A Ghost in the Mines

There are gases in mines, does that make you a little suspicious about stories that come from miners and whatever they might see, or think they see, deep underground?

Sailors and miners tend to be very superstitious people, working in risky places so deep underground or so far away floating on top of such deep water.… Read the rest

Posted to Ontario Barn Preservation – Tree Stump Fences

This is the post I wrote about tree stump fences for the Ontario Barn Preservation newsletter, June 2022.

Thinking About Tree Stumps Today

I seldom see those old tree stump fences now. They used to be all over rural Ontario. Do you know the fences I mean? They were tree stumps pulled up (after the tree was cut down, of course) and lined up in rows as a border at the edge of the land or field.… Read the rest

Posted to Ontario Barn Preservation – Wind Farms

This is my post for the Ontario Barn Preservation newsletter for April, 2022. My first couple of newsletter posts were a bit bland. But, I’ve started thinking of more interesting topics, I think. So I’m going to re-post them for myself here at my own site.

Spring has me thinking about wind farms.

Ontario has wind farms (wind turbines and wind power farms).… Read the rest

Documenting Before Demolition

An editorial about exploring and documenting history. This comes from a forgotten (no posts since 2020) site of a Manitoba, Canada, explorer. I couldn’t find a name or anything like social media to help find who they are.

Some of you are aware that Canada has never been considered one of the best countries in the world to explore abandoned sites, due to Canada’s national policy for demolition projects of derelict buildings or converting derelict properties over to new owners, often into the hands of non-profit organizations.

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Photographing the Vanishing Quote

I noticed this quote on an abandoned Blogger site today.

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on Earth which can make them come back again. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

It applies to almost everything photographed. From a smiling child to the sun itself. Nothing stays exactly the same forever and the photographer won’t be standing in the same spot, with that same angle, at that same time either.… Read the rest

The House in Ballantrae

I know this house in Ballantrae, Ontario. I’ve never been inside, or even closer than looking from the street. There is another similar down the road but far less looked after. This house is a local treasure, to me at least. I found it on a card sold via Etsy today. It doesn’t seem to say who the artist is, might be easier to see on a larger size.… Read the rest