Cold, lazy days here at Buttercup Ridge....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

(Today's pictures are from April 22/23 weekend with Courtney & Matt)

 

We've had a lazy few days with some what iffy connections so I've saved myself the frustration and just not tried to post or even go on line much. The off/on isn't the happiest of buttons and seems to work fine but then changes it's mind. Fickle would the word I think that would apply here. 

 

Riley wasn't too happy standing there.

 

The weekend was cold due to the clouds and winds we found ourselves with. The temperatures on Saturday were pretty cool, we didn't top out over 44F/6.6C, and yesterday was a high of about 60F/15.5C but the wind on both days had us bundled up for any ventures out side which were very few. The rain and extremely cold winds caused us to have ice on the steps of the Igloo Saturday overnight into Sunday morning. Hopefully those cold days are behind us. 

 

Courtney and her hubby Matt. Courtney is a teacher in Toronto, Matt is a research doctor in the neurology field. He returned last December from a two year stint in Lausanne, Switzerland. Courtney also lived in Lausanne for a year but returned last August ahead of Matt. Matt is currently doing his research at York University in Toronto.

 

A chat with my best friend Linda way up there in the cold north of Lively, Ontario (a little town near Sudbury) had us beginning to rethinking our northward trek. Snow, cold temperatures, and rain are still issues up in the north. Their Camp on Manitoulin Island still has snow, lots of snow in some places and the temperatures aren't any higher than about 37F/3C until the upcoming weekend. So that gives us pause for thought. 

 

Sisters on the bench.

 

A chat with my Aunt Shirley the night before had netted me about the same information with a few variables as they live in a different area of the Island. 

 

We still had some snow when they were here.

 

A chat with my dad yesterday also helped to give us the incentive to stay put a few more days. So we now plan to arrive on May 9 or 10 instead of 5 or 6. Not a lot of time but there it could be make a huge difference. Hopefully the rains in the forecast help things along.  The ice in the bay hasn't even begun to go out, and remains frozen solid at the shore line with a testing last week (not by my dad) that had it registering 2 feet/ 60 centimeters down the bay near Jocko's Point. That's a lot of ice for this time of the year. So with the ice solidly locked in the bay the temperatures at our summer location will be governed a bit  by that cold surface. There is talk of delaying the opening of the sailing season of the Chi-Cheemaun for a while until the ice or at least a portion of it moves out of the bay. It goes out the channel in the little village of South Baymouth which is where the ferry docks. Ice and the ferry in the small channel at the same time would not be a good mix. 

 

That is where we parked last fall, out by the hay bales.

 

So our plan is to remain here until May 7th, which will be a week from today. We will then head  northward taking our time and arrive at the Island 4 or 5 days later than we planned last week which was already changed by a few days. Our original plan had been to leave here today, April 30. So as you can see spring is still slowing slugging it out with Old Man Winter. I personally don't recall the last time there was snow on the Island at the beginning of May. 

 

So muddy and wet out there but it's starting to turn green.

 

A chat with my sister in law Janet yesterday also provided us with some interesting information. She and hubby Dennis left Indian Wells on Sunday for a little jaunt up to the Julian Pie Company, a pass along the Salton Sea and near the little town of Borrego Springs where she and friend Sue visited Riley and I. She informed me that not one camper was in the area in which we parked, nor were there many in either of the other two locations Rock House Road or Henderson Canyon Road. She commented that they were almost empty. The temperatures have been pretty high in the area, reaching into the 100F/38C in the Indian Wells area a bit further north, so I imagine everyone has headed off to better climes. I know we left due to heat when we visited in early February. However apparently a cooling trend is coming to Indian Wells, it should only be in the mid 70's/ 24C this coming week.

 

Still some snow with standing water as well on April 22/23.

 

The sun is shining this morning but we have once again cycled the furnace as we have for the last 4 days now. The wind is the great equalizer here in Ontario, where it goes from bitterly cold to balmy warmish over the course of the year. Those cold north west winds can be brutal can't they? 

