minutes to get out of the campground and we didn’t dump as we missed the turn and there was no where else to turn around and go back without wasting another half hour. We opted to find a dump station elsewhere. 

 

Flag City and Findlay are the same city.

 We were on the actual road, not just getting to it by 10 am with another destination in mind. Beaverdam and the Flying J with a dump station. About an hour’s drive from the campground and about half way through out travel day. We were happy to be on our way further north and closer to home. The roads were a bit damp but we had no issues. The way to the interstate is never straight forward but windy, twisty and skinny back roads, turn right, go straight, turn right, go straight, you know the way the GPS takes you. We eventually ended up on I-75 Northbound. Bonus, we were going the right way too!!! 

That is the Motor City ahead of us this morning.

 

A stop at the Flying J in Beaverdam, Ohio had us spending $10 to dump our tanks. No complaints, easy in, easy out. Huge parking lot in the back for future places to stay if necessary. The sky was clearing a bit and it was warm, very nice and warm. Not hot but certainly nice spring weather. Within the hour we reached our changed destination. We had been planning on the Walmart at Perrysburg, a suburb of Toledo but opted instead for Bowling Green. Only a few miles short of Perrysburg. Easy to find, easy to park, not the most level place (again not a complaint just a reminder for the future) but still lots of room or so we thought. The reefer truck beside us all night could have parked in another spot but chose right beside us instead. He arrived in time to have multiple choices, and he chose us. Oh well, it’s only one night.
 

Michigan is home to Detroit which is home to the Pistons Basketball team.

 

After unhooking to fuel up which took more time to hook and unhook than fueling took, we were on the road once again around the 8:30 am mark heading north on I-75 and the border crossing. The first part of I-75 is brutal and should be closed until it’s repaired before someone hurts themselves trying to dodge holes. However it was short lived, and before long the roads were much better with only the occasional hump or hole. 

 

Different states but the same painting. Very patriotic.

 

We easily found our way to the ‘ ridge to Canada' exit, and before long we were crossing the St. Clair River after paying our $10 US fee to cross. A bit of construction on the bridge but nothing too major and soon we were in line for customs. Not many in line ahead of us but the guard was taking his time and we waited about 20 minutes to reach our turn. A few questions and we were off to find the 401 East to London. The exiting of the customs area was like driving in Michigan, and we as Ontarian’s should be ashamed of ourselves for letting that particular two car lengths of road get like that. A person could lose a small car in one of those holes and not ever find it again. 

 

Crossing the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit, MI to Windsor, Ontario. We pass over the St. Clair River.

 We motored right along on the 401 Eastbound enjoying the sights and the smells of being back home. Our destination was the Dutton OnRoute but after stopping for a Timmie’s we headed back on down the road to Woodstock, just a mere 45 minutes from tomorrow’s destination. Forecast is calling for rain and I don’t want to drive far in the rain so this a much better stop. Not a big lot here but we’re settled in nicely and are looking forward to reaching Bradey & David’s tomorrow. Of course some text messages to family letting them know we arrived back in Ontario and a call to dad were also part of the ‘home’ experience.

We are taking that exit. Going past London but as far as Toronto yet. Those are kilometers on the sign, not miles.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. I’ll be posting every couple of days for a while as things will be a bit busy.  

They let us back in again!!!!

 

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb

Chores today....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

 

I always seem to be lagging behind these days with my postings. I need to stop that. This is yet again, yesterday's post. 

 

We had a cool overnight but not too bad. We are used to cooler overnights of course, the winter is full of them. I guess our minds think that because we are getting further north the air should be cooler at night but I wonder if the river here is tempering the temperatures? We are in a small hollow between much higher river banks and it almost seems as if it's a little climate of it's own. The nights are warmer than we expect and the days are cooler than when we go out of the campground. 

 

The original. There is a campground on the other side of the river too.

 I have only two photos today, both of the same thing. One is a cropped photo and one is the original. It was taken with my phone. It gives one an idea of how far away the phone can be and still take a decent picture. 

 

It was a busy sort of morning. I defrosted and cleaned both fridge and freezer before breakfast. After that I headed out for a walk and again managed to get in just over 2.5 miles in an hour. I journeyed to the office to pay for one more night, we will be leaving here Friday morning but not crossing until Saturday. Back home I tidied up a number of cabinets and drawers inside and out, wiping them completely down to remove all the desert dust and accumulated debris.  I'm always amazed at how dusty things get. We'll finish our spring cleaning over the couple of weeks we are at Buttercup Ridge in Roseneath, ON. 

Riley also was busy while I was out, she hauled out the vacuum and did a very nice job, she also cleaned up her own room/bathroom. After lunch she decided to go for a walk and managed to put in about 2.5 miles as well. 

 

A bit blurry but not bad for the distance.

 By the time I was finished doing those few housekeeping chores I thought I'd sit outside, we had the big door open and it seemed coolish but nice. Of course the sun went behind the clouds and the wind turned even colder in the shadows of the clouds. I moved back inside within 15 minutes even though I had my hoodie on. I don't think gloves would be appropriate for reading outside. 

From that point on we had a quiet relaxing day doing a whole lot of nothing else. So a nice day, a productive day and a good day to be busy outside but not sitting. Still it's April in the northern USA, so not a complaint just a statement. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a fantastic day. 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

A picture kind of day....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

 

(yesterday's post)

 

I didn't sleep well last night for some reason, and kind of dragged all day. No amount of exercise or fresh air could get me up to do much of anything and with the cold north wind, well it wasn't hard to convince myself to stay inside most of the day. Riley too seemed to be dragging. We headed out for a walk in the morning, putting in a little over 2 1/2 miles in an hour but that it was it for the day. We spent the remainder inside reading, watching a movie or two and just taking it easy. 

This was on my phone. It is from Natural Falls S.P.

We walked along this driveway yesterday here at the campground.

Way out there is State Route 235, we walked along it too.

That big tree was completely hollow in the middle.

Only one of these trees has a tire swing, but two have steps.

This one will be high and dry during a flood.

 

There is a dock under that high end. Must have washed down here in the big rains.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a fantastic day!! All of today's photos were taken on my phone.

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

 

 

Visiting friends today.....

Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio

A warm night for sleeping and we enjoyed the quiet once more. This is a great place to rest and catch up on our sleep. 

Winding our way down the country roads today.

With the morning skies overcast and a chance of rain in the offing we didn’t really know what we wanted to do today. So after a quick walk I contacted George & Suzie (Our Awesome Travels) to see about getting together today. 

Some of the fields waiting to be worked up.

After a quiet morning Riley and I climbed into the Dogsled to head north to Wapakoneta for a happy hour with George & Suzie. The windy road lead us across the country side and within a short time we were pulling up to the campground security gate. Before long we were parked and chatting with George & Suzie. Thanks folks for the movies and the books. We appreciate them very much. Riley & I enjoyed the afternoon a great deal and before we knew it the clock was reading 5 pm and time for us to go home. 

The skies were overcast today.

 Back at home we slipped into the campground and settled down for the evening of watching a movie or two. The perfect end to a nice day.
 

Suzie, George & Riley.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

Suzie, George & Deb

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb