Ah, Labour Day weekend! The last long weekend of the summer. Three days away from work. One last hurrah for the kiddos before school begins. Fun for everyone and we can’t wait for it to begin! An excitement and enthusiasm you’d recognize immediately, even if you were an alien visiting Earth for the first time and found yourself on Highway 401 driving east out of Cobourg this morning.
Like I was. Ohmigosh, y’all – it was busy and fast and frenetic and just the right side of “in control”. Too many drivers were speeding, driving aggressively and were obviously angry. Oh-so-angry! Horns were blaring, birds were being flipped, there was a race and a game of chicken, each driver daring the other to hit him. And I hated every minute of my drive so I hopped off two exits early, trading the highway for some country roads and the tempers for tranquility.
Today is, after all, a day of #JoySpotting and my destination was the beautiful King’s Mill Conservation Area on Squires Creek.
#1 LOOK UP
Any big cloud, blue sky* day is special and that’s the joy I spied up in the sky this morning.
#2 LOOK DOWN
Today I’m grateful for this prompt; I was standing on the Trans Canada Trail bridge, looking down into Hoard’s Creek when I spotted this guy (who was partially concealed by the grass and reeds. I love my turtles and – without my Joyspotter’s Guide – would have missed seeing this chap sunning himself on a rock.
#3 KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR COLOUR
The entirety of this garden is magnificent, but this bed in particular was an explosion of colour – impossible to see without feeling a bubble of joy.
#4 FOLLOW THE CURVE
#5 GO WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
Which today, apparently, is on the road – Wingfield Road, to be precise. Poor thing looks laminated to the tarmac. Sorry, y’all – despite my best efforts, there was no other wildlife to be seen today.
#6 SEEK OUT SYMMETRY
Taken from the Hoard’s Road Bridge, this is the Trans Canada Trail bridge over Hoard’s Creek. Railing symmetry and reflective symmetry.
#7 SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF ABUNDANCE
Living in Northumberland County, so very rich in agricultural lands, finding abundance is dead-easy. At this time of year there are ripening soy and canola crops, apples ready to be picked and today – corn, as far as the eye can see.
#8 WATCH FOR WEIRDNESS
The Joyspotter’s Guide asks, Is there something that seems a bit out of place? What could be more out of place than a tree, growing out of a rock that is a channel marker in the middle of the Trent River?
#9 ZOOM IN
Chicory (a herbaceous perennial of the dandelion family). Or, as Mum would have said, “Cornflower” (which was her crystal pattern). These never fail to bring me joy, not just because they so prettily adorn our roadsides, but because they always remind me of my mum.
#10 NOTICE THE INVISIBLE
Driving home along Morganstson Road this afternoon, long before I spotted the farmer and tractor, I could smell that sweet, heady aroma of freshly mown hay. Sure enough…
#11 TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE
If you know me, if you’ve read any of my posts, you’ll surely understand that a “road” like this one is plumb-irresistible to me (despite Cam’s near constant remonstrations). Now that’s a scenic route!!! (It was also a dead-end.)
#12 USE ALL YOUR SENSES
Isn’t she majestic? Despite the years of neglect and her obvious shabbiness, there remains a certain splendour. Just imagine… The farmer who built this home for his bride – this is not a basic farmhouse; there are architectural details that elevate this house above the ordinary. Just imagine… The kiddos playing in the yard, perhaps a swing hanging from that big tree in back. Just imagine… A pasture of dairy cattle all chewing and lowing. Just imagine… A line of laundry swaying in the breeze and a quilt out for airing. Just imagine… The tempting smell of the hot pie cooling on the kitchen window sill. Just imagine… The wagon loaded with the family and their jams and eggs and apples – headed for the farmers’ market in Campbellford. Just imagine…
Not part of the #JoySpotting guide, but joy-inducing nonetheless:
Da da da da da. Da da!
Da da da da da. Da da!
Da da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da!
Green Acres is the place to be.
Farm livin’ is the life for me.
Land spreadin’ out so far and wide.
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside!
Today’s rural ramble: King’s Mill Conservation Area consists of the old grist mill, the mill pond and dam and is the site of some significant wetland rehabilitation.
As you can see, there is very little water trickling over the dam at this time of year and as a result, the creek is neither as high nor as fast-moving as when we were there in the winter. I wrote about that experience (including a picture of the much more robust Squires Creek) here: Adventure Never Hibernates
I hope, dear readers, that you spotted lots of things that brought you joy today too.
’Til next time, y’all…
* Megan Giddings from her book Lakewood.
Summer At the Shores, a Presqu'ile Experience 
that was an eventful road trip. I find it’s always so enjoyable to ‘get off the beaten path’.
Too true! The lesser-travelled the road, the more likely an adventure beckons.