The Fog is Rising

We've had a few foggy days and nights over the past couple of weeks...

Let us go in; the fog is rising. ~ Emily Dickinson

This is how morning looked on our street last Tuesday. You can tell it was trash and recycle day but there's not much more to see beyond that. Unless of course we head into the park.

Mystery magnifies danger, as a fog the sun. ` Charles Caleb Colton

Fog is disorienting. It took me a moment to figure out exactly where this photo was snapped, even though I walk these paths almost every day. And of course, I took the picture. It's on the way toward the dock.

It is not the clear-sighted who rule the world. Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm fog. ~ Joseph Conrad

The dock at our local park. The weeping willow is beginning to wear its spring green, which of course, hardly shows in this mist.

At night the fog was thick and full of light, and sometimes voices. ~ Erin Bow

We've also had our share of foggy nights. This is the same dock as seen in the previous photo.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the windowpanes. ~ T.S. Eliot

The pond is on the left but is completely obscured by nighttime and fog.

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us. ~ Henri Matisse

Not a sharp image by any means but I still like how it turned out. Frank looks like he's got his halo on - that devil!

The park is filled with night and fog,
The veils are drawn about the world. ~ Sara Teasdale

To the left, the path leads to the dock. Behind us - home. Ahead - the foggy unknown. Thanks for entering the fog with me.

Nature At Her Best

Last week, Frank, Benny and I spent a few days up at his family cottage. The weather was decent. There wasn't a whole lot of sunshine, but neither was there too much rain.

I had two cameras in tow. Frank gave me a lovely Canon DSLR - (EOS 50D) recently (thank you, Frank!) and I'm trying to get the hang of it. I'm having minor success.

The low point of the holiday was when I realized that I had forgotten its battery charger at home. Luckily we were able to find a replacement at a camera shop along the way, before leaving city life fully behind. The high point was getting a good look (several, in fact) of a most majestic bird. Unfortunately it was from a fair distance, with poor lighting, so photos didn't turn out as clearly as I would have liked but I suspect we'll have further occasions to see and photograph this beauty.

We fished, explored, took in the sights, relaxed and of course, took photos. Some of those (from both cameras) are below. Please remember to click to enlarge.

Early one morning, Benny waited patiently for Frank to set up his fishing gear so that he could bark at each cast, and then pace in anticipation of what might come back out of the water at the end of the line. (please click to enlarge)

You might think that lures were designed to attract fish but Benny never took his eyes off of the end of that rod. (please click to enlarge)

Unless he was biting his own reflection in the water. (please click to enlarge)

Nothing to get all that excited about unless you're a JRT, a fish or Frank. (please click to enlarge)

Dull, overcast days made trying to capture a hummingbird's image quite difficult. I settled for its silhouette. (please click to enlarge)

On day two we awoke to a thick fog which blanketed the lake. I took this photo from the deck. The hummingbird took me by surprise, showing up in the viewfinder just as I clicked. (please click to enlarge)

Eventually, we had a semi-sunny day. I looked up at some point to see this distinctive halo surrounding the sun. A bit of Google research tells me that it's called a 22º Halo and it's formed by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals. (please click to enlarge)

I decided to play with it. A lone dragonfly wandered through just in time to become part of the picture. There's one in the previous image as well. (please click to enlarge)

This was one of the best treats. Its nest was visible after a three minute boat ride along the shore, and we ventured out at least three times to catch a glimpse of parents and/or young. That large blob below and to its right is the nest. We couldn't get in too close, and since the sky was mostly overcast, it was impossible for me to get a sharp image. (please click to enlarge)

But I managed a fairly decent shot of the Bald Eagle (sharpened up some in Photoshop), and hopefully we'll have more opportunities during the summer to try again. (please click to enlarge)

The sun came out a couple of evenings just in time for a lovely sunset. So ended another perfect day. (please click to enlarge)

More photos in the next post.

Serendipity

According to the website WhatIs.com, Serendipity is defined as "the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it."

Last Saturday, Don (my kids' Dad) and I attended a family Bar Mitzvah. We were invited separately, but since neither of our significant others was able to attend, we went together. One of my Montreal cousins is the maternal grandmother of the thirteen year-old birthday boy. He, his parents and two siblings live in nearby Toronto, and we see them from time to time, at family occasions such as birthdays and Hanukkah.

The event was pleasant enough, and the luncheon which followed provided a wonderful opportunity for relatives who had not seen each other for a few years to get together and catch up. My Aunt Blanche is a very young 97 year-old, and she traveled in from Montreal to celebrate her great-grandson's special day, and to spend time with family whom she had not seen for awhile.