 

Can you see the wetness of the drive way in this picture. Step on that stuff and you sink.

 

We have tended to stay inside most days, with a few little short jaunts outside. It's just too cold for me, not to mention the mud. We are high and dry here on the circular drive by the house but everywhere else is like a day at the spa, a mud bath. I wouldn't say we are hostage but we are being held pretty close to home due to wind, mud and cold temperatures. Lots of reading, a bit of napping and some planning have pretty much taken up our time. 

 

North side of the house on April 22-23.

 

So thanks for stopping by. 

 

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

 

Deb

A maybe connection...

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

(no pictures, they just won't upload)

 

I think I'm going to crawl in a hole and wait for Murphy to go away or at least mail him elsewhere. I'm tired of Mr. Murphy and his wily, sneaking ways. 

  

Thanks to Patsy for giving everyone an update. I am currently using my JET PACK but it has a faulty on/off button. So it works on occasion and not on other occasions. A new one is in the mail in the US to a friend who will then forward it on to me, since Verizon doesn't ship to Canada. Thanks Ron & Sharon. So for now I will try to use this on again, off again connection. So if it's off again, no concerns. 

 

Let me catch you up on our doings. We enjoyed our visit with Courtney & Matt, the weekend went by pretty fast.

 

Since then we visited the little city of Peterborough where we visited Kal Tire to do two things. First was to return the chocks Jake had forgotten, and second was to make an appointment to replace the two tires in question. I'll have them look at the third tire at the same time.Since we are heading through Peterborough on our way north we will stop at Kal Tire for the new tires. It's about 60 km/35 miles to their location so it only make sense to do it on our way through their little city. Our tentative appointment is May 3.

 

We also managed to do a major grocery shop while there and now we're pretty much set for the rest of our time here. We had a day and a half of rain which cooled us off a fair amount but the snow is now all gone, not even a hint anywhere that we can see. We can't however see into the forest very far, so there may still be snow there. The open grounds are muddy and soft but hopefully it'll clear up soon and dry out. Although I think it will take some time to dry out the corn fields here as they are extremely soft even to the step. 

 

I have managed to complete our laundry in the days this week as well as any from the house that needed to be washed also. I'm going to give the house a bit of a shine before we leave as well. Even though the cleaning lady will be coming before Janet and Dennis arrive home I don't want to leave any messes behind for anyone else to clean. 

 

I spoke with Janet a day or so ago as she called to chat for a bit. If any of you out there own a Mandeloin slicer please either get the mesh glove or get rid of the slicer. Janet is now hoping the glued on finger tips of two fingers will heal and not be lost. Not to mention the deep cut on a third finger. It is her right hand, which is her dominant hand of course. Daughter Courtney has had a few nicks and cuts from her own slicer which she still won't part with. Both Riley and I had cuts from ours before I threw it in the garbage when we lived in our Stix 'n Brix. Riley's was a minor cut while the stupid thing was in the cupboard and she moved it. Mine was a cut to the bone while washing the thing. Makes me shudder just to remember. 

 

The sun is out today and hopefully the temperatures warm up enough to dry out some of the mud and grass. It's too muddy even to walk on the drive way as it's pretty soft and it tries to suck the shoes off of a person. 

 

A quick note from my Buddy Ian way out in Nelson, BC had us chatting for a bit today. It was nice to hear from him again, it's been a while. Ian and I met while he lived in St. Thomas, Ont, a few years ago. He's an English fellow who has always managed to make me smile. He's also a helicopter pilot. Nice chap as they say!! Good luck Ian. 

 

The past few days we've managed to watch a bit of Hawaii 5-0, and read a few books, do some house keeping and even managed to cook a bit. We've been keeping out of trouble. 

 

So there you have it, we are all caught up now. Nothing exciting, just more of the same stuff. Hopefully we'll have some nice weather now and we can do a bit of yard work to keep us busy and perhaps even manage a hike if the trails dry up in time. 

