First Physio in Three Months

On Thursday we went back to physio in Owen Sound for the first time in three months.  Was I feeling it the next day!  I knew I had stiffened up during the lockdown, and developed a slouch to one side, but I didn't realize how much!  She gave me a number of specific exercises to get my muscles moving again, which I'm doing religiously.

The drive was like seeing old friends again, places along the road which stood out in my mind for some reason.  Here we're just going down into the valley before Woodford.

The Bruce Trail crosses here and I've hiked both north and south.  Hidden in the woods over there to the right is a secret waterfall that only flows in spring when the runoff is high.

Here's a sneak look at that ephemeral waterfall.

A little further on we dip down into the broad valley of Keefer Creek.  Here also there is a seldom visited waterfall hidden downstream.

And here's a look at Keefer Falls, hidden back in the woods off an unused sideroad.

We passed the airport, the runway disappearing into the distance.  We enjoyed Canada Day lunch there last year, watching planes come and go.

After physio, coming out of Owen Sound we drove up over the rocks of the Niagara Escarpment just east of town - another place I've hiked.

We decided to take the back roads home, and drove south off the highway to come across a county road.  Lots of barns and cattle, here a herd of Aberdeen Angus.  Notice the barn quilt?

And in one field we saw them - two Sandhill Cranes.  This is the road where we watch for them, and have seen several before, though not at this exact location.  They've long since spread out from their big migrating flock to spend the summer as individual pairs, often grazing in farm fields.  They're not eating the soybeans, they're picking bugs and leftover grain off the ground, and they just walk steadily across the field foraging.  Sandhill Cranes mate for life and stay together all year.  It's a highlight of our summer when we see a pair.