160 Unusual Things to See in Ontario ~ St. Raphael Cathedral Ruins

"St. Raphael’s church was constructed by Scottish pioneers between 1815 and 1821. It was built with Glengarry limestone and had a timber roof supported entirely on the massive stone masonry perimeter walls. Typically, the walls were built in two-wythe masonry construction with rubble infill. The exterior wythe consists of ashlar masonry using regular dressed stones while the interior wythe was built in roughly squared coursed rubble masonry. The interior was originally covered with painted lime plaster. The church was built without any columns and therefore provided an unobstructed view for 1000 people.

"In the fall of 1970, fire destroyed the church interior and roof structure, leaving only the massive stone masonry walls. Soon after the devastation of the fire of 1970, the Ontario Heritage Foundation proceeded with a stabilisation project which resulted in capping the exposed top surface of the walls where the inner and outer stone walls bond to the soft lime mortar core. However, there are still areas where the dressed stone must be rebonded to the core. As well, the possibility of earthquakes required that the now-freestanding gables be pinned and anchored."

Initial stabilization measures were carried out in 1973 and 1986. However, it became evident over the years that more significant intervention was required to preserve this landmark. In 1999, the Friends of the Ruins of St. Raphael successfully raised sufficient funds to complete Phase 3 of the stabilization efforts and today its impressive scale and fine masonry work continue to attract the tourists to the site. The Ruins were declared a National Historic Site in 1999.

Visitors are welcome to tour the site. Gates are open during the day in the summer months with a curator on duty in July and August.

19998 County Rd 18, Williamstown, ON K0C 2J0

St. Raphael’s Ruins are located in South Glengarry on County Road 18 (The King’s Road). It is situated approximately 25 minutes east of Cornwall, 20 minutes south of Alexandria and 15 minutes north of Lancaster. The ruins are an easy day-trip from either Ottawa or Montreal (about an hour’s drive).

There is no charge for individuals visiting the site, but donations are gratefully accepted.

https://saintraphaelsruins.com/

A Taste of Canada ~ Fiddleheads

I do enjoy fiddleheads. They have a green bean-y, asparagus-like, pea-ish taste and they are just fun to look at. From Chateline Magazine: HOW-TO It’s Almost Fiddlehead Season! Here’s How To Cook This Springtime Veggie Properly Fiddleheads are a Canadian delicacy, but undercooking them can lead to food poisoning by Amy Grief Updated Apr 9, 2019 Fiddlehead season is short, so when you see the adorable green curlicues at your grocery store or farmers’ market, buy them while you can. Before chowing down on these little springtime delicacies, there’s a few things you should know first since fiddleheads can cause food poisoning if they’re not cooked properly. What are fiddleheads? These tightly curled coils are ostrich fern fronds. They start appearing in late April and early May in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and are usually found in forests, marshes and by rivers and streams. Taste-wise, fiddleheads, which are popular amongst food foragers, are often co

Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper.

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Journal Prompt ~ One Thing You Do Really Well

Name one thing you do really well . . . One thing I do really well is solve crossword puzzles.

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