HAD A GREAT COUNTRY ROAD COFFEE TOUR WITH MY GOOD BUDDY RICHARD THIS MORNING:))

 HARRINGTON ONTARIO'S ONCE BUSTLING OLD GRIST MILL

On this beautiful sunny Fall morning, it was just me and Subie heading east out of the Park at 8:05 a.m.  Medical appointment?-nope.  Vehicle appointment?-nope.  Good Buddy appointment? Ya darn right.  I was heading for St. Mary's Ontario to pick up my good buddy Richard at 9:30 for one of our good old country road coffee jaunts.  It had been a long time since our last dusty road crop run and we picked right up where we last left off.  Neither one of us missed a beat despite the amount of time and happenings since our last get-together.  Two Tim Horton coffees and two carrot muffins to go and we were eastbound out of St. Marys heading for the Wildwood Conservation Area and Harrington, Ontario.

 HEADING PAST THE WILDWOOD CONSERVATION AREA HEADING FOR HARRINGTON ONTARIO

 HARRINGTON POND

THIS IS MY KINDA PLACE

Both Richard and his wife Gayle were born and raised near Harrington and I was curious to see where the farm was that he had grown up on.  I also have a history with Harrington and Wildwood.  My dad's father and family came from the Harrington area and in the 80s I spent a lot of happy hours hiking and cross-country skiing in the Wildwood Lake Area.

 WILDWOOD LAKE IS MAN MADE AND THEY DROP THE WATER LEVEL DURING THE WINTER

 SPOTTED THIS FELLOW IN AN OLD DEAD TREE ALONGSIDE THE ROAD NEAR THE LAKE

 THAT LITTLE DOG WAS SURE BARKING AT US

As we rolled along this morning, Richard's 85-year-old memory came alive and he could remember most all the houses and farms and who lived there well over 70 years ago.  And I could remember with this fogged mind of mine where all the Wildwood trailheads were from the 80s.  Well most of them anyway.

NO, THERE WEREN'T MANY PLACES THAT RICHARD DIDN'T KNOW WHO LIVED THERE ONCE UPON A TIME

 WE WERE BOTH FAMILIAR WITH THIS RURAL PROPERTY WHICH HAS BEEN WELL-UPDATED SINCE EITHER ONE OF US LAST SAW IT.....IT'S THE OLD BOSSENCE HOMESTEAD NEAR HARRINGTON AND RICHARD NEW SOME OF MY ANCESTORS WHO ONCE LIVED HERE MANY MOONS AGO

We couldn't have picked a nicer morning for our country drive.  With two previous cold rainy days and more rain predicted for Saturday, we luckily nailed the nicest day of the entire week.

It was about noon when I dropped Richard off and headed northwest out of St. Marys through the very scenic Autumn countryside.  Wended my way around half a dozen country roads following the meandering Avon River.  Swung by the old farmhouse (Weenie Roast Ranch) we once rented to see how much further it had deteriorated.  Kelly and I have a lot of great memories there and it's sad to see the condition of it now even though the house owner himself now lives there.

Knowing it was a 45-minute drive from the old farmhouse to home I headed happily west and rolled into our driveway at about 1:25.  Sure was a happy little doggy waiting for me.  She missed her morning walk and Jeep ride.  Luckily, the beautiful morning weather lasted for the rest of the day.  Bonus:))

 THAT'S THE OLD WEENIE ROAST RANCH

 LOTS OF MEMORIES AND IT LOOKED MUCH BETTER WHEN WE LIVED HERE FOR 7 YEARS

 AND THAT IS ALL THAT IS LEFT OF THE ONCE BIG BARN WHERE I STOWED MY MOTORCYCLE EACH WINTER

 I OFTEN WALKED ACROSS THE ROAD TO THIS POND 

 I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A FIELD OF CANOLA

In a couple weeks I will be back to St. Marys again whereupon Richard and I will head out with coffees and muffins in hand and do the countryside northwest of St. Marys.  We both have memories out that way as well so I'm already looking forward to our drive through that good old neck of the woods:))

 WHEN WE LIVED AT THE WEENIE ROAST RANCH THIS PROPERTY AND SMALL HOUSE JUST UP THE ROAD CAME UP FOR SALE BUT WE WEREN'T IN A FINANCIAL POSITION AT THE TIME TO BUY IT

 THERE ARE STILL A FEW SUNFLOWERS OUT AND ABOUT

Ellen's Groove:)) Here's an earlier Ellen practicing a bass line for Leah Harris's Go It Alone.

 THIS OLD BUILDING STANDS IN FULLARTON ONTARIO 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  While enjoying an early morning breakfast in a northern Arizona cafe, four elderly ranchers were discussing everything from cattle, horses, and weather to how things used to be in the "good old days."  Eventually, the conversation moved on to their spouses. One gentleman turned to the fellow on his right and asked, "Roy, aren't you and your bride celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary soon?"  "Yup, we sure are," Roy replied.  "Well, are you gonna do anything special to celebrate?" another man asked.  The old gentleman pondered this for a moment, then replied, "For our 25th anniversary, I took the misses to Tucson. For our 50th, I'm thinking about going back there again to pick her up."

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What happens to a witch when she loses her temper when riding her broom?
She flies off the handle!

What do you call a nervous witch?
A twitch!

How do witches on broomsticks drink their tea?  Out of flying saucers!

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What did the Yogi say when he walked into the Zen Pizza Parlor?
"Make me one with everything."
When the Yogi got the pizza, he gave the proprietor a $20 bill. The proprietor pocketed the bill. The Yogi said, "Don't I get change?"
The proprietor said, "Change must come from within."

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