Wednesday, March 21, 2018

PHEEBS AND I TOOK A DRIVE UP THROUGH AMISH-MENNONITE COUNTRY THIS MORNING

DSC_3895

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THIS FELLOW AND HIS TEAM OF HORSES ARE DOING??

I figured with these below freezing nights and above freezing days the maple syrup harvest would be in full swing so Pheebs and I slipped ourselves up through Amish country this morning to see if we could find ourselves some sap pails hanging on maple trees. 

DSC_3869

THIS LADY AND HER DOG ARE HEADING BACK TO THE HOUSE FROM THE BARN….I’M WONDERING IF SHE MIGHT BE CARRYING SOME FRESH EGGS IN HER WHITE BUCKET

DSC_3874

PHOTO ABOVE AND BELOW WERE TAKEN IN SAINT HELENS

DSC_3878DSC_3901

IT WAS IN THIS COUNTRY CEMETERY WHERE ONE SUNDAY MORNING A FEW YEARS AGO I FIRST HEARD THE ANGEL LIKE SINGING VOICES OF AMISH FOLKS COMING FROM A  NEARBY FARM

DSC_3924DSC_3927

Well I guess I figured wrong because not one tapped maple tree did we see.  Not one, and that came as a surprise.  But no matter, we had ourselves a nice relaxing drive anyway and managed a few photos along the way.

DSC_3890

SPOTTED THESE HORSES ON AN AMISH FARM EAST OF SAINT HELENS

DSC_3889

THE HORSES WERE SO HAPPY TO BE OUTSIDE THEY WERE RUNNING AROUND KICKING UP THEIR HEELS AND ROLLING IN THE SNOW

DSC_3881

YABBA-DABBA-DOO I CAN ROLL OVER TOO

DSC_3887DSC_3882

‘HEY MOM WHATCH ME SLIDE’

DSC_3884DSC_3885DSC_3886

‘HOLY GEEEEEZZZZZ THIS SNOW IS SLIPPERY STUFF’

DSC_3888

OOOOOOOHHH AAAHHHHHHH

DSC_3891

‘THINK I’LL JUST CONTENTEDLY EAT ME SOME BREAKFAST AND LET THOSE CRAZY KIDS OF MINE HAVE THEIR SILLY FUN IN THE SNOW’

Some readers may have noticed the absence of a fellow Blogger on our sidebar this last while.  Anyone reading Stew’s posts at ‘The Furry Gnome' may be wondering where he has disappeared to.  I can tell you that he is in serious condition at the moment and here is the last post he wrote on February f4th entitled, Yet Another Walk In The Woods.  Notice his last paragraph in this post.  The next post dated March 5th was written by Stew’s wife, Maria.  Furry Gnome Update.  Today we received the following update written by Maria and forwarded to us by one of Stew’s friends.   “Good Morning.  Many of you have emailed me to see how Stew is doing.  I wish I could say that he is making rapid progress, but he is still only taking baby steps forward.  He is now off the ventilator up to 5 hour periods, several times a day.   While off the ventilator he is able to speak, in a deep but very weak voice.  Dialysis is now 3 times a week (Mon, Wed and Fri) and it is a very tiring procedure for him.   As he said, it is exhausting!Physio has him up in a wheelchair for brief periods, but Stew finds it very uncomfortable. However it is necessary to strengthen his upper body strength and improve his lung function.  As we enter the rehabilitation stage, any progress in his condition will be slow. The complications he experienced during surgery, in effect, have left him with stroke like symptoms from the chest down.   We were made aware of the risks involved with this surgery, but at not time did we think that all this would actually happen and to this extent.  I went home briefly to pick up a few things and run some errands.  I brought down a number of Stew’s photos and a few personal items.  If you feel so inclined, send photos by email or send cards. He would enjoy seeing them.   London Health Sciences Centre…Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit, ICU 339 Windermere RD London Ont. N6A 5A5  Thank you for your kind thoughts, prayers and support.  Hugs.  Maria”.

