Solstice Sparks

Ronna and I celebrated the Solstice with a small cookout in the back yard. Boy, did we singe those wieners!

Hey, we do things big here in Glengarrryy!

Actually, this was a bash thrown by some friends who had some barn demolition material hanging around.

Good times!

Winter vision

Just another blizzard...thank the Lord for global warming or it would be a lot worse.

Frosty fog

So, between a blizzard and a bout of -15 with the wind chill, we get these inviting vistas.

Another day in paradise

Liftoff

On a late fall day, a few hours before a snowstorm struck, this heron suddenly lifted from a ditch and soared, in its own special way, across the road, above the traffic and into the skies. OK, it was not as graceful as a Canada goose, but this bird has obvious limitations.

Lasting Salute

Everyone in the small community of Harrington, Québec turned out for a dedication of a plaque in the memory of two World War II veterans who never made it back home from the battlefields of Europe. It is a simple and fitting tribute.

During the ceremony, one of the veteran's brothers remembered the horrible pain the whole family felt when that sickening news first arrived. Harry was dead.

Many of those in the crowd were childhood friends of the two boys who were killed in Italy and Holland.

Fiddles, bagpipes and the occasional sniffle filled the crisp air.

At last

After working on this book for more than a year we finally launch it November 15.

Check out http://www.absurditescanadiennes.com/.

The Gap

I was shooting a Remembrance Day ceremony in the small town of L'Orignal, Ontario when suddenly a group of girls moved into the frame and sat on this gun while legionnaires observed a moment of silence. Innocence or bravado? There is a huge gap obviously between the generations. One of them, thankfully, is the absence of conflict. Few young Canadians can even fathom what this gun would have been used for, however, in other parts of the world violence and death are the harsh realities of everyday life.

I always tried to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony because as a reporter, who constantly reports on the free exchange of ideas and opinions, I am always reminded of the rights and freedoms that we take for granted. I started working as a reporter when I was 18, the same age many of those boys, whose names are etched on monuments, were when they bravely marched off to fight the good fight. In the same small communities of L'Orignal and Longueuil, 11 boys died in WW I and WWII.

Lest we forget.

A sign of things to come

A frosty blanket on the grass greets us every morning at this time of the year, reminding us that soon this cover will be thicker and more durable. But hey, it is pretty in its own special way.

Les couleurs

The Laurentians always provide a splendid display in fall. Hard to believe that the blazing landscape will soon be muted by the drab of November, and all too soon, a wintry blanket.

The Paris of North America

Ronna and I spent a glorious evening in Montreal a few weeks ago. It provided, among other things, a chance to gaze out at a busy yet pretty city.

Sign of the season

These geese sure seemed to know a safe landing spot when they see one.

Canoe in the mist

We were thrilled to see that after Ronna had submitted this shot of a Muskoka lake in the fall, it was chosen for a huge spread in the Ottawa Citizen! And, best of all, Mother Nature does all the work!

Do you feel a song coming on?

This is just another typical day in East Hawkesbury, where a person can think he or she can actually see the big city to the east.

War And Remembrance

A war veteran stands to attention during the playing of the Last Post at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Hawkesbury, Ontario branch of the Canadian Legion Saturday, September 15. One wonders what memories are conjured up by the playing of the lament.

A ribbon of starkness over me

So, is this the final word in the decal debate or does it merely bumpered it up to another level?

3 up the creek

Ronna, Nancy and John are focusing on this creek somewhere in California.

Nancy, John, Ronna and I were enjoying the oceanview in Crescent City, CA, when our lenses found this message, a cry for help from somebody beseeching everyone to bring a beautiful girl back home. The small message begged for attention, and obviousy it worked.

Progress?

The Québec government is slowly but surely extending Autoroute 50 through the countryside between Lachute and Gatineau, located just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa. The multi-million-dollar undertaking will relieve congestion on existing narrow and dangerous roads and is touted as an avenue for economic development. The price tag, however, is huge as flora and fauna will fall in the path of progress. The scar on the mountainside can be seen from several kilometres away.

