Pam's Week 36: Somewhere Over the Rainbow....

Well, one week down and so far, the kids and I have pretty much stuck to our organization plan - a 10 minute tidy after dinner, we pack our lunches, Duncan wipes down the bathroom counters and takes out any garbage/recycling while Danica does the kitchen counters and that garbage/recycling.  They actually seem excited about doing their "responsibilities" (Danica just asked me whether she can clean the kitchen now).  Here's hoping this lasts once all their activities start back up next week and we are in even more desperate need of the organization!

I have been rather proud of my attempts to capture all the requisite photos this week.  I didn't even have to spend tonight and tomorrow scrambling to get them all done!  Gosh, maybe this little life organization will be beneficial in other areas of my life too!  Fingers crossed.... I wouldn't even say that the topics were easy; it was a bit of a challenge to think of some creative ways to interpret the photos.  Did I succeed?  Isn't that just the million dollar question....

6

You may not realize this but "6"s aren't all that easy to find in nature.  They aren't all the easy to stumble across accidentally either.  I spent loads of time gazing at the clouds trying to find one I could use but no luck.  I found Hudson's Bay and a cruise ship.  I even found Quebec and Labrador (of course, perhaps that was because Sharon has gotten me hooked on a series of books set in Quebec and I am currently halfway through the 4th book in the series; I started them on Saturday...)

From a certain angle, I thought this old lighthouse apparatus on Topsail Island (did everyone see that on the Amazing Race Canada this week?) resembled a "6".  It doesn't look quite as 6-like in the photo but you will have to trust me.

Stress

Maybe Google would have had some ideas for this picture but I didn't ask.  All I could picture was a stressed out person, which is hardly photogenic.  And then Sharon and I took a walk on Whitefish Island and ventured out to the 2nd island to see if it was still flooded.  To cut the suspense - it was.  Now this may be a rather liberal interpretation of "stress" but I figured since the island is flooded since they opened the gates to relieve the stress of the high water levels, then this could represent stress!

Back to School

Much to their dismay, my kids headed back to school on Tuesday.  Many of their friends, who attend the Catholic schools, didn't have to go back until Wednesday.  They were quite excited to be back at the same school again, finally, and to be able to walk to and from school (at least until the snow comes).  This worked well on Tuesday but when they were 35 minutes late on Wednesday, this momma got a little nervous.  I drove to the park, prepared to instruct them that they are not to go to the park before coming home, to find out they weren't there.  Luckily, they then called to tell me they had arrived home safely.  Apparently Duncan decided to be a gentleman and walk his friend partway home.  After they parted, however, the kids turned the wrong way and ended up "partially lost".  As someone posted in response to my facebook post, they took the "long cut".   Luckily, they made it home in one piece, Danica didn't pee her pants (her brother gave her permission to do so while they were lost), and they are once again on speaking terms (Danica was FURIOUS with her brother and was initially refusing to ever walk home with him again).

Silly Face

The most obvious option was to ask the kids to make silly faces.  Just in case you were wondering, that's way easier said than done.  Most of the time, they have goofy expressions on, especially if I have the camera out.  When it is a request?  Forget it.  Luckily I stumbled across this silly face in a tree during one of our treks to Bellevue Park this week.

Then I also felt the need to photograph Porter the train too.  His face may not be particularly silly but the fact that there are now fences around him and he is off limits to generations of children is silly, in my humble opinion.  I have so many fond memories of playing in and on Porter as a child, as do many other "kids" my age.  No one I know ever got hurt playing on him but many of us sprained ankles, broke arms, and dislocated elbows on traditional playground equipment and it's still allowed.

H

I found quite a few "h" possibilities but on my way off Whitefish Island last night, this one caught my fancy.  Please tell me you can see it too.

Harvest

I had plenty of ideas for this but do you think any of them panned out?  I really wanted to pick up some of that decorative corn (I think it's actually called Indian corn but that seems culturally insensitive) but couldn't find any!  I then ventured up to Farmer Bob's this morning before work and was excited to see that his market table was already set up so I took some photos.  On my way to work from there, though, I saw this field and loved the look of it with the low-lying fog and the light of the rising sun.  It may not be a field that they will harvest but too bad.

Wildcard

Unlike the past few weeks where I was trying desperately to find a wildcard, I have a few options this week.

I liked this little chickadee on Whitefish Island.  It was amazing how active they have been again lately.

If you look closely, you can see a rainbow in the clouds behind these sailboats at the Marina.

Now I must run and change as Sharon will be picking us up soon to head out to Farmer Bob's to actually visit (I guess she isn't done her assignments this week).  Maybe we can pick up an ice cream later.... Then tomorrow morning we head off to Sudbury for the night to celebrate our friend's upcoming 50th birthday!  Have a good weekend!

Sharon's Week 35: Damn Right, I've Got The Blues

Let me first introduce you to Harry the Honda...

While bringing him home today, I got to play with some of his special features.  I'm sure that I have forgotten most of what Paul (my friend/salesperson) told me about him but I am hopeful that the necessary information will come back to me when needed.  Now to get Thule bars, winter tires, a trailer hitch and new bike carrier.  I am thinking that since I now have car payments again 😞, except for the winter tires, all of those will wait until next year .

Right, now on to the blog.

Despite a week filled with exciting events, I did not take very many photos at all.  I did keep the topics in mind but I just didn't get Hermione out of her bag very much.  Do you want some excuses because I do have some...

Sunday at Kathy's camp was cold so we sat inside most of the time.

