Even More Cottage Snaps

I think this post will bring me up to date with the photos that I have been working on since returning home from the cottage, and so, I'll soon have to think of other topics to blog. You can explore the larger versions of some of the photos by clicking on the link underneath the photo. I'd like to think that some of them are worth enlarging if you will permit me such immodesty.

Apart from the house, garage and shed, there are three old structure at the cottage. Oddly enough, I resisted shooting the picturesque but frequently photographed red barn this time. However, it struck me that the following, particular views of the former planer mill and the older barn hadn't been done. Or not much anyway.

See it Large

The planer mill, on the right (above and below), was just that when my BIL bought the place over ten years ago. Eventually, the former owner returned as per the sale agreement, took the inner workings, and left the shell. A few summers ago, Treebeard started working on screening the structure and managed to finish it in time for the wedding last year.

Large

Large

The other building, the Older Barn, remains just that — older than the more photographed red one . Apart from storage and probable habitation by wee critters, it isn't being used at this point in time. Someone once said something about converting it into an art studio, but who knows if that really represents its future. I would think that it would require a ton of money and/or sweat to accomplish such an overhaul.

Large

Large

A river forms the eastern border of the large property (above). In this photo, the camera looks upon the part of the river that we normally access if we wish to swim, which we didn't this year — brrrrr! You'll notice that the grass is kept trimmed in that section and that there is a bench. My nephew and several friends built the Friendship Bench a number of years ago. Personally, I think it's time that he return from from his globetrotting and sit in it.



I noticed this flowering plant on the edge of a little grade that overlooks the newer barn and decided to experiment with the macro function on Cuppa's camera (the others on this page were taken with mine). My BIL thought he knew the name, but of course I can't recall what he said. In the photo below, you can see the newer, red barn very out of focus (intentional).

One Fine Morning

I wrote how the nights and early mornings at the cottage were deucedly cold, but it wasn't all bad. Sometimes it was very good. One day, I took my chair outside to read whilst Cuppa remained in the mill. Although it was best to wear a light jacket, I found the weather very pleasant and even wonderfully bug-less. As much as I revelled in the weather and the lack of insects, I felt blessed with the long grass around me and beautiful scenes in front of me. I asked Cuppa to come out and take some pictures. Of course, she had already thought of this and taken one from inside the mill.



Being the accommodating woman that she is, she did come out to take more frontal views.




Then, she left the camera with me, and I took some photos of what I saw when I looked up. The barn was dead ahead.



When I shifted my gaze to the left, I saw meadow and bush lit by the sun.



I was very fortunate to be me that day. It was my version of Splendour in the Grass. It was a fine morning, but, having arisen at 5:30 today, I am much less sanguine about this morning.

Lest I Forget

While I was working with some cottage photos to delight you with in the next few days, I found these recent pictures of my grand grandson. I think I took them around the time that his sister was sick, and I then forgot about them for some strange reason. Handsome little fellow, eh?

Cold Morning, Hot Coffee

We're back from the cottage, and I must declare that I picked a rather unfortunate time to pack lighter than usual. I mean to say, it's August, still summer if you will, so why would I bother with track pants and sweatshirts and the like. I should have though; I really should have because the nights and early mornings were darn cold. Yes, it went down to near freezing on at least one of our four nights, and the other three weren't exactly balmy, believe you me.

Cuppa couldn't resist taking these pictures one morning when she got up to find my BIL and I severely bundled, he in a hoodie and down-filled winter coat, me wrapped up in a duvet. The days were tolerable and even pleasant, but my goodness, the nights and early mornings were glacial-like. In fact, I think if you squint, you might be able to spy a woolly mastodon lumbering by the window.

At least the coffee was hot.

Off Again and A Tiny Annoyance

Not that I've exactly been posting like a demented fiend lately, but I thought I should do the courteous thing and tell you that we'll be away this week. In point of fact, I've been posting so infrequently recently that you probably won't notice any difference. But when you've been blogging for more than five years, you do sometimes run out of steam. While there's an outside chance that I might shake up my gray matter enough to compose post while away, the internet is both slow and tenuous where we'll be staying, so don't hold your breath for my usual pearls of wis. Eh?

But I will take the time to tell you that Nikki Dee has rallied quite well and is almost back to her normal rambunctious self. Both she and Zach will be missed by the Buppa this week.

Meanwhile, permit me to leave you to contemplate this tiny little annoyance that I have with this wonderful service that we fondly refer to as Blogger.


By "tiny annoyance," I refer to the kind of comment box shown above. It appears on some of the newer blogs.

You see, when it pops up, there is no cursor in the word verification box. So, I am forced to reach for my mouse and click in the box before I am able type my comment. Why the cursor doesn't default to the box, I know not. Perhaps it would make life too easy for us?

Then, when I've finished composing my incredibly witty yet trenchant comment, I just want to hit the ENTER key but can't. No, I must relocate my mouse, grab it, point to the POST COMMENT box and click. Why can't I just press ENTER?

While I'm not losing sleep over this, I really do think that an application by the mighty Google leviathan should not be so cumbersome. Really, I do.

Sick, Little Munchkin

We've had a poor, sick little munchkin on our hands for a few days. The dreaded H1N1? Who knows? It doesn't help when it's the doctor's day off and the ER says not to bring flu victims in unless you've checked with the doctor. The Health Ontario hot line was very helpful, but still ...

Anyway, the crisis point seemed to pass this afternoon. She was whining constantly, so I rocked her in her room for awhile. If she slept then, it wasn't for long, but she was definitely brighter and cheerier when she was done with the rocking.

We were pretty worried for awhile because this is not exactly a munchkin who's famous for her lethargy. She was a woebegone creature for awhile.

Perky and Chirpy

When the doctor advised me to take allergy meds for about a week, in compliance mode, I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home. Almost every alternative that I could spy with my little eye was of the Non Drowsy variety. Eventually, but with reluctance, I picked one. Although a few previous encounters with Non Drowsy meds haven't gone all that well, given the lack of choice, I decided to give them one more try because, after all, Non Drowsy should not necessarily mean Perky and Chirpy.

I took one around seven o'clock and figured that, even if it were to affect me, I'd probably begin to get over it by bedtime. Then, I promptly forgot about it. Much later, after several hours of tossing and turning and not quite falling asleep, I finally remembered about the pill. As it's happened before, it was happening again. Somehow, those things just wire me. Up I got in the middle of the night and puttered on the puter for an hour or so. Eventually, I tired myself out enough to sleep regardless of the medication.

I'll head down and take my daytime pill now, but not tonight. Oh no, not tonight. Lesson re-learned.

Sigh.