Round Window/Weekend Reflections

Home reflected in a medical building window

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

Morning Mist/Rural Thursday

 Mist on the fields

Sunday was one of those days when it paid to be up before the sun.

A slightly different view

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

O/Alphabe-Thursday

 Old building on the south side of the Grand River

O is for OLD

Elora is an old town on the Grand River, rich in history, abandoned buildings and photo ops.  Click HERE to check out an earlier post on the Elora Mill.

This is one of the abandoned buildings on the southerly side of the river.

Grande River, Elora

As you can see in the above photo, the old buildings on the other side of the river are in considerably better shape.

Old buildings, young shoppers

In fact many are tourist attractions.

Remains of a furniture factory on the opposite side of the street

Even the buildings that are only partially there have been dressed up with flowers.

Closer look at  one window box

And beyond the building walls and flower-boxed windows

New shops, older shoppers

...is a courtyard surrounded by shops selling touristy items.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Cranes/Wild Birds

 Sandhill cranes

I heard a weird bird sound and instinctively raised my camera to capture what I thought were great blue herons. Imagine my surprise when I realized  their necks did not form the familiar s-curve of GBHs when they fly and also discovered these birds wore red on their foreheads!

 Closeup

Okay, I'm a novice birder so I get excited about such things.  Sandhill cranes are not frequent flyers over central Ontario.

Precision flying - two birds in this photo

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

End of August/Nature Notes

August 2012 is coming to a close

The countryside looks - to my eyes - a bit ragged these days. But there are also bright patches of colour. We're in between seasons here in Ontario. Summer is fading fast.

Largest square: evidence that many birds are molting and preparing to head south.

Moving clockwise: thistles (Cirsium) on this plant show various stages of flowering and going to seed, the blossoms of various species of goldenrod (Solidago) are flowering profusely along roadsides, arrowhead (Saggitatia latifolia) can be seen in full flower in shallow lakes and ponds, fox grapes are ready for picking (are you imagining yummy jellies?) and the first of the Michaelmas daisies (Aster) are announcing autumn's approach.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Fact or Fiction/Our World

 Standing behind the "castle" walls

The remains of a legendary White Lady's Castle - a.k.a. the 3 Lakes Pavillion - sits atop a grassy knoll across the road from a sandy beach in Rochester, New York.  It's said that every year, a ghostly lady in white is sighted there. The facts are sketchy as to the apparition's identity, but some local residents - especially teens and young adults - have been known to search for the White Lady.

How do I know this? The fellow you see behind the wall told me.  He also told me the wall is what's left of a grand castle...

 As seen from the road

 but then he hastily added - sensing my disbelief - this wall was actually a lookout point built in 1911 for a picnic pavilion  that stood behind it.

 Behind the wall now

The pavilion is long gone.  It fell into disrepair during the Great Depression.

Closeup of wall

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Lighthouse-Rochester/Sunday Best

Rochester, New York

It was a dark and stormy... WAIT! It was dreary but not stormy on that morning a little more than a week ago when I photographed the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse from the harbor below.

Occupying a bluff above the Port of Rochester, the 40-foot tower was built in 1822 with another 12 feet of height to house the light - a lantern. Apparently the panorama from the top is a beautiful experience, but so far I have never climbed the 42 stairs and the 12 ladder rungs to find out for myself.

The keeper's house (in this photo behind the tower) was constructed in 1863 and is now a museum, currently showing the Lincoln and New York traveling exhibition, which is said to probe myths and controversies surrounding Abraham Lincoln. Hmm. Sounds mighty interesting to me...but I didn't see it.

I am linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Tai/Camera Critters

My feline nephew, Tai

Isn't he cute? Tai is mostly an indoor cat, although he is sometimes allowed outside on a leash. However, he'd LOVE to be an outdoor cat and tries often to escape. Luckily for his human mom and pop, the electric can opener usually entices Tai and his feline sister, Tasha, back into the house. Here he doesn't look at all like an escape artist, does he?

To see many more critters, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

Energy Plant/Reflections

Now defunct coal-generated energy plant, Rochester, New York

On our recent trip to New York to visit a sick relative, we spent a couple of mornings out making photos.  (Hospital visiting hours didn't start till 11 AM.)

In this photo, I like the blues, greens and tans and the hard building bricks reflected in the soft water. It was an incredibly beautiful morning.

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

Country Garden/Rural Thursday

 Colourful birdhouses adorn a tree, King Township, Ontario

We couldn't just drive by this! We turned around to take a second look and take some photos.

 More than a tree with birdhouses

It's a garden with....

