Time it seems, is everything now and it becomes increasingly precious, the older we get. And so we try to conserve it and use it more wisely (I may be dreaming in technicolour here).

Nevertheless…one way of doing that is to take a quiet drive on a country road very early, preferably on a sunny Sunday morning. A time for meditation, reflection and pure enjoyment.

Traveling the back roads and the side roads of these three Ontario counties- Huron Grey and Bruce- can be inspiring and uplifting, especially after most of a lifetime spent in a crowded city struggling to make a living amid the chaos of frantic urban  activity.

Out here in the country…there are still vast expanses of fields, cows chewing their cuds in the meadows and farmhouses separated by a comforting distance. I drink in the scene as I make my leisurely way along…seeing  the silos ready to take the corn for winter…and wagons at the ready for the last of the fall harvest. Spring lambs have matured and calves are turning into steers.

After a busy and sometimes demanding professional life, these scenes take me back to a carefree childhood on the farm: they inspire feelings of relaxation and contentment. Time seems to move more slowly in the country.

You have to be careful though, as you drive along, not to get too mesmerized by the beauty; the sound of tires on the graveled edge of the newly paved highway reminds you that it might be time to pull over for a minute and stop awhile, which is exactly what I did.

On the west side of the road, on the way to Clinton Ontario, quite near the picturesque
village of Auburn, overlooking the Maitland River, there’s a  lovely roadside picnic area. It’s a park built and funded by
The Lions Club. I carried my little cooler  down the  grassy slope to a table and  sat quietly…having my lunch and contemplating this scene.

Is this Heaven I wondered?

No, I thought, as I gazed at the river- It’s Huron County.

p.s. in 25 miles of driving before pulling over, I had seen only one other car.