We've decided to stay a bit longer than planned...

 

Our Location:

Buttercup Ridge Farm, Roseneath, Ontario

 

A few nicer days here on the farm, the sunshine made it feel much warmer than the thermometer was saying. I finished the leaves in the side yard yesterday without a coat, so you know it was nice. Rain is in the forecast for the next week, here and on our route north and at our summer spot on the Rock with a very big difference in temperatures with the Rock being about 10 degrees colder. With that in mind we have decided to extend our time here on the farm until Wednesday in hopes of having a drier travel day or two. We aren't sure if we will do the route in one day or two, but we are thinking two as it will then give us time to stop and stock up on some groceries that we will otherwise have to pay very high prices to obtain or travel round trip for 3 - 5 hours (depending on which stores we wish to frequent) to get a better price but the drive is long and diesel isn't cheap. The joys of being back in Ontario. 

 

 

Inside the barn, it's used for storage now, no more animals are kept here.

The truck is now gone, John came on Monday and left Tuesday taking his truck.

We took the Big Dog for a drink at the local reservation where we paid $1.349 per litre of diesel which works out to be $3.74 USD per gallon. We noted a spot in Cobourg with listed diesel at $1.59 which turns out to be $4.43 USD per gallon.  It looks good doesn't it? Reality is a bit different $3.74 USD is $5.10 CAD,  $4.43 USD is actually $6.05 in CAD at today's exchange rate. A passing reminder for myself, in Ontario the diesel handles can be any colour. At the station we used, Road/Clear diesel handle was yellow, dyed/farm/off road pump handle was green, and gas handle was black. ALL on ONE pump. 

 

 

One of the four bedrooms here at the farm.

 

I love the iron bed frames.

We use this washroom while we stay at the farm.

We haven't been doing a lot, a little yard work, a trip to the local dump where it cost us $13.00 to drop our garbage and recycles, it is the base price and we could have brought a lot more for the price but we didn't have any more. We visited Cobourg for a few groceries, the local artesian well at Harwood for some drinking water and we took a little tour of Gore's Landing. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a single photo. We've spent some time with Winnie as Judi has been off doing things. Winnie loves running after the ball and will drop it only if she wants to run again, or you have a stick. She's a fun loving lady that Miss Winnie. 

 

Our bathroom is on the left, this is the hallway to the Master at the end.

Towels, shams, tea towels, lots of monogrammed items here.

There used to be Polled Herefords here and a I think a few chickens.

 

A few other notes, first of course is condolences to the Case/Freeman/McMurray families in the passing of Marion. She passed a number of days ago after a long life and some very serious health issues throughout that long life. She was 94. She was my dad's companion for a lot of years after my mother passed.  Second and third are birthday wishes to nephew Jesse who turns a big 27 today. Jesse is a welder by trade, a wonderful young man that recently became a father. Jesse shares his birthday with not one but two relatives. Jesse's great grandmother (my dad's mother) was also born on this day many years ago. Our cousin Bob also has a birthday today. Bob turns 77, exactly 50 years older than Jesse. Happy birthday fellas!! I hope you both have a wonderful day. 

 

The formal living room.

The main kitchen with Miss Winnie by the fridge.

Yep, even a cigar store Indian in the den.

A few pics of the inside of the farm house here at Buttercup Ridge. I'm sure you will enjoy them as much as you did the outside. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all have a wonderful day. 

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

A few quiet days at Buttercup Ridge....

 

 

Our Location: 

Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

The past few days have been quiet and peaceful, a little rain and then a lot of rain yesterday. However I have managed to do some raking and while I'm not finished, it's a good start. Yesterday was a busy day for me, Judi and I tackled the garage, quite by accident, but after a couple of hours we were finished and with Dennis' truck (we had to push it out, dead battery, glad it's a stick) out of the garage, and with everything cleaned up Judi can now put her gym in that space. We spent some time getting out the summer furniture, planters and lanterns, etc. Winnie of course was ever present with her ball wanting someone to toss it. Riley obliged in between laundry loads, and Winnie was excited to see Riley each time she stepped out of the house or the Igloo. 

