Just trying something new. 100_2707 

Went down to one of the Rideau River locks. Check out these pics

from the shore , ice cubes anyone? , making the corner , down river,  inside the lock,  another look,  out there,  waves,  round you go,  more waves,  
I then went for a walk in the forest. Check out these shots
creek bed,  broken,  creek,  old cabin,  frozen mouth,  down the creek,  spread out I hope you all enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I wanted to share some photos of the old cabin on our property, and tell you the story as I know it.  The cabin was built around 1890 by a man named Ellison.  His youngest daughter, Alma, came to visit us back in the 70's after we bought the place.  She told us that her folks raised 11 kids in that cabin.  Her dad was a horse trader, and would go to Arkansas and buy "skinny horses" and bring them up and fatten them up to sell.  What we know as the bottom of the lake, used to be a big field, where they raised hay and tobacco, and even held horse races on Sundays.  She showed us an old spring on the property, where they used to keep their milk and butter when she was a girl.  Her father died when she was 9 years old, and her mother continued to live their with her children.  What a tough life that must have been!

Just a few days after we moved back here last summer, I saw Alma's obituary in the paper. She had outlived all her brothers and sisters.  We went to the cemetary after her burial, to give her family the snapshot we had taken of Alma in front of the cabin the day she came to visit.  Some of her relatives knew about her childhood and the homestead, but most of the younger ones didn't know anything about it. After talking to them, her family followed us home to see where their Mother/Grandmother/Great Grandmother had grown up.  It was a wonderful experience to meet her family, and help pass on her legacy.  

We are doing research, and trying to figure out how to preserve it.  It originally had a tin roof, which we lost in a windstorm.  My Dad re-chinked the logs about ten years ago.  The old chinking was crumbling, and we pulled out old newspapers they had used for insulation.  It has a dirt floor, and there is rot on the bottom round of logs.  We plan to do some kind of foundation work to restore the integrity of the stucture and put in a wood floor.  It was here before us, and hopefully will be here long after we are gone.  

Cabin in the Snow
Cabin Corner
AxMarks
Old Sqaure Nails
Site of the Old Spring
Stepping Stones from Back Door
Alma's Kin

I tried (again) to do a gallery; STILL didn't have the pics sized right.  These are just random shots I took today; hope y'all enjoy!  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8