Part 3 of 3 on Rural Annapolis Valley - the hoses...

"Welcome to the expanses of dried grass and abundant foliage. The menu today is very good and you are welcome to come visit and enjoy along with me. The theme for today is that of lazy hanging out and eating, then laying down and snoozing. The flies are quite bad but not bothersome - something like mosquitoes that don't bite. I haven/t seen any horse flies around yet - and they bite and hurt. Well, are ya comin' ?"

"Wow, the cows said there was something new going on down here by the road. This sure is more interesting than the work we had to do all morning - although hard work is what we do best. Good thing the farmer gets tired out before we do... It's nice to run free and snack on all the goodies out here. What's that stuff he's carrying around? Do you know Herbie? Just like those other guys at the exhibitions with their flashing lights when we pull for the folks. Not very harmful I guess. If he causes any grief we can just stomp on his feet and he'll leave..."  

Hmmmm ... real yellow flowers - just what the doctor ordered. lunch... Nice to be out-doors on a day like today - with nothing except eating on the agenda... Great way to spend a warm summer day...

"He looks like another human to me. Maybe he's got some sugar or an apple or carrot in his pocket like those little folks that keep coming to ride and brush us up. Only good things come from the folks with two legs. 

"Hey buddy - if you have something for us you can always toss it over the fence you know."

This is part two of a three part series on rural Annapolis Valley - Cows.

"We're not sure what you're doing - but we'll be keeping an eye on you - just in case you do something more interesting than what's going on here. Things are pretty hot and slow around here, and we've already had our naps for the day. Buster here is ahead on the fly kill score and we're just taking a break. We need to break out and do something more radical. "

"My grandpa used to come this way to the watering hole and so this is the way I come, and this is the way we'll go." 

"I'm coming up to see you. Just be careful I don't roll over on you cause I would squash your measly being into a pancake..."

"Aren't you going to come up and follow me over behind the tree. It's cooler over there and there might be some sweet corn for us. We can go for  swim to cool off too, except Momma won't let me go by myself because I might get lost." 

"So the main thing is that most people think we live a pretty boring life - but actually we have more to do than the Whitehouse staff, just to keep their head above water. We just spend a little more time considering the options and usually take more of the high road - because the low road is pretty dry this time of year and we prefer to get down and muddy - just to cool off and get rid of these pesky flies - which by the way are much less bothersome than that pesky media mob down there in Washington. Isn't that right little buddy - Oh can you get that little bug just over a touch.. he's been chewing on me and I can't quite reach him?"

"Oh darn, I can't quite remember what I did with my knitting. I know I had it earlier this morning before the milker started in on me. I had to hide it quickly so he doesn't catch on to what we do with our time off. Oh well, it'll come to me after a bit, I just have to consider all the possibilities, and that makes me tired."

"Well, I figure it's this way. Donald will just keep hiring and firing people until everyone figures out that working for him is the biggest career ending move imagineable - and then they'll let him just twitter away on all discussion rather than thinking things through. Now, if he can just find a way to hire all of the press corps, individually - just to drive them to drink and get them off his back and front. And don't get me wrong, and let me be clear about this - we don't want him up here when he retires to the farm - at least not this farm anyway - we have strict immigration policies here on this farm and good fences to keep out the undesirables ..."  

"Come on you guys. We better get there before Leroy drains the pond. I'm a mite thirsty and he's been there a bit too long. Good thing we had that big rain the other night. It just may get us through the summer. Need lots of water to make great milk for all the kiddies."

This is the first of a three part series on the Annapolis Valley. This one is on barns. All were taken while we were at our daughter's place in Morristown, which is between Berwick and Aylesford on the Aylesford Lake Road. I wandered the Hall Road, Victoria Road, and Harmony roads over to Greenwood, stopping here and there for a late morning/ early afternoon summer session.  

 There seems to be a lot of subject matter to shoot over there as there is in most rural communities. This was a particularly warm, cloudy summer day, with lots of humidity.  

The peace, tranquility and beauty of the idyllic rural farm life is in a juxtaposition with the reality of the difficulties and harshness of the realities that farm life can sometimes offer. Barns have a lot of charm, yet suffer the ravages of time as the barn boards take on all the weather that summers and winters and wind and rain and snow can offer. And yet, they seem to stand the test of time as very few people can remember when the old falling down barns were brand new and full of hope for the farmers and animals who inherit the luxuries of new surroundings.

I love the sight of the faintness of the old red style barn that seems to say: "You have forgotten us - look, you haven't even put a new fresh coat of red paint on my boards"...

I wonder what stories these old barn boards could tell us, if given the chance. As I stand and observe, and enjoy the peacefulness of the warm summer tranquility, I get filled with wonder and curiosity with what's inside these old structures and what their story would be.  

As the year's pass, the green grass  and hay grow and the trees and fruits and gardens flourish in the heat, sun, and rain of the lush Valley weather. But as the plants flourish, the man-made additions to the natural world take a beating. Perhaps they are not meant to remain forever - as a powerful reminder of the role nature plays in the order of mankind.

Some barns (and old vans) are closer to the end than others. It's a good thing we don't have a pool on when these old structures will finally collapse to the ground - it could take years. It has taken a long time for some of them to acquire the state in which they currently exist. 

Had a really nice day the other day - after the work was all done we had cocktails on the deck and put out some peanuts for the birds. 

We (and the birds) are adjusting to no feeders. We are so used to sitting and watching them all and now there's just a few "hangers on".

 We then finished up with a small campfire. It was a really nice Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  Enjoy...

Brother Lloyd and I started with the first of the trees coming down on May 22. The building took about 6 weeks with days off and since I was in no hurry, I didn't hurry. I had lots of help and really appreciate that. The kids will too. It was certainly a labour of love and is now in good enough shape I can leave it alone for a bit while I get some other stuff done. The end result looks better in person than on any drawings I made up to try and make sure it all went together well. There are no major issues with the construction, although I did have a few days that questioned my sanity when things didn't go as smoothly as I had predicted or wanted.

 Here's the latest of the treehouse pictures. This is from the deck.  

 The steps aren't perfect - these were done in a hurry quite early on and I needed to get them together so I could save time. But they work OK for now. I may need a little more challenge for the kids to crawl or climb up to the house. 

Here's what you see from the walkway coming over from the garage.