Thursday, January 12, 2017

I Am Grateful

I live in a loving, abundant, harmonious, universe and I am grateful.
~ Louise Hay

One day, between Christmas and New Year's Day, I decided to go out into the the freshly-fallen snow for a bit of a wander. The temperature was pleasant enough and I figured I would end up at one of my two usual destinations. I headed south for the river but while walking along the sidewalk, I happened to notice something which had somehow eluded me before. 

laneway
A lane. A simple lane which paralleled the streets on either side of it. A walking space between the fences of neighbourhood back yards. The fresh snow made it stand out to me and I decided to accept its unspoken invitation to walk it instead of my originally intended destination. An intense wave of nostalgia washed over me, bringing me back to my childhood in Montreal where so many of these back street lanes existed. We often walked much of our way home from school through one lane or another. I felt very grateful for this wistful memory, and now I know that I will have to explore Peterborough much more carefully from now on.





cutie daughter father snowman
As I exited the lane, I decided to zig instead of zag. This brought me another gift on this lovely winter's day. A father and child were busy putting finishing touches on their snowy masterpiece.





cutie with snowman2
The little girl was quick to advise me that she had done almost all of this creation herself. Dad stood back and allowed me to engage his sweet daughter in chitchat, and I learned all about the importance of having the right eyes, nose and apparel when planning to make a snowman.





sidewalk ends
I continued along the same street and came upon its apparent end - or so the sign said.





toward lock 19
The sidewalk may have ended but the walking path did not. I have been walking in this area for nearly a year and a half but I never opted to walk in this direction along this particular street before. This brought me to gift number three.





lock 19 Scotts Mills3
This lovely walking path along the river's edge was leading up to one of Peterborough's many locks - #19 in Scott's Mills.





lock 19 Scotts Mills2
The locks are only in use during the warmer months but it still made for an interesting outing and an unexpected treat just a few minutes from my place.





picnic on hold
Of course, picnics were also on hold for the winter. These tables were set up a little like dominoes.





near lock 19
On the way back, I stopped to admire a fallen tree dusted by the recent snow.





droplets and snow
The day was warming up a bit and snow was beginning to melt despite new flakes gently adding to the landscape.





cuties snowman2
Hopefully the snowman lasted a few more days.

I returned to the locks again a few days later, and I'll have some of those photos for you, among others, before too long.

Thank you, Universe for bestowing these three gift upon me on that day.

I am indeed grateful.

31 comments:

stephen Hayes said...

Just today I stepped off a sidewalk and down into a snow trough so I could have benefited from that sign.

Red said...

You've done what has to e done to get some good photos...get out. Then you took another route when it's easier to see something new.

Ruth Hiebert said...

You found some wonderful treasure, both in the locations and in the pictures you share.

Andy said...

Your first photo reminded me of the lanes I used to walk down in my teenage days. Now thanks to you have the urge to return to them and explore them with my camera.

messymimi said...

It's nice to make new discoveries in your own back yard.

Out on the prairie said...

Some great finds along the way. The snowman is real fun, I make them in the middle of the prairie just hoping someone finds it as a discovery for the day.

sage said...

A beautiful walk! I found myself missing the snow.

DJan said...

Now that is an adorable snowman and creator. May your home turf give you many moe gifts that you share with me. :-)

Marie Smith said...

What a wonderful find. It will be a great place to explore through the seasons!

Cloudia said...

I feel uplifted. Wandering is such an primal important thing. Thanks for sharing the experience so beautifully

William Kendall said...

Marvelous winter shots!

ellen abbott said...

sweet. we call those lanes alleys. They are used for garage access and garbage pick-up.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

I just love surprises of this sort. Serendipity is a gracious giver. I just love your heart, your eye and you lovely spirit. Happy New Year. xoxo Oma Linda

Mage said...

What a walk. We call them alleys, and those fences remind me of the one I walked down with my grandmother. :) You leave me with a giant smile this morning.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

A fun winter post. Love the fences lining the lane, the sweet girl with the long lashes and her snowman, and the domino-stacked picnic tables.

Karen said...

We had an overgrown alley behind our house on Bethune St. We usually used it as an escape route when playing childhood games.

Rita said...

I felt like I was out on th walk with you!! :)

Barbara said...

Isn't it amazing what we overlook, that suddenly becomes so obvious to us? I'm glad the Universe revealed that path to you!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

We call them alleys here, but ours are not as lovely as the one your traversed. Or perhaps I need your more generous eye for detail?
That first picture of the little girl and her snowman is incredibly beautiful. She is clearly an expert and an artist -- much like you!

Lady Fi said...

A beautiful, snowy world!

Pauline said...

Poetry by camera!

photowannabe said...

Thank you for taking me on your walk with you.
I love discovering new places.
That's a great Lane you found...the fences have so much character.
My Husband and I were just saying yesterday that we need to explore a few places in our town. We've been here 9 1/2 years and have missed some interesting looking spots.
You have given me a push to go and search them out.
Have a great weekend Hilary.

Linda said...

We had some snow recently, but it was not the snowman making kind. It was light and fluffy due to the temps in the low 20s. The little girl did a good job with hers.

Jenn Jilks said...

Beautiful, beautiful photos.

That took me back, too. I grew up in downtown Toronto and we had a lane like that. I walked it to get to school and often dream about it!!
cheers!

yaya said...

I thought I had read this and commented but when I stopped by I realized I hadn't finished reading the post so I'd better put my 2 cents in now! You do live in a lovely area and isn't it funny how going out of our box just a bit we can find such good things! That has to be the cutest snowman I've seen in a while! But like Frosty says, he'll be back another day! Have a good week!

Tabor said...

You live in a beautiful area, but I wonder how many people walk by and do not see the beauty and intrigue as you do?

Unknown said...

How much do I love this? I walk a lot and the biggest thrill in the world is to find some path I've missed.

All great shots as usual. I'm particularly taken with the first one, the lane, and the picnic table dominoes. You really have an eye!

Daryl said...

i love finding new views/avenues hidden in plain sight .. having lived my entire life in this city i am still discovering places i didnt know existed ... loved sharing this photo walk with you

Shammickite said...

Avery up-to-date snowman with a plastic carrot for a nose instead of a real one! The snowy lane is very tempting to explore, I'm glad you did.
I am babysitting TessaDog this week, so I'm going out on more walks than usual, but today is such a horrible icy rainy day, I won't be going far!

Anvilcloud said...

I think walking up that alley would be really up my alley ... um, so to speak.

Bob Bushell said...

I love the snow, to see it though.