I tried to get a few pictures that showed a little bit of everything. I didn’t do a great job but keep in mind I didn’t have more than a few hours to find pictures, post them and caption them. You can read the caption, click the picture, and if you want to see it in full size click it a second time. I’m sorry this isn’t an easy gallery to go through but I think you’ll get the idea. Just a little glimpse of where I’m from. Enjoy!
lake winter
parents years ago
capturing maple water (syrup)
typical quebec grocery store – many kinds of pate
always one of my meals, roasted chicken and poutine
old school bucket maple collection. nowadays it’s all just types
boil maple water makes maple syrup. boiling it longer and putting on snow makes taffee
one mean I can’t get away from when I’m there. Too much to explain
smoked meat poutine
lake from front porch winter
small towns always have something catching. This is a sun dial
sun dial, right on time
parliament hill in ottawa (canadian capital)
parliament hill
parliament hill built 1859
buildings directly across parliament where many political offices are – just as old as parliament itself
cut through rock for a road, shows the makeup of the landscape
landscape was built by glaciers
french canadians almost always have vinegar on the table in restaurants to put on the french fries
The falls 2 minutes from ‘my’ house
the falls seen from the bridge
the other side of the bridge with the falls
for a good part of the year all of the towns in the area are accessible through ATV. In winter they mostly switch the snowmobiles. There are ‘roads’ that go all over the countryside
my parents have souvenirs from all over the world. This is egypt
China
Saudi Arabia
Thailand (I think)
many times you wake up and there is fog on the lake
but before you can go get your coffee and come back it’s gone!
We are famous for our bagged milk. We use pitchers that we drop the bag in, nip off the corner and refrigerate. Maybe three bags in a package
“bulk barn” is a chain store that has a whole ton of shit you buy by the pound. candy, spices, any kind of nut butter you can imagine, etc
falls not too far from home
more falls
more falls
The tranquility of one of the area’s rivers – very deep but clear and calm.
the river is narrow and gets shallow at times. There’s a big story about the art of rowing.
I used to fish every day. At the lake, in the river. And there’s no way I can go out there with anyone and not have them catch something within 15 minutes. Not boasting
Just a peaceful day on the water
Terese
peaceful river, and no one to meet on it.
woods behind ‘my’ house
how pretty
ok there’s a story here. You saw the falls with the picture taken from the bridge, off to the left there is an old electric hydro damn
It was built forever ago and was abandoned way before I started in the area, so over 47 years ago.
terese caught a fish, of course.
I have way too many fish pictures. I will sometimes keep one or two but I put them all back generally. If I’d keep them all I wouldn’t have any more to fish for.
Almost a weekly thing there, the snowblowing, unless you have an actual snow storm. Then you’re out there every few hours.
ottawa in winter
frozen lake
not a very snowy winter this time
looking towards the neighbours
There’s a town called Duhamel where in the winter deer flock to the town. They get fed, people can walk up to them, they know there are safe. They are not allowed to be hunted
some businesses put out feeders.
typical parking lot in our small towns – no cars, instead ATVs that use the roads and the ATV/snowmobile roads.
one of my favourite pictures. I don’t know why I like it so much
canadian pizza. another thing I can’t do without when I go there. There’s something special about it.
frogs. frogs everywhere. And dogs are mesmerized. kids too.
ethan, second oldest grandkid. He was about ten then. He’s not almost 16
lake with the floating dock in the water. A lot of the cottages there have a floating dock and one by the land
How things start to look during the summer.
hydrangeas that my parents grow. They used to have huge gardens
and the gardens were almost filled with neat stuff my father would make.
Playing “petonque”. It’s kind of like bocce ball.
grandson and nephew on the floating dock
exactly behind the house/cottage. Tree plantation planted a long time ago but I remember when they were planted.
just a typical country road
the area has a lot of festivals for everything. This is a rodeo. I was taking a picture of the saddles and my cousin just happened to appear out of nowhere and photobombed. She didn’t even know I was in town
my parents like to decorate with weird stuff. This is a dinosaur nest
flying dino nest
EVEN McD has poutine!
one of my favourite pictures of Lexi (oldest grandkid) and with my nephew. I guess the water was a little cold. Lexi is now in her second year of college.
strawberry patches everywhere
you’re allowed to eat as many as you want
and you can bring as much home as you want. and they TASTE like strawberries. Incredible
I’m stopping with the fish pictures I promise. I have way too many
lexi visiting the site of the old electric generator
just hanging out being cool. (they’re candy cigarettes, calm down)
The truck I owned going with lexi on this particular trip. I miss this beast.
First thing lexi wanted to do was get a cowgirl hat
game of horseshoes anyone?
view of the house from the lake. The gardens area is on the left.
a game of sandbags anyone?
I’m ridden way too many horses in my life
winter carnival. They are popular in Quebec. This is in the province of Ontario. This is back in Ottawa.
They have ice sculpture art
my parents (years ago)
snow sculptures
and this couple was amazing. On stilts ON SNOW AND ICE and they were playing with the crowd
playing pranks, telling jokes
And when they had enough then stride off real fast with their long legs to go to their next place
snow from the front porch
french canadian dish – meat pie. Basically ground pork, beef and veal, spices, then cooked with a flaky crust. Quite a few eat it with ketchup
If you don’t know what this is you’ve never spent time in a cold climate area. Pretty much all cars have an electrical plug so you can plug it in at night. It’s a block heater. If it’s cold enough in the morning and you didn’t plug it your car won’t turn over
oops, it snowed a bit last night
you know the communion wafers? You can buy them at the store as a snack. These are the size of about a small dinner plate
parking places in the winter time are kind of everywhere. If you car fits we’ll assume it’s a parking spot
snow
at the falls, on the bridge. my mother
ice fishing with my cousins
digging holes in the ice and setting up the fishing posts
the ottawa river is the main river in the area, it’s very big. In the winter you can drive on it, drive across it. In the summer they have ferries
some point fly in from elsewhere to come in on the weekend. They just land right on the river
If you don’t move your car for a few days the word doesn’t stop. Get a shovel!
starry night. This was about 11 at night one winter. I had set my camera up with a long shutter speed.
a few old pictures. I know you won’t be able to tell but if you come up from the lake at the cottage, there was a sandbox. Behind it where all the sand is is where the tree plantation went. My mother and sister
hated my appearance back then, still have bad selfesteem. More fish but the one on a right was a record for the lake especially but also for the region
told you, I’ve fished there since I could remember. I’m, what, about 10 here?
THERE’s a great view. This is how the cottage/house started. That’s the look of the area you’ve been seeing all along. house to the right, gardens to the left. That tree is LONG gone
That was when the cottage started to change a little. That’s my sister, she’s not 50
my mother, sister, and baby me looking as cool as ever
In saudi arabia at a whale graveyard. Back then you could go and dig up your own fossils
Here is where I found two fossilized whale teeth, which I still have
desert diamond hunting. We walked across the desert looking for certain clear stones. Once we’d collected enough we took them to a jewelry maker and he’d cut them into diamonds. It must me a sort of quartz but it fools a lot of people because they have no idea what it actually is
hunting for desert diamonds.
Poutine: is a french canadian dish. very very popular. It’s french fries with cheese curds on them (real cheese curds, you can’t really find the real ones in the US unless maybe in Wisconsin. But the laws for cheese making are different USA/Canada so it’s different. Then over it is poured a beef/bbq sauce. I can’t really compare it to anything because it is just it’s own thing.
