My youngest daughter purchased a Ragdoll kitten from a breeder in Tilsonburg and I was delighted to drive there to pick it up.
West of Brantford, I drove the entire route on rural roads. Here is some of what I saw:

















Some birds:




Some botany:
















The new kitten:


CAT POETRY
Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw—
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity’s not there! – T S Eliot
Miles Hearn
What a beautiful, adorable kitten. Of course, I had to see the kitten!
As for the rest of it–well, a lot of beautiful sights. Seeing the open country in winter was very refreshing.
Good luck to your daughter with her new pet. I know what my beloved dog, Max, means to me!
Thanks, Miles!
Enjoy your pictures as always. Today was the first time I’d heard about woodpeckers drilling into goldenrod gall. After looking at this post, I went for my walk along the Don River and found several galls with those holes drilled into them ( alas, didn’t see the downy though).
What a beautiful kitten! My husband, Bob, lived in Tillsonburg for several years when he was going to elementary school. His father was an Anglican minister in the town but he also looked after a small parish in Culloden a small hamlet west of Tillsonburg. The photos of the country roads looked familiar to him. He always has said that the area never received large amounts of snow. However when his family moved to Stratford they needed to pull out the shovel because the area was in the snow belt!