 

A couple of quick notes to add.

 Belated Happy Birthday to my nephew Allan, who's birthday was April 21. 

Happy Birthday to another nephew Jesse who's birthday is tomorrow, April 28. Jesse shares the same birth date as his great grandmother Katie (his father's grandmother). Happy Birthday fellas!!!

Again, a thank you to Patsy!!!! I appreciate it very much.

 

So thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

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

 

Deb

Visit with family, blown circuit, warmer weather......

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

(Today's pics were taken a few days ago when we arrived.)

 

It's been a wonderful few days since we've settled in here. The sun has been shining every day, warmer weather has arrived, things are starting to green up and we managed to have a wonderful visit with Courtney and Matt. 

 

The field in front of the house the day we arrived.

 

The temperatures have been nice enough to sit outside with the big door open at least in the afternoon as long as the wind stays down. The wind is the big equalizer of course and we try to avoid it if possible. 

 

The field in front of the barn on the day we arrived.

 

Courtney and Matt arrived much later than anticipated in the original plan but they did manage to find us in the dark. They arrived just before 11 pm on Friday night. We chatted for about an hour or a bit more before all going to bed to get some much needed sleep. 

 

The muddy drive on the day we arrived.

 

Saturday morning found us all up before 7:30 am, gathering around the table having breakfast and chatting non stop. In various ways and times we all spent some much need time just enjoying the stories and details of the last number of months since we've been together. We heard more about Switzerland and the European nations as well as their busy lives now in Toronto from C & M, and they of course heard about what you folks already know about our travels. 

 

The garden shed, putting green and drive net on the day we arrived.

 We went our own ways during the afternoon doing various things. I grabbed my book, sat out in the sun and read most of afternoon, soaking up some much needed rays. 

 

Heading toward the barn on the day we arrived.

 

A few minor issues with circuit breakers in the house had us scratching our heads for a bit. A call to Janet and we figured things out, reset things and continued on. Matt did most of the cooking for the short time they were here and I did the clean ups. With various forms and offers of help along the way. 

 

Where we parked last fall, on the day we arrived this spring.

 

Courtney and Matt drove to the farm in an electric car. A Chevy Bolt. Cute little thing, very quiet of course, but we needed to leave it plugged in most of the day and all night Saturday to ensure they could make it home. A number of areas have plug in capabilities between here and their Toronto home so we weren't overly concerned but wanted them to have as  much in the battery as possible.  Note for my own reference: Garage breaker is behind the barnboard panel in the basement. 

 

Evidence of the recent ice storm.

 

We spent Sunday morning having breakfast and chatting more, we moved outside as they were packing things and bringing them to the car for the trip home. Alma, the neighbour dropped by for a few minutes and we chatted for a bit before she was off doing whatever it is she was on her way to do. 

 

That's us up there by the house on the day we adjusted the Igloo.

 

Shortly before 2 pm C & M headed off homeward bound and Riley and I once again settled in for more relaxing. I of course did a house tidy, and we brought our groceries back to the Igloo before I sat outside to read for a while, had a bit of a nap and just enjoyed the afternoon. 

 

From the front, after our little adjustment.

 

We watched some more of our Hawaii 5-0 series before calling it a night. We didn't shut it down until shortly after 10 pm and I didn't feel like starting a blog post then. So this is my catch up Saturday and Sunday post combined. 

 

The back patio on the day we arrived.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to leave a comment. 

 

 

The side of the house where we are parked. See our power cord?

 

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

 

The welcome front door of Buttercup Ridge.

 

 

Deb

 

 

 

Sunshine, warmer, muddy....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

We woke this morning to cold temperatures, 28F/ -2.2C but there was something different about today. Some big bright yellow thing was showing itself over the pine trees. I believe it may have been something called the sun but it's been so long I'm not sure. 

We are located up at the house this spring, instead of by the barn.

