Thursday, April 8, 2021

An April Sunday Afternoon Drive

On Sunday we took off for a long drive through the countryside.  Wanting something different this time we drove west around Owen Sound and north to the village of Kemble.  We're missing their maple syrup festival which has now been cancelled two years in a row.

This is the Bighead River at our first crossing.  We now live in the Bighead River valley.  The 'valley' in my blog title actually refers to the Beaver Valley, one small watershed to the east, where we used to live and where most of my good photos come from, but I often refer to the whole area as the Beaver Valley 'region'.

This is the second crossing, a couple of concessions west.  I once joined a canoe/kayak group putting in here and floating downstream for several miles in early April.  Obviously the water was higher that year; we could easily float across that line of stones across the river.

It's not uncommon around here to find curves in roads like this, going around hills rather than over them, although this curve was rebuilt a few years back so you don't even have to slow down anymore.  But there are still lots of roads that don't go through at all, either because of large wetlands or the Niagara Escarpment.

It's a rolling agricultural landscape, often half forested, a lot of it just used for pasture (or not used at all anymore). but the point of the picture is the three Turkey Vultures.  Uncommon 20 years ago, they've become one of our most common birds; there's often one in sight, soaring overhead hardly ever flapping their huge wings.  They have nearly a 6 foot wingspan held in a very shallow 'V', unlike large hawks which hold their wings flat.

These fences reflect both a well-off landowner, and cattle, the most common farm use around here, almost always beef cattle.

I'm always struck by this farm as we drive by, high on the slope of a drumlin with little around it.  Looks pretty exposed to the winter winds to me.

And here is another.  We've actually been into this farm.  He used to make the most ornate fancy birdhouses, like Disney castles.  These fields are smooth enough for copping, almost the only crop fields on this road all the way to Owen Sound, though it's a pretty steep slope.  They're probably rented out now.

We saw the flashing lights first and we thought it was an accident.  It's a bad corner.  But it was just a 'ride check'.  I couldn't believe people would be drinking in the middle of Easter Sunday afternoon!  Maybe they were after those folks who feel a bottle of wine with dinner is fine.



14 comments:

  1. Such a pleasant drive in such nice weather. We have a few more days of it. Enjoy.

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  2. Another fun outing. The farm houses are always interesting to see and they tend to tell stories. One looks like they kept adding on and the other had only one tree. I would think they would put up a wind break.

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  3. The house on top of the ridge, what a grand view in every direction, but the wind would whistle through. Love the roads you have, rolling round, or going down a dip.Almost 6.30 a.m. here, a few clouds, no wind, and a thin strip of red sky over the roofs to the East.

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  4. Looks like a great area for a Sunday drive. The OPP periodically had Ride checks at the corner of Rd 160 and East Back Line, at the oddest times. I think they figured to catch people that were sneaking around the main highway route. We always passed though. :))

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  5. I hope the weather soon improves enough for you to take many long drives in the countryside. I always enjoy your photos and informed commentary - so many people these days don't seem to know where they live!

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  6. Beautiful countryside. Looks like it was a beautiful day for a ride.

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  7. Drinking and driving is a serious problem here. Nothing surprises me in that regard.

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  8. Glad you were able to get out for a nice ride. And I always enjoy seeing those barns.

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  9. Beautiful photos. Yes, that does seem a strange time for a ride check!!

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  10. It looks like you had good conditions to be out and about.

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  11. I was charged twice for drinking and driving in the bad old days but now that I haven't had a drink in over 4 decades I'm still waiting to be stopped so I can happily answer their question 'have you been drinking??' "No Sir, I haven't had a drink in over 41 years":))))))) Nice to see you folks out and about enjoying the Spring countryside.

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  12. A nice day for a drive with not a cloud in the sky!

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  13. What a lovely drive! I agree with your assessment of the farm house with no shelter from the winds. I see that here too, especially with new builds but it doesn't take long for the farmers/acreage owners to start planting trees for a shelter belt.

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  14. there is nothing quite like a drive in the country. all of our festivals have been cancelled as well!!

    it looks so pretty there!!

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