Tuesday at Barb and Mike's place I was busy eating a very yummy bacon cheddar dip.

Friday driving to Timmins, there weren't safe places to pull over.

Saturday in Timmins, we ran errands and hung around the house.

Those are the days I did something outside of work and I did take a couple of photos each day, just not as many as I should have.  Here we go with what I did get.

friends

This is my beautiful friend Colleen.  I know she is singular (friend vs. friends) but since she and I are friends (plural), I think this counts.

mushroom

After I drove off the lot with Harry, I headed to Hersey Lake for a walk while I waited for Carla and Paul to finish work.  I figured I would find some mushrooms on the hiking trails there.  I found this one about 50 feet in on the path I chose.  Luckily I did because there were no more to be found in the 45 minutes I spent walking.

blue

I left home before sunrise on Friday and I got to watch the western sky along the shore of Lake Superior as it brightened for the day.  This is a spot just north of Sawpit Bay.

cool down

If you have read Pam's blog this week, you'll recognize part of this photo.  Sunday was chilly but Tyler, Duncan and Danica decided to brave the weather for some tubing.  They didn't last long out there.  The boys fell off the tube at one point and once they were wet and again flying at warp speed, they cooled down quite nicely.

Do you see that red tree in the background?  It was still August for crying out loud.

parallel lines

This floors me.  Jak is Colleen's son and he is beginning grade nine this week.  Look at him, parallel with the paddle board!!

the lake

I chose this photo, taken from my seat on the deck at Barb and Mike's place, in front of the dip.  Did I mention it was really good?

wild card

I took this photo while Carla, Mya and I wandered around a pretty little cemetery in Porcupine on Saturday.  My intent was for the parallel lines in the water but I preferred Jak's acrobatics for that one.

And that's it for this week.

Pam's Week 35: I've Got Friends in Low Places....

I am still kind of hoping this week was an anomaly but another part of me thinks it might just be a warning as to what the future brings.  Every night this week seemed to be spent preparing for or attending an event of some sort.  Don't get me wrong - it was great to see some friends we haven't seen in a long time and listening to the kids laughing and giggling is always warming to the cockles of my heart, but it's rather exhausting.  Of course, work has also been crazy busy which adds to the feeling of chaos.  It's times like this that remind me that I tend to be introverted and need some time to myself to recharge and rejuvenate.

The weather has certainly cooled down this week too, not that it ever got particularly hot this summer.  I think it has felt nicer than predicted, as long as you were in the sun, but got quite chilly once the sun went down (which has been earlier and earlier all the time) or if you happened to be in the shade.  Layers have been the key this week!  Let's hope the sunshine prevails for our end of summer/back to school barbecue this afternoon!

Friends

There should have been plenty of opportunities for this photo this week.  On Sunday, we found ourselves at our friend, Kathy's, camp for fun and festivities but I didn't even take my camera out.  I did snap a few photos of the kids tubing with my cellphone but my camera stayed in my bag.  On Tuesday night, we headed to Barb and Mike's in Batchawana where we enjoyed dinner with them along with Colleen and kids and Joanna and Michael and family who were here from Winnipeg.  Again, my camera stayed in my purse, although I don't think a still photo of the kids ranging from 8 to 19 all giggling as they played Telustrations would have captured the moment adequately.  I finally decided to pull out my camera on Thursday night as we headed out to Island Lake for a swim team potluck dinner.  This is most of the kids, with the exception of Danica who didn't want to swim.

Mushroom

I had some portabello mushrooms in my fridge that I had purchased to barbecue with steaks a couple of weeks ago.  I am assuming the weather didn't cooperate and that never happened.  When I saw this topic, I consulted my friend, Pinterest, and found a recipe that not only looked yummy but also rather pretty.  Unfortunately when I took my mushrooms out of the bag, they had some mold spots on them so I had to ditch those and buy some new ones.  We finally ate them last night.  I thought they were rather tasty.

Blue

I had considered buying my kids some awful candy that stains their lips and tongue blue for this photo or even some blue cotton candy to hold in some manner, and then I decided that the blue lake and sky from our potluck at Island Lake would do just fine...

Cool Down

One of the few pictures I took at Kathy's camp last Sunday was of the kids on the tube, or in this case, falling off the tube.  Apparently the boys fell off twice but Danica managed to hold on both times.  I considered this a cool down as the adults, with the exception of Jamie who was driving the Seadoo, were bundled up in hoodies on the shore, escaping frequently to the porch and even into the cottage to sit by the fire as it was a chilly day.  After falling off the tube, the boys were bone chillingly, teeth chatteringly cold.

Parallel Lines

Oopsie - apparently I forgot to take this photo.... And the one I thought I could use is blurry....So, not to be defeated, I headed into the photos I took earlier this month and found one at the Royal Botanical Garden that I could use - the lines on this snake are parallel (or parallelish since it's made of Lego).

The Lake

I could have had photos of 3 different lakes this week if I hadn't been so lazy - Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Island Lake.  Alas, Island Lake will have to do...

Wildcard

Apparently it helps when you actually take your camera out of it's case if you are hoping to have lots of pictures to choose from when you write a photo blog post.  As you may have sensed already, I didn't do that much this week at all.  The kids and I took the dog for a walk on Whitefish Island earlier this week, though, to pop seed pods that Sharon introduced us to.  While there, we were lucky enough to see one beaver.  Duncan took this photo of it.

Now I should go off and clean the house and prepare for our party this afternoon.  Hope you all have a great back to school week!

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....