A Walk Around the Lake

Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.

~ Wallace Stevens

Step slightly back in time as we take another walk along the shoreline of Peterborough's Little Lake. These pics were actually snapped during the latter part of the summer but I know you folks have never balked at photographic time travel before, so please join me.

When a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom. ~ Arthur Golden

This is called The Launch Pad. Peterborough is full of whimsical, creative artists and these slingshot-styled resting spots are proof of that.

My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim. ~ Paula Poundstone

How handy to live right across the road from the public dock.

It was one of those places where mist lingers well into the day and the dawn chorus starts early. 

~ Fennel Hudson

Water birds of all kinds are not too shy in the presence of people - even those of us who are toting a camera.

Looking out over the lake, I felt enveloped in the most peaceful, loving utopia. ~ Laurie Kahn

This girl sat for quite a while - probably listening to music, texting occasionally - but mostly enjoying her surroundings.

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~ Henry David Thoreau

And then I happened upon these guys. There are two dogs and they show up on the pier with their people most pleasant evenings, anxious to fetch the tennis balls from the lake.

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. ~ Loren Eiseley

On this day, the daughter had just tossed the ball for her canine friend.

Man is troubled by what might be called the Dog Wish, a strange and involved compulsion to be as happy and carefree as a dog. ~ James Thurber

And nothing could hold this baby back.

Water is sufficient...the spirit moves over water. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Dad was gearing up to throw this one out for the other pooch. Gotta love the look of anticipation.

He had as much fun in the water as any person I have known. You didn't have to throw a stick in the water to get him to go in. Of course, he would bring back a stick to you if you did throw one in. He would even have brought back a piano if you had thrown one in. ~ James Thurber

You'd think he'd have been launched from one of those slingshots.

Moody and withdrawn, the lake unites a haunting loveliness to a raw desolateness. ~ Dale Morgan

While waiting for the pooches to return, I noticed some charcoal art on the cement.

Take the broken pieces of your life, bake a master cake out of it. Don't stand still like a lake; keep flowing like a stream! ~ Israelmore Ayivor

Each of them after their own tennis ball, though sometimes the stronger swimmer would steal his buddy's ball and make him swim back without it.

The water doesn't know how old you are. ~ Dara Torres

At a different dock, kids were having fun jumping off into the water.

A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. ~ William Wordsworth

And speaking of lakes, this photo was taken a couple of days before moving from my previous dwelling - the final sunrise that I witnessed while living there.


I have many more photos from that time. I continued to snap some even though I stopped blogging in March for a few months. Eventually I'll sprinkle them in among my future posts.

Well here's one more..



Today's blog post was brought to you by the letter R.

Honor the river, stream, lake, or well that makes possible your life, your town, or your city.

~ Gail Thomas

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Happy Thanksgiving to my co-Canucks!

Old Autumn

I saw old Autumn in the misty morn stand shadowless like silence, listening to silence.

~ Thomas Hood

Every now and then, I have a few photos which kind of get lost on my hard drive. Time goes by, seasons change and before I know it some images are left behind and are in need of rescuing if they're ever going to see the light of day - or the pages of my blog. It just so happens - like in the previous post (and quite possibly the next),  the following images are among those stragglers. These are from October. I hope you enjoy them.


I know this looks like the dead of winter but I assure you that the water is completely liquid. It just appears icy because of the lovely fog surrounding the area across the bay. Every day, there's a new view outside our window. Fog offers some of the most interesting, evolving landscapes around here.






My older son and I took a drive north to Barry's Bay during one of his visits. Autumn was still doing her thing in the hills.






But she wasn't going to be able to hang onto her fiery colours once the wind picked up.






Here's a view as seen by boat. The seagulls seemed to be occupied with a meeting of sorts, and congregated on the roof of this boathouse.






Another boat tour allowed us a colourful look at Blueberry Island as the sun was beginning to set. As you can see, we weren't the only ones out there enjoying this day.







On another day, both of my boys were up for a visit. We snapped this photo atop Eagle's Nest, overlooking the town of Bancroft.






This Black-eyed Susan was one of our last holdouts from summer. It glistened in late day sunlight after a rain.






And where there's rain and sun, there's often a rainbow (different day than the one in the previous post). This day didn't disappoint.






And neither did the setting sun.

A Trip Into Town

Aside from french fries (chips), I'm not overly fond of deep fried foods. But Frank is. And so is his son, Francis who was visiting us in September. I do like fish though and a fair compromise was a meal of deep fried halibut and fries, served at the local fish and chips restaurant. Frank had been there a few times before and said that theirs were the closest he's had to authentic fare since he'd been to England several decades ago. And that their fries were top notch. So we left home with that destination in mind.

The town of Bancroft is just a few minutes from home - about twenty -give or take a few - depending on who's driving.


This was the view of our dock, boat and surroundings as seen from the driveway on our way out.






It takes about ten minutes to get out to the highway which is coming up shortly after that turn. This is the view that greets us after dropping some trash off at the dump. Just keep in mind that this was in September and all of those colours are now bare branches.






Once on the highway, the scenery kind of goes out of its way to greet us. It's not very difficult to get used to seeing this each day.






Just before arriving at our destination, we decided to take a quick detour up to Eagle's Nest, to the lookout over town. The fish and chips place is just a little farther along that road - the same one we took to get here.