 

 

The outside fire place here at Buttercup Ridge.

The pizza oven was covered for the winter.

Tulips in the front yard at the base of two black walnut trees.

The driveway needs some attention, it was a tough winter with no real frost.

We headed into Cobourg shortly after 5 pm to meet daughter Courtney at the Via Rail Train station, the train was delayed and didn't arrive until around 6:40 instead of the 6:10 originally planned. We headed out to The Ale House, a local pub, for some food. It wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad. We managed to chat during the entire meal and get caught up on a lot of things. A brief stop at the Igloo for an hour or so and then into the house to meet Judi and Winnie as well as a brief visit before C, R and I came back to the Igloo for a while. Courtney headed off to the house for the night and will catch up with us this morning. We will deliver her back to the train station some time today for her return to Toronto. 

 

A bit better view of the backyard kitchen. There is a big Weber, sink and fridge under the tarp.

 

Some turkey vultures on the barn roof.

A quiet place to rest and overlook the fields.

 

This morning is foggy and a very heavy dew.  The sun is trying to come out and is burning the fog off quickly as you can see in the photos. I hope you enjoy them. 

 

Meet Winnie, she's 8 years old and loves to chase balls.

 

The fog was dense when I opened the curtains around 6.

 

And started burning off quickly.

Until next time....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

We have arrived at Buttercup Ridge Farm....

  

Our Location: 

Buttercup Ridge Farm, Roseneath, Ontario, Canada

The last few days have been busier, colder, wetter and although windy, not windier than the desert. We settled into Valens Conservation Area for 4 nights. It was only supposed to be 3 but with snow/rain mix we opted to just stay put. It is not a park we will ever go back to for a number of reasons but mainly because there are too many trees. I like trees but I like a wide space to make a turn with more than a foot spare on one side and 8 inches on the other. The Igloo kissed a tree and I take responsibility for it, not much damage, knocked a marker cover off, and put little scuffs in a few places. Ah the joys of tight spaces. 

County Road 9, but this isn't the steep hills.

Very little new green out there in the country side.

We visited with daughter Bradey, hubby David and their two sons, Auston and Lincoln. The boys are growing quickly and are full of energy. We visited twice over the days we were in the area and the last day we just stayed home. The weather was not fun and I had no desire to go outside at all. While out and about in the little city of Brantford, Ontario I managed to slip into a TD bank and fix the pin # on my debit card that hasn't worked since Feb. That was a relief. 

We are coming up the drive at Buttercup Ridge.

It's a bumpy ride but the grass is very green.

This morning we hooked up and pulled out before 10 AM, stopped at the dump station and headed out EAST bound toward Toronto. We had a little mix up and had to do a couple of loops to get on to the 401 East and while I would normally drive all the way on the 401, we opted for the pay highway #407 for a couple of reasons and so we rolled along easily on the top of Toronto and by passed all the traffic. It was a smooth ride and we followed the highway to the end where we connected with County Rd 9 which we took all the way to the end of the laneway here at Buttercup Ridge. The far end of CR 9 is not one we enjoyed, too many steep hills and slow downs at the bottom of those hills for our liking. We will remember that next time, we hope. 

I would love to park right there but I don't know if all of the equipment is out of the barn yet.

So instead we parked here, but the ground is soft and we may have to readjust after a day or two.

We arrived here about 12:30 pm, found the place we wanted to set up and started settling in. Judi, Dennis and Janet's niece came out to chat for a while. She and Winnie her dog were off for a walk and not long after her mother Jackie showed up. We haven't chatted with Jackie yet. Judi is living in the house for the next number of months as Dennis and Janet will not be returning home from California this year for health reasons.

The view out the window.

The farm house, Judi and her mom are up there.

