Early Snow/ Monochrome Maniacs

Snow came early this year to East Gwillimbury and it seems to be sticking.

To find other maniacs crazy about monochromes, visit Aileni at Loose Ends, http://aileni-calonyddaear1.blogspot.com/

Winter Meets Spring/ Ellipsis Monday

Late winter/early spring outside Port Perry, Ontario

This week's Ellipsis...Monday Photo Shoot assignment (due Sunday night, March 22) is "Winter Meets Spring."

To find out how others handled last week's assignment, check out http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com/

Farm in Snow/ SOOC

The sun finally came out late today (Saturday) in time to capture this East Gwillimbury barn with my camera and post the photo for Straight Out Of Camera Sunday.

Tomorrow (Sunday, eh)? More grey skies in the forecast, followed by s-n-o-w.

To see more photos Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC) visit Jan at http://www.murrieta365.com

Winter's Old Black Magic

Remember theses Old Black Magic lyrics by Harold Arlen: Those icy fingers up and down my spine/ That same old witchcraft....? I'm thinking these icicles look a bit like witch's fingers. Anyone else thing so too?

Overcast skies and snow flurries, but not enough snow to stop the school buses from running.

Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving in October, so YES, kids here were in school today.

Over the River and.../Sepia Scenes

Over the river and through the woods....

Happy American Thanksgiving!

To view other Sepia Scenes visit MaryT, theTeach at http://sepiascenes.blogspot.com/

Pomegranates/ Ruby Tuesday

I confess that I DO shop at my local supermarket wearing my camera. No one hardly anyone ever stares any more.

When I saw these pomegranates I just had to take a couple of shots. Pomegranates say "holidays" to me, PLUS these are huge - 4 to 5 inches across, without word of a lie.



Yep, I bought one! And it tasted good too.

Have you finished started your holiday shopping yet?

To join in the Ruby Tuesday fun, visit Mary, theTeach at http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Crossing Over/ My World

Lots of people are traveling this weekend, so I thought I'd explain what it's like to return to Canada after a few days with relatives in the U.S. (Traveling to the U.S. is a popular Canadian pastime.)

If you look at a map of Canada below, you'll notice that most of the major cities are in the southern areas of each province. In fact, Canada's three largest cities (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver) are within easy driving distance of the U.S.

Ontario is yellow and that's the province in which I live. East Gwillimbury is a little north of Toronto. And Toronto is only a couple of hours from Buffalo in the United States.

So it should be no surprise that many Canadians including my husband and me visit the U.S. at least once a year...often more. Toronto area residents are no exception even though Toronto is a fabulous city with many attractions. But it doesn't include Florida, Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

However, every time Canadians go away, they eventually return. ;-) And this is a taste of what it's often like when my husband I return to East Gwillimbury from Upstate New York.

After we cross the Niagara River, the international boundary at Buffalo/Niagara Falls, we stop at Canada Customs. Sometimes the line is long but on this day it was short. HOORAY! Notice that the signs are in English and in French, as Canada is officially a bilingual country.

Once we've told the customs officer where we live, how long we've been away and declare what goods we're bringing back into Canada, we pay a toll and then drive pass this friendly sign:

Notice on the map that we're still south of Lake Ontario. Weird, according to my muddled brain. As we're driving back into Canada something inside my head expects the lake to be south of the highway. ;-)

After a few miles, the highway joins the QEW, which stands for the Queen Elizabeth Highway. Yes, Canada is a part of the British Commonwealth.

When we see this skyline (Mississauga just west of Toronto), we know we're just an hour away from home!

To visit other blogs celebrating That's My World, please visit http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Ford/ Monochrome Maniacs

To find other maniacs crazy about monochromes, visit Aileni at Loose Ends, http://aileni-calonyddaear1.blogspot.com/

Snow on branches/ SOOC Sunday

The forest looked magical Thursday afternoon. For the past few days, snow had fallen a few centimetres (maybe millimetres) in each 24-hour period. BUT there had been no wind. So in places in the forest that receive little sun, the snow had built up on even the thinnest of branches.

I zoomed in with my Canon point-and-shoot as I didn't want to move in too close and knock any of the snow or ice off. Can you see the layer of ice lining the branch under the snow?

And this is what the snow and ice look like on a young tree.

Jan at Murieta365 has challenged bloggers to post photos they've taken straight out of their cameras (SOOC) to celebrate Straight Out of the Camera Sunday. To join us or to check out bloggers who are playing, visit http://www.murrieta365.com

You can't see me!/ Camera Critters

This little character thought s/he was hiding. Ha!

Now that there's snow on the ground...
it's hard to hide the trail, eh?

To join in the Camera Critter fun, visit Misty Dawn's site at http://camera-critters.blogspot.com

Morning After a Light Snow

Looking easterly on an overcast morning

Please note: Sky Watch is the post below.

Today this part of Canada is almost a natural monochrome, lovely in it's own way to my eyes.

