Old Autumn

I saw old Autumn in the misty morn

Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening

To Silence.

~ Thomas Hood

Most of these photos were taken during a walk or two back in October and September.


Colours were still pretty much in full display along the shores of Little Lake in Peterborough.






This couple was enjoying the day's warmth.






As were these two.






This little cutie's colours shone in the late day sunlight.






All dressed up and nowhere to go.






This Liftlock cruise boat was sailing right into the rainbow.






I guess this was its turnaround point for the tour.






That boat sailed alone but this honking flotilla numbered thirty.






And our sweet little mallard friend is waving them through.






There is a rather large community of boaters who stay moored to the harbour throughout summer and early autumn.






The setting sun makes the building across the lake appear as if it's all ablaze.






Good to know that the fire department is always ready – just in case.

A Golden Drop of Sun

Sometime in March, the weather began warming up considerably. It eventually cooled down to more normal temperatures but for about a week, we had summer-like conditions. Most of these photos were taken before it really heated up. Over the course of a few days, there was gold in these here parts.

A bud about to emerge was sitting in a fine ray of sunlight. A water droplet from an earlier rainfall clings to it. If you look closely, you can see a tiny starburst shining from the water, making it a golden drop of sun.

This beautiful old tangle of roots sure look golden in the late-day sunshine.

It's nesting season, and this little cutie had a mouthful of golden bark in her mouth ready to augment her home. Squirrels sure can do a lot of damage to trees stripping them this way.

Before my younger son grew his hair long, he sported a spiky do for a while. This kind of reminds me of those days.

A rather large hole at the base of this tree. Do you suppose something lives in there?

I know it's not this guy. This is Jake, the golden lab and he lives on my street. He's as golden of heart as the name of the breed suggests.

A close up view of a broken branch. It appears to be oozing some sort of golden sap or something. Whatever it is, it caught my eye.

Last year's seeds were still clinging to this twig. They reminded me of golden wings.

I'll have more photos for you in a few days. Thanks always for stopping by.

Ice & Heart-Melting Moments

Last week, we had a couple of very mild days. The snow and ice of the previous weeks were melting quickly and despite the high winds, it was a very lovely day. I would have loved it if you could have accompanied me on this walk. Join me now, won't you?

The thawing pond creates a backdrop of puddled whirls and swirls for this partial tree limb. The piece was lodged in the ice throughout the cold months. I wonder who was gnawing at the bark recently to expose the fresh wood.

Looking up, I see one of my favourite birds - the Northern mockingbird. They generally seem quite bold and curious, and they rarely shy away from the camera. In spite of that, this guy only stuck around long enough for me to get one shot. Thank you, my feathered friend.

The dam at the end of the pond could be heard long before it was visible. The waters were raging as the ice melted. It's difficult to tell that in a still image, I know but that water was moving rapidly. A sure sign of a long-anticipated, approaching spring.

Walking along, I heard a half-friendly, half-warning WOOF. This sweetie kept on barking at me from behind the fence, until I spoke to him. Then, up he jumped to get a good look at me. We chatted with one another for a bit, and then I continued on my way. As soon as I turned my back, he resumed barking, just to prove to his people that he really was being a good watchdog.

The day began to cloud over, and all you could see of the blue sky was showing through this small hole in the clouds. The sky, clouds and bare tree limbs reflected nicely in this bubbly puddle which had been biding its time as a patch of ice the previous day.

As always, the squirrels awaited their treats. This guy came and took a peanut right out of my hand. He showed his appreciation by kindly obliging me with a handsome pose before making his way up to a branch to enjoy his snack.

We've since had more snow and some very cold weather come though but I'm grateful for the springlike day, and for the ice-melting and heart-melting scenes I encountered. Thanks for joining me.

Dog Days of Summer

Our visits to the cottage are an animal lovers dream. Not only are we surrounded with the wonderful wildlife - herons, owls, eagles, loons, hummingbirds, chipmunks, red squirrels, etc. We also enjoy the company of raccoons as seen in Sunday's post and some wonderful canine critters - good company for Benny.



On our first trip up this year, beautiful Una was there. She's a gentle, placid Great Bernese who belongs to Frank's sister, Lisa.




Sporting a brand new summer haircut is Theresa's handsome sheepdog, Duncan. He didn't drink too much of that beer.




Benny loves him.




Theresa's sons and their girlfriends joined us for part of our visit. Each of them brought their dogs. This is Darwin, a Bull Terrier and Australian Shepherd mix. He's the only dog I've ever met that could match, no, exceed Benny's energy level. He's also longer legged than Benny so he could really run circles around him.




Of course this means that Darwin needs to recharge, and what better place than the hammock?




Benny loves him too.




This lovely Golden Retriever is Weston.




And true to his breed, he does love to retrieve.




In fact, three of the dogs had a bit of a competition happening at one point. All of the dogs seem to love it up at the cottage.




Who wouldn't?