Within Walking Distance

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time. ~ Steven Wright

A couple of weeks back, I ventured out along the shores of Peterborough's Little Lake.

From the ages of 8-18, me and my family moved around a lot. Mostly we would just stretch, but occasionally one of us would actually get up to go to the fridge. ~ Jarod Kintz

It was typical March weather - warm in the sunshine but a cool wind. The water's edge was still icy in most spots. I'd say that this Mallard was doing yoga poses but that would be a... stretch.

I floated like driftwood in the ocean. I wasn't worried about sharks, because my bathtub is much too shallow. ~ Jarod Kintz

A somewhat weathered branch waiting for further melt to release it.

You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there. ~ Edwin Louis Cole

A different view of the icy shoreline.

Duck love is recognizable in any language. ~ Edmond Manning

Just a few feet away, at the edge of the dock, these ducks will have a much softer landing.

I'm good at exploring roofs. You never know when that kind of thing comes in useful. ~ Enid Blyton

As we approach Del Crary Park, we see the familiar red roof of The Light House Lounge and Grill - not quite ready for the upcoming summer season.

Distance lends enchantment to the view. ~ Mark Twain

Here it is again from a different perspective.

One scoop of ice cream can go a long way. Not to mending friendships, but it can get up to 40 yards in the air if you lob it just right.

~ Jarod Kintz

Same spot, up close. People will be lined up to buy their yummy Kawartha Dairy ice cream here, in just a few months.

I'm part wood nymph. I require mountains and warm, dense patches of moss to thrive. ~ Vera Farmiga

With the bits of greenery here and there, and the absence of ice, you could almost believe that this was taken during spring or summer but it was the same day - just a little further along the lakeshore.


There's a small walking bridge over the water where Jackson Creek rushes in to meet Little Lake. The waters were running rapidly at this point, on this day and I was about to take a photo of it when I heard voices coming from deeper within the tunnel-like setting.

When I must leave the great river

O bury me close to its wave

And let my canoe and my paddle

Be the only mark over my grave

~ Frank Oliver

Just as I focused my camera, these two came swooshing out of the shadows into full view. The water was still very cold as you can tell by earlier photos of the icy shores, and I was surprised that neither of the paddlers were wearing PFDs.

I run a tight ship. It's so tight, you could call it a canoe. ~ Jarod Kintz

I quickly turned to look over the other side of the bridge. Her hands looked very cold but her smile was warm.

A true Canadian is one who can make love in a canoe without tipping. ~ Pierre Berton

There was no doubt that they were having a great time. It was most likely their first canoe trip of the season. They headed under the railway bridge and disembarked around the next bend.

Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. ~ Dwight D Eisenhower

And here's what that bridge looks like from up close.

That's it for this walk along Little Lake. I hope you'll join me again whenever my feet make their way back.

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.