And now for a shock. I've been declared HOT! Who would've thunk it? OK, truth be told, it's not ME that's hot but my blog...but that's almost the same thing, isn't it?

Thanks Rose! I've been visiting Rose's place for some time now as we enjoy photographing many of the same things. But what I like most about her blog is Rose herself, her down-to-earth quality that's so refreshing in this hustle-bustle world. It's a bonus that she takes great photos too.

Be sure to visit Rose at Pics and Pieces, another HOT blog. You can visit Rose at http://picsandpiecing.blogspot.com/

Geese over Pond/ Sky Watch

Tuesday morning was cool but peaceful at the pond. Then overhead...we heard Canada geese flying southward below the clouds. What a racket they were making!

They circled over the southern end of the pond, glided in to a few inches above the water and then...

plopped in.

The geese didn't appear to worry about the temperature, which was low enough for snow to stick to the trees but not so frigid that ice formed on the water. (My feet are feeling chilly as I think about the geese paddling around,)

Perhaps these fowl plan to winter here (a few do). Or maybe the pond was just a stopover, a brief morning bathing area before heading to "balmy" Lake Ontario. Brrrr.

To join in the Sky Watch fun, which features skies from all around the globe, visit the Sky Watch blog at http://skyley.blogspot.com

AND before you go...
Thank you ever so much, MaryT (theTeach), for this wonderful award. It's great to be your buddy! I LOVE visiting your blog because I never know what I'm going to find there: a beautiful photo, a few wise words or something downright hilarious. You are a many faceted blogger, a true gem!

Want to know where you too can find MaryT? Visit Work of the Poet

workofthepoet.blogspot.com

Just Hitched/ Sepia Scenes

Now this is not a common scene these days in East Gwillimbury. Way too cold. Brrrr. This photo was taken last September on a warm day...long before snow fell on East Gwillimbury, as it did last week.

A newly married couple was out and about town, sitting in the front seat of the carriage. The maid of honour and best man were in the rear seat. What a pleasant way to take a breather after the wedding ceremony before heading back to the wedding reception.

I converted the top photo to sepia in PhotoShop Elements by first removing the colour, then adding the filter "color dodge," unchecking the luminosity box. Then I added 90% sepia and finally flattened the image.

I think the carriage still looks too "plastic" of metallic. So for the second photo...

I used PhotoShop Elements' old paper filter to age the photo. Unfortunately, that distorts the faces on the people.

I think changing these photos into sepia tones is still in the experimental stages. Ha! I need to work on this.

To view other Sepia Scenes visit MaryT, theTeach at http://sepiascenes.blogspot.com/

Rainy Day/Watery Wednesday

Saturday -- the day before it snowed -- it rained. My husband wanted to read a book held by the public library in Richmond Hill, a big town just north of Toronto. What better place to spend a few hours on a watery Saturday than in a library, right?

It was my first visit to this building. Although I LOVE books I didn't want to get too excited about any on this library's shelves because I didn't have borrowing privileges there. So instead I scanned the bookshelves, checked out the periodicals room, looked at at all the artwork on the walls, even looked out the windows and took a photo of one of the few colourful trees left in Ontario this autumn.

Then on my way to the top floor I noticed this huge pencil coming down through the ceiling. But no! It was a light fixture. I just had to get a shot of that!

Then on my way back down to the first floor, my nosy camera peered through these windows and took this shot. I was intrigued by the glass and not a solid wall on the inside of the library separating the stairs from the room.

I was impressed with this library. East Gwillimbury's is much, much smaller. In fact, you can probably put my local branch inside the space you can see through the windows. OK, I'm only kidding. But it IS SMALL. I buy a lot of books as a result.

You can find more photos celebrating Watery Wednesday at http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Caught by the snow/ Ruby Tuesday

Snow came a tad too soon for the farmer who owns this corn harvester. He has cut down only a few rows of feed corn. :-(

But the machine sure looks pretty beside the road, perfect for Ruby Tuesday a week or so before Americans celebrate the year's harvest at Thanksgiving.

But hey! It's only mid November. Surely this dusting of snow will melt, the sun will dry the crop. and the farmer can finish his job...right?

To join in the Ruby Tuesday fun, visit Mary, theTeach at http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Dusting of Snow/My World

Sunday morning we woke up to a dusting of sticky snow that clung to the trees, wires, fences...

All day long we had no wind to speak of. By early evening this is what the world looked like just outside the community I live in. Doesn't this farm look like it was touched with fairy dust?

To me it doesn't look real ...even though I was there and saw it with my own eyes. ;-)

This time of year the snow is gorgeous, isn't it. Come March, I might think differently. ;-)

To visit other blogs celebrating That's My World, please visit http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Lighhouse on Lake Ontario/Monochrome Maniacs

Lighthouse on Lake Ontario

To find other maniacs crazy about monochromes, visit Aileni at Loose Ends, http://aileni-calonyddaear1.blogspot.com/