Fire aftermath

During a garage fire near St-Eugène, a small community east of the Québec-Ontario border, the nearby house received minor damage. The heat melted the vinyl siding, leaving what some thought were drooping bandages on the home.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the blaze which destroyed two farm tractors.

Blessed are the snowmobiles

The Roman Catholic Church has been known to allow the benediction of almost anything. But I was bemused to hear of a blessing of snowmobiles in Ste-Anne-de-Prescott, a village on the Québec-Ontario border, where the curé (pastor) said a few words over helmets, placed in front of the altar, and snow machines of all sorts were parked around the statue of Ste-Anne herself.

Praise the Lord and pray for snow!

Winter wonderland

Bell Falls north of Hawkesbury, Ontario is a winter wonderland.

New heights

This photo of Ronna nearing the roof of her house gives a measure of how much snow we have had this winter. The levels are expected to drop this weekend when the forecast calls for absolutely balmy temperatures.

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.