Golden

time of year.

Friday cloud blogging

Cloud reflection and birds version.







Happy weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating!

Jack Pine Trail

Some sun flare lighting the path at Jack Pine Trail.

We're having a wonderful fall so far -- temps have been lovely, colour has been lovely. The woods smell so good at this time of year.

Friday cloud blogging

From above.

I'm not good at blogging

Flamingo feathers up close at the Butterfly Gardens, Victoria BC.

I admit it.

I'm not good at blogging.

Words?

Images?

Doesn't matter -- I'm not good at either.

And I'm not good at tweeting, tumbling, instagramming, facebooking, etc. You name it.

I am good at reading blogs though ... and tweets and tumblrs and instagrams. And I'm envious of people who seem to be able to document their lives in words and images so easily.

I tend to retreat when bad things happen -- my father recently had some pretty severe health problems and had to be hospitalized for a week. He's doing better now, and is back home.

I tend to retreat when good things happen -- my brother was married at the beginning of September. It was a beautiful ceremony, with beautiful lovely people, in a beautiful location. And, now I've got a sister. Yay!

I tend to retreat when I'm travelling. I'm scared to mention I'm away for fear my house will be broken into even though we have pet sitters! -- we just got back from a fantastic trip out West for the wedding (Washington State and Vancouver Island).

The point is, I tend to retreat from online life exactly when I have interesting or news-worthy things to share.

And it's frustrating.

This is my mea culpa, I guess.

Moving on.

Here are some images from some of the various places we visited. (Nothing like travelling to renew one's zest for photography and to fill up all those hard drives!) I'm looking forward to sharing more of these images in the next few weeks.



Partial shot of the ceiling at Chihuly Garden and Glass (OMG that place is amazing), Seattle WA.



Wind turbines at sunset, near Quincy WA.



Light and colour reflecting on the undulating wall of the Jimi Hendrix Museum, Seattle WA.



Buckets of colourful flowers (the dahlias - OMG again) at Pike Place Market, Seattle WA.



Sunset over the gorge, near Quincy WA.

Fall reminder

Yesterday I went walking at Jack Pine. Things are mostly green, though there are a few dead trees here and there, and no water in the ponds/swampy areas. (Also, the main parking lot for Lime Kiln is still closed post-fire.)



The critters are still welcoming. ;-)





It was a cooler day and it put me in mind of my favourite season, and so here are a few photos from previous outings as a reminder of what's to come.

A summer's worth of English Ivy has covered most of my house, including doors and windows.

Japanese Maple taken at the Ornamental Gardens. The last time I visited, it was gone.

This was taken at Lime Kiln -- wonder how many of these trees survived the fire.

Mazinaw Lake at Bon Echo Provincial Park. Canoeing is so much better in the fall.

Mourning dove eyes

Open and closed.

Cardinal eyes

Open and closed.

Mobile blogging

Take photos with iPhone.
Edit photos with VSCO Cam app.
Create diptych with TurboCollage app.
Resize diptych with Photogene2.
Write post in Blogger app.
Upload diptych to Flickr via Flickr app.
Log in to Flickr's non-mobile site to copy photo url info.
Paste photo url info into Blogger app.
Cross fingers.
Publish.

Friday cloud blogging on a Saturday

Lines in the sky.

Colour of summer

Soon it will be gone again.

Trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

Wake up, you lazy dreamers!
The summer's waiting you,
The days are long and golden;
The skies are tender blue.
The earth is full of gladness,
Of light and song and bloom,
Join in the summer brightness,
Nor ever think of gloom.
- An extract from Lucy Maud Montgomery's poem June!

Friday cloud blogging

Hairy Woodpecker on a dead tree in the swamp at Jack Pine trail. 

I always have trouble identifying Hairy vs Downy Woodpeckers. Based on this site [link] I think this is a Hairy, as Hairy Woodpeckers have longer and pointier bills and a more pronounced black marking from shoulder to breast than Downy Woodpeckers.

Have a good weekend everyone - it's a long one for us. Here's hoping it's not too hot and those in need of rain get some (Andi).

Happy Canada Day!