After the meal, several of us gathered at my cousin Marcy's (Mom of the infamous wallet-thieving JJ) house. We chatted, laughed, took multi-generational photos and enjoyed a relaxed, lovely family-oriented afternoon. This also happened to be Valentine's Day, and since Frank and I had plans for dinner, we said our "good-byes" fairly early. But not before Marcy and I had a most interesting chat in the kitchen.

She told me that she had stuck around until the end of the luncheon because the family wanted to take some photos before Marcy was to take her mother, (my Aunt Blanche) home with her. As the crowd thinned, Marcy recounted a warm conversation she had with the paternal uncle of the Bar Mitzvah boy - an extended family member whom she hadn't seen in several years. She told me the gist of their conversation and repeated several times that he's such a nice guy. She referred to him by his name, Carmi. It tickled my brain with a vague familiarity, and I figured that I must have met him at some event over the years, so I just smiled and nodded. It was only when she said that he and his family were on their way home to London, Ontario that the realization hit me like a lightning bolt.

I grabbed Marcy's arm and may have used just a wee, tiny, excited expletive. I repeated his name. Then I probably repeated the expletive, once again. She looked at me as if I was nuts. I realized that I hadn't remembered him from family mentions (or menschens as Carmi tends to write). I recognized his name from his blog - Written Inc - a place I visit regularly. I know by the names in his comments section, that several of you who are reading this right now, also visit him.

I quickly tried to recall details that I knew about the man whose blog I've been visiting for over a year. "He has a son!" I said.

"He has two sons and a daughter." came Marcy's reply.

Hmmm maybe I didn't exactly recall... "OK, he's from Montreal originally. He commented on my blog about some landmarks that I mentioned in a post."

"Yes, he's from Montreal."

"He's a really, really nice guy. He has a kind, caring heart and he writes very well. And he's a good photographer."

"Yes, he's a sweetheart. I just looove Carmi. And yes, he's a writer but I don't think he's a photographer. Maybe it's not him He's got lighter hair than his brother (father of the Bar Mitzvah boy). Does that help?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. I thought he had dark hair but it's so hard to tell with those little avatar photos."

And so it went.

I figured I'd send Marcy the URL to his blog when I got home but when I checked his site later that evening, he had written about returning home from a family Bar Mitzvah in the nearby big city, and I knew without a doubt that it was the same Carmi Levy.

We exchanged a few emails and expressed our surprise, and ultimate disappointment at being so close and yet so far from actually meeting. He and Marcy had already secured one another's contact information and have since reinforced the bond of friendship that they had known years earlier. We all determined that sometime in the future, we will undoubtedly get together, as it would seem that Fate has dictated we must.

I wore an amused smile for the rest of the weekend.


Below are a few photos from last week. After several very cold days, temperatures rose suddenly overnight. Following a lovely sunrise, it rained a bit later in the morning, after which fog began to form and thicken throughout the day. I went out around the pond a few times to enjoy and photograph the mist. I hope you enjoy it too. Please remember to click on each photo to enlarge.




I awoke to see a brilliant golden orb peek through my window. I took less than five minutes to get my early morning act together and head outside to the pond where this view greeted me. (please click to enlarge)




Moments later, I made my way around to the opposite shore of the pond where I could see that a soft fog had begun to form on the surface of the water. (please click to enlarge)




As the day progressed, it rained and the fog thickened. The air remained humid, and the water droplets hung heavily on the branches. (please click to enlarge)



A curved tree reaches out over the pond as if to peer out into the fog. (please click to enlarge)



The fog creates a soupy background for this tree. It slowly seeps forward to envelope its branches. (please click to enlarge)




The gentle slope of the shoreline balances its trees at precarious angles, allowing some to dip their branches into the fog-covered water. (please click to enlarge)




Trees intertwine as if to orient themselves against the misty background of the opposite shore.




The fog-covered pond seems to provide a layered backdrop for these lonely branches. (please click to enlarge)




Unconcerned with the reduced visibility, a lone duck preens on the still-frozen surface of the pond. (please click to enlarge)



Perspective changes greatly at times. The fog seemed to make this ordinary portion of the pathway appear new to me. (please click to enlarge)




Old leaves which still cling to this tree create a colourful contrast to the hazy background, while droplets of rain dot the branches. (please click to enlarge)




This view is from the dock, beneath the weeping willow. The sun rose from behind it early that morning. It's opposite in perspective from the first photo in many ways. (please click to enlarge)




One last stroll around the pond. Late in the day, snow has almost fully melted and the fog feels even moodier in the near-darkness. (please click to enlarge)