G/ABC

Frost on sunroom window (February 2016(

G is for GLITZ, nature's glitz.

Nature puts on a show all year long, even in winter. Here are three examples of nature's winter glitz: two from this year and one from a couple of years ago.

Melting icicles (February 2016)

The sun is moving towards the spring equinox so the sun is getting warmer and  melting ice and snow that form icicles.

Ice storm, December 2013

Beautiful but scary was the ice storm that hit Ontario a couple of years ago. Isn't it amazing how icicles formed on each and every needle of this pine?

BONUS Scrabble two-letter word:

gi - a judo or karate costume

The same family member who knits socks (HERE) also teaches beginner karate.

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F/ABC

 Ferry on Lake Simcoe

This is the ferry that runs from Virginia Beach (Ontario) to Georgina Island, the largest island in Lake Simcoe and a Chippewa First Nation reserve.

Keeping the channel clear of ice

Some years the ferry stops running during the winter months, but this year the ice wasn't very thick until a couple of days ago when the temperature dipped to -30°C. Until the ferry is running again, island residents can cross the lake in an air taxi.

"Mountain" of ice

Ferry ready for loading

Loading

Leaving the harbour

On its way

The fourth note in the musical scale

OR as the song (The Sound of Music) says "a long, long way to run."


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E/ABC

 Eager skater - Elgin Pond (Uxbridge, Ontario, CANADA)

E is for exercise, eager and Elgin Pond.

I cannot believe these photos have been in a folder for six years!  They were taken on Family Day (February 15th) 2010.  I fear the ice may not be thick enough for Family Day this year...but hey! It might be.

 Fighting for the puck

 Hi, everybody! Sorry we're late!

Family Day is for everyone!

Eh is a word, eh?

Ask most Canadians and they will confirm that "eh" (pronounced "ay") is a word. Have you heard the classic joke about how to spell Canada?  C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?

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D/ABC

 Decaying barn

D is for decay.

I hate to see this barn fall apart.  It's not in East Gwillimbury...but it's very near my town, so I see it fairly often. Many barns in the Greater Toronto Area are being left to fade away.  The land is thought to be more valuable as future housing developments, I fear. And former farmers cannot afford to live in this area without getting better paying jobs.

Another Scrabble word

Bonus D-word: "da". This is NOT just the first and second half of da-da, one of baby's first words. It's also what a Burmese heavy knife is called.  Wikipedia says the word is spelled "dha" or "dah" but the powers that be at Scrabble say "da."

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C/ABC

Two cranberries ready for picking

 C is for Cranberries

Last October my husband visited  a cranberry farm in Bala, Ontario, a place I have been to before and will very likely visit at least one more time because we missed seeing the machines that harvest the berries. Well, I've seen it in past years but now I want to photograph the operation.

 A field of cranberries

The fields will probably be flooded and the cranberries picked by machine. But I learned this year that cranberries can also be dry harvested. I've never witnessed that.

 Cranberry sausage

Doesn't this sausage look yummy? It's topped with homemade cranberry relish.

Honey, cranberry jams and wine

2-letter Scrabble word

Bonus C word: I kid you not that Ch is valid in Scrabble...but nowhere else, it appears! I'm not making this up. (But the Scrabble Dictionary might be.) Look for it in the 5th edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary and see for yourself.

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B/ABC

 Elgin Park, Uxbridge, Ontario

B is for bench. Probably not comfortable (I didn't try it) but it sure is pretty!

2-letter word starting with B

This is a real word found in the Official Scrabble Dictionary, 5th addition. I'm sure some of you think BO stands for box office or body odour...and I guess it does, but that is not the meaning given in the scrabble dictionary where it's slang for friend.  No, I have never seen or heard this slang word used in a sentence, bo. (AND spell check doesn't like it either!)

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A/ABC

 Abandoned

This house looks do sad! It makes me wonder who lived there once and why they left the place to let it slowly fall apart.

Two letter Scrabble word, pronounced ʻAʻā

According to the Oxford Dictionary, aa is is very rough , jagged lava rock with a "frothy texture." Apparently aa is found in Hawaii.

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Z/ABC

 Zebra stool

Today I am posting a little whimsy seen in a Port Perry shop.

Three zebra stools

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Y/Young Nature Lovers

 Young birders

Start kids young loving the environment and our planet will have a much better chance of surviving climate change, I bet. These two are waiting for chickadees to discover the seed in their hands.

 Close encounter with a Hairy Woodpecker

This two-year-old boy was delighted when the woodpecker landed in his dad's hands. Dad is a seventh-grade science teacher who  brings a busload of kids from his classes to this conservation every year. His lucky son doesn't have to wait till he's 13 to have this experience.

Such Excitement!

Such excitement!

This little girls is thrilled that this mallard has come this close to her to accept a handful of seeds.

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X/Xmas

 So many Santas!

It shouldn't be a BIG surprise that Xmas would be a BIG X-word for today.

 Santas in a store window

Spell Check seems to think "Santas" is not a word! Obviously there's more than one!

One Santa's mail box

Reminder to me: Send Santa (the one here) a note. QUICK!

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W/Whimsy

Summer cottage (looks kinda wintery) made of gingerbread, icing and candy

What could be more fantastical than a cottage made of sugary goodies  (unless your name is Hansel of Gretel, of course)?  You'd never go hungry. (Is that whimsical or what!!)

Wooden angel

This handmade wooden angel - complete with wooden wings and halo - lives atop a wooden Christmas tree with wooden ornaments. An artist's whimsy.

Genuine Angel?

Could this be the real thing - a Canadian version?

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V/Velcro

 Burdock seed heads

If you've ever brushed by one of these plants, you know how easily they attach themselves to your clothing. Swiss inventor George de Mestral noticed this too, reasoning that the same idea could be used to close articles of clothing. Voila! Velcro!

Closeup of burdock seed head

Here you can easily see the hooks on burdocks.

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U/Under

 Woodpecker looking UNDER a fence rail

ABC Wednesday is celebrating the letter U this week. U is for UNDER.

 Machine inserting a railway tie UNDER the tracks

This was lots of fun to watch! I had had no idea of how railway ties were replaced!

Yummy treats UNDER wraps

Don't you love to attend events that serve sweets and fruit?

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T/Twisted

 Grapevine

Grapevines twist themselves as they grow to anchor themselves...and wild ones can be a real pain to cut out of trees and shrubs. Yep, I can tell you all about that!

 'The Knot" by Fly Freeman

This is one of several sculptures donated by local sculptors to the Town of Uxbridge, Ontario.

Christmas lights

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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S/Slays the Dragon

 St. George slays the dragon, Jackson's Point (top portion)

These very beautiful stained glass windows are at the back of St. George's Anglican Church built in 1877 near Jackson's Point.

 Below St. George and the dragon

The entire window

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