Trip to Brockville

 No, not a trip like the good old days, during the pre-COVID days, we just went to the auction house and headed back home. 

😷COVID-19 <= Our numbers in the hospital are continuing to rise. (Ontario hospitals seeing rise in numbers of staff testing positive for COVID) We're not testing in Ontario, except for extreme cases or hospitalizations. Wastewater tests are rising. The news I read, from reputable sources, told me that the new variant, BA.2/BA.2.2, can present as norovirus, with gastrointestinal symptoms. 

There are school staffing shortages, but we don't know how many teachers have COVID since they don't qualify for a more accurate PCR test. Our premier is running for re-election, and doesn't want us to know the numbers. They have very limited parameters for getting a PCR test. 

Wednesday, March 23rd 

When we left, it was cloudy, and some bad weather was supposed to be on its way. We debated on going Wednesday or Thursday, and it looked like it would get worse overnight. Snow or rain. 

We began in the clouds, and drove into blue skies. You can tell we live in farm country!

There is lots of water on the fields. Yesterday morning, when I took the garbage out, is was -12˚ C. Thursday it is supposed to be 16˚ C. Such wild swings in temperatures.

Somebody had to have their car towed!

This was fun. As we drove I saw a large vernal pond, with tons of birds.

With melted snow, comes the mud!

Some of the snow is still on the ground.

I really like the stonework on this house:

For Joseph Brian: a sweet wrap around porch or two...

For me, an interesting garden.

It is still pretty wet. We had snow all day Sunday, after 20 mm rain the day before, but the snow mostly melted.

How is this for a mailbox?! 

My poor driver: he had to manage on roads that felt like fudge.

Horses for JB.

Somebody had a fire. So sad for the family.

I love stone fences.

And, another fire. 

This is for JB!

As we approached Toledo, I spotted a red-tailed hawk. It landed in this tree. We watched carefully on our way back. It was gone. I thought this was a nest but it might just be a witch's nest.

It was a safe pick up, outside at the curb, behind tables, with staff wearing masks, as well as most of the customers.  This was my goal: replacing my mom's garden ornament, Emily. She had an incident with Butch raccoon, as I made the mistake of putting bird seed in her basket.

My prize! Isn't she sweet? Emily 2.

Trip home from Brockville

 This is my story about our trip to Brockville, to pick up our auction items. Trip to Brockville – the auction, back in November.  We visited Calamity Jane's is transformed! I've been saving this post for a rainy day. Well, no rain, just cold and snow.

We talked about this last night, and JB really catches up on our trips here. Just skim, if you wish. I like him to see what he missed driving!

Well, our errands done, we headed home. It's an old town, Brockville.

You wonder what happened! The truck was being towed, and it's missing a fender.

This was interesting: 41.5 acres of vacant land. It's listed at $669,000. It's a huge, triangle-shaped, undeveloped lot.  There are developments all around it. (I went to the listing just now, and it's gone!)

A lot of the buildings have this brickwork design.

This new house looks so forlorn!

Old, old farmhouses and barns.

Way off, miniature ponies! (As I recall!) All very peaceful.

This artist creates interesting sculptures. Even the fence is creative.

The rivers were full.

This is Toledo. Another crossroads, where old roads meet.

A witch, in a great location!

Leaving Brockville, we heard some music. I started bopping to it, making JB laugh. I looked so cool! 

MVI_6276 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Trip to Brockville – the auction

 We consider ourselves quite fortunate. Our lives have certainly changed with COVID, but nothing like many people have faced. That said, we had a touch of normal on Friday. I bid on some items from the online auction for the estate of Bill McPhee. 

I was surprised that they were selling off cleaning supplies. 

I like doing research. You can tell the character of a person from the things they hold dear. The family lived in a semi-detached home in Brockville. For sale was a full set of Royal Albert dishes. My late mother always liked those, and spoke of them with reverence!

Bill liked his motorcycles, according to his obituary, and passed away in August. (His leathers were for sale in the auction.) His late wife, Evy, passed over a year ago March. They liked their travels, this couple.  "Bill and Evy shared many happy hours travelling on their motorcycles and Spyders." (A Spyder is a three-wheeled motorcycle!) They must have had many happy memories.

This is a Spyder!

I won several items, and after lunch we took a drive to pick things up. Normally, one picks up items at the  auction house. Sometimes, we drive to the family home to pick items up directly. It makes for an interesting adventure. We would often do this, then have lunch somewhere. That isn't happening for us for a long time. Ontario is up to 1000 COVID cases a day. 

Pick up was between noon and 6 p.m. I had to Google the address to figure out how long it would take to get there. There is a Spyder from a 2015 Google image. 

What was really funny is that the family home was on Windsor Drive. We lived on a Windsor Dr. in Bala! There are delightful bungalows on this street. It's a nice little neighbourhood in NE Brockville.

We parked, I put on my mask, got out of the car, and I handed in my sheet of paper to staff at the tables set up for this purpose. We loaded up, and were ready to go, when this couple parks right in front of us, effectively blocking the driveway. Sigh. It was free right behind us!

There were lots of motorcycles about.

JB, my personal assistant, had a brilliant idea. I had loaned the clock I'd won at auction a year ago. It came back missing the little wheel that allows you to change the time. At his suggestion, we visited the clock repair store to see if they had a piece. They found an old one, and, at no charge, they replaced it for me. 

Home again, I set out some of my treasures. Aren't these fun? 

This is some of my loot! Some garden items. I shall repaint the ones that need it. I like the blue heron, especially!

This is Evy, I believe. I bought her paintbox, which someone made for her. It's a sign of a happy life, and hobbies. They were a respected couple in the city.

This didn't need much work. I resprayed the black parts with black anti-rust spray paint. 

I used the paints I bought, as well as my own, to repaint the pieces. It was a lovely day, and a peaceful project.

As I said, it was a lovely day. On my way back from the far trailcam, a sundog! 

After subzero temperatures, the snakes came back out. I rescued this one from Nutmeg, and I sent JB to put her indoors. It was a ribbon snake.