'Tis the Season

Some random festive pics around the house....we moved the bedroom to the living room and sealed off the upstairs for the winter, to save on oil heating. The queen-sized bed fits just nicely beside the new reclining couch, front of the TV!  We also sealed the downstairs windows with plastic, and sealed up the front door....all the better to keep out the prying gusts of winter....


The new living room /bedroom
Festive Miss
The Festive Stockings - note the relative size of Jane's feet...Charlie Brown's Christmas tree

Miscellaneous Cat pics...

On the rare occasions that we see the cats anymore...when they are not hiding out in warmer locales like the insides of sleeping bags, in the laundry hamper or on the heat registers....at any rate, we got some good shots of our babies:


Bicky Crashed Hard in the Window
Miss Talking Back
PootsDandelions growing on the lawn

Life in the South

So December arrived....still no snow in the extreme southwest...cooler weather but the grass is still green and the dandelions are still growing...

Can you Dig It???

After Kester's kind gift of a horseshoe set at "Rawk the Coop", we finally got serious and dug a proper horseshoe pit, to legal spec and everything! Kevin and I tested the pit, with mixed results.....but everything seems to be in order minus the addition of some finishing sand to the pits....

The Stakes are High - 14-15" in fact, as prescribed!

Removal of the Sod - note the birthday wheelbarrow in use!

The Golden Shoe - a precursor of things to come...

Wheatley Miscellany

Some miscellaneous shots from home....

Sunrise over our backyard - had to go back into the houes for the camera!

The Garden - still kicking out peppers despite our negligence

A nice batch of Italian Amarone

Mmmmm.....fruity wine goodness.....

More "Tomato Madness"

Along with "tomato madness" each late summer to early fall in the self-proclaimed "Tomato Capital of Canada" comes some obvious photo ops of local agriculture...

Tomato Wagons Headed thru Leamington to HEINZ

Tomato Wagons Awaiting Processing

Field Tomatoes before and after Harvest

A Plethora of Tomatoes from our very own garden...

Jane even managed to freeze five bags of tomatoes from our own garden, for use later in the winter in stews, chili or pasta dishes....even with minimal maintenance, the plants just keep kickin' out tomatoes!

Leamington Tomato Fest

Long time, no entry...such is the curse of dial up....

So mid to late August in our part of the world bears witness to annual "tomato madness" - six to eight weeks of tomatoes everywhere....in the fields...on the roads...in the processing plants...

Along with this comes annual Tomato Fest - a Leamington tradition of celebrating the harvest. We missed it last year, but this year managed to attend and appreciate some of the festivities...

Medieval Sparring at Tomato Fest

The Beer Tent - sponsored by Sleeman!

Lake Erie - a nice backdrop to any party

Yes, that IS a load on tomatoes headed thru downtown Leamington!

How do you say Happy Birthday?

You know you're getting old when your birthday is just....well....another birthday. Little fanfare, pomp or ceremony....actually started my birthday with a midnight visit to a fish plant, for a night shift smelt processing audit than ran until 5am - then came home and foolishly slept for 80 minutes before leaving for work at 7am. At my age....I should have just stayed up!

Jane did bring me Car Barn breakfast at work (see previous Office That Eats entry), likely the only thing that got me through the day. Once home, the remainder of the evening, minus twenty minute power nap, was spent in relaxed fashion working on the staining/sealing the deck and bottling a batch of homebrew pilsener in the kitchen. Fortunately I also received my birthday present - a long awaited wheelbarrow for use in many chores around "the farm"....

Jane staining the deck

23L Pail o' Pilsener awaiting racking and bottling

Finished product headed for beer fridge in barn, aboard the Birthday Barrow

We ARE the Office That Eats....

When I came to the Leamington office, I was told that "we're the office that eats".....meaning any old excuse to go out for lunch, or have an office BBQ (we keep one inside the back door), or just a good ol' potluck luncheon in the boardroom. I guess after all....we are food inspectors!!!

Some highlights of previous office lunches:

The Nacho Sombrero - yes, that's hot cheese under the middle part!

The Chocolate Fountain

Take a Bow

From the cabin, we visited Mike's sister and three nieces near Kingston, where a new above-ground swimming pool was all the rage! We also made time to visit Mike's grandmother, staying with his aunt in Kingston.

No visit to eastern Ontario would be complete without a stop at The Farm in Prince Edward County. Uncle Kevin was holding down the fort at the old Cole homestead, some 160 years in the making. In the midst of some good old down-home relaxation, we found some time to fire Uncle Kevin's compound bow.

Mike trains his sights on the target (stunt arm courtesy of Brad Pitt)
A determined Jane attempts the 80-lb. pull

Summer Vacation 2008

After an early June rife with court cases for Mike....all pertaining to work-related inspections from two YEARS ago....by late June it was hightime for some much-needed R&R. First stop was a rented cottage on Tamarack Lake near Gooderham, quickly becoming an annual gathering of about fifteen friends and family for a long weekend of swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and general merriment.