It warmed up considerably throughout the day with our high reaching 53F/11.6 C. A regular heatwave it has been. The morning started with us moving the Igloo about 5 ft to a better location, not quite the same down slope as our original park job and while we were pretty level I just didn't feel comfortable with the front feet extended that far. With the soft ground, melting snow and all things being what they are, I was more than happy to spend the half hour adjusting our location. 

 

Drive shed on the right, the cedars/pines on the left. We are to the left of the cedars and pines.

  

Catching up with our friends scattered across a vast couple of countries while enjoying my hot drink. An Igloo adjustment, showers and some housekeeping duties in the Igloo pretty much took up most of the morning. 

 

This is the flat middle part of the drive way. I turned around from the taking the above picture to snap this one.

It was a quite day with birds singing, squirrels giving us a chattering at, and of course Mike's cows in the barn giving off an opinion every once in a while. I noticed Mike out at the barn this morning too, well actually that's not quite right, I noticed Mike LEAVING the barn area this morning on his way out the driveway. When we left last fall Mike had a half dozen cows and some baby pigs in the barn. I haven't ventured out to chat with Mike or look in the barn since our arrival. It's extremely muddy out there and I've only got my little low top Sploggers, so I don't think a trip to the barn will be in the future until it dries up some. Mike rents the barn and the farm land from Janet and Dennis. He also plows the drive and cuts the grass. Pretty sweet deal I think for all of them.

Coming up the drive.

The sun is melting the hard crusted snow which we could walk on this morning while we adjusted the Igloo but now you can't walk on it, you sink. It's not deep but again without the proper boots wet feet would result in a short period. I did however manage to dance around the mud as I made my way down the driveway to the road to collect the flyers from the mail box. A walk around the outside of the house also let me report to Janet that everything was good, the downed branches all appeared to be in the front of the house. I've hauled a couple of them out to the big wood pile past the drive shed and have a few more trips to go to get all the bigger stuff out of the way. That's how I know it's too wet/muddy to venture to the barn. The wood pile is extremely muddy to reach and the barn is past that.

A garden shed along with the putting green and practice net, all back behind the pond.

A text to Courtney to find out when they are arriving so we know what to do about meals and turning up the heat in the house. They should be arriving later tonight just around 9 - 9:30 pm. They are coming from downtown Toronto and are stopping for dinner on their way. Works well for us, we've had the day to do our own things and get caught up on a few things before company.

The barn area is quite muddy and wet.

The afternoon was spent doing some reading and watching some more Hawaii 5-0. The afternoon sun through the windows helped to heat up the Igloo and we spent most of the afternoon without any heat on inside. It wasn't nice enough to open the door but with the curtains open on the sun side it was nice and warm. Helped with some of the condensation as well. 

That's the big wood pile where I pulled a few bigger branches today, and in front of that pile is where we parked last fall. Couldn't park there now, it's just all one big mud slope.

 
Around 7 pm I slipped into the house, turned the heat up, and turned on some lights. I hauled a can of coffee inside for morning coffee and tomorrow I'll bring in some groceries to feed the crew. We'll really only have tomorrow as a visit but that's okay, some is better than none. I've missed them a great deal.

The house, you can see we are plugged in at the garage. We are parked just in front of the cobblestones.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment. 

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

Deb

 

Arrived at Buttercup Ridge today....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 (MOST of tonight's pictures were taken yesterday)

We arrived here at Buttercup Ridge right around 8:30 am this morning, only a short jaunt from the ONRoute in Port Hope. The temperatures are hovering right at the freezing mark and as long as the sun stays out it warms up about 4 or 5 degrees, but if the sun slips back behind the clouds it drops back to around the freezing mark. The problem is it's pretty cloudy, so we're not seeing a lot of sun. 

Toronto is always busy these days, no longer is it just rush hour that is crazy busy.

The overnight at the ONRoute was cool but not cold. We slept well and under the many blankets we were toasty. Even HRH Miss Kitty was happy to be nearby but not under the covers. She doesn't like being under any blanket. We left the ONRoute right about 7:30 am, so not bad in the way of getting to where we want to be. 

