Ice and Snow

This winter has seen all sorts of weather. It was balmy enough one January day to wear nothing heavier than a sweatshirt. But it's also been frigid enough to bundle up in several layers in order to border on feeling warm and snug. We've seen rain, snow, sunny melts and icy waterways. Right now, we're being pummeled by a winter storm but it's nighttime and windy, and I'm not anxious to bring my camera out in that. So for this post, I share a few photos from earlier in the winter.


A thin layer of ice crackles under the pressure of an intrusive step.





Geese atop the frozen pond, tuck themselves in to keep warm.





A cut tree trunk wears a snowy cap while sunning itself one late afternoon.





A droplet frozen in place on the chain link fence.





A curled oak leaf comes to rest upon the snowy path.





I'm not sure what plant this is but it made a heroic attempt to seek out the sunlight through this patch of icy snow.





Icicles dangle above me just outside my front door.





Another cluster of frozen spikes. This time I played up the contrast and vibrance for a more colourful effect.





And finally, you may opt to drink this over ice - Frank's favourite tequila.

More photos in a few days.

Silence is Golden

Silence is golden and because it is, I'm going to make this a wordless post. Starting riiiiight... now!

Furry Friends & Posts of the Week

Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way. ~ John Muir

As seems to be the standard for me lately, the following photos are not current. Most date back to late early autumn. I hope you enjoy them.


Beautiful Oona belongs to Frank's sister Lisa. She a Great Bernese Mountain Dog.





Thanksgiving activities proved to be too much for adorable Darwin who coped by snoozing on the laundry room floor.




There aren't too many little creatures cuter than a chipmunk. This guy is one of the regular visitors to Frank's back yard. He usually helps himself to sunflower seeds and peanuts but on this day, we had a special treat for him - pomegranate seeds.





Nom, nom, nom, pom.





That chipper isn't much bigger than the peanut.





In the park, this little guy scored a peanut for himself.





It looks like he wasn't going to take any chances that I might want it back.





I wasn't lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the creature who recently felled this tree but there are a number of places along the creek which show signs of a thriving beaver population.





It's been a while since this nearby log was an upright tree but it looks like a beaver was making a snack of its bark.

That's it for my creature feature. I'll have more photos for you in a few days.

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.





FUNNY

Pee Standing or Sitting?
by Stephen
at The Chubby Chatterbox

A Little-Know Fact About Aging
by Linda
at To Behold the Beauty

Parentexting
by Lauren
at Mental Pause Mama
 
***

A GOOD READ

100 Years
by Michelle
at House of Lime

Stealing Coal
by Friko
at Friko's World

The Uncharted Journey
by Betty
at Bossy Betty

***

JUST PLAIN GOOD

Texting
by Linda
at From Roses to Rainbows

Ice Fishun
by Steve
at Out on the Prairie

Thunder on the Mountain
by Maddie
at The World From My Window

The Artist
by Barbara
at Long Hollow

Red Doubt
by Cloudia
at Comfort Spiral

***

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Golden-crowned Kinglet
by Kerri
at A Little Piece of Me

Trust
by Stacey Dawn
at Dawning Inspiration

Empty Chair
by Sandy
at Writing in Faith

A Slow Day at the Winery
by Barbara
at Confessions of a Photography Addict

***

READERS' CHOICE

Recommended by: Daryl
He Didn't Know That I Was Behind Him...
by Roban
at Moments in Time

Recommended by: Mage
Departures 6
by JED
at Cumberland Soundings

Recommended by: Daryl
We Go Skiing
by Growing Wild
at Growing Wilde on Waverly Lane


Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Kidlet Collection

Who can resist a cute kidlet?

Not I.

Some of these faces belong to my young neighbours. Others drew me in with my camera as they passed by, walking with a parent. Still others were caught from a distance while they were at play. I hope you enjoy them. All were taken last summer and autumn.



My lovely little neighbour, Jailyn lives across the street. I love this pensive look on her face.





Handsome little Alex lives right next door.




Another good looking guy - Riley. He always has mischief in his eyes.





This little darling was plunked down on the walking path by her mom who was trying to snap a portrait of her. Frank and I were approaching from her side and she kept focusing on us instead, so of course I focused my camera on her. Isn't she a cutie?





These kids were having fun jumping around outside of a church situated along the path where I walk.





Father and son walking through the park. Gotta love those boots on the little guy.





Mother and daughters walking along the dock. There's something endearing about the little girl holding her stuffed animal under her arm, with the dress strap slipping off her little shoulder.





Father and daughter enjoying their stroll. You'll have to trust me when I tell you that she had a huge grin on her face as they passed me by.

I hope you found my kidlet collection entertaining. More photos coming up soon.

Textures

Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form... certainly a calming, meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind. ~ Lynda Lehmann

I have a few photos showing various textures as seen on my everyday walks or at home. I hope you enjoy them.


The late November sun shone from behind this fuzzy sumac limb. You can see that the buds were already preparing for spring.





The ragged wooden bits of a snapped tree limb.





A golden oak leaf and its shadow as seen on New Year's Day.





These tall-growing plants seem to last through the winter. I'm not sure what they're called but Fluffs is as good a name as any.





Alongside the brick wall, mama and baby chipmunk wait patiently for the nut and seed buffet to begin.





The warm sunlight illuminates a strip of peeling tree bark.





The silken hairs of the milkweed seed are trapped on a dried plant stem.





A pine tree in the park oozes blue sap. A peanut in the knot hole awaits one of our regular squirrel friends.





This maple leaf is still rich with colour in late November, despite being dry and brittle.





Last but not least, I thought that this partial portion of Chicken Cordon Blue resembled a dinosaur's head... or something.

I hope you enjoyed exploring these textures with me. More photos in a few days.

Little Things

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. ~ Leo F. Buscaglia

A Monarch caterpillar in September, destined one day to be a beautiful butterfly.





Each of these three spiky seed pods are about the size of a blueberry. The photo was taken in November.





Here's one up a bit closer.





A tiny purple wildflower leaning up against an orange construction fence back in September. I thought the contrasting colours looked pretty.





Various stages of decomposition among these Hawthorn berries in late November.





Neither the bee nor the flower are in focus but I still enjoyed seeing this unexpected departure from the bloom, back in September.





Also from September, two tiny orange mushrooms looking much like miniature bells.





Folklore says that these wooly bear caterpillars predict the severity of the upcoming winter by how long their fur grows. Wikipedia dispelled that for me.





Berries for the birds. They were already drying out in October.





This is not exactly in keeping with all of the other images from nature but I like the way the tiny grains of salt show up in the stream of sunlight on the restaurant table top.

More photos coming up soon.