Early morning sentries

The sun had just risen over the hills under which the farmhouse is nestled.

The lake beyond was a rich blue reflecting the glorious skies as I realized that along the edge of the driveway stands a series of ancient trees. Sentries.

Their girth is huge, at least the ones on the oldest which are the maples. There are a couple of locusts which are much younger and an ash which appears to be as old as the maples. It arches protectively over the back of the farmhouse.

As the dogs roamed around the back and front yard, I ran to get my camera. The colours in the trunks of these giants and the shadows from trees on the other side of the driveway/lane, glowed in the early morning sun rays. You can easily see that fall is nearly over. Leaves blanket the grass, begging me to get out the rake. 

But it was the stillness that grabbed me. Even the morning traffic (which consists of perhaps a dozen cars and trucks spaced over an hour or so) was suspended. I stopped and drank it in.

 These two trees - different species - show their age - particularly the huge split trunk of the large maple in the centre of the photo. I ponder its age. Has it stood here since long before pioneer days and guarded the entrance to this old farm property in its early years? Was it selected by the original farmer to stay while others, not so healthy or larger, were taken for building furniture for the home or make beams or siding for the huge barn, now tumbling into disrepair? I love history, and this tree prompts all kinds of speculation and stories in my head. Perhaps it will figure in a story I write some day.

  In front of the house sits a stump, presumably from a black or honey locust, cut recently if I look carefully at the top. A small urn sits on it from a previous tenant or a romantic wanting to use its flat surface as a plant holder. Young locust trees sprout from roots around the base. Beyond, is the old farm gate leading to a pasture, rich in grasses, now growing in with locust and cedar. An old pole fence edges the bank leading down to what may at one time have been a dirt track connecting other farms and the small villages beginning along the edge of Rice Lake. All lovely speculation about the history of this place.

The sun rises higher exposing more trees and bushes lining the bank and the lake's edge, the blue of the lake itself and in the distance the other side of the lake which can be seen - barely - through the trees. 

The lake and its opposite side won't be visible come summer and I will be surrounded by a green wall, shading the house and protecting the property from vacationers, anglers and fun-seekers. Meantime I'm enjoying this early morning wander around the front of this very pretty piece of land.

Hope you have something similar to enjoy this day.

Lunch for waxwings

Working away in my new den recently I glanced out the window - something I do a lot. Just to the right of the window is an ancient cedar tree - well really a tiny bunch of cedars and it was alive with activity.

A huge flock of cedar waxwings had been hanging about eating the soft seeds inside the Manitoba maple and ash trees that had retained their "keys."

They quickly discovered the cedar trees and proceeded to put on quite a show.

I hope that this video plays for you and that you enjoy it. It was fun to hear these birds and to watch their antics over the day as they ate wild grapes, seeds and other berries.

There appear to be many birds that often go south spending time in the trees and bush along the edge of the lake. The swamp at the bottom of the tiny hill my new home sits on, attracts all kinds of wildlife and I expect the rest of the fall and winter will be very interesting.

Here's to a great couple of seasons.

Sun setting into Rice Lake, creating a shimmering orange path along the water.

Views of Rice Lake

This bend in the highway occurs just before you reach our driveway, on the left hand side of the road. This graveled area is a turn off spot so that local residents can get to their mail boxes. Along the lane going straight ahead on the left hand side are several cottages bordering the lake like a little string of pearls. The blue at the end of the lane is the lake with a right curve to follow the edge of the lake. 

I truly do live across the highway from the lake.

The weather lately has been beautiful - warm and sunny - Indian Summer we used to call it when I was a kid. It's brought out the explorer in me. Though I've lived outside of Port Hope, a town on Lake Ontario about 30 minutes south-west of here, and wandered all around the lake 15 or so years ago, I've forgotten much of what has obviously been here for years.

The lake is ringed with cottages. Cheek by jowl. Some of the tinier cabins are obvious holdovers from the 30s and 40s and were at one time fishing and hunting camps. There are many small cottage businesses - several lakeside or near the lake, clustered around a main building or "office" with cottages of one room or three rooms - two of them being bedrooms. And now the "McMansions" as a fellow blogger calls the larger homes, or weekend retreats, (certainly not cottages), are creeping in.

The above photo shows one of a group of small cottages along the water's edge in Harwood. You can see a smaller RV park across the inlet.

This little lane projects out into the water and appears to be a bridge to a small island... there is an ice warning sign just beyond the edge of my photo. This lane is posted as Private Property and No trespassing! A family enclave perhaps?

Over the roof of a cottage right at the edge of the water in the village of Harwood, you can see here, the remains of the historic Cobourg to Peterborough rail road that once skipped and jumped from island to island across the lake obviously on pilons and a rickety (to me it would have been) wooden rail road bridge. Two anglers cross the water in a small motorboat just beyond. Apparently people unfamiliar with the lake still get caught on the remains of the bridge.

Originally considered in 1831, due to the Upper Canada  Rebellion in 1837, it wasn't completed till 1859, but was one of the first railway lines in Central Ontario and at the time the longest trestle bridge in the world. (information courtesy Wikipedia).That must have been something to see.

This is a view of the lake, which in many places seems like a long narrow river running from northeast to southwest, taken from the top of Lilac Valley Road, which is a minute or two from my home, and one of the routes I take to move south through the network of sideroads, lanes and county roads to Lake Ontario and the towns of Cobourg, Colborne and Port Hope. 

Taken from the same spot - but with a closer look, this farm is perched high enough to see the lake and the communities beyond. Peterborough's lights can be seen at night in the north west, and even in this photograph you can see villages nestled in the rolling hills of Northumberland county.

Rice Lake is similar to a bright ribbon in the centre of the county. It is connected to Lake Ontario by the Trent Waterway which runs from Trenton a city and military base spreading along Ontario's banks and into the country as a way to reach Georgian Bay. The Trent uses canals and locks and natural water ways - rivers and lakes - to eventually move boats (and historically, goods) into Georgian Bay and the upper Great Lakes - Huron and Superior. One of the items on my bucket list is to take a houseboat onto parts of the Trent waterway - what a holiday and adventure that would be.

And so to all who read this - I hope you have enjoyed the glimpse of my new neighbourhood, and also that you have a very happy Thanksgiving! To others not celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend - may you be blessed with good fortune and happiness as well.