A Kind of Enchantment

Study lends a kind of enchantment to all our surroundings. ~ Honore de Balzac

It's time for another wander through my area. Come on along, willya?

Don't wait to make your son a great man - make him a great boy. ~ Unknown

I saw these three on the sidewalk just outside my building. Dad, kidlet and pooch enjoying a warm autumn day.

Always find a time to sit on a humid autumn bench to feed the poor birds or to think the dying leaves! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

Let's head south to the river. It's called the Otonabee and it's part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. It started off in the north end of the town of Lakefield and from this point, it flows through Peterborough into nearby Little Lake and on to Rice Lake. This bench makes for a peaceful place to sit and think.

Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. ~ Franklin P. Jones

It was the perfect day and place to give a dog a bath.

When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. ~ Tuli Kupferberg

Speaking of dogs, I saw this one when I looked down at the uneven sidewalk.

Imagination is the eye of the soul. ~ Joseph Joubert

And not too far away, a bunny. Gotta love pareidollia. Does anyone else see these two critters?



 

Some of us are like wheelbarrows - only useful when pushed, and very easily upset. ~ Jack Herbert

Before we continue along, this is a bit of a throwback image - taken where I lived previously. The wheelbarrow is leaning up against the shed.

The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night. ~ Isabel Allende

Moving along, this mini library is on a street in front of a house near my place. The sign says "Borrow a book or magazine or CD. Return it later or bring another in exchange - or not." I love this idea. I've stopped by a couple of times now - twice to "borrow" a book and on one of those occasions I've also added to the collection. On this particular visit, I noticed that the books in the back were in a messy jumble, so I straightened them up, added a book and left with Texico. I've not read it yet. Kim Zippel is a ward councillor for Peterborough.

You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. ~ Roald Dahl

Folks were getting started at decorating for Halloween.

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween. ~ Erma Bombeck

A matching set on one lawn. I think this was supposed to be Curious George.

Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue ~ James Montgomery

I have always had a soft spot for wild chicory. I'm glad to see it growing rather profusely around here.

The flowers were the color of sunset. And not the yellowish tinge of a lazy sun either, but the intense orange of a sun refusing to set on anyone else's terms. ~ Dolen Perkins-Valdez

A similar sort of flower - only in orange. I think it's Orange Hawkweed.

While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats. ~ Mark Twain

And speaking of orange, this little ginger-locked, ice cream-loving cutie is my neighbour. This photo was snapped last month after the Pride Parade.

A girl phoned me and said, "Come on over. There's nobody home." I went over. Nobody was home! ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Another welcoming neighbourhood porch.

Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you.

Because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. ~ Roald Dahl

And one last throwback to the last place. Sunrise spilling out onto the lake while a heron lands on a floating dock.

Thanks for joining me.

The Number 7 - and Some Flowers

Surprise! The Great Blue Heron in my header has flown away and left nothing but blue water behind. It's time for a sunny change. It is my fourth revamp since I began blogging - oh... about - nay, exactly seven years ago, today. This cheery sunflower will adorn my blog for the next while - however long that may turn out to be. To help kick-start the new look, the images in this post will be all about the flowers found around here - either wild or in our yard. I hope you enjoy the bouquet.

Since this is my seventh blogiversary, I decided to look back and see who my first seven visitors were - those who still stop by, that is.





The first comment ever to land on my blog came from Frank, of course. He was the one who encouraged me to start blogging. Thanks, Frank! He isn't doing any blogging himself, these days but he does still stop by for a visit. Hopefully he'll start writing over at his Baron It All blog and perhaps posting photos at Canon Fodder again soon.







By my second post, Crabby began commenting. So, aside from Frank (always #1), she has been my longest standing, consistent visitor. She leaves great, funny comments and has a fine, humour-filled fitness blog of her own called Cranky Fitness.







It was mid-October before Leah began stopping by. She continues to post wonderful content over at her blog, The Goat's Lunch Pail and so very kindly keeps on coming back to my cyber world whenever I post. She's having surgery for bowel cancer, this week. Please keep this always-grateful, inspiring lady in your best thoughts.







Shortly after that, the lovely Sue from Photowannabe left me a comment, and like those mentioned above, she too continues to visit regularly. Among other fine posts, she likes combining her wonderful photography with the alphabet. Stop by her blog to see what I mean.







It was New Year's Eve when Shammie first stopped by. She was known as ex-Shammickite then but eventually, she decided that once a Shammickite, always a Shammickite so she soon dropped the "ex." But she's never dropped my blog, and I'm most grateful for that. Give her a visit over at Rook's Nest.








It was March 2008 before Out and About in New York City photographer Daryl left her first comment. She was sent by David McMahon from Authorblog who originally did the Post of the Day. Later he handed that baton over to me, and the POTW was born. He no longer blogs but many of you beautiful people are here because of David and for that, I will be forever grateful.








My seventh regular visitor who still visits today is the lovely and funny Michelle from House of Lime. She too, found my blog through David. Michelle/Lime is a fine writer with a terrific flair for humour. You won't regret it one bit if you stop by her blog for a visit.

Thank you, to all who have come by over the past seven years. And for sticking with me. The blogging world is a very encouraging, affirming and supportive community, and I'm thankful for, and enjoy each and every one of you who so kindly stop by to comment. I also appreciate those who silently lurk. If you're one of the latter, and have never commented before, I'd love it if you said "hi!" Maybe just this once?

More photos coming up soonish.

A Colour Buzz

I love color. I feel it inside me. It gives me a buzz. ~ Damien Hirst

November can be a dreary month. How about a little splash of colour from previous weeks, to help get us through it?


Purple asters make an appearance in late summer and live through until the first hard frost of the autumn. I noticed a small patch of them still growing near my place just the other day but this photo was taken back in September.





While we're admiring nature's art, let's enjoy these bright orange blossoms. They're called Orange Hawkweed - I only know that because I just Googled it.





I'm sure you'll remember this cutie. Riley is one of the many cute kidlet neighbours on the street. He's wearing a pretty colourful top but I think his smile outshines it, hands down.





Doesn't this look like more fun to kick around than the traditional black and white soccer ball?





On one of our house-hunting trips, we saw these colourful kayaks outside of a shop. They'd make a fine looking fleet if out on the water together.


 


Frank's sister Theresa celebrated a milestone birthday in October. The colourful cake was reminiscent of flower power of the 1960s.





Frank's niece did a wonderful job with these cupcakes. I never tasted one but I'll bet they were at least as yummy as they look.





Not everyone dressed up for the party, but Geisha did. She belongs to Frank's cousin, Trish, and she's modeling her little geisha girl outfit. She's a very patient little canine.

Thanks for sharing my colour buzz. Please be sure that you're straight enough to drive before moving on to the next blog.