A soaring bird keeps watch over the town of Bancroft.






Up there, is pretty much where we were in the previous photo - maybe just a minute or so up the road from there - but close enough.






Here's where we were headed - For the Halibut.






I wandered around snapping a couple of photos. I have no idea why I opted for this odd-looking character and vacuum instead of actually photographing the fish and chips on our plates. It's unfortunate that I forgot because despite not caring all that much for this sort of meal, I found it quite tasty. At least the guy is in keeping with Hallowe'en.






While paying our bill, we could easily see the fryers just behind the counter. I wasn't busy stuffing my face at that time, so I did think to get a photo of it. I liked the way the light fell - I thought it would make an interesting picture but that might well just be me.






We were back home in time to sit outside and enjoy the late-day sunlight across the bay.

More photos coming up soon. Happy Hallowe'en, everyone!

Dancing in an Autumn Sun

I see

the turning of a leaf

dancing in an autumn sun,

and brilliant shades of crimson

glowing when a day is done.

~ Hazelmarie Elliott

Okay, own up - who asked for autumn?

Whomever it was, I don't blame you entirely. Don't get me wrong - I love summer best of all. I don't mind the heat and I can't quite get enough of the long hours of sunshine. The bugs were a challenge though. This was a new revelation for me - a city girl most of my life. Who knew that when people said that the black flies would drive you nuts up north, they really meant it? Well maybe not full-out nuts but the maddening sting-itch they cause can make you a little bit crazy. And then on came the mosquitos. And deer flies. And staple flies. And so on. Still, despite the lumps and bumps and blotchy red spots, summer came and went all too quickly. It's not what I would have chosen for my favourite season but nobody asked me anyway.

So autumn is here whether it was invited or not. The changing of leaves has come early but has been beautiful. We've already peaked and are now in swift decline. But while colours were still at their best, I made sure to give the camera a good workout. I hope you enjoy autumn in my world.

Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet, and the days were clear and crisp under harvest skies. ~ Sharon Kay Penman

Our view wasn't quite this brilliant all of the time, but it was on overcast days when the sun peeked through tiny breaks in the clouds.

The mountain trees that grew between the pines were a brilliant blaze of fall colors, like fire against the emerald green of the pines, firs and spruces. And it was, as I'd told myself long ago, the year's last passionate love affair before it grew old and died from the frosty bite of winter. ~ V.C. Andrews

That kind of light and shadow could be quite dramatic at times.

Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.

~ William Cullen Bryant

Sitting on the dock, this is the view of the bay to the right. That rock face is Blueberry Island off to the left.

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

~ L.M. Montgomery

Here, have a closer look at the bay.

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.

~ Jim Bishop

That's our dock over on the right - abandoned for a few hours of fishing. Those lovely colours in the hills are what we see each morning through our kitchen window.

I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers and greens in every lush shade imaginable offset by autumnal flashes of red and yellow. ~ Wendy Delsol

This is a house just down the road from us. They live on a very large property on a peninsula.

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

A little further down the road, these cottages were doing good business in the summer. Frank figures they'll continue to rent to hunters through the fall.

Autumn flings her fiery cloak over the sumac, beech and oak.

~ Susan Lendroth

It's difficult to tire of a view like this - even for a summer lover.

I am struck by the simplicity of light in the atmosphere in the autumn, as if the earth absorbed none, and out of this profusion of dazzling light came the autumnal tints. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Beautiful Blueberry Island in the late-day, autumn sunshine.

Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.

~ Faith Baldwin

There are a lot of interesting characters in our neck of the woods - not the least of which are pirates. Or at least some very creative people who built this wonderful boathouse to mimic a pirate ship.

Methinks I see the sunset light flooding the river valley, the western hills stretching to the horizon, overhung with trees gorgeous and glowing with the tints of autumn -- a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.

~ John Greenleaf Whittier

It was a sunny but misty and deliciously warm day when my friend Carol Anne came up for a visit. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and take a bit of a hike around Eagle's Nest which overlooks the nearby town of Bancroft, Ontario. This is the view of the town from the lookout. That's the York river winding its way through the lovely town below - a town which slowly but surely is becoming mine.

October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in the aftermaths. ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

It's a pretty nice place to spend your time shopping, dining occasionally, or just wandering about. And I get a kick out of seeing the hills and rock faces (underneath our feet from this vantage point) whenever I go into town. That's the York River, once again and the obligatory Canadian small town Tim Horton's (one of two!) with the cars parked behind it to its left.

It was October again... a glorious October, all red and gold, with mellow mornings when the valleys were filled with delicate mists as if the spirit of autumn had poured them in for the sun to drain - amethyst, pearl, silver, rose, and smoke-blue. The dews were so heavy that the fields glistened like cloth of silver and there were such heaps of rustling leaves in the hollows of many-stemmed woods to run crisply through. ~ L.M. Montgomery

This was taken a few days earlier from a stop at the lookout. It was a clearer day and we were at bit of a lower altitude.

So, as you can probably tell, I'm not too upset that somebody ordered up autumn. But please, just don't put out any requests for winter just yet.

I have more photos from the days prior to autumn so you'll probably see some of those coming up soon. I just had to share this season with you while while it is still ongoing.