Trails At Dusk

I know, the rest of you are all YEAH SPRING FLOWERS and here I am posting gloomy reminders of winter! I'm so slow about getting my photos off my camera card, I take forever to sort and cull and just call me a turtle at editing! Picky, picky, picky..

Little glimmers of hope popped up along the path as we found signs of spring.

Check out the hashtag #fouriadorefriday on instagram with @kimklassen. My entry for this week.

Winter stillness.

You can just make out the snow falling in the horizon.

I swear, spring blossoms really are on my camera card but first I have to edit my deers, ducks and geese!
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Participating in Kim Klassen's Friday Finds

Farewell Autumn

Ah what a magnificent fall we have had this year. Not thrilled though this week brought on a sudden drop in temperature plus that horrid white fluff descending from above. I quickly made a "Winter Keep Sane List". It is a collection of indoor creative projects to tackle on those "do not venture into the blizzard days". Looking forward to working on stills & macro, a few ideas involving the pups in studio shots and trying my hand at keeping a watercolor journal.

 

So for our last fall hooray hike, we headed out to Purplewoods Conservation which is a very popular sugar bush - you can spot the blue syrup tubing along the side of the trail.

   

 After a long decline on our path we came to the Sugar Shack. Here we spotted a notice tacked to the wall. 

SAFETY NOTICE: 

Black Bear Sighted at Purple Woods Conservation Area - July 13, 2014 at 4:00pm. A visitor to the conservation area reported seeing a black bear down by the Sugar Shack on the above date. For your own personal safety, and for the well being of bears, it is important to learn about bears and their behaviour. Bears usually avoid humans. Generally, you won't see a bear even if one is close by.

Look left - look right...just a tad nervous after reading that! Being the brave [not] soul I am we ventured on.

I love the woods after a rainfall - so vibrant with green and gold.

 

At the end of the trail we found ourselves on the roadside by an old train track.

And then we saw the most magnificent view! The clouds were like a giant softbox creating this golden glow over the fields. 

A car pulled up beside us and said "gorgeous view isn't it! Just so you know the property owners do not take kindly to having it photographed though". Oh ok thanks I said. As she drove off I thought; public road, public view... well worth savouring the moment. So I snapped. After editing these I think I am happy I'm a bit of a rebel.

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Fact 26 About Me

[Part of the "30 Things About Me" Series]

The Urban Dictionary says a "rebel is a person who stands up for their own personal opinions despite what anyone else says. A true rebel stands up for what they believe is right, not against what's right." Yeah that's a bit like me.

Black & White 5 Day Challenge: Day 4

 

The Un-Seen World

Things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal. ~ Helen Keller

 Infared (IR) Photography is the light we can't see with the naked eye. It is the colours at the end of the rainbow after red or so the photo gurus tell me. For me - it is an action I hit in Lightroom that turned my leaves on the white side for an unusual effect! 

I took the photo at a local conservation park - Purple Woods in mid October. It was just after a rain so the leaves were really jumping out in colour. When we got to the bottom of the hill deep in the woods we saw a sign saying black bear spotted in July. Look left - look right.... lucky for us no bears seen that day!

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Black & White 5 Day Challenge

Day 4: Infared

Autumn Wonders

You can't hide your true colours as you approach the autumn of your life. ~ Anonymous 

 

I turn over a new leaf every day. But the blots show through. ~ Keith Waterhouse

As the bloom's colours die down - autumns splash is just beginning. Still sorting through my photos from our trip to Alogonquin Park. Love these single leaf reflections. The lake was so peaceful and cheerful with the colourful reflections. Winter though is approaching much too fast! They say in Southern Ontario it will be a brutal one... Betting on the weather man being wrong again on that one!

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Participating in Kim Klassen's Textured Tuesday

Algonquin Park Adventures

Algonquin Park ~ Tea Lake

Fall! My absolute favourite season followed closely by spring! Call me crazy but I rate summer right up there with winter. We kept watching Friends of Algonquin Fall Peak Colour Report for the perfect day to visit the park for the showiest leaves. We arrived at the Park at it's peak colour for 2014.

Oxtongue River ~ Ragged Falls

I had better love this photo because I  crawled through some little string webs that had tiny worms hanging off the tree to capture this slow shutter shot. I like how the orange leaf colour is reflected very subtly in the waves.

