An Autumnal Tradition

Thanksgiving is my favourite weekend of the year and a pilgrimage to the Balls Falls conservation area is a must.  Every year I have to take a photo of this wreath on the door of the historic church.  And eat fresh apple fritters cooked in boiling cauldrons of oil by local teens.  The overbearing presence and ridiculous nature of health and safety gone mad hasn't yet reached this neck of the woods.

Patience is required to get a shot without streams of visitors parading through your photo.  You wouldn't know it but people were being shuttled in from the parking area in a nearby field by the busload.  The combined aromas of roasting nuts, woodsmoke and popcorn was absolutely divine.  I munched on a freshly roasted yam with a small ladle of melted butter drizzled on top while my husband waited in line for his fresh-cut fries and hotdog smothered in onions to be ready.  Just in case you think me a tad righteous in my healthy eating way, I whipped out my plastic fork and dug into R's steaming entree the minute mine was finished.  You know you would too!

The grist mill has been undergoing some renovations but looks as cosy as ever nestled beside the stream.

The birds of prey from the Mountsberg Raptor Centre always look unimpressed with all of the attention.  One charming mother could be heard telling her little horror-stricken daughter that this Bald Eagle eats guinea pigs.  This fellow most likely would but there was something a tad eerie about the delight Mum took in saying so.  Makes me wonder what a bedtime story at the poor little mite's house is like?

Umm...this is a rather large thingamuhjig.  It looks like some sort of early tractor...all I know is that lots of elderly gentlemen really liked looking at it.  Next to it was our favourite group of steam engine enthusiasts with their machines puffing and sputtering away and last but not least another 'must see for some silly reason' item.  The spitting cat and his tub of bubbles!  Disregard the poor thing's neighbour.

                       
Another marker has come and gone from our yearly calendar.  A cup of hot apple cider for the road and we were on our way home.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving and Contrast

It's Thanksgiving in Canada, a time to enjoy family, sleeping in on a Monday morning, turkey dinner, and with our temperatures hovering around a freakishly warm 26C...getting outside!  As is tradition, R and I drove out to Balls Falls for their festival and every year I have to take a photo of the wreath on the church door.  It's a new one this year!

After immersing myself in the many delights of London and Canterbury through travel and blogging about it, it is well and truly apparent that I am now back on Canadian soil.

This cat has been spitting water courtesy of the local steam engine society at Balls Falls every year for ages!  The belts chug round and round while the engines putt-putt, blowing puffs of steam as a calliope plays in the background.

Admiring this saucy pumpkin fellow, his creator said I could take him home with me.  He looked pretty cute outside in the sunshine but sitting by my computer screen he's growing more sinister-looking by the hour.

The most touching part of this Thanksgiving weekend though happened in Canterbury.  Knowing that The Heiress was far from home and family her dorm mates got together and planned a proper feast as a surprise.  She had tears in her eyes at the sight of a poster in the lobby inviting students to write down what they were thankful for.  A card was passed around for everyone to sign and she showed us how full it was over Skype.  While the others did the cooking, The Heiress gathered leaves to decorate the room and twelve of her new friends sat down to dinner.  If I could I would give them all a big hug and say "Thank you!".

Featuring a Fall Fair

Balls Falls Conservation Area is the perfect location for a Fall Fair.  The colours, the wide stream running through it, the oranges and golds...and the aroma of chip fat...yum!

There are a few very small historical buildings located here such as this home which would have housed a family but is the size of most people's front room!

Artisans and collectors of all sorts were pedaling their wares.  I absolutely love old portraits such as this and for some reason find this curmudgeonly looking fellow quite charming!

The blacksmith shop is usually a place we look forward to visiting so that we can warm up but it was downright warm on this day.

But not so warm that I left my Hawthorne shawl at home!  I was so happy with this one that I'm eight rows into another one in blue.  In front of me is the actual falls for which the conservation area is named and believe me...it's quite the drop to the bottom! 

This morning we awoke to our first frost of the season.  Summer has well and truly been put to bed.

Balls Falls Conservation Area

We love taking a drive out to the Balls Falls Fall Fair every Thanksgiving long weekend. You know that you've arrived when you hear music, smell woodsmoke and the delicious aroma of apple fritters being fried on the spot. I'm more than a bit concerned about these teens sitting around a vat of boiling hot oil though, yikes!

This mill has a giant wheel churning away inside, grinding wheat into flour. The lower level is very dark and has that wonderful aroma of being ages old. There's a display of tools used during the last century as well, it's all very historical and fascinating.

The blacksmith's shop is the place to be if you're cold! Just behind him is the bellows to bring the fire to a raging hot glow, I'd love to have one of those for our fireplace.

Here are the falls from which the conservation area gets its name, very serene but quite a drop!

Who wouldn't have wanted a teepee in your backyard as a child? All those sheets thrown over chairs or clotheslines in the backyard were a pretend version of this.

I've spared you the photo of the large order of chips and gravy that I had for lunch. The sun was shining the brass band was playing and the aroma of chip fat was in the air - what a day! Unfortunately, I was too full to enjoy one of those hot apple fritters made by those poor teens putting their lives at risk to make. I was able to manage a cup of freshly pressed hot apple cider for the drive home though. A lovely drive through some small towns, past homes with porches decorated with pumpkins, corn stalks and pots of Mums. A lovely day indeed!