Lake Simcoe/Watery Wednesday

Sunday afternoon near Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe

In many places on Lake Simcoe the water is still unfrozen!

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

Outdoor Rink/ Our World

 Lake Scugog

Here's proof that not ALL Canadian kids are playing video games all day. I was ending a day of taking photos when I happened upon these guys still practicing even though the sun was below the horizon.

My husband and I were returning from a road trip and actually saw a few homemade rinks with boys and girls on them. Because it wasn't quite dark, these kids were not ready to go home. I guess they could still see the puck.

Click   HERE to see tons more photos about Our World.

Play/ Creative Exchange

 Gull over phantom pirate ship

Do gulls fantasize about abandoned pirate ships?

I was just playing around with two photos here: one of a shipwreck in Jordan Harbour (converted into pencil sketch) and the other of a gull flying over Cobourg Harbour. I know this is not a masterpiece but I had fun working on it.

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Black Duck/Camera Critters

 American black duck - note greenish bill

This duck looks a lot like a mallard, don't you agree? It's certainly not "black" as it's name implies. But if you see black ducks with mallards they truly are a few shades darker brown. And this one was hanging out with mallards. (They frequently mate with them too, but their ducklings are sterile.)

The green bill is one telltale sign and the...

Note pinkish feathers

pink feathers on the wing (instead of blue) is another.

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

Bum's Rush/ Weekend Reflections

Sleeping, I think

The reflection of these guys' and gals' bums made me laugh. I bet they're embarrassed now that this photo of them is up on my blog.

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

Over Ice Huts/Sky Watch

 Sunset over Lake Scugog at Ceasarea

Saturday at sunset and it looks quiet, but actually there were a few snowmobiles out and about.

Not as sad and quiet as it appears

  Sky Watch

J/ Alphabe-Thursday

JANUARY 2011 - Yep, last year

According to Environment Canada, JANUARY tends to be the coldest month of the year in Central Ontario with an average daily high of 26°F and low of 8°F. Well, JANUARY is now into it's last week and soon it will be balmy February with an average daily high of 28°F and low of 10°F. The mercury in my thermometer is JUMPING for JOY. Oh, wait! It's a digital thermometer, isn't it?

Looking back on last JANUARY, the sky looked decidedly bluer than the skies we've been experiencing so far this year. But it was probably colder too! In 2012, we're actually experiencing a warmer than usual JANUARY. Can you see my smile?

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

January 25/ Nature Notes

On the northern shore of Lake Ontario

This is some of what Mother Nature had to offer this week.

Largest square: ice on the rocks at Bond Head. Moving clockwise: mallard on the snow-covered shore; dried weeds (evening primrose) still in fairly good condition; zillions of Canada geese flying this way and that way and...; ice on a shallow pond surrounded by green cedars and golden weeping willows and cattails; and a river edged in ice and dried grasses.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Whitby/ Watery Wednesday

Whitby on Lake Ontario in January

Common merganser male swimming in the harbour

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

Grain Elevator/ Our World

 Sealed tight!

This abandoned grain elevator stands beside railroad tracks just outside Pontypool, Ontario.

 A reminder of Pontypool's agricultural history

Built in 1918, this is one of two freestanding grain elevators still standing in Ontario.

Missing more than a few shingles

Canadian Pacific Railway has donated the building to the Friends of the Pontypool Elevator heritage group, which hopes to restore the building and have it declared a historic site.

Structurally it is still sound

The Friends would like to convert the building into a tourist information centre as well as a museum to celebrate the area's history.

Added later: Pontypool is named after Pontypool, Wales.

Click  HERE to see tons more photos about Our World.

Squiggles on Glass/ Creative Exchange

Wonky and wonderful

My favorite reflections are the wonky ones.

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Buffleheads II/ Camera Critters

 Female and male bufflehead ducks

This appears to have been my lucky week for seeing bufflehead ducks. Last Saturday I showed you a female HERE and today I have both males and a female.

Suddenly I realize that bufflehead males have green on their faces. Until now I'd thought they were simply black and white!

 I wonder what she said to make him leave

OK, truth be told this is a different male from the one above.

Up, up and away!

This is the same male as in photo #2 but a couple of seconds later.

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

Cobourg on Ice/ Weekend Reflections

Cobourg, Ontario seen from the pier on a January day

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

Lake Ontario/ Sky Watch

Late Monday afternoon over Lake Ontario

The sky was moody, the air windy and cold.

  Sky Watch

I/ Alphabe-Thursday

Old fashioned pressing IRONS

So, when did you say the good-ol' days were? I'm so glad to live in the days of electricity and even gladder to have so many permanent press clothes. What a job it would be to keep two IRONS going in order to press cloth - one at the IRONING board and one on the stove heating up. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

But that was not the whole task. In between IRONING days, the IRONS needed to be cleaned, sand-papered and polished.

 Pressing IRONS (a.k.a. sad IRONS or flat IRONS) on wooden IRONING boards

Hot IRONS with metal handles had to be gripped in a pad or a thick wad of rag. Think of how amazed women must have been when detachable wooden handles were invented in 1870! I bet they felt thoroughly modern!