Oxtongue Lake ~ Algonquin Outfitters

The word breathtaking was meant for this view. The most amazing colour, light and reflections I have ever been lucky enough to view.



Lake of Two Rivers

Just as we were calling it a day and heading back to Huntsville we spotted off the highway a thick fog along the shoreline.



Lake of Two Rivers is the oldest and best known campground at Algonquin. A little bit of mystic moon :) to end our day.



Hidden Valley Resort

Tired, cold and hungry we headed back to Huntsville to arrive at the Holiday Inn where we had a pre-paid room. Not too happy to find out they overbooked and we were room-less. They arranged for us to stay at the  Hidden Valley Resort. We drove back out of town and then down a twisted and dark road with not a clue what sort of place we would end up. Turned out to be the best mess up! When we threw open the curtains this is the spectacular view off our balcony! Great dining room, outdoor pool to side of lake, indoor pool and pet friendly.

Hardwood Look Out

I heard Algonquin is the best spot to be for fall colour viewing - but THIS, exceeds any expectations I had. By day two I conceded I was getting old and broke down and bought a walking stick. Love it and not sure what took me so long to loose my pride and get it. It folds up small and fits right in my photography bag. It's hot pink of course ;)

There will be a part II  to this post because I have loads more to share, so watch for it.

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Participating in Friday Finds, and Weekend Reflections.

Living In An Ice Palace

Like many in Southern Ontario we have been hit with a huge ice storm. I admit I am a little in awe at the breathtaking scenery. After making a scramble to the store for Pet Safe Ice Melt we grabbed the cameras and headed out. Definitely a little tricky to maneuver across the glazed sidewalks and slick icy fields but so worth it! The amazing glistening scenery does come with a stiff price - so much damage to many trees in our neighbourhood. In our own yard, I am really worried our birch tree is going to snap right in half. The poor squirrel appears to have been literally frozen out of his home.

We are lucky though, some 350,000 in Southern Ontario (40,000 in Toronto) have been without power for 2 days. Many they are saying will not get reconnected for another 72 hrs. Tonight we are waiting to see if the anticipated wind storm will follow.

So far one local hospital had to evacuate, many area gas stations are without gas, ice melt everywhere is sold out, but hey  - Ho Ho Ho - the mall is still going strong with shoppers!

Kodee and Becky are not complaining though. Sticks big and small EVERYWHERE.

Enjoy the medley of photos.

Above all - stay safe.
~ Merry Christmas ~

Autumn Rain & Wet Dogs

Do you have a dog who is less than eager to go out in the rain? Yes, Becky is the stubborn dog in our house! It seems she knows all about the saying "misery loves company" because she happily trots down the street as long as I am out getting wet with her!

While Becky and I were puddle jumping I noticed the sidewalk was covered in bright coloured leaves. Ah my deary day was saved.

I scooped up a bunch of leaves to take home and photograph while I waited for the rain to pass.

Winter is dead; spring is crazy; summer is cheerful and autumn is wise!
~Mehmet Murat ildan

Thank you Kim Klassen for the soft texture "kk_anna" used on the first and third photographs. 

As well, also thank you to Brooke Shaden for her texture series "White Hill Mansion"

Head over to Nurture Photography for tips on table top photography. I find a lot of great inspiration and from them and they are all so giving in their time to help others learn the art of fine art photography.

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Participating in Kim Klassen's Textured Tuesday,  and Outdoor Wednesday

Nov 8 Brown/Tabletop

Missed the deadline to link up for Nov 1 Purple/Spooky but you can find it at "Bark'n About". It appears the dogs had a HOWL-o-ween tail er tale of their own to tell. 

Summer's Grand Finale

Just before the death of flowers, 

And before they are buried in snow,

There comes a festival season When nature is all aglow.

~ Author Unknown



Still savouring the last blooms of summer.

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Early morning frosts are just around the corner.

My Gerber Daisy's stand alone - the butterflies have long left.

I guess to some it is just common grass but when I look through my lens all I see is rich autumn colours and striking texture.

Winter is an etching,

spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.
~ Stanley Horowitz

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Participating in: Friday Finds, Skywatch Friday and Today's Flowers