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

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. 

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

PHOTO ABOVE AND BELOW WERE TAKEN IN SAINT HELENS

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

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.

SPOTTED THESE HORSES ON AN AMISH FARM EAST OF SAINT HELENS

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

YABBA-DABBA-DOO I CAN ROLL OVER TOO

‘HEY MOM WHATCH ME SLIDE’

‘HOLY GEEEEEZZZZZ THIS SNOW IS SLIPPERY STUFF’

OOOOOOOHHH AAAHHHHHHH

‘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”.

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

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

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

LOOKS LIKE FRESHLY CUT LUMBER

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.

NOTICE THE HORSES BREATH ON THIS FROSTY EARLY SPRING MORN

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.

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

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

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

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:))

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"

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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."

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‘Second Day of Spring’

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