Scottsdale Farm

Scottsdale Farm is an Ontario Heritage Property administered by the Halton Conservation Authority accessible as a side trail from the Bruce Trail or from the onsite parking lot off Trafalgar Rd at 13607. Calling a 15-car lot large is a matter of perspective. 

The working farm was bequeathed by the Bennett Family to the people of Ontario in trust. In the year 2015 the farm houses have been leased to tenants but the farm itself remains unworked and the barns empty. The unmown fields and garden plots remain untended and are rapidly returning to weeds and scrub. To a former farmboy it is sad to see barns slowly mouldering away their board and batten sides turning grey and growing moss. The asphalt shingles may protect the roves but they look out of place along with the modern white eavestroughing in which grow a crop of weeds and small trees. The outbuilding and former farm homes feature multiple gables and a white paint job. Most buildings have air vents or dovecots up top. 

Pictures of former draft horses and winning bulls are no substitute for the real thing. There's a so-called wishing well and an untended pond with bridge crossing the dam on the Cold Creek. The Marsh appears a prime breeder of mosquitoes but probably supports a good crop of frogs and toads as well. The trail was a pleasant walk through muted Autumn Foliage. 

Alas, the tone of this entry betokens the fact that I expected more. Even the barns are off-limits today.