D/ Alphabe-Thursday

 Dollhouse #1 in the window of a Port Perry shop

Hmmmm. Seems like someone who sits at my computer doesn't know her alphabet! She posted an E-word this morning when EVERYBODY knows D is the letter that follows C. OOPS! (And of course that mixed-up person is ME!) Thanks for the heads up, Francisca!

D is for Dollhouses.

Sorry for the window glare but I think you can see how wonderful these dollhouses are.

 Dollhouse #2 in window of same store above

In this shot you can also see the reflection of the building across the street.  But still, isn't this lighthouse for dolls fabulous?

Dollhouse #3 in same store window

And isn't the detail on this dollhouse great too?

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

November 30/ Nature Notes

Wet but NOT snowy

I woke up this morning to half an inch of snow on the grass so I guess we did not quite make it through  November totally snow free. Until last night, we had had rain and overcast skies but the temperatures had been fairly mild (for Ontario in late autumn).

Largest square: while some ferns have dried and turned brown, hardier ones are still green. This one is thriving in shallow dirt between two cedar logs in a forest.

Moving clockwise. the wild cucumbers are dried and brown now (I haven't seen any that have turned lacy yet though.); WHAT?! A dandelion in flower!; a wild strawberry leaf turning reddish on moss; lichen and moss growing together; and moss on this rock turning brown in some places.

Can you believe it that tomorrow will be December 1st?

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

E/ Alphabe-Thursday

 ELEPHANT - part of a bracelet

Not all elephants live in Africa or India. As you can see, at least  three live on my blog.

And speaking of elephants,  three aging ones - Toka, Thika and Iringa -  live at the Toronto Zoo. (Sorry, I have no photos of them.) They have been in the local news lately because this spring they are moving to a sanctuary in San Andreas, California.

 ELEPHANT - pieces of a puzzle

The Toronto Zoo has determinined that it can no longer afford to properly take care of them so the elephants are moving to an 80-acre facility where they will be free to roam.

ELEPHANT carved on a shell

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Sauble Falls/ Watery Wednesday

 Sauble Falls near Sauble Beach, Ontario

On a partly cloudy day earlier in November, my husband and I took a day trip to the shores of Lake Huron. We had heard about this falls and wanted to see it for ourselves. We've had plenty of rain this month so the water was rushing over the the many rocks in the river.

This photo was taken from the southerly side of the river.

 Two fishers just below the falls

We also walked the trail on the north side of the falls to get a different view. I don't know if these guys caught any fish. The weather was fairly warm so they may have been content to be out enjoying some quality time with Mother Nature.

I am linking to Watery Wednesday where you can find many more watery photos.

I am also linking to NF Memes Here.

Sentinel/ Our World

 Metal sculpture on campus at Rochester Institute of Technology

Visit the Rochester Institute of Technology in Henrietta, New York (U.S.A.) and Sentinel is nearly impossible to miss. It is approximately seven storeys high and positioned at the centre of the campus. Former RIT professor Albert Paley constructed it in 2003, which must have been quite a feat as apparently the sculpture weighs about 110 tons.

We visited the campus on Friday, part of our five-day visit with family in Upstate New York over Thanksgiving.

Another view of the sculpture

I am betting some of you are wondering what this sculpture represents. I don't know for sure, but some people say it's a horseman on his steed. Others claim superpowers use this structure to control the weather. Still others say it symbolizes the unity of the various colleges on campus. What do you think?

Click HERE to see tons more photos celebrating Our World.

Day's End/ Creative Exchange

Driving home from Port Perry, Ontario

The sun had almost disappeared below the clouds but rays were still shooting upwards to light the edges of the clouds.

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Private Pond/ SOOC

Private Pond, Wilfrid, Ontario

To see more photos straight out of the camera, visit Jan's  SOOC at Murietta365.

A BMW Reflects/Weekend Reflections

 Reflected on the hood of a parked BMW, Collingwood, Ontario

Part of what's being reflected

To see reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Sunrise/ Sky Watch

Sunrise over local farm

I hope everyone in the U.S. is enjoying a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

For sure, these cattle are... as they are very happy they are not turkeys.

  Sky Watch

November 23/ Nature Notes

"Freezes and melts" in my gardens 

I don't hear a lot of complaining about the weather this November as we here in Ontario KNOW we are lucky...so far. Just a few frosts and a dusting of snow in East Gwillimbury. And November - which is famous here for its overcast skies - has actually allowed the sun to shine more often than usual.

Largest square: The pods on my butterfly weed have released their seeds. These plants are wild in in many eastern states, but here they are cultivated and loved, bearing orange or golden yellow flowers. They are spreading in my gardens but in a slow and dignified manner.  (hehe)

Moving clockwise: the fluff and seeds of Japanese anemones, another plant welcome to live in my gardens, blooming beautifully from June to October; beads of water (melted frost) on a smoke bush; frost on an Echinacea seed head, which I leave until all the seeds are eaten by visiting goldfinches; golden leaves on a rugosa rose hedge; and frozen water in a birdbath.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

Kinda Lonely/ Watery Wednesday

Not many boats left in the water on Cook's Bay

It was a Friday afternoon - late in the boating season and also in the day.

Empty almost

I guess a few diehards haven't given up...yet.

 Here's where one boat will spend the winter

I am linking to Watery Wednesday where you can find many more watery photos.

I am also linking to NF Memes Here.

