Countryside

Getting out of Ottawa and into the countryside is easy, we are surrounded by parkland and agricultural land. In a matter of 10 minutes you are out of the city.  We went to Wakefield or La Pêche as it is also called in the Gatineau Hills on the Quebec side of the Outaouais river, these are the hills North of Parliament Hill and it is cottage country for many people who live on the Ontario side of the river. There are also many golf courses and the Prime Minister's Official Summer Residence at Meech Lake. The hills are very ancient, this is why they are so low, erosion and time, millions of years, have whittled them away. The forest covering is not so old, maybe 100 years at most, prior to that the forest was almost exclusively giant Pines, all cut down by the lumber industry between 1810 and 1920. Nowadays the trees are a mix of variety but Pines still exist, some groves preserved because they were on land owned by the Crown. The lumber industry has largely disappeared.

Wakefield has always been a picturesque village with lots of artists and prosperous city dwellers who inhabit the area. The Gatineau river runs along the old rail road tracks and there is also an old wood covered bridge, you could almost say that it is Ottawa's version of the Russian River near San Francisco.
On a sunny day it is very pleasant to go up to Wakefield and enjoy a lunch in a nice restaurant or visit an art gallery or friends who live in the area.

Gatineau River at Wakefield

The old wood covered bridge

the old homes in the village, keeping much of the flavour of an earlier time.

I also love to buy preserved made locally by people in Wakefield. In this case to help a local charity, QUAIL which supports independent living in Chelsea, Quebec for people with handicap or elderly.

or buy some of the heritage variety vegetables grown locally, species of vegetables you can no longer find in supermarkets. The Russet potatoes are excellent in stews or soups as they do not fall apart when cooked and the purple carrots or the yellow squash.

Here are the famous Wakefield Grannies or at least 3 of them with Will and Robert.
They are local grandmothers helping out other grandmothers who live in South Africa and are responsible for bringing up their grandchildren left orphans by AIDS. The Canadian Club of Rome invited Brenda and Robert last year to attend a fund raising event in Rome held by the Club and the Canadian community in Italy. See their web site for all details: www.thegrannies.org
The Wakefield grannies have raised important sums of money and have greatly helped their African counterpart. They are truly wonderful ladies.

It is such a peaceful place and the quiet is so relaxing. In the fall when the leafs on trees change colour the area becomes spectacular.