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

January 18/ Nature Notes

Habitat tree, Windy Ridge Conservation Area

I bet more than a few of you are asking what's a "habitat tree" so I'm going to tell you. It's a natural environment where another plant or animal lives.  (Easy peasy, eh?)

In this tree's case, it is also a snag - a dead, standing tree.  And at the bottom there's a hollow where some animal, likely a porcupine, lives or has lived.  How did I know a porcupine lives/lived there? Truth time! There's a sign at the bottom of the tree that says porcupine scat was found there.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Making a Splash/ Watery Wednesday

 Lighthouse at end of pier, Coboug, Ontario

Yesterday afternoon the water was rough on Lake Ontario.

 Wave splashing onto pier

The pier was icy but the coast guard was allowing cars to drive out to see the action.

BIG splash

Beside me, but out of the photo, was an Ontario Provincial Police van making sure no one moved too close to the end of the pier. For sure  I didn't want to get in any closer. I was already COLD and didn't need to be splashed on. Brrrr.

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

Shelburne Murals/ Our World

 Threshing Bee 1910

These murals in a farming community north of Toronto depict three important  get-togethers during the first half of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, the murals are beginning to show their age - not just because they show times gone by, but also because they are fading and  coming apart.

Farm Implement Day 1908

Area farmers used to meet in early spring to pick up farm equipment they'd ordered during the winter.

Shelburne Citizens Band on Armistice Day 1918

Click   HERE to see tons more photos about Our World.

Twiggy/ Creative Exchange

 Fluffy snow on twigs #1

Fluffy snow on twigs #2

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

Bufflehead Female/ Camera Critters

Female bufflehead duck

This sweet little duck was hidden amongst a flock of  mallards and a gaggle of geese so I didn't see her at first.  Being much smaller than the mallards and diving for her dinner, it finally dawned on me that she was different. Then when people loaded with chunks of bread arrived, all the geese and ducks quickly left the area to beg for handouts. Except this one, who looked in amazement at her friends' odd behaviour, then dove under for another tasty morsel.

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

Omemee/ Weekend Reflections

Stump reflected in the river south of Omemee, Ontario

Taken a few weeks ago, this photo shows a thin layer of ice on the river. I'm sure the ice there is quite thick now.

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

Morning/ Sky Watch

Early morning over farmers' fields

  Sky Watch

H/ Alphabe-Thursday

 HARBOUR at Parry Sound, Ontario

Anyone in the north dreaming of warm, sunny weather? Well, here's a blast of sunshine from last summer, all celebrating the letter H.

 HARBOUR at Collingwood, Ontario

Ah, feel that sun?

HARBOUR at Beaverton, Ontario

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

January 11/ Nature Notes

Last Saturday - Is it really January?

No ice so of course the swans were swimming. Wouldn't you? No? Me neither.

Largest square: two trumpeter swans who were very funny because one was a copy-cat swan that turned it's head every time the other one did.

Moving clockwise: a gull's feather resting on a a dried weed, fungi on a log, dried dog-strangling vine (nasty invasive stuff...but pretty), a still-green fern, and ice atop an upright cedar log.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Icy Cold/ Watery Wednesday

 Icy cold but not ice!

Last Saturday my camera lens captured blue skies and fluffy clouds in the east but the sun was actually behind overcast skies in the west. The shore in the distance was in sun, while the shore I was standing on was in shade.

 Waves splashing onto the shore

The sunny morning was turning into a moody afternoon.

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

Whirlpool Aerocar/ Our World

 Niagara River - on the border between the U.S. and Canada

Would you cross the 550 metres (1800 feet) between the two sides of this gorge in...

 Whirlpool Aerocar dangling over the Niagara River

this antique gondola operating here since 1916? If you would, you are a far braver person than I am!  I'm sure the brochure is correct that it's a thrilling 10-minute ride,  but I am, unfortunately, very afraid of heights.  The six sturdy cables that carry the car do not assuage my fears even though I know the aerocar has been updated three times since it was installed.

The reason other people take the aerocar trip is to see...

Niagara Whirlpool

the whirlpool below, which spins counterclockwise at the end of a rapids where the gorge abruptly turns 90° into a narrow channel.

FYI: To take these photos, I stood on terra firma on the American side of the gorge, from where I could see the whirlpool well enough, thank you.

And here's a bit of trivia: between approximately November 1 and April 1 when water is diverted from the river to hydro-electric dams,  the whirlpool swirls in a clockwise direction.

Click  HERE to see tons more photos about Our World.

Whitby Gulls/ Creative Exchange

Yesterday - Whitby, Ontario

I am  Linking to The Creative Exchange HERE.

You looking at me?

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

Deserted/ Weekend Reflections

Marina on Cook's Bay, Lake Simcoe

The boats are packed away for the winter and all that remains are simple reflections.

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

Serenity/ Sky Watch

Peaceful sky...and an ubiquitous relay tower

This is from my archives because, truth be told, I haven't seen any super skies lately but the photo does reflect how I feel right now: a strong need to declutter my immediate environment.

  Sky Watch