We are smack dab in the middle of summer and yesterday, even with the scorching heat, it was just too pretty to stay home.
There is an undeniable allure in slowing down and leaving the main roads behind. Choosing to trace the rural farm routes is, for me, the perfect way to unplug and experience a sensory shift from the monotony of daily routine. There’s magic in the tranquil rhythm of the countryside and yesterday had that slow, golden midsummer magic written all over it.
At this time of year here in Essex County, the wheat harvest is in its golden hour; combines are rolling through the fields, quickly filling the waiting hoppers. The corn is approaching 7’ tall and the apple trees are laden with small fruit.
Then there’s the old, beautifully weathered barns. I wish I was still working on my barn book because I’d have loved to add this beauty.
The nostalgic (and yes, hayfeverish) scent of freshly mown and baled hay and straw fills the air and wagonloads of highly-piled bales are trundling along ‘most all of the roads. Sometimes it feels as if there are as many tractors as cars on the roads.
There’s also the joy of stumbling upon a farm gate stand and, as we’re in Mennonite country, many of those feature fresh baked goods as well as their produce.
Some of the older farms and homesteads have very old, tall, brick chimneys, relics of the historic tobacco boom here in south-west Ontario. The chimneys were an essential part of the Kiln and Flue-Curing process — removing smoke/exhaust to keep the interior air clean and hot to dry (cure) the tobacco leaves.
Nowadays, and because our county is so flat, these beautiful, towering structures have become like wayfinders. No longer used, these monuments to a bygone era have organically evolved from crop processing into local geographical reference points.
A rural ramble isn’t just about the miles you cover; it’s about the tiny, vibrant details you notice along the way. Here are five wild beauties that caught my eye yesterday:
We enjoyed a sweet sojourn deep in the Essex County countryside. You know those July days that just feel like pure summer? That was yesterday for us.
’Til next time, y’all…
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