From there, we carried on to the cabin outside of Renfrew in the Ottawa Valley....given our current location in the extreme southwest, the cottage in Gooderham was already about 3/4 of the way to the cabin, so we couldn't resist a little more travel for a few days of absolute rustic relaxation. The cabin is the original log cabin settler's home of Mike's great-great-grandparents on his paternal grandmother's side, taken apart and painstakingly reassembled on the back 63 acres of Canadian Shield at the original 200-acre farmstead. No hydro, no water....just an outhouse and a whole lotta peace and quiet.....

The Cabin in the Pines
The View from the Road
Madawaska River from the Burnstown Bridge
Mike on the Madawaska near Calabogie

In the Garden....

So it's a little dated now....but here are a few shots of the garden, and new maple tree planted in the yard, courtesy of Martin! The garden is doing very well despite the relative lack of attention lately....so far (as of July 10) we have enjoyed some fresh radishes, green beans, yellow beans, peas, blueberries, strawberries, as well as wild cherries, strawberries, raspberries and mulberrries. There are even some small cucumbers and zucchini in the "side garden"....

Red Maple
Roma Tomatoes -as of now, they're ripe!
Some peppers
Corn and Potatoes

First Annual "Rawk the Coop"!!!

We decided to mark our new ranch with an annual event, deciding upon the May long weekend as the best (and least contested) time to have a bunch of people over for a big bash. After sending out postcards with crowing roosters on them, a group of intrepid adventurers descended upon Wheatley for three days of May-hem....

A combination of about twenty locals and friends from away turned out to mark the inaugural occasion, which included camping, bonfires, a live music jam, horseshoes, a fish fry, a BBQ, a rented porta-potty, and the obligatory kite flying in the high winds of Chatham-Kent. We even enjoyed a very sudden and threatening thunderstorm.

Thanks to all in attendance for a great time - in no particular order: Carrie and Dan, Jessie and Sarah, Bridget and Mel, Louise, Dora; Denise, Luke and Martin; Cindy and Laurie, Kester; Tanya, Grayson and Keith; and Julie and John.

If any special awards of recognition need to be handed out....full points to Keith for driving his brother's truck (a standard!) all the way to Wheatley just to deliver the long-awaited riding lawnmower. Kudos to Dora for toughing it out all night in the (summer) tent, even when Louise gave in and went into the house. Finally, a half-point to Julie for retrieving a young boy's kite from the midst of a wheat field.

Same time next year for the 2nd Annual "Rawk the Coop"!

The Tent Village on the East Lawn
The Parking Lot - note the rented Port-a-Pottie!
Hungry Folk Await the first BBQ offerings
Some evening magic

Working on the Farm

With the "Rawk the Coop" festivities in late May (entry to follow), we also finally took possession of the long-awaited riding lawnmower obtained from Tanya's father. Kudos to Keith for making the long drive down with his brother's pickup to deliver the machine. With an acre and a half of grass and weeds to maintain, it was not a moment too soon....

Shortly after the party....not saying it's a coincidence or anything....but the septic tank backed up. After finally finding the tank (a task unto itself), we dug it up to find literally a concrete coffin, 7' X 3', some 3-4' underground. No inspection holes, just a big coffin with a 700 lb. concrete lid. Imagine the humiliation of the septic guy who came to pump it out....couldn't get the lid off....went to get help....and upon his return found that Jane had removed the lid with only the help of a crowbar!

A windfarm is being erected a few miles east, along the Lake Erie shoreline....we can see them from the house, but off in the distance. They're not unattractive....and given the near constant wind we enjoy, certainly a welcome alternative to fossil fuels. Trans-Canada is also proposing a 75-turbine farm more directly in the Wheatley area....

Mike Enjoys the New Mower...and a Beer!
Even Jane Gets in on the Mower Action!
The Septic Coffin
Port Alma Windmills

Rural Man Repairs Barn Roof

In anticipation of the first annual "Rawk the Coop"festivities, one of your intrepid hosts climbed atop the "Man-Garage" to nail down some sheets of tin pried loose by the constant Wheatley winds....risking life and limb to ensure a safe and successful event.

Despite emerging septic issues (the tank has since been pumped out, everyone), the inaugural May long weekend party went extremely well....in spite of questionable weather, it appeared that a good time was had by all. The weekend was punctuated with live music (courtesy The Shitflower), bonfires, BBQ, a fish fry, a kite fly, horseshoes....and OK, a little rain and some near death camping experiences. You know who you are.

Weekend pics to follow - for now, enjoy these highly entertaining action shots!

Got my Hammer in my Hand
It's all good until you lean out over to hold the nail...
Quick Jane, dial 9-1.......the wind is picking up....