Interesting looking buildings, don't you think?

The driveway has been plowed of course, but it's terribly rough and bumpy, we also needed to use 4x4 to get us up the hill at the beginning of the drive. Some pretty ugly spots and some pretty soft spots too. We managed to make it to the house and get up into the circular drive this time. Last fall we parked out by the barn and on nice days that's nice, but in the wind, it's brutal. It comes from across the fields and hits us broad side, so we opted to park closer to the house. We are literally just off the cement at the garage door. We ran a cord from the garage to hook in and give us use of our furnace for a few days without worrying about the solar panels not producing enough in this weather. 

Welcome to the 401 East bound.

I called my dad to let him know we've arrived, he was happy to hear from us. Cold there too, cold here and I think just cold everywhere. Things are starting to ache much more intensely today as I think I stood too long on the cold wet pavement last night. So I'll probably be taking some extra meds and having a nap this afternoon to help get past the worst of it. However we shall see. 

The Collectors lanes over there were often stop and go, while we in the Express lanes just kept crawling along.

I've kind of caught up on Facebook and my email but not my blog reading yet, although I did manage to answer all comments on my last few posts. With the internet connection so slow in Hamilton it was difficult to even do that much unless I was up early. Here at Buttercup Ridge we have much faster service, and we don't even have the booster on. So we are very happy!!! 

The skyline often looks familiar in most cities, I think. Unless one sees a major 'famous' building, arch, etc, all cities pretty much look like each other.

The temperature as I write this at noon is 38F/3.3C and dropping as the sun is behind a cloud. A somewhat strong gusty North, Northwest wind is not helping with the temperatures at all. We need some of that desert warmth right about now and to think we were too hot in Borrego Springs. Never satisfied are we?
 

We are getting closer to being out of Toronto. Traffic is much lighter here.

I had a nice nap this afternoon, seemed to help alleviate some of my issues, along with a bit of anti inflammatory medication. So I can say that my afternoon was pretty quiet. Riley and I decided we'd do a little tv watching, we have the series Hawaii 5-0 on DVD and are currently just finished disc 3. We still haven't found season 5, so we have just 1- 4. We're hoping to find the next seasons also bundled. We'll see how it goes. 
 

Double decker Go Bus passes us as we leave Toronto and head toward Ajax and Oshawa.  Two GO trains were also running along on the tracks to the south of the highway.

 Sister in law Janet called and we chatted for about a half hour. They are still in Indian Wells, CA enjoying the weather and golf. She and Dennis are both very avid golfers. Janet is very good, and very serious about her game, Dennis plays drop and giggle golf as she calls it. Nothing too serious about his game. They are the proud owners of Buttercup Ridge. They won't be returning until May 10. She found it hard to believe that there is snow here at the farm and thought we should stay in the house instead of the Igloo. I assured her we were very appreciative of the thought but the Igloo keeps up pretty warm and with being able to plug in we can use the furnace to help keep us warmer. Looks like Tuesday is the last unspring like day here. After that it will warm up and hopefully usher in spring. 
 

This old car went past us on the 401 East bound.  It looks to be in great shape but the back window was missing.

So as evening falls here the wind is still gusty at times, it's still around the freezing mark and will drop a few degrees below tonight. Tomorrow will be more of the same, as will the next few days. Although  we'll be busy on the weekend visiting with Courtney and Matt as they will arrive tomorrow for a visit, so hopefully we won't notice the less than wonderful weather. We will be using the house for that visit, but Riley and I will be sleeping in the Igloo. I'm excited about the visit. We haven't seen Courtney and Matt for some time. 

I'm not sure but I think this might be a BBQ place, its on Highway 45 near Cobourg.  We pass this on the way to Buttercup Ridge.

That was our day. We've arrived, set up and are enjoying ourselves very much. Feels like home! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment, I appreciate them all. Readers only are welcome too. 

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

Deb