Popsilos. Get it? Pop-silos. Pigeons prefer to roost on them.
After breakfast, we explored some of the farm roads just west of VanKleek Hill. There is some serious farming happening here. It's the corn harvest and corn was being dried. Can you see the steam rising from the dryer?
Cornstalks get baled in this part of the province.
I love this picture. It looks idyllic. Sheep in one field, horses in the next and cattle in the third.
We had a goal this morning. I wanted to walk around the town and look at their gingerbread-decorated houses. VanKleek Hill is officially Ontario's Gingerbread capital.
We saw a few murals .....
.... and an amazing crabapple tree.
On a sidestreet, I stopped to try and figure out what flower was growing in this garden. While I was standing there wondering, the owner came out of her front door. She does not know the name either, but she gave us the lowdown on her house. Three years ago she and her partner bought this house which used to be divided into 5 apartments. They are transforming it back to one house. They offer rooms and retreats now.
I do know this flower though. It's a rose. 🥴
There are only 5 or 6 streets in VanKleek Hill, but that doesn't stop some interesting places from being difficult to find. This is the Higginson Tower. It is well hidden. It started out as a windmill, but there wasn't enough wind. Oops!
Oh, and our sponsor today? Small Worlds. My dear friend and fellow art conspirator, Lee Higginson's family comes from this town. I now believe that where you live can influence you for good. There were many Higginson names on the plaques around this tower.
And, if you walk behind the tower, there is a path to an art gallery. I'll show you some art later in this post. It was closed when we were on our morning walk.
In my research before our trip, I came across Arks Harvest. "Affordable Food for Everyone". It was on our walking route and we went inside. They take delivery of a truckload of fresh fruits and vegetables that are slightly less than fresh weekly. It is completely staffed by volunteers and now they have 2 more locations, in Cornwall and Hawkesbury.
What a wonderful model!
The two volunteers who we chatted with assured us that usually they have far more food on their shelves. It looked pretty good to me. For a population of less than 2,000 souls, they are leading the way in making food affordable for their neighbours.
After walking some more streets and meeting our landlord out walking her dogs, it was time for lunch! Remember on Monday we were invited to have soup at The Creating Centre on Wednesday? Well, it's Wednesday. Below is the Creating Centre's side view. Wouldn't this waterfall compel you to come inside and see what they are all about?
Samme Putzel had a vision.
Read her words:
“Life is about sharing what we love and cherish,
so that we all benefit through creating a better world.
The Creating Centre de créativité is about living our stories,
experiencing and sharing our dreams come true.”
From the moment we stepped inside, I felt like I was home. Samme came in with a cardboard box filled with containers of warm chicken noodle soup. Where did the soup come from you ask? Some of the vegetables come from Arks Harvest. The weekly soups are made at a restaurant next door.
Around the big table we met a retired Kubota manufacturer's rep, a grandma who recently moved from England to be near her grandkids, a Dutch lady who pointed to me and said, "You look like you are Dutch or Scandinavian." Everyone was there for the camaraderie and community. And, the soup was delicious!
Both this lovely lady and ourselves made our way home for a rest.
The Art Gallery which was closed this morning, was open this afternoon. Arbor Gallery was begun by Samme Putzel and her now late husband many decades ago.
It seems to me that this little town should be the poster child for a community working together to make life good for everyone.
They are all pulling in the same direction.
After a morning in town, Ted was anxious to see more farmland. In many parts harvest is finished and fields have been put to bed for winter.
This was a day I will remember and I think it will influence me for years to come.
“Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much”
Helen Keller
Comments