Sunday, April 23, 2017

The Soft Laughter of April

Our spring has come at last with the soft laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers. 
~Byron Caldwell Smith


If I didn't hurry up and post again soon, you'd all think it was still winter in my world.

It isn't.

In fact, it has turned into lovely spring weather.

At least for now.

blazing
A couple of weeks back, Carol Anne and I took a day trip into Port Perry, Ontario - less than an hour from home. The day started off sunny, warm and perfectly lovely.





driveby barn
The best part about being a passenger is the opportunity for drive-by shootings - in this case, of a barn which caught my eye.





port perry
We arrived at Port Perry just in time to have a bit of a wander before lunch.

After feeding our faces, we looked around at some of the local shops. It's not a large town so we soon ran out of shopping spots and instead, zigged and zagged down a couple of side streets.





Ozzie aka Fang
One of those streets led us to Ozzy, this adorable eight week old French Bulldog pup.
Correction: Both Theresa and Daryl indicated that they believe that Ozzy is a Boston Terrier. Mine was a guess. I stand corrected. :)





Ozzie shake
He was irresistible, and he got lots of pats and belly rubs in whilst chewing on fingers and shoes. I managed one last photo of him in the middle of a good shake.





port perry about scugog
As clouds began to gather, we were indecisive about setting out for a walk which would take us farther from the car. We stuck to the nearby waterfront of Lake Scugog.





port perry before storm
It turned out to be the right choice. We knew that rain was expected and those dark clouds approached rather quickly.





port perry storm cometh
There's something beautiful about dark, gloomy skies - especially if you aren't far from shelter.





port perry storm approaching
By now the wind had also begun to pick up so we took that as our clue to get to the car and head home.





rainy windshield2
Five minutes into the drive, and the windshield looked like this.





spring willow
But all of that rain and subsequent sunshine soon gave us new growth like this.





spring blooms
And like this.





spring tree
And this.





sun setting on buds
And now, when the sun begins to set, the newly-budded trees are ablaze with colour and life once again.

Spring has indeed sprung.

32 comments:

Out on the prairie said...

Love that pup, just found a home for my last rescues left out at the farm

William Kendall said...

The dog is such a cutie pie! It's been a long time since I've been in Port Perry.

Kaye Waller said...

Your photos always make me want to move north!

KarenW said...

I love this photos. You make me miss my trips to PP. (I had two daughters and four grandsons there for years.) Don't they have a charming downtown? Hallmark uses the town for movies occasionally.

Jenn Jilks said...

You are right! It is spring.
Your photos are amazing, as always. The bright foreground with the ominous background are terrific!
Happy Spring!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful! Yes, we are seeing signs of spring here as well, but snow is in the forecast for tonight.

Birdie said...

I am glad you are finally seeing signs of Spring. Yay! And beautiful pictures to prove it.

Theresa said...

OMG that pup is the spit of a Boston Terrier my best friend had. Love the twisted trunk tree. To me it looked like a dragon's head reaching down to pluck one of those
those flowers. Our little mountain is just beginning to wake up.

Shammickite said...

You were in Port Perry and you didn't let me know????? Just around the corner from my house, I could have met you for lunch!!!!! Lovely spring day here today, it was T-shirt and shorts out on the deck!

Barbara said...

Ozzie is adorable! You have so many beautiful little towns around you. Thanks for sharing them!

Marie Smith said...

I enjoyed your trip to Port Perry. Your trees are a month ahead of ours!

Red said...

It's good to see you post again. As always some great photos from you. You picked a good day to go out.

L. D. said...

I am grateful that you don't have snow anymore. Your photos are so wonderful.

stephen Hayes said...

Glorious pictures. Thanks for sharing your world with us.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

It often fascinates me how early spring can look like fall, with colours other than green in the trees.
What an adorable pup!

Wendy said...

We have to organize a day with walking shopping and lunch. Seems like Shammickite lives close to PP. Hmmm. Will have to round up a few more ladies and have a blast!

That twisted tree trunk looks so "wise" somehow with those pretty scilla (I think) blooming at its base. Spring is finally here - I like that trees are budding up and the air is soft.

Your first pic is a winner! I love sunsets and sunrises and never tire of seeing them.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Such beautiful images. Interesting that one can travel to anywhere in the world by water from Lake Scugog. The puppy is adorable. Great drive-by of the barn. And I love the twisted tree trunk surrounded by the lovely blue wildflowers.

messymimi said...

Glad to hear from you and know that it's spring in your part of the world!

Linda said...

Great colors! And Ozzy is adorable!

DJan said...

Welcome to the world, Ozzy. What a sweetheart. And I also saw an alligator head leaning down to smell the flowers in that twisty tree. Nice visit! :-)

Dan said...

Wonder, spirited and beautiful. :)

ellen abbott said...

cute pup but my favorite pics are the last several.

Anvilcloud said...

I don't remember much about my one trip ever to Port Perry, except maybe being bored in shops. I am a guy after all.

Rita said...

Thanks so much for taking us on your jaunt! :) :)

Tabor said...

It looked like that around here just last month. Then yesterday the woods burst into huge green leaves!

Mage said...

What a delightful trip with you. Yes, here we have mostly budded out too. Unfortunately the Alders didn't all make it through our water shy winter, but most did.

yaya said...

So glad Spring has arrived in your neck of the woods! Beautiful photos and that little pup is adorable...those eyes!

Daryl said...

that adorable pup looks more like a Boston Terrier than a French Bulldog but hey whatever he is, he is darling

Kat said...

Wow! Gorgeous photos. That first pic just makes me swoon.
And Ozzy is TOO CUTE! I wanna squeeze that little guy.

Unknown said...

Another wonderful collection, love the way you compose and capture the light. Plus: dog adorableness, what's not to like?

Linda said...

Another batch of beautiful pictures, Hilary. I think my favorites this time are the old red barn and the gnarled tree with the flowers. I love interesting looking trees. Happy Spring!

photowannabe said...

Hilary, I've missed you. You have such an eye for detail. I love how you see our world.