 Closer look at the fence

 much attention to detail, even a hanging basket on the fence.  So much detail, in fact,

 On the other side of the fence

that I tiptoed (SHHHH) down the driveway to take a closer look. And with my telephoto lens,

Gladioli and zinnias

got even closer.

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

N/Alphabe-Thursday/ Nature Notes

Lake Ontario, New York side

N is for NOT, as in do NOT litter.

Sadly, it seems Americans are just as messy as Canadians.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

I am also linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Cormorants/Wild Bird

 Double-crested cormorant

This afternoon, driving home from an emergency visit to a sick  relative in Upstate New York, my husband and  spied these cormorants in a tree next to the harbour in Hamilton, Ontario. Truth be told, it's amazingly easy to take photos of cormorants there.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Franklin Pond/Weekend Reflections

 Franklin Pond, East Gwillimbury

This photo of a pond owned by the Franklin Club (a private fishing club) was taken on Wednesday.

A slightly different view

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

August Harvest/Rural Thursday

 A farmers' market and fields of onions and carrots

East Gwillimbury lies on the eastern edge of the Holland Marsh, an area rich in fertile organic matter that retains water and nutrients.

Workers harvesting carrots

Other crops grown in the Holland Marsh  include cabbage, spinach, beets, bok choy and other Asian vegetables. Some of the veggies will be sold at the Farmers' market in the first photo, and some will be transported to towns and cities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). 

I am linking to

Rural Thursday

M/Alphabe-Thursday

 The south side of the Elora Mill - Elora, Ontario

M is for MILL
 This old grist mill is an Elora landmark and the only five-story mill left in Ontario. A few years ago the mill was renovated and converted into an inn but  in November 2010 it closed. Now plans are under way for a historical restoration (whatever that means) and renovations, especially to the roof.

 In sepia, the east side of the mill

Taken from upstream, the second photo has an old-timey feel. Signs on the temporary fence on the other side of this building (which you cannot see) say the inn will reopen in 2013.  Apparently there are plans for expansion on the south side of the river so that eventually there will be 75 guest rooms as well as commercial and retail space.

 

The west side, which is downstream

I am sure the renovations will be good for the town's tourism, but I will be sad to see the derelict buildings torn down on the south side of the river (where I was standing to take these photos), which I fear will be a must. Right now they are great places to photograph, and I will post some of my latest photos soon.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Quirky Old Guy/Wild Birds

Great blue heron

 Doesn't this heron look like a crusty old curmudgeon?  Don't be thinking he can't hear you!

Listening to every sound

He heard us and flew off in a huff.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Mid-August/Nature Notes

Mid-August ALREADY!

Everything looks brighter and cleaner this week now that we've gotten rain here in Central Ontario. Queen Anne's lace is fading and some varieties of goldenrod are beginning to bloom, so I know autumn is on it's way. But it's not here YET.

Largest square: wasp on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata); golden rod (Solidago ssp.) not sure which one; chicory (Cichorium intybus) still blooming like troopers; spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa); common tansy (Tanecetum vulgare)) and nodding thistle (Carduus nutans)

Please note: I include botanical names because so many common names change from region to region but botanical names remain the same.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.

Summer Rain/Our World

 After a soaking rain

Although Central Ontario has not been as hot and dry as other places in North America this summer, it has been warmer than usual and - until last Friday - we needed rain. Well we finally got some. A lot, in fact.  If you look closely at the dirt road in the foreground of the above photo you can see a narrow but deep gully. Road crews and city workers were busy this past weekend.

 Foggy under threatening skies

The sun was trying to peek through the clouds at my back.

 Raindrops still dripping off wild apples

The tree on the left of the above photo is an apple tree. I bet the horses that live on the farm will be eying them soon.

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

EG Horse Farm/Sunday Best

 Horses and stable in East Gwillimbury

Saturday morning  between storms, the clouds opened up to reveal a bit of blue over this horse farm.

Another view of the horses and farm

No one I know has complained about the rain. We needed it.

I am linking to Your Sunday Best at A Rural Journal

Nellie/Camera Critters

 Nellie

Nellie is still a puppy, just eight months old.

 Sit, Nellie

Nellie obeyed, sort of...

 Can I go now?

but wanted to sniff and explore more than sit still.

Thank goodness that's over!

To see many more critters, visit Misty Dawn at CAMERA CRITTERS 

Brick Works/Weekend Reflections

 Reflection of black-eyed Susan sculpture

Last weekend, my husband and I visited the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto (see here) where there was much to see and photograph, including reflections in windows.

 Sculpture itself

Reflection of the brick works, back side

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