Y/Alphabe-Thursday

 Red and green barn

Y is for YESTERDAY, YIKES, YOU and YEAR

On Monday's YESTERDAY (that would be Sunday - YIKES! I hope I haven't lost YOU already!), my husband and I were on our way to Orangeville when we spotted this farm. At first glance I was sure it was a horse farm.

Horse farm?

What do YOU think?

Nope, not a horse farm. The red and green barn might give YOU a clue. It's a Christmas tree farm! YIKES! I bet the owners have been thinking about Christmas all YEAR!

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

X/Alphabe-Thursday

 X-tremely frail truck

X is for X-tremely

X-tremely rusty, run down, decrepit...whatever!

Cracked windshield

A peak inside 

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

W/Alphabe-Thursday

 Wood carving outside Orillia Opera House, Orillia, Ontario

W is for WOOD.

Two stumps were carved into art by area sculptors Jimi McKee and Wayne Hill in 2008. As you can see, the carvings reflect the theatrical heritage of the opera house. To keep the wood from rotting, Mckee regularly applies preservative and hardener.

Another carved birch stump

The stumps were once dying weeping birch trees approximately 115 years old. Apparently there are three stumps but I missed one. YAY, another reason to revisit Orillia!

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

V/Alphabe-Thursday

 Virginia creeper

Very Vigorous Virginia creeper - a real beauty this time of year but a real pain in my gardens! Local birds keep planting these vines where I don't want them.

 Ladybug on a walk - do you see it?

Fence around farmer's field

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

U/Alphabe-Thursday

 Peterborough Lift-lock seen from the south side - built in 1904

U is for UP, and the top of the lift-lock is certainly UP - 65 feet in the air. Boats that wish to travel westerly on the Trent-Severn Waterway must be raised that much to continue. See the large pan on the left side of the lift-lock? It's raised and at the top. A similar pan is on the right side mostly under water in this photo.

A hydraulic lift raises the pan with boats in it to the top.

Top side of the lift-lock

Another photo of the top side

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

T/Alphabe-Thursday

 Clock tower - Peterborough, Ontario

T is for TOWER

Towers are fascinating and not just because Rapunzel was locked high up in one. I'm forever wondering what the owners do with the space inside the tower.

 Clock tower, Uxbridge, Ontario

I'm thinking most clock towers are filled with staircases to the top so someone can change the clock when Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

 Tower on house, Alliston, Ontario

But what's inside THIS tower? Why does it have windows and curtains?

View of the house with tower

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

September Wildflowers

 Fall aster

There are quite a few varieties of wild asters in Ontario and, truth be told I'm not sure which one this is.  Next time I take photos I MUST take good photos of the leaves and stems as well as the blossoms.

 Jewelweed or touch-me-not  (Impatiens capensis)

I love these blossoms because they attract hummingbirds, but others appreciate this plant because the juice in its stems is said to cure poison ivy.

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

This plant likes moist soil and some shade. I've tried to grow this showy wildflower in my gardens but alas my soil is too dry.

I am linking to Wildflower Wednesday HERE 

and because S is for SEPTEMBER

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

R/Alphabe-Thursday

Original photo of McCormick-Deering tractor

R is for RUSTY.

It's no secret that I like rusty objects and this one was sitting out in a field, an ornament. How could anyone resist taking its photo?

Does anyone know what year this tractor was made?

 Cut-out version in PhotoShop

Poster edges version in PhotoShop

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

Q/Alphabe-Thursday

Queen Anne's lace, wild carrot

Q is for QUEEN Anne's lace

During August this wild biennial is widely seen in disturbed habitats such as roadsides, meadows and fields. The plant's umbels look lacy closeup and...

At different heights and stages of bloom

masses of them look lacy from a distance. They are are also known as wild carrots because they ARE wild carrots, relatives of the vegetable. In fact, the roots are edible if eaten when young. You might need to be desperately hungry to appreciate them, though, as they are tougher and more wiry than the cultivated variety.

Seed head of Queen Anne's lace

Drying seed head

Can you see why this wildflower is sometimes called "bird's nest"?

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

P/Alphabe-Thursday

 Posterized Pink Petals

P is for Pink Petals

These blossoms flowered on some hens-and-chicks in my garden.

 Original photo of Pink Petals

Cropped pink petals

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

Yes! Yellow "Y"-ldflowers

 Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Y is for yellow "Y" (wy)-ldflowers

YES, woodland wildflowers are finally beginning to bloom here in central Ontario.

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

Bonus - there's a reflection.

Wakerobin (Trillium)

True, the trillium is not yellow...but the pollen is.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

W/Alphabe-Thursday

 Windmill at a local farm

W is for WINDMILL

This is actually a windpump, a type of windmill used for pumping water as the blades spin in the wind.

In one hour, a 4.8-metre diametre windpump is capable of pumping more than 6050 litres of water from a depth of approximately 30 metres when the wind is blowing between 25 and 30 kilometres per hour.

Did you get that? Well the important to thing to know is they can pump a lot of water!

 Cropped

 Inverted

Angled strokes

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

I am joining Geometric Friday HERE.

V/Alphabe-Thursday

 Wooden carving, Palmerston

V is for VERTICAL

I believe the carving is of a train conductor.  His left hand is on his watch as if it's almost time for the train to leave the station.  (Doesn't he look cold?) He's standing close to an old locomotive on display in a town park.

 Country mailboxes

The "bird" is standing vertically waiting for the mail to arrive.

Vertical Toronto as seen from a city park

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

U/Alphabe-Thursday

Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Oshawa

U is for UKRAINIAN.

In March, I posted some photos of a Ukrainian Catholic Church here   A block or so south there's another Ukrainian church - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist.

 Front doors

On each door you can see a traditional Orthodox three bar cross.

 Side window

Some light shining through the window revealed orange and blue and a little green glass.

 Side window cropped

 Side window cropped and cross-hatched

Side window inverted

Inverting the colours revealed that blue glass may have been chosen because it's the complementary colour to the orange brick.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

I am joining Geometric Friday HERE.

T/Alphabe-Thursday

Look at those teeth!

T is for TEETH.

I wonder why this van is smiling. Is it laughing because it just pulled a funny April Fool's joke?

Another view

Looks who else is smiling!

I'm thinking someone thought this log looked a bit like a lake monster so gave it teeth.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

S/Alphabe-Thursday 2

Striped shutters

S is for STRIPES

Closed up for the winter

Modified #1

Modified #2

Modified #3

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE 

I am linking to NF Digital Art Meme  HERE.

I am joining Geometric Friday HERE.