Warsaw Caves/ Our World

 Following a rocky trail at Warsaw Caves Conservation Area

Two Saturdays ago, my husband and I visited a conservation area a few miles east of Peterborough, Ontario. The weather was beautiful and a number of families were out exploring the trails, this one headed for seven caves created by a series of glaciers that once covered much of Ontario with two to three kilometers of ice.

As the last of the glaciers - about 12,000 years ago - began to recede,  melted water formed prehistoric Lake Algonquin (the remains of which is now Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Simcoe) and Lake Iroquois (the remains of which is now Lake Ontario). Deep meltwater flowed swiftly from Lake Algonquin to Lake Iroquois creating cavities in the area's limestone bedrock.

 Where cedars grow now, water once flowed

Over thousands of years, acidic water  - caused by high levels of carbon dioxide - dissolved the bedrock where it flowed through cracks that naturally form in limestone. Eventually water flowed over, through and under the bedrock.

Can you see the layers in the limestone?

The bedrock shifted as the weight of the ice above lessened and as erosion continued. Caves formed where underground river channels collapsed.

 Here you can see rocks, cracks, a hole...

Wait! Do you hear something?

Spelunkers!

Weren't these spelunkers (cave explorers) kind to pose for me?

Click HERE to see tons more photos celebrating Our World.

Crooked House/ Creative Exchange

 Collapsing house north of Shelburne, late September, 2011

This abandoned house can be seen from a major road north of Shelburne, Ontario.  When my husband and I stopped in September to take this photo, another couple also stopped camera in hand. Apparently, they have been taking photos of this place every so many months, watching it decay. I wish I had seen this place sooner so I could have chronicled this house's demise from the beginning.

 Collapsing house, early November

The second and third photos were taken a few weeks later.  I doubt the roof will stand up through the winter.

Collapsing house, early November

Note the missing roof to the right of the front gable.

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Markdale Mural/ SOOC

Mural seen at the corner of Highways 10 and 4, Markdale, Ontario

Many Ontario towns are prowd of their railway heritage.

To see more photos straight out of the camera, visit Jan's  SOOC at Murietta365.

Cluck-Cluck, Camera Critters

 Who's calling ME a chicken??

Sheesh! What's her problem?

To join in the fun, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

In Old Glass/ Weekend Reflections

 Reflection in windows behind the Marine & Railway Museum, Owen Sound, Ontario

More reflections

To see reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE

Behind Civic Centre/ Sky Watch

Sunset behind the East Gwillimbury Civic Centre

At the moment there's still a farmer's field behind the civic centre where a housing development will eventually be built.

Sunset a few minutes later than the first photo

  Sky Watch

C/ Alphabe-Thursday

 CHAIR made of skis

This week's Alphabe-Thursday challenge: C

Here's an idea for recycling skis, which I think is rather clever. Have you ever seen this style of chair before?

A second CHAIR made of skis

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

November 16/ Nature Notes

A walk in a conservation area

Last Saturday was a beautiful day. Although the flowers are gone, we still have no snow. Just a few flurries but so far nothing has stuck to the ground. No mosquitoes and no boots! YAY!

Unfortunately, when it comes to identifying ferns, mosses and lichens I am still a novice. So if you know something I don't, please speak up.

Largest square: there are two types of lichen on this twig. I love how the greener lichen appears to be having a bad-hair day.

Moving clockwise: arborvitae growing beside a pond; fern growing in a small amount of dirt in a moss-covered limestone rock;  green juniper berries; hole in tree - evidence of woodpeckers and bugs; and moss growing on a tree stump.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

Dragonfly Pond/ Watery Wednesday

Dragonfly Pond, Warsaw, Ontario

Photo taken last Saturday during a hike on a beautiful autumn afternoon.

I am linking to Watery Wednesday where you can find many more watery photos.

Kitesurfing/ Our World

 Kitesurfing off Sauble Beach, Ontario

Near sundown on Sunday a week ago, a bevy of kitesurfers (a.k.a. kiteboarders) enjoyed the wind and waves on Lake Huron. Sauble Beach boasts of sandy shores, shallow waters and steady winds. Apparently from May to October, this beach is the windiest place in Ontario

Two kitesurfers

As kitesurfers played, their kites passed by each other.

Lift off!

It was fun to see a few kites lift kitesurfers into the air.

Click HERE to see tons more photos celebrating Our World.

Nature's Art/ Creative Exchange

Gull Feather, Sauble Beach, Ontario

"I am a feather for each wind that blows."
~ William Shakespeare

 Isn't nature incredibly beautiful?

Sauble Beach, Ontario

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Hello There/ SOOC

Horse at fence close to highway

This horse came all the way down the hill to check out what I was doing.

To see more photos straight out of the camera, visit Jan's  SOOC at Murietta365.

Fresh Air/ Camera Critters

 Two dogs enjoying intriguing sniffs on a Lake Huron beach 

While this woman was sitting on some rocks, she allowed her dogs to roam freely. Both were well behaved and stayed quite close to her as they sniffed various items. Then she hooked them up and walked them home.

Loving the fresh air

To join in the fun, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

Empty/ Weekend Reflections

 Marina on Cook's Bay, Ontario

Last Friday, the sun was low in the sky when we pulled into this now very quiet marina. Most of the boats were out of the water making it possible to see and photograph this reflection.

*****
Today Canada celebrates Remembrance Day, originally meant to remember those Canadians who fought in the First World War.  Sad to say, the "war to end all wars" didn't end national conflicts, so now the day also includes those who fought in the Second World War...and also those who more recently served  Canada in peace-keeping missions as well as fought in Afghanistan and Libya.

To see reflections from around the world, visit James at Weekend Reflections HERE