Elk Farm - Day 36 (Tues 24 Sep)

Another perfect day and our first sighting of a Robin in the garden (a rather larger bird than our Australian version).


Kathy and Mike had wonderful educational plans for us - a visit to the Regal Point Elk Farm, run by  one of their Wiarton Rotary friends, Eric (a truly remarkable man).

This gateway was awarded the status of best sign in Canada. Hidden in each tree are an elk, porcupine, squirrel, raccoon, stack of pancakes,  jar of maple syrup, knife and fork.



Mike, Kathy, Eric and John in front of Eric's beautifully maintained old, timber barn.

Elk horns - a new set every year.
Eric handles pallet loads (his innovation) from both his own farm and from other farms in Canada and USA. The different colour comes from the variety of tree that the bulls rub their antlers on. Products from the antlers include pharmaceuticals (in their "velvet" stage) and dog chews.

 

 

Eric's system of handling pens includes a padded, fully automated clamp pen for holding the elks for veterinary and other attention.

 

The cows are artificially inseminated then run with a selected bull elk, both as an insurance that insemination has been achieved and for social behaviour.

Young bulls. 
Those with really large antlers will be sold to hunting lodges in Quebec (and elsewhere)  where trophy hunters pay huge amounts to hunt them (like $50,000).



The other major business of the farm is maple syrup production. The sap is line tapped from the trees in season and processed on site.
 

Automated log splitter to fire the refinement process at hotter than boiling water.

 

Grandpa's cauldron - how it used to be done.

 

A maple syrup festival held on the farm is a major fund-raiser for the Rotary club - pancakes, "taffees"  whipped in snow, maple floss ...  great fun.

Other interests of Erics, as well as mountaineering, family and Rotary, are his own cross-country ski trail and  the black holes on his property that lead to underground caves.
All this is in Eric's "retirement".
.

 

 

A giant puff-ball growing in one of Eric's paddocks. Edible when young and white, they later become yellow coloured and poisonous  (like this one now).

Old school-house with a difference - purchased with this mural in place  by another Wiarton Rotary couple (not from when it was a school).

 

Isaac Lake - Day 35 (Mon 23 Sep)

A clear sunny morning saw us bound for Isaac Lake, only about 10 kms from home.
Isaac Lake is a local fishing spot and sanctuary for water birds, particularly the loon.

This friendly chipmunk was sunning itself in our drive as we got into the car.
 

The lake was so calm, with wonderful cloud reflections but few birds present.

 

 

 

Back from the lake proper was a bird watching tower and nesting boxes.
Here there were more birds. Local bird life is undergoing seasonal change as some birds head south with others, including robins and winter wrens moving in.

 

 

 

The field/woodland birds were fluttery and much harder to photograph.

 

 

Every day we are seeing more fall colours - only a week to go before we leave though.

A rather attractive farm fence by the road out.

 

Night and Day After - Days 33 and 34 (Sat 21 - Sun 22 Sep)

"Stomp" at the Purple Valley Hall.
A small but good country style band  that even sang Waltzing Matilda for us (unaccompanied solo plus vocal harmony). A fair amount of drinking and talking plus vigorous Canadian country style dancing - lots of moving and stomping (making the whole building resonate). Wonderful fun.

 

 

Sunday afternoon we attended to the other side of ourselves with an amazing classical performance, being part of the Owen Sound Sweetwater Music Festival. It was held in the beautiful Georgian Shores United Church with a small group of some of the world's best musicians performing :
JS Bach - Concerto for two violins in D Minor;
WA Mozart - Clarinet Concerto in A Major;
Joseph Haydn - C Major Cello Concerto.
Standing ovations for the last two (although we have noted over some years that Canadians are more generous with their applause than Australian audiences). They were still worth it. 
The Clarinet Concerto especially blew us away - almost heavenly..
 

 

 

Fall Fair Day - Day 33 (Sat 21 Sep)

The program involves all ages.
  

 

A major part of the program is the horses, largely managed by the Gilbert family and imvolving a wide range of ages.

Our "Rotary Exchange Daughter" Kim in action.

 

 

 

 

Last items on the program are the horse pulls.
The light horse pull involves dragging a long pole around a slalom course.
The heavy horse pull is a bit like weight lifting - having to move a heavier and heavier load over a specified short distance.