SUNFLOWER
For Pheebs and I today was our longest Jeep ride of the entire summer. We were gone for six and a half hours and covered about 65 miles. Headed over to my old hometown of Tavistock Ontario and by the time we arrived back in Bayfield about mid afternoon I was feeling very drained. Running the extremes from happy to sad had my emotions on the run. I took 188 photos of which some will go into my files and some will make it into my blog. We trudged through heavy 7 foot tall matted underbrush, stepped into an unseen Groundhog hole almost snapping my leg off and later took a tumble down a dirt embankment onto a pile of stones nearly breaking one of my camera. My mind wandered restlessly as I not only overwhelmed myself with photos but flooded my thoughts with old memories as well.
MY OLD PUBLIC SCHOOL
I SPENT THE FIRST 14 YEARS OF MY LIFE IN THIS HOUSE WHICH ACTUALLY LOOKED A BIT DIFFERENT WHEN WE LIVED THERE
I SPENT MOST OF MY MID AND LATTER TEEN YEARS LIVING IN THIS HOUSE
A CEMETERY WALK TO VISIT FAMILY AND OLD FRIENDS….GARY B YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THAT STONE AT THE FAR RIGHT
PUSING OUR WAY THROUGH SOME DENSE UNDERBRUSH IN SEARCH OF ‘THE RED BRIDGE’
AND AT LAST WE FIND IT AND I SET FOOT ON IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 23 YEARS
I WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY IN UPCOMING POSTS ABOUT THIS OLD ABANDONED RAILWAY BRIDGE AS WELL AS A FEW OTHER THINGS REGARDING MY OLD HOME TOWN AND YEP THAT’S PHEEBS ON THE LEFT WAITING FOR ME TO COME BACK OFF THE BRIDGE
Somewhere in our Tavistock sightseeing today Pheebs and I managed to get ourselves a Tuna Sub. Good thing because I had forgot to fix up breakfast for Pheebs this morning. It was no wonder she nearly had that sub right out of the bag before I could even get it out of it’s wrapper.
A PASTORAL SUNDAY MORNING SETTING IN RURAL SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO
BEAN HOPPERS WAITING TO BE LOADED WITH HARVESTED BEANS
IF YOUR A ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL’ DAIRY FARMER IN THESE PARTS THIS IS HOW YOUR MODERN DAY DAIRY BARN AND DRIVING SHED MIGHT LOOK
HERE IS A VERY RARE SITE NOWADAYS, CHICKENS ACTUALLY OUTSIDE IN A FARM YARD
SPOTTED THIS AIRPLANE WADDLING ACROSS A FIELD
IT TURNED AROUND AND THE PILOT POURED THE POWER ON
WITH A HOP SKIP BUMP AND A BOUNCE IT’S WHEELS QUICKLY LEFT THE GROUND
AIRBORNE
GAINING ALTITUDE
AND OFF IT GOES FOR DESTINATIONS UNKNOWN
So much on my mind to write about that I find myself too tired tonight to know where to even begin. Think I will let things settle down a bit before trying to get my day into perspective. An emotionally draining day but not in a bad way, just at times in a sad way. It always seems to be how it is whenever I occasionally return to my old home town of distant boyhood and teen-age memories. So much to remember, so much to forget………….
HOW NICE TO COME ACROSS A FIELD OF SUNFLOWERS THIS MORNING
Kelly made it home from Cambridge and Guelph about 5:45 this afternoon. Her visit went well and it was nice for her to get together with two of her daughters and one son plus some grandchildren. She’s pretty tired tonight and that makes two of us. We’re both looking forward to a good night’s sleep and our Monday morning re-sets:))
AND WHO SAID ONTARIO DIDN’T HAVE COWBOYS EH:))
GROANER’S CORNER:(( Last year, when the power mower was broken and wouldn't run, I kept hinting to my husband that he ought to get it fixed, but somehow the message never sank in. Finally I thought of a clever way to make the point. When my husband arrived home that day, he found me seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. He watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. He was gone only a few moments when he came out again. He handed me a toothbrush. "When you finish cutting the grass," he said, "you might as well sweep the sidewalk too."
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Little Johnny is approached by the lifeguard at the public swimming pool. "You're not allowed to pee in the pool," said the lifeguard. "I'm going to report you." "But everyone pees in the pool," said Little Johnny. "Maybe," said the lifeguard, "but not from the diving board!"
Is that your old school? That's the one that's part of the old age home now, isn't it? My mom was in there for 3 years. Sounds like a wonderful day to me - 6 hours of photography all to yourself! But those old memories do send you up and down, don't they!
ReplyDeleteYes, I went to grades 1 to 8 in that school and yes it is now part of People Care. My Uncle Fred spent a year there before passing away. I'll have more photos of that Tavistock Public School in an upcoming post.
DeleteThat looks like STOL type aircraft. STOL stands for Short TakeOff and Landing. A great choice for landing in fields and pastures.
ReplyDeleteThat plane popped up into the air very quick without a lot of take off roll.
ReplyDelete1953 Piper PA-20 Pacer 135 horse power, has Madras wing tips to allow slow takeoff and landing speeds added. Nice Sunflower pics.
ReplyDeleteSo many sights to see in Tavi and memories to relive. Going back to your old haunts sure does whip up a lot of emotions.
ReplyDeleteMy early childhood was in Toronto, The Beaches, Scarborough when it was brand new, and a small cottage near Collingwood. Such wonderful memories and so many changes over the years.
Thanks for your memories Al; kinda melancholy myself this morning; hope your spirit is uplifted with the dawn of a new day and regenerated strength from a good night's sleep...
ReplyDeleteThe sunflowers are my favourite so thank you for bringing them back to me today! Other than the decorative ones that I have in our Suite and cabins here I haven't seen a real one for a while.
ReplyDeleteGoing down memory lane visiting old places is something I can't do in this country. My childhood places are more than 5000miles away on another continent. But then I often find that it is better to keep the old memories the way they are rather than disturbing them with all the changes that have taken place over the decades. But seems you had yourself a fullfilling day even though an exhausting one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some of your past with us:) Poor Pheebs! Hope she got lots of that sub! Good to hear Kelly made it home safely and had a fun time with her kids and grandchildren:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk down memory lane, and all the great photographs!
ReplyDelete