During my first drive of the Christmas holidays with Donnie, it was in complete passing that I mentioned an old red brick farmhouse, near the area where we were driving.

This was met with a matter-of-fact reply, in that he knew exactly what I was talking about and had been there before.

Now where I'm used to these places being isolated and open in neighbouring Kent County, I had driven past this house shifting my eyes, but never paying it any further attention because of the nearby homes.

I pondered life in Ontario where I could cycle there in the early morning, but my thoughts would soon after drift back to Taco Bell, Vladimir Tarasenko, the Faroe Islands, or any of the other predictable things that my mind wanders towards.

An old page of inspirational writings taped to the wall in the pantry. If you're curious as to what is written, click here.

Unlike the houses I had visited in Kent County, this house had an amazing amount of stuff left behind.

Although, I'm sure some of these scenes were set up by those longing for more Instagram followers.

Oh how to sully such a fine old farmhouse update, than by the mere mention of Instagram and internet bravado.

Getting back on track, the two of us went upstairs and found it stripped of walls and decorations, likely not in renovation, but in salvage.

I always think of these farmhouses as being ethereal in that they won't be around forever. This is only a second story view, but there will come a time when you aren't getting this without a ladder or a boom truck.

Not that it's any special view over the surrounding flat land, but to someone who finds this landscape infatuating, there will sadly come a day when it's no longer so easily accessible.

Returning back downstairs, Donnie told me to take my time and that he had nowhere to be. I figure he said this because I stood there with a confused look on my face, unsure of where to go with further pictures.

I have a love for these old farmhouses that's up there with arenas and lighthouses, but I remained intimidated in trying to encapsulate this one.

If it lingers like the Morpeth farmhouse that's been around for more than a decade, I can see stops here during future holiday breaks.

And as for the Christmases after that, I'll cycle or walk along the roadway, peering at the willows and birches where it used to stand.

It's not far enough away to be a faint memory, where I'll only find myself there once a decade; in fact, it's so close that I can't see how I won't pass this one quite often whenever I'm home.

A beautiful, old farmhouse not so far away.

Update: This house was burned down by Robert Teichroeb and Richard Campeau of Tilbury on May 22, 2018. Alyssa Bonneau and Avery Perkins of Tilbury were also present. They spread gasoline through the first floor and did nothing to fight the fire, or alert authorities, once they set the house ablaze. It was a total loss & the land is now cleared of all debris.