Sunflowers Galore

We were babysitting the grands this past week or at least three days of it. While the making of slime became the main focus of the week, we got out to a sunflower field on our final afternoon. I've never been close to one before, so it was quite a treat.

The field was quite extensive. It would have been nice to see it from a stepladder to catch more of the farther plants, but the thoughtless owners did not provide one.

The kids wandered along the edge.

And then we went in.

I tried many shots, but this one came out best IMO.

I like this one too but not quite as much, partly because the sky was more blown out with only the gray parts remaining. Perhaps I should have replaced the sky or at least eliminate the gray parts, and perhaps I will still do that but not now.

There was a bit more wandering, but the clan walked back towards me before we headed off.

A nice half hour it was.

Bridge Street Summer Fest

They do this every year on the first weekend of August — close off Main Street for displays and vendors. Usually the temperature is rather torrid, but this year, it was cool enough for long pants and heavier shorts. Until later in the morning that is; by then I was getting a little too warm.

Up until this year, it was called the Bridge Street Bazaar, but it's the same by any name. On one hand I don't get the attraction of setting up a half mile of vendors booths, but it is well attended, and, darn it all, I go too.

There were some interesting costumes.

And various musicians.

More costumes.

A Sleepover At Last

We have owed JJ a sleepover for weeks now. He was supposed to go first, and we had his date lined up, but then something or other intervened, so Danica took his spot. We finally remedied that situation on the weekend.

They usually get a sleepover treat when they sleepover, and this was no exception, but there's no picture, so we'll move on. Move on to Movie.

JJ gets to bring or pick a movie, and this time he chose Robin Hood — again. And we watched it with him. Again! There's something comforting about routine sometimes.

Sometimes, he likes to snuggle during a movie.

He still gets a bedtime story when he's here. He found Hansel and Gretel and hadn't read it yet, so it was a good choice.

At other times, like the next morning, he took over my computer space, not to use the computer so much but to begin to craft a comic book. We had found some images on the computer for him to work from.

As the cat hovered.

First Picnic

Oh my! With summer half gone, we hadn't had our first picnic yet! Among other things, I think the weather has to shoulder a major share of the blame.

Whatever! It was time to remedy that sorry situations by visiting Tims and then taking coffee and sandwiches to our favourite spot, right new our favourite tee. I think it's everyone's favourite tree, which is here in this shot.

That shot was looking upriver from where we sat. Here is a downriver shot. Sue is off to the right.

Across the river was a line of seagulls — for awhile anyway.

Then, the paddlers came, mostly kids from the canoe club daycamp not very far downstream.

We stayed for about an hour and a half, reading and gazing for awhile after eating. There were others enjoying the day.

It was good to get out and enjoy a very fine summer's day in this grand little park in this fine little town..

On Ramsay Concession 7B and Sugar Bush Road

We went on a bit of a rural ramble on Tuesday evening, eventually finding our way along Concession 7B north of Almonte (which I mention in case any local folk chance upon this post).

Of course, I had my eyes peeled (what an odd expression) for potential photos, but I wasn't finding much of interest.

I did stop a couple of times but the results were ordinary. Following are two shots of the road. Not great, but it gives you the feel for the geography. One hopes for some clouds and not blank skies, but it was what it was.

Eventually, we stopped at the little bridge over the Indian River where I spotted some light around the bend along with reflections.

Indian River isn't much more than a creek really, but with the copious amount of recent rainfall, it looked more river-ish on this evening. In the other (more or less west) direction off the bridge, I spotted a little controlled brush burning, which added a little focal point. I left the bridge rails in the photo to act as a sort of frame.

Somehow, we left Conc 7 and found ourselves on Conc 6, which for a short section at least is also called Sugar Bush Road. The reason soon became apparent as we came across the Clarence Fulton Pure Maple Products operation.

This proved to be very near the more well-known Fulton's Pancake House and Sugar Bush, but as far as I can tell from a wee bit of internet sleuthing, it is a separate business and not part of the operation which draws tourists.

Finding Clarence Fulton's place made it seem like a worthwhile drive, not that we wouldn't have enjoyed the ramble regardless.

Gillies Grove

I heard about Gillies Grove quite a long time ago, but we finally made a special effort to visit this old growth stand of trees in Arnprior one evening.

Being old growth, the trees were quite tall although not necessarily all that wide in diameter. I could barely get them all in the frame even with a wide angle lens and pointing upward.

To give some sense of scale, Sue is in the distance in this photo. I was using a wide angle lens, so she wasn't as far away as it seems in the photo (yes, cameras do lie), but I think the photo serves to give you an idea of the height. These are very tall trees for Ontario and seemed more like British Columbia tall to me.

Photos were a little tough in the contrasting light and took some work in post processing to make half decent, but I suppose I like this next shot as well as any. I think it's the foreground element of the fallen trunk that adds interest and dimension. But, of course, you also lose the sense of scale.

There were a number of side trails, but it was extremely hot and muggy in the still forest and very buggy, so we stuck to the main trail and didn't linger overly long.

No longer in the grove but still near it, we later espied this cottage with an amazing bush.

I think I'd like to return to Gillies Grove in the cooler and less buggy autumn, but although we were very glad to visit on this evening, we were also glad to leave. At least we now know where it is and how to access it.

But before I go, some more information from the town's website: http://arnprior.ca/live/maps/gillies-trail/ .

The Grove was originally used as a picnic ground by the Gillies and McLachlin families. The land came into David A. Gillies possession as the McLachlin family lost much of its land following the company’s bankruptcy. Following his death in 1967 and that of his wife Jessie, in 1980, it came into the possession of the Oblates. The Nature Conservancy of Canada purchased the Gillies Grove in 2001, with significant support of local fundraising from the Oblates to preserve this old-growth forest.

Uniquely situated within the town limits of Arnprior, Gillies Grove is a rare remnant of the magnificent forest that once covered this region. Gillies Grove is recognized as one of the last old-growth forests in the province.

The size and the age of many of the trees is extraordinary. Trees in the forest include Sugar Maple, Yellow Birch, American Beech, Eastern Hemlock and Basswood. Most impressive is the stand of the towering ancient White Pines. Birds that inhabit the Grove include Scarlet Tangers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red Shouldered Hawks, Barred Owls, Cooper’s Hawks and Eastern Screech Owls.

Vegetation in the Grove include Hepaticas, Spring Beauties, Violets, Red and White Trilliums, White Baneberry and Indian Pipe—not to mention Poison Ivy.

Posts

Our house backs onto a main thoroughfare, and the fence was becoming an eyesore. It was original to the subdivision about 20 years ago and wasn't holding up well. So the town decided that it needed replacing — at the owners' expense, but I will resist getting into the politics and minutia of it all.

I took a few photos of the work in progress. First, they drill the post holes.

After the drilling it takes manual labour to empty the the holes properly.

The posts are lined up and ready to be ... um ... posted? These posts, whatever they're made of, are rock solid and should withstand the elements for a long time.

The cement truck delivers its payload post by post.

And so it goes as the workers fill the holes and place the posts.