Happy New Year!

Whitby Harbour/Our World

Day before Christmas, Whitby

The cloud cover was thick but the sun was struggling to shine through.
 
  More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Wild Turkeys

 Wild Turkey

A week ago on a walk down a woodland path, my husband and I came upon a flock of approximately two dozen wild turkeys. They were way more interested in scratching the earth for bugs and worms than they were in me and my camera.

Another wild turkey

And yet another wild turkey!

A Bird on the Hand/Top Shot

Feeding a chickadee

This little girl was delighted to feed the chickadees and was especially tickled when this one landed on her hand.

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Whitby Docks/Weekend Reflections

Empty docks and their reflections

I like the colours and all the lines here. This was taken in mid December when there was still no ice.

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

Morning Light/Cool Clicks

Early morning

I am linking to Cool Clicks HERE.

F/Alphabe-Thursday

 Festive Fireworks

 F is for FIREWORKS

Would you believe a Chinese cook discovered fireworks. Legend has it the cook discovered that in a small space a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal was explosive.  What a nasty surprise!

Magnesium, aluminum and titanium give off white sparkles

Apparently the Mongols took the mixture to Europe as gunpowder, the first records going back to 1258.  But during the 19th century. colour was added:

Copper - blue
Strontium - red
barium - green
sodium - yellow

Salts added to the mixture create colours

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Merganser/Wild Bird

Female common merganser

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Lake Simcoe/Our World

Lake Simcoe yesterday

Eat your heart out, Floridians. Imagine yourself sitting in one of these Muskoka chairs with a margarita in you hand!

Brrr! OK, I admit it's too cold to wear a bikini...but hey! There's still no ice on the lake.

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

Sparrow and Roses/Top Shot

Sparrow on rose bush

Believe it or not, the weather close to Lake Ontario has been warm enough for a few hardy roses to still be flowering!

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Scavenger Hunt

 a. Joy

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.
~Albert Einstein

 b. tangled

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!
~Sir Walter Scott

 c. Silver

Probably NOT the silver bell you think of this time of year, right?  Here are the lyrics about more famous silver bells:

Silver bells, Silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ting, hear them ring?
Soon it will be Christmas Day!
~Jay Livingston & Ray Evans

 d. Guilty pleasure

 A guilty suffering spirit is more open to grace than an apathetic or smug soul.
~Edna Hong

e. Angel

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
~Michelangelo
I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

December picnic/Weekend Reflections

Picnic, anyone?

Lately the skies have been dull and grey...but when the sun has peeked through, the reflections have been wonderful. Notice there was a thin layer of ice but no snow.

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

Dock/Friday Fences

 Lake Ontario

At this time of year, gulls are the only ones here willing to step barefoot into the lake.

A longer view

I am linking to Friday Fences here.

E/Alphabe-Thursday

 EXOTIC gingerbread house, George Eastman House, Rochester

This is one of dozens of gingerbread houses on display from Thanksgiving through December 12th. Various community groups decorated the houses, which were sold by silent auction to raise funds for further restorations of the Eastman House.

Another view

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Hawk/Wild Bird

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

This hawk was sitting on a fence, fascinated by the cars on the busy highway or perhaps looking for a potential meal. Whatever! It wasn't very bothered by me and allowed me to get quite close to take this photo.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Hunter/Our World

 Hunter with duck decoys

Last week my husband and I were driving along the south side of Lake Ontario looking for migrating ducks when I happened to spot some swimming ducks, which turned out to be decoys. This hunter appeared with a few more of his decoys and...

Untangling his decoys

began tossing them one by one into the water.

Hunter and his fabric blind

I didn't stick around to see if he shot any real ducks. I'm squeamish so didn't want to know.

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

Cheeky Squirrel

Black squirrel

This cheeky squirrel climbed up the back of my husbands leg and over his shoulder to help itself to birdseed  that he'd been offering to chickadees.

I am linking to Madge's Weekly Top Shot.

Scavenger Hunt

 a. Sparkle

Finding sparkle this time of year here in Ontario when the sun rarely shines was a challenge! I hope you agree the water was sparkling as the duck took off.

 b. Door

This lovely ornament was hanging outside a store door.

 c. Decorate

Store windows are decorated for the holidays.

 d. Stripes

During the winter months, many beaches here are covered in fencing to keep snow from drifing too much.

e. Favourte things

Hmmm . Choosing my favourite things is sooo difficult. But one of my favourite things to do right now - and this should not be a surprise to my visitors - is to photograph birds.

Other bird photographers

It seems that many places I go, there are are others who share my passion.

I am linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt HERE

Harbour/Weekend reflections

 Reflection of houses on hill above

It's the subtle winter colours that I like here.

A vertical view

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

Snow Fencing/Friday Fences

 Fencing on a Lake Ontario beach

Snow fences help control drifting snow. But so far there's no snow.

I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to have a white or brown Christmas.

More fencing, same beach

I am linking to Friday Fences here.

D/Alphabe-Thursday

 Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York, U.S.A.

D is for DANGER,  DRUMLIN and DEBRIS

During a recent visit to Upstate New York, my husband and I visited Chimney Bluffs on the south side of Lake Ontario. The bluffs are actually a DRUMLIN (a hill that's shaped like half an egg) formed 11,000 years ago by a glacier.

Looking easterly

Over many centuries wind, rain and waves have eroded the drumlin forming sharp pinnacles and cliffs that are tempting to the adventurous but too DANGEROUS to safely climb.

 Looking westerly

Erosion causes the pinnacles to look different from year to year. This drumlin is made of reddish clay along with rocks and boulders. The clay is washed into Lake Ontario but you can see some of the rocks here. 

 DEBRIS  falling off the bluffs

There IS a Canadian connection.  The bluffs have long been a landmark, and apparently during prohibition in the 1920s and early 30s, smugglers from Canada brought alcohol to these shores where it was hidden in local barns.  I don't think kids learn about this in history books, though.

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

Downy/Wild Bird

 Female downy woodpecker (Picoides punescens)

Downy woodpeckers live here year-round, often seen in my yard with chickadees and nuthatches. Downies are diminutive versions of their woodpecker cousins. Even their bills are short.

Looking for a yummy treat

Note that the female does not have a red cap, but she does have a white patch on her back.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

Elegance/Our World

 Elegant lighting

Truth be told, I really don't want to live in luxury BUT sometimes it's fun to imagine for just a short while what it might be like to live in a mansion such as the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.

 Close up of the lights

I do like these lights and they do look smashing in this room with high ceilings, don't you think?

 Skylight

Speaking of high ceilings, look at what's in the house between the second and third floor!

 A welcoming statue

Here's what's back on the first floor by the front door. Please do come in, my dear.

Leaded glass and carved details

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