A light on the coast

In Crescent City, in northern California, a lighthouse harbours memories of a day when the seas were busy highways.

Twin peaks

To cap a tour of Oregon, it is only fitting to take in a view of Mount St. Helen's, which always has the potential of being a big blast.

On the line

In the dog days of summer, in the Great White North, we relish all the heat we can get, but the humidity -- oy, it's a killer.

A Jelsi morning

The Jelsi Association of Montréal visits Ste-Anne-de-Prescott, Ontario on the feast of St. Anne, when ornate sheaves are on sale, at prices ranging from $18 to $10. The display case is another example of how the faithful recycle religiously.

90 years young

My Mom celebrated her 90th birthday July 12, and well, judging by this photo, age is just a number.

2 Horsepower vehicle

Al Gore would no doubt be thrilled to see that people in Canada have reverted to proven technology to help the planet survive.

Double rewards?

We were treated to a rare sight -- a double rainbow -- July 1 in the midst of a sunshower.

Discerning taste

Where is the swat team when you need it?

Devil's advocate

A Monarch butterfly would advocate the allure of wild plants such as the Devil's Paintbrush.

No rollerskating

You may not be able to rollerskate in a buffalo herd, but nobody said anything about slaloming around a group of docile bison. Motorists are used to such four-legged road hazards in these parts.

Doorway to an entrance

Like many old rural buildings, this hall near Alexandria, Ontario attracts through its simplicity.

Play misty

And out of the mist, came a canoe.

June, The Best

If June is not the best month of the year, then which one is?

Work and play

Have just finished one of those proverbial easy-to-assemble play structures, which are at once infuriating and humbling.
The maze of plastic, ropes, doo-dads, special brackets, unique drill bit heads and jiggers, could, according to the box that was purchased at Home Depot, be assembled and enjoyed within four to eight hours! Allegedly, two people could accomplish this task, in less than half a day!
Now, this is not to say that the marketers fibbed about the ease of assembly. However, when I assisted a friend in putting together the fun contraption, it required eight hours -- to cut the special pressure-treated lumber into the appropriate lengths.
Good news is that it will be ready when his son turns 7.
Bad news is that his son just turned 5.
(Ouch!)
Thumbless in Seattle

Padding the CV

This week, I expanded my tool kit of mobile skills by helping a friend renovate his house.
This involved moving a board fence, moving boulders which will become integral and large elements in a pond, hanging a door, and installing gyproc, also known as sheet rock, gypsum board and a big pain in the neck, and back and arms.
After attempting to support a full sheet of gyproc over my head for 20 minutes, I began to appreciate the routine of an office job.
Unfortunately, the chore became even more stressful when on one afternoon, a man who was helping me move a stove from the basement, suffered a massive heart attack and died right in front of us.
The experience was one of those moments that remind you that life is fleeting, and in the end,
there is no point in sweating over whether a piece of panelling is perfectly level.

Most wonderful

It is the most wonderful time of the year, for many things, including lumberjacking, and planting flowers. The bugs have yet to invade, and the humidity has not yet descended upon us.

Soon, we will we picking morels and fiddleheads, delicacies that appear for brief periods.

Rat Patrol

Have just returned from a tour of duty with the Rat Patrol, an elite two-member corps of poorly-trained and squeamish rural denizens, on the look-out for vermin, of the worst sorts.
Armed with shovels, rakes, poison, a wheelbarrow, and that versatile household weapon -- a box of aluminum foil -- we have secured the perimeter, to the best of our knowledge.
However, our satisfaction with a job well done is tempered by the sinking feeling that we may have caused collateral damage, and a gang of chipmunks may now be now plotting a counterstrike.
Does anyone in the virtual world have a surefire, bottom-up, green solution to rats?
(Any jokes about politicians do not count.)
Over and out.

Global warming?

So, what do you make of this global warming concept?
The northern US has been hit with snowstorms usually associated with the Great White North.
We get our December weather in April.
What is with that?

Hi

Hi, this is my first ever attempt at blogging. Does it show? Over and out for now.