DSC_3893

ALTHOUGH I SAW THIS SIGN AT AN AMISH FARM I SAW NO EVIDENCE OF THE FOLKS GATHERING SAP YET

DSC_3892DSC_3902

A LOGGING TRUCK UNLOADS LOGS AT AN AMISH-MENNONITE SAW MILL

DSC_3903DSC_3904DSC_3905

I COULD HEAR SAWING SOUNDS AND SEE SAWDUST IN THE AIR AT THAT BIG OPEN DOOR

DSC_3906

LOOKS LIKE FRESHLY CUT LUMBER

DSC_3907

I have never met Stew but we have become friends through our blog comments to each other over these last number of years.  With things in common like photography, local history, and the great outdoors I always checked on Stew’s posts to see where he was hiking, what he was researching about the area and what he was photographing.  When in the south each winter I particularly liked all his great winter photos.  I’m taking a liberty here going public with Stew’s medical difficulties but i felt he may be needing all the support he can get at the moment.

DSC_3894DSC_3896DSC_3897

NOTICE THE HORSES BREATH ON THIS FROSTY EARLY SPRING MORN

DSC_3898

AWWWWW, SO THAT’S WHAT HE IS DOING

Although our day started out kinda dreary looking it wasn’t long before Old Sol managed to find a few holes in the thin cloud layer and once again began spreading warm sunshine over the land.  How nice to hear those dripping sounds as snow continues to slowly melt off our roof each day.

DSC_3909

I’M WONDERING IF THERE COULD BE 2 TEACHERS IN THIS SCOOL HOUSE

DSC_3911

NICE TO SEE THE KID’S HAVE SOME BIG WINDOWS TO LOOK OUT

DSC_3919

I CAREFULLY SLIPPED AROUND THESE LADIES ON PROPERITY LINE ABOUT HALF A MILE NORTH OF SAINT AUGUSTINE

DSC_3918DSC_3922

NOTICE HOW THEY HAVE A  BLACK TARPAULIN ‘WIND BREAK’ IN FRONT OF THEM

Over these past blogging years of mine I have firmly come to the conclusion that some of my best friends are people I have never met and quite probably never will meet.  I’m Okay with that, I’m comfortable with that, and I understand that.  A big thank you to all my best friends for your thoughts:))

DSC_3945

A RIVERBANK REFLECTION

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An English man, French, Italian and German are standing at the side of a street watching a street performer.  The street performer noticed that they all have poor eye sight so he asked them whether they can see him and they responded: "Yes" "Oui" "Sì" "Ja"

-----------------------------------------

A guy walked into his friend's office, he found him sitting at his desk, looking very depressed.  "Hey, what's up with you?", he asks.  "Oh, its my wife," replied the man sadly. "She's hired a new secretary for me."  "Well, nothing wrong in that.  Is she blonde or brunette?"  "Neither, He's bald."

-----------------------------------------

‘Second Day of Spring’

2nd-Day-of-Spring.jpg.330

==============================

9 comments:

  1. Excellent horse pictures. Your captions for each made me smile. Love your humour. Hope Stew will be back on his feet soon and we are sending best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sincere wishes for Stew to get better. Nice of you to let us know. For sure a good idea to send him lots of support. And, yes, online friends can be the best of friends. You have many. Have a good Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just loved all the photos tonight. What a special talent you have Al for capturing the moment. Thank you for the update on Stew, prayers are with him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Spring is late so the sap is not flowing enough for tapping trees for syrup. One thing is clear in those beautiful photos of Amish farms and carriages...they take meticulous care of their animals and property. The glossy coat on the horses, the clean, painted barns or other out buildings, their equipment, roads, houses, down to the quilts, show attention to maintenance found less often in “the English.”
    Online exchanges — by those we might never meet — have supplanted the penpals of yesteryear, with the sharing of experiences which occasionally lead to deep friendships. One of the major benefits of the internet...triggering online communities and making one’s geolocation irrelevant.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, most of my best friends are my blog readers. Thanks for all your wonderful posts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love all the pictures of back home soon we will be back there enjoying that country side right along with you.
    Thanks for the Update on Stew, let hope he continues to improve and recovers fully.
    Like you a lot of our blog readers that we have not even met are like very close friends and we too are fine with that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the update on Stew, we have been wondering how he is doing. We had the pleasure of meeting him and Maria last summer at "The Ridge", such a wonderful couple. Will definitely said a card to help brighten his day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the update on Stew. Those Amish are an industrial lot.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We love all the photos you take--even if you can't find words to go with them--they are much enjoyed-and nearly all my close friends are blog friends--and I have been lucky enough to have met at least one in person so far--what a treat!! I too was worried about Stew--so thanks for the update--
    keep 'truckin' you and Pheebs--oh and I love those horse photos--great shots!!
    enjoy, di

    ReplyDelete