Cold is how I would describe the wind here in the rolling hills of Northumberland County. Mostly cloudy skies and temps around 55F/12C but the wind makes it colder. We are settled in for at least 10 days, possibly more, so I won't be blogging every day, we won't be doing anything worthy of writing about. Just a couple of notes to add, Rick (sister's partner) is home again, doing okay and apparently feeling some better. Welcome home Rick. My brother Rick celebrated a birthday on Sunday, and our cousin Daisy celebrated hers the day before on Saturday. Happy Birthday to both folks, we are pretty certain they had a good day!!! An early happy birthday wish goes out to nephew Allan who celebrates on the 21st. Allan is my sister's only son! Happy birthday Allan.

 

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

Until next time...

Take care, stay safe, 

Deb

We are safe and sound in Ontario......

 

 Our Location: 

Valens Conservation Park, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Our morning was an early one, we were on the road at 6:50 AM, I know that because we looked. We enjoyed the Mercer County Fairgrounds and would stay again. We enjoyed it, it was a relaxing few days. Next time we would actually get out and tour Celina, but this time was strictly resting. 

We noticed this truck back at Quail Ridge Rv Park, in Huachuca City, Az.

And this one was in Fry's parking lot in Sierra Vista, AZ.

This morning's sunrise as we headed East.

We did see the sun later in the day.

The roads were pretty good over all, a few rough patches but not too bad. We had easy sailing to the border and the crossing was easy. A few questions and we were on our way. We crossed back into Ontario by 11 AM. We stopped a few times but not for long. 

Daffs in bloom at a rest area in Ohio.

We were only in the state for a short time.

We crossed the Ambassador Bridge.

The St Clair River.

There were lots of folks out on the water.

On the 401 East at MM 224, near Woodstock we had our first ever blow out of a tire on the Igloo. It was an interesting experience, no one was hurt but we do have some damage at the wheel well and along Riley's slide, one of the side markers is gone and apparently the Igloo isn't covered by CAA, who knew that? Not me. So I had to foot this bill myself. Kal Tire came after a two hour wait, and we were on the road again within about 20 minutes. Officer Stephen showed up and waited with us for about an hour before she was called away. We appreciated her assistance very much. Anyway all is well with us, we drove for another 50 minutes to reach Valens Conservation.  It's a big park and lots of trees, not someplace we would stay again. The roads are very narrow and the trees too close to the roads and the entrances to the sites. Our site is particularly odd, we had to turn around as the power receptacle is almost in the site beside us, we barely reach the post, if we hadn't turned around we couldn't have reached the outlet.

Back in Ontario, the grass is greening up and the leaves are almost visible.

The roads were pretty good. Excuse the dirty windshield.

Not our best day.

Tomorrow we are going to visit grandsons/nephews, daughter and her husband. We are looking forward to it very much. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've all had a good day. 

Until next time....

Take care, stay safe, 

Deb

One more sleep.....

 

 Our Location: 

Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Ohio

It was a wonderful night temp wise, sleep wise, not so much. Oh well, it is what it is, at least it wasn't a travel day today. We slept with all the windows and vents open last night and very few blankets. We are soaking up as much heat as possible. 

Jim these are for you and Barb.

Until you mentioned your project I hadn't ever seen any, and there is one right here in the fairgrounds.

At coffee time I had my pick of seats, I tried a few of them.

This morning I took my coffee and climbed into the grandstands to watch a few trainers letting their charges run for a bit. Even managed a quick conversation with one as he went by, we thought I might have the best seat in the house. Considering I was the only one there, I think we were correct. A walk around the park, a quick trip for diesel but no top up for propane as it was flat rate, no matter how much they put in, we left without a top up. The fairgrounds are getting ready for a yard sale tomorrow, starting at 8 am, we will be long gone by then. We hope to pull out by 7 am to avoid the confusion and busyness.

These two were just enjoying the wind in their manes and having a good time.

I spoke with the fella on the inside lane.

This guy came late to the party.

A few pics of the views, I hope you enjoy them. A quick up date, Rick is now off the ventilator, he was sitting in a chair for a while yesterday, he's still pretty fuzzy but doing better. Thanks for all the concern in the past week. 

 

They aren't racing just trotting along.

Not clear but you get the idea, they were enjoying their run.

He's still getting warmed up.

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb