Pam's Week 34: I've Looked at Clouds From Both Sides Now

I must give props to Sharon for the title of this week's blog, though admittedly, she changed the lyrics to "I've Looked at Clouds from No Sides Now" as there was nary a cloud to be seen in the sky as we walked around today, exploring a river we'd never been to and attempting to help me get the last 2 photos I was missing for this week's post.  One of those photos was, as you have likely guessed by now, "Clouds".  Sharon was lucky and managed to catch the funky and fabulous clouds we had the other day but by the time I ventured to where I thought they would look the best (and take the least effort if truth be told), they turned into a solid mass of grey nimbostratus clouds.  It just wasn't particularly striking.  Then it proceeded to rain for a few days so the skies remained grey with no nice photogenic cloud definition.  We have had a couple of cold but rather sunny days and then a beautiful day today but as I already mentioned, there were nice blue skies but not a single cloud.  You will see, eventually, that I managed to find some clouds on our way home and Sharon, being the good friend she is, pulled over to the side of the highway so that I could capture some photos of them.

There hasn't been any other major advancements on the kitchen front but it is organized and functional so I can wait patiently for it to finish being prettified.  I managed to get my house mostly clean this week too so it has been rather productive in spite of being very tempted to join the kids each night on the couch during their Harry Potter marathon.  I managed to catch movies 1, 4, 6, and 8 but just couldn't be lazy for 5 or more hours each night when there were things I needed to get done and a dog who needed walking.  Plus, how was I to get this week's photos done if I was laying around?  I will have to find time to watch the other 4 movies before we give them back to Sharon though.

Clouds

As I mentioned, this was a photo that almost didn't happen.  We had actually started googling other meanings for clouds or thinking of other "clouds" that I could potentially create or photograph (ie., clouds of mosquitos -no thanks; cloud of dust).  I was quite excited to notice some pretty cirrus clouds (or that's what I think they are based on my google search) just as we approached Sawpit Bay.

Slow

Since I had no luck locating a turtle in the wild, I decided to reinterpret the topic from my original idea.  As I walked Riya at Hiawatha last night, I was struck by how slow and peaceful the lake looked.  It reminded me why I like Hiawatha so much, even though I haven't walked there much this summer for fear of ending up Bear Chow with Lyme Disease....

Looking Up

I am not going to lie to you, I was disturbed by what I saw when I looked up but I took a photo of it anyways.  This summer has felt too wet, too cold, and way too short to be ending already.  Yet, the beginnings of the changing leaves is suggesting that it will be over soon...

Noisy

I had almost forgotten there was a second set of waterfalls at Hiawatha.  As we walked around the lake, however, we stumbled across them.  Riya really did not like walking across the bridge atop the falls, and I can't say I really blame her, but I was able to convince her it would be okay.  Then I stopped to take a photo as they were pretty noisy; she was not too happy with me...

L

You have to be a little imaginative, perhaps, to see the "L" that I saw when I looked at this section of the Crystal Falls at Hiawatha.

Crooked Horizon

I knew before I even read Sharon's blog post that this topic would kill her.  Sharon likes things straight and orderly and has rules that she must follow.  I wasn't wrong.  I think most of my horizons are probably crooked but I kind of like that effect sometimes.  Trying to do it on purpose and make the photo interesting was a bit of a challenge though.  Today, I had the perfect opportunity while we were at Barrett's River.

Wildcard

Even with her frozen shoulder and bad thumb and achey wrist, Sharon can skip rocks like no one's business.  When we stopped at Sawpit Bay for my cloud photo, Sharon was like a little kid again, searching for and skipping all sorts of stones.  Some of them were kerplunks, much like all of mine, but some must have skipped nearly 10 times!  If you look closely, you can still see the ripples from previous throws.

I can hardly believe I am finally caught up and managed to post this week's blog on time too!  Fingers crossed that not only does my kitchen get prettified, but that I also manage to keep caught up on this week's photos!  I would also like to hope for sunshine and nice, warm weather....and happiness for all reading this.

Sharon's Week 34: They Were Clouds In My Coffee

I'm starting with a bonus photo just because I am excited to have gotten it.  Last Saturday morning as I was walking to the first boardwalk on Whitefish Island, I startled a great blue heron and later on my way back, I startled him again so there were no photo opportunities.  When I went back Sunday morning, I walked slowly and followed a trick I learned in a book that if you walk on the outsides of your feet, you don't make noise.  I looked ridiculous but I was all alone (it was 6:30) so it didn't matter.  Anyway, the heron was not in the same spot and I didn't see him at all during the two hours I wandered around waiting for the fog to blow off (which it did not).  Later that evening, Levi and I went for a walk (yes! he joined me) and we found the heron further into the park, but he was out in the water behind a bunch of grass and bushes and other stuff I can't identify.  I slowly negotiated my way into the bush, stepping carefully so I wouldn't suddenly fall into the marsh or step on a nest of something (I was, as always, in my sandals), trying not to get covered in thistles or to touch any giant hogweed and trying not to startle the bird (wow, photography can be hazardous).  I finally made it to a spot where I could stand on my tiptoes, lean over to the left (depending on how the wind was blowing the reeds) and clearly see my prey.  Here he (or she) is in all his (or her) glory.  I see that it has come over kind of blurry.  I don't know why that happens on this blog sometimes but believe me when I tell you that this photo is crystal clear and his eye is as sharp as a tack.

I realize now that I could have used this for my wild card but I already had a wild card picked out and this is what I thought to do.  Blame it on a long week at work (five days!  I actually had to work five days this week!).

All of my photos this week were taken last Sunday, either during my foggy morning trek or during my rare walk with Levi, both at, you guessed it, Whitefish Island.  I was so happy with my photos that when Pam and I walked there with Riya Monday evening, I didn't even bring my camera!

Here are the week's topics.  Play a game if you like...guess which were morning and which were evening (shouldn't be too difficult since I told you about the fog).

clouds

About my title this week...just as I was writing the word "clouds" right here, my phone was playing Carly Simon's You're So Vain and it got the the part where she sings that line.  Such a coincidence told me that I had to make it my title.

slow

These ducks seem to be a bit slow in the reproduction cycle.  Usually we see the babies in May.

looking up

Levi noticed these and thought that they were rather large for wild crabapples.

noisy

This flock of birds was doing some practice flights and let me tell you, they were advertising the fact.  I don't know how many birds were up there but they certainly were noisy.  I was mesmerized as I watched them fly one way then another, all together.  Levi told me the science behind how they do that but frankly, it was over my head.  I took about 50 photos until they finally flew a bit further away and I could make myself leave. I couldn't decide which photo to choose so here are two.

L

I had to turn this photo sideways but the L jumped out at me as I walked along a path.

crooked horizon

This is something that annoys me in photographs...if the horizon is crooked.  It really hurts my eyes.  I know that the horizon is not all that's important about the photo and the person who took it was probably excited about something else entirely but the slanted line at the back will distract me.  It takes all my effort to force my eyes away to look at the likely intent.  Anyway, there is a place for crooked horizons but they have to be done intentionally and at a great degree to work properly (in my opinion).  I put this topic in the list to challenge myself.  These drops were hanging at an angle on the boardwalk.  Because I tilted the camera to align the drops with the frame, the reflections in the drops all have tilted horizons!  Voila, I avoided challenging myself yet again.

wild card

I love the shape of Queen Anne's lace when it is past its prime.

That's it for this week.  A day early.  Happy weekend everyone.

Pam's Week 33: In the Middle of the Night, I Go Walking in My Sleep...

Anybody?  Anybody?  Anybody able to finish the lyric?  Did anyone sing "From the mountains of faith, to a river so deep"?  Or did anyone at least get the next verse's "Through the valley of fear to a river so deep"?  I am hoping Sharon did as I know she's a Billy Joel fan even if she isn't a lyric savant.

Regardless, I guess we aren't playing name that tune so I should get on my merry way with the purpose of the blog - the photos.  I promised an excuse for this week's tardiness that would not include Sharon so here is not one, but two:
1)  I was out of town for the majority of the week
2)  Our kitchen is currently being renovated and when I returned back to town, I was actually able to start organizing and putting things back into cupboards even though the pretty finishing touches aren't yet complete.  On the day I considered posting, we had the electricity off to hang some lights and move some outlets.

I could still use an excuse that included Sharon but a promise is a promise so I won't blame our treks for ice cream or greasy food on my procrastination.

Without further ado, here are the pictures you've all been waiting with baited breath for...

Busy

Perhaps this is not what Sharon had in mind when she thought up this topic, but then what else is new.  Last week, we were very busy enjoying the sunshine and my brother's pool.  In fact, on the first day we were there, they helped teach one of my brother's Goddaughters how to swim.  She started the morning with water wings and within 45 minutes, they came off and she was jumping off the diving board with my kids and trying out Danica's mermaid tail!

 

I will also include a photo of our in progress kitchen so that you can see how busy I have been!

Starts with N

This would be "no".  Q-tip does not particularly like his puppy float for the pool.  He also does not really like when people are jumping and playing in the pool.

River

I am not sure if this really counts as a river but it was a body of narrow water meandering through the Rock Garden so I call it a river.

1

This was a bit of a cheat.  Last night I decided to venture off in a different direction while walking the dog in an effort to get a cool photo of the awesome clouds for this week's post.  Unfortunately, by the time I got to where I thought the clouds would be nicest, they had all blended together into an unattractive grey mass.  It was not a complete bust though as I found a "1" on the disc golf course.

Melting

The kids and I attempted to find this "Chocolat on James" place in Hamilton as recommended by my brother's friend for ice cream that would have for sure melted for a photo but we were unsuccessful at finding it.  I could have taken a photo of my father-in-law's ice cream birthday cake for last night but I frankly forgot I needed a melting photo.

Since the weather was so fantastic, for the most part, while we were away last week, we spent loads of time in the pool to avoid "melting" in the sun.  On Sunday, I even had some fancy Renee concoctions to further prevent "melting".

A Mistake

As you can see in the above photo, Chris and Renee have an awesome inflatable unicorn.  Now it had been punctured by Q-tip previously but Chris thought he had successfully repaired it.  Apparently it wasn't completely fixed so it didn't last long.  I'm not sure whether that was wholly to blame or not but I think Uncle Chris climbing onto the unicorn with the kids was "a mistake", but boy was it funny!

And to think he tried it more than once!

Wildcard

Even though I lived in Hamilton for a month one summer while on student placement, I had no idea that it had some beauty to discover.  Apparently it is full of waterfalls!  We chose to visit the one that appeared to be the easiest to get to.  I blamed Duncan's inappropriate hiking footwear but let's face it - I was also feeling lazy and not particularly wanting to get lost on an unfamiliar hiking trail with 2 kids in tow on a hot, humid day.  This was The Devil's Punchbowl.  I am sure it would be more spectacular from below and/or from venturing beyond the fences and risking life and limb to go close to the edge of the canyon but I am not into death right now.  I like to stay behind fences when they tell me it is for my own safety.  I was disappointed in the washed out sky in these photos; sometimes a bright sun is just not as welcome as others!

And now I am all caught up and when I finish my errands, I can take the dog for a walk and get started on this week's photos!  I will be back in business, baby!  It must be the eclipse....

Pam's Week 32: It's a Beautiful Day, Don't Let it Get Away...

The good news is that I am not quite as far behind on this project as I thought I was.  The bad news is that I am still 2 weeks out of date and the photos I am including are admittedly mainly afterthoughts (as in I looked at the list and the photos on my camera and phone and tried to make them work so I could just catch up).  I can picture my mother shaking her head right now and biting her tongue; I am a procrastinator and she is not so many a time in my younger years I had to deal with an "I told you so" or two.

I would like to blame Sharon for my tardiness in these posts.  It was really hard to stay motivated without her to push me and guilt me and motivate me at times.  I guess that's why some journeys are best taken with friends - an accountability buddy, if you will.  I am sure Sharon will be appalled to read that she is to blame but I will have a different excuse in my next post; I promise.

Square

Last week found me on vacation (yay) and the kids and I travelling to Brantford to visit my brother and his fiance.  Unfortunately my husband had to work both jobs all week so he wasn't able to join us.  On the bright side - he was home to take photos of the progress on our kitchen renos...

While we were away, we decided to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington.  I'd never been but I heard it was nice and the piece de resistance for the kids was that there was a Lego Art in Nature exhibit going on.  We stumbled across these squares...

Beautiful

I have always been rather partial to waterlilies.  I think they are so pretty.  The RBG (as they refer to themselves) had so many colours I had never seen before!

I also found this statue to be particularly beautiful.

X

This is the one single photo I intentionally took for this project and actually took the proper week even!

Watermelon

I might compare this photo to my Pinterest fails in the kitchen - the idea was good but the execution was lacking some focus, preparation, effort... (it was actually taken the proper week too!)  It looked cute online but I'm not going to lie - Danica was tired (remember the tired photo from my last post?  This was taken the same night) and looks rather seductive in this photo which is disturbing to me as her mother.

Needless to say, I decided a simple photo of her eating the watermelon may have to do...

Isolation

I had lots of ideas for this one and no oomph to actually get out and snap the photo.  I took a photo of this guy on the river (again in the proper week - I didn't do that bad after all!)

This little guy caught our eye hiding in the rototiller lego creation at the RBG.  Does it count as isolation if you have a pizza?

Large Depth of Field

I like how Sharon defined this in her blog to explain to me, the non-photographer, what effect I was going for with this one.  You'd think she would know me well enough to know that I would have googled it long ago!  I didn't have any fantastic ideas for this topic though (okay, I had envisioned some great photos but didn't make any effort whatsoever to create the opportunity to photograph my vision).  This was taken at the RBG again but at the Rock Garden this time.

Wildcard

I could have included this photo with beautiful as well as I may be biased but I think it is beautiful that my grandmother is nearly 95 years old, is still living on her own, and is sharp as a tack.  I also think the adoration my kids have for her is beautiful.  On our way to my brother's house last week, we stopped to have a little visit with my Grandma.

Perhaps I should post my next catch-up blog too while I wait for the kids to come home (a swimteam friend was down the street with her mother and invited the kids down for a swim) so I can head out to run errands (really fun things like the grocery store).

Sharon's Week 33: I Returned To My Roots - And It Worked!

Alright, I got my mojo back today.  Last night I set my alarm for six and when it went off I actually got up!  You see, I planned to head to Whitefish Island just after sunrise, before heading to the grocery store.  I figured if Whitefish couldn't get me interested in pointing my camera at something, I should just give up and throw in the towel on this project but it worked.  Woohoo!  The only reason I left the park was because (okay, you may roll your eyes now) I only shop when the store opens at 8:00.  C'mon, don't you guys hate when you have to manoeuvre your cart around other people?!?  Well, I do and I refuse to do it when there's an alternative.

Anyway, I spent an awesome hour and a half with nature and I think I might just head back tomorrow morning...I am sure there is something on next week's list that I can find there.  I just processed my photos and for the first time in a while, I actually have several options for the wild card.  What to do, what to do...

 I'll get started.

busy

Frankly, the only things I thought of for this were a bee and a beaver.  There have been a couple of bees in my photos in recent weeks so I went with the beaver (which can usually be found, coincidentally, at Whitefish Island).  This morning, the buggers were plentiful but definitely NOT cooperative.  I had decided to leave (to, as noted above, get to the grocery store for 8:00) when a young beaver decided I wasn't a threat and hung out right beside the boardwalk for a few minutes.  Here he or she is.

starts with N

Here we go with my word-finding problems again.  I asked Levi for help and he started listing off completely unhelpful words like nobody, neutron and negative.  Then he got out the dictionary and came upon narcissus.  I again laughed thinking he was being ridiculous when he looked pointedly over at Cissy, whose real name is Narcissa.  Voila!

river

On my way back from Port Carling last Sunday I stopped in at the French River Visitor Centre.  As it turns out, the river isn't particularly photogenic from that area but I wasn't planning on a big hike (I was wearing a skirt and sandals) so this is what I got.

1

This should have been easy but many tallish straight things are kind of boring.  I went for this cattail once the sun made a bit of interesting light shine on it and the colourful flowers in the background.

melting

Yum!  Enough said.

a mistake

Most of you have already heard this story but as it resulted in a photo for the week, here it is again.  At some point this spring, I began planning my summer activities (both at work and home) around the fact that I would be off for five weeks, returning to work on Monday, August 21st.  This week I was kind of bored.  On Monday, I read almost an entire book and I got less than 800 steps on my Fitbit.  When Tuesday came around and I still didn't have anything particular planned for the rest of the week, I decided to save some vacation days and return to work early.  I called my office to let them know and to ask for a work area to be booked for me for the next day.  I got a call back saying that a desk was booked for me but they couldn't find my vacation days in the computer.  I figured they were mistaken and I'd take care of it in the morning.  Later when I was talking to Maxine, she said she couldn't have let it go, she would have had to find out right away so I headed to my home office desk to look at the list I keep for myself.  Ooops!  I had only booked vacation until August 11th and I had been due back to work the day before.  We got it all sorted out Wednesday morning and now instead of having more vacation days I have less but it made for a very amusing story - even to my boss when she returned to work on Thursday.  Here is a picture of my mistaken calendar.

wild card

What to choose, what to choose...  well, here, have a bunch 😁.

As I arrived at the locks, the sunrise light was reflecting in the river.

There's always a duck or two...or a hundred.

I miss seeing chickadees all the time.  This is the only one I saw flying around this morning.

The leftovers from our torrential rain over the past two days.

I have no idea what these are but they are abundant.

More raindrops.  Apparently we got 72mm of rain from Thursday into Friday.

I didn't expect to see so many flowering things.

I guess I needed me a trip to the Island.  All of those were taken there this morning.

And here is Eclipse.  After looking at it once, blink then picture her slightly slimmer and a bit sleeker with a pointier face and you will have a photo of Bella ( who did not agree to pose for me today).

Now, if only I can find my processing mojo to get started on my China photos.