Our Sunday Afternoon Drive, Continued

We were down in the swamp when I left you, listening unsuccessfully for frogs calling.  But there were several other things that caught my attention.  We drove across the narrow bridge and turned at the corner.  This is a popular put-in spot for canoeists, in the middle of a canoe route through the swamp, and the parking spots off the road were full - in April!

A nice view of the swamp we were leaving behind.

A closer shot shows the open channel of the river in the background, a route I've canoed several times in the past.

There are obviously beaver that live in the area, though they are probably what we call bank beaver, creating a home in the bank of the river rather than building a lodge in a pond.

The bark on this fallen willow caught Mrs. F.G.'s eye.

While I really struggled to get an appropriate exposure for these bright yellow Sweet Coltsfoot.

Along past the swamp and we passed this nice old one-room schoolhouse, now converted to a residence.

It's one of the better conversions I've seen, retaining its old belfry for the school bell and windows.

Turning around we headed up the long Epping hill and passed this beautiful old barn, much more easily visible in April.  This style of barn is called a 'monitor barn', though I've seen no explanation of why.  The raised central roof provides good ventilation for both animals and stored grain or hay.  I can only ever recall seeing two barns of this style.