Till Sundown

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. ~ John Muir

The sun clearly indicates summer's departure by easing itself beneath the horizon earlier each evening. That might just be nature's way of telling me to take advantage of some great photo opportunities and still have enough time left at the end of the day to catch some of the new fall shows on television. Yeah, I'll go with that.

How long has it been since we've walked together? Too long? Okay, let's remedy that right now. No need to grab a jacket. The evenings are still plenty warm here and we'll be around the water and back before you know it. Let's head to the calming waters of Little Lake.


This photo was taken much earlier in the spring before the marina was actually open for docking. The combination of clouds and late day sunlight made for an interesting view. I also played around with the image a little bit in Photoshop to make it a tad more dramatic.






By the time the first of many outdoor concerts began (see previous post), boats were coming from far and wide to dock and enjoy the music.






When the evening sun hits it just right, the spray from Centennial Fountain lights up like a rainbow beacon.






There aren't usually any boats moored in this location. The man on the dock often tosses tennis balls far out into the water, and his two dogs readily jump in to retrieve them. On this day, he had a narrow opening between the boat through which he could throw them. One of his dogs was uneasy about the presence of these large watercraft while the other dog continued leaping into the water as if nothing had changed.






Homes which face west across the water are treated to regular sunsets. As we face east, they provide us with the view of a colourful, quaint community.






Shortly before dusk, the Liftlock Cruises were probably done for the day and a young man relaxes while fishing the waters of Little Lake.






Here's the view to his left, in case you were wondering.






A warning to boaters as they pass through a channel with more shallow waters.






Evening skies provide such pretty colours.

It's getting late and nightfall is just ahead. What do you think of stopping for a bit to enjoy the view, and I'll pick up where we left off on the next blog post? Let's get an ice cream cone from the nearby kiosk and grab seat on the bench behind us for a while. What flavour would you like?

Evening photos coming up soon.

Stompa

Gotta get up, listen to me

Clappa your hands, stompa your feet

Nothing is wrong, if you move to the beat

Clappa your hands, stompa your feet

Stompa your feet

~Serena Ryder

Peterborough is a city for music lovers. Throughout the town, live performances are hosted at bars, festivals, hillsides and other venues. It's not unheard of for there to be several performances going on at once. This was the case a week ago when a few locations aired the final concert of our beloved Tragically Hip. As in many towns across Canada, screens popped up in parks so that fans could set up their lawn chairs to watch together. It was the next best thing to being there. The local Holiday Inn on the waterfront also shared that live feed. That same night heard ongoing performances at the Peterborough Folk Festival, as well as this season's closing act at Musicfest, which has featured free concerts every Wednesday and Saturday night throughout the summer for thirty years.


This year, in late June, Musicfest opened with a biggie - local singing sensation, Serena Ryder performed for her home town in front of an enormous and appreciative audience. She put on a fine show.






Her family and friends were all there to cheer her on. And her sweet young niece joined her on stage to perform Sia's song,  Elastic Heart.






She put on a great show full of energy and passion.






Her hit Stompa really got the crowd going.






It was a superb start to the year.






On the previous night, there was a bit of blues happening at the waterfront Holiday Inn with Jerome Godboo.






Note all of the harmonicas, each in a different key, hanging from his belt, and the colourful percussion tubes which reportedly belong to his kid.







A large crowd gathered to watch. They arrived by foot, by bike..






...and by boat, as was the case with this little sweetie.






She quickly made friends with someone who had a pocket full of doggie treats. No, it wasn't me.





As the evening moved on, we got to see those tubes in action.


Other performers at Musicfest's free summer concerts also caught my attention, at least for a little while. There was Keifer Sutherland Band, Jocelyn Alice & Ria Mae, husband and wife duo, Whitehorse, and a few cover bands - Powerhouse (Chicago), Hotel California (Eagles) and Classics Albums Live featuring Fleetwood Mac hits.


And then I had the pleasure of listening to The Sultans of String.






This was a grey night and it was raining on and off. Unfortunately, that meant a smaller crowd for this performance.






For me, that was good luck. As I stood off to the side of the stage snapping a few pics, one of the venue volunteers invited me to take a seat in the VIP section since it had scarcely filled up and the show had already begun. I gladly and gratefully selected a seat and enjoyed a great view of the show.






I had first heard of this group a couple of years back when I read an impressive review of their performance in Maynooth - where I was living at the time. It seemed I had missed a good show and so I made a mental note of going to see them if the situation ever presented itself to me. It presented itself very nicely.






Here's a small snippet of how they sound.






These two backed them up occasionally.






With a plastic bag for my camera (so classy!) and an umbrella for me, I didn't mind the brief but heavy downpour.






It was a great show and a fine season.

I can hardly wait until Musicfest 2017.