Fog March

A neighbourhood walk in late afternoon took me past a park lined with low-lying fog.

The playground installations stood out in colourful relief against the fog-softened forest backdrop.

Undeterred by the damp chill, a man and a boy enjoyed some afternoon fun in the foggy foggy dew...

while their canine companion doggedly retrieved a Frisbee from somewhere within the foggy depths.

These days, so close to the solstice, if you turn your back for just a moment in mid-afternoon, the sun suddenly begins to set.

Time to leave the park to the trees and the fog...

and the final kiss of this day's sunlight.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

And what would that be?  WINTER!  SNOW!  Pardon me for yelling, but I've had it up to here!
Up to where you say?  Right about here...

This is what the back entry looked like the morning after the last blizzard when I opened the door (shot taken from down on my knees...where I'd collapsed in disbelief).

This is what it looked like when I came to my senses and was able to stand up...

This is what I found just outside the door in our little summer patio sitting area...

a snow meringue!

After a storm, the sun comes out and makes tree shadows dance on the snow.

The howling blizzard winds left evidence of their passage in wave-shaped drifts.

These are the post-blizzard photos I promised you some posts back.They seemed appropriate to put up tonight as we're under yet another Winter Storm Warning. Not a blizzard, mind you.  

Lots of snow, but less blowing, is what I think it means.

I guess there'll be a few frozen 'peckers tomorrow.

See you after we've dug out!

Winter Weight

Winter continues.
Snow falls.  

I watch the without from within.

Linking to Danielle's My Town Shoot-Out: Frozen in Time

A pile of sticks stacked beside the bare-branched birch,
as if a warning to the tree of what its fate may be.

But no ordinary pile of firewood these,
they are the very walls that fenced in the summer garden,
removed and neatly piled to dream through the winter
of someday being upright under the sun again.

Meanwhile, out in the yard, the supporting posts
send mysterious semaphore messages,
stalwartly trying to guide the sun back to the frozen land

The Winter Gate stands still
against the storms to come
as if a portal to another mysterious realm of ritual

The over-arching reach of winter haunts us again

decorating the woods like a Christmas card.
Life imitating art imitating life.

May your holiday season sparkle and glow

whether or not it be dusted with snow.

The Enchantment Begins

The cold enchanter cast its spell on the world outside my window today...

And snow it begins.

More, much more to come...

Time To Blow This Popsicle Stand

There has been quite a bit of melting going on this weekend, of the snow, that is.  This indicates warmer temperatures.  Heavy rain is forecast for today.  However, it is not enough to entice me to stick around and see if spring actually shows up at its alloted hour a few weeks hence.  I'm taking one last kick at Old Man Winter here:

you can see things are getting a bit grungy

I'm heading west tomorrow, catching a plane to Vancouver, where I'll be for the next several weeks.

Chances are I'll have something to blog about out there, but it might take me a few days to get up to speed.

Meanwhile, here's a song  to keep you entertained.



Don't forget me.
I'll be back soon!

Interventions

You might have noticed that there's been a lot of snow happening on this blog for the past 3 or 4 months...but who's counting. 

Please note: I did not Photoshop the height of the snow nor my own size!

In order to counteract my cabin fever that just never lets up sets in from time to time, my friends and neighbours sometimes stage an intervention to lure me out of my hermetic ways and get me out and about.

One such intervention involved a trip into town to visit Princess Auto.  I'd seen the flyers and witnessed the drool that accumulates on males' bottom lips when they whisper  the name "Princess Auto" in hushed, reverent tones, but I'd never been there.  This was to be my initiation.

Now, as with most rituals and secret rites, special accoutrements are often required.  Here we have a splendid and colourful selection of magic wands.

I was quite in awe of the sundry bits, parts, fits, starts, mitts, kits,

and old farts that were on hand there.

But what really had me worried was...

I wasn't sure that this was a test I could pass!  I felt like I was in one of those dreams where you show up in class on test day,  ill-prepared and naked.  (Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't had one of those dreams?!  Anybody???)

On another snowy day, other friends invited us for brunch and a walk.  My camera lens steamed up at the sight of the blueberry waffle,  piping hot and thirsting for locally produced maple syrup.

 
 

In a pointless positive effort to work off some of the brunch calories, we set out for a walk and came across

a large dog, camouflaged for the snowy environment,

and a small snow baby, carrying live ammo in the form of snow balls.

Best not to mess with her!

Of course, the very best intervention is when my daughter comes home to visit.  This time she acted as chauffeur, driving us to see out-of-town friends...

the purrsonable Miss Maddy,

and her furry pets owners, DCW and  Driftwood--

All together, with friends like all of  the afore-mentioned,

and with the kind, colourful, and amusing comments from blog pals like you,

I just may make it through to the end of this winter

with a smile on my face!

You Know You've Got Cabin Fever When

you start taking pictures of your kitchen appliances

you're feeling about as bedraggled as the last sorry vestiges of the summer basil

the idea of making a self-portrait in the coffee pot seems brilliant.

I hear my neighbours are planning an intervention for me tomorrow.

Snow Globe

Another day, another snow storm.

If you can't beat it, might as well shoot it.

Or blog about it.

Snow Use

snow
   

snow

snow with icicles

snow with FX

's no matter how you look at it,

we have plenty'o'snow

It snowed for 4 days in a row, and there is more coming in the next couple of days...

not to say months (but I easily could).

(for another view go here)

It's Snow Time!

This morning I got up early, awakened by the silence of the falling snow.  Normally, I would pull the covers over my head and return to my dreams, but I've got a brand new camera and have lately been heard to lament the lack of interesting things to photograph, so off I went into the white wilderness to capture some scenes and drag them back to the blog.

Actually, before I went out, I took this picture of the garage through a window in the sunroom.

See the row of windows along the left side of the house?  That's what we refer to as the sunroom.  Not too sunny today, though the colour of our house adds a pleasantly warm, sunshiney glow, don't you think?  It used to be painted white but we found it was too difficult to find our way home in the winter.

I wanted to get out there first thing in the morning while the tree limbs were still outlined in snow, before the wind blew it off, or it fell from its own weight.  I love the scribbled lines the branches make against the blank canvas of the colourless sky.

The lilac bush is wearing white blossoms now instead of its normal...um...lilac hued blooms.

The two windows at the top of the house that look like its eyes are in my studio.

If you were to look out one of those windows, you'd be looking down onto this scene.   See that rooftop peeking out from behind the tree on the left of the picture?  That's our abandonned house.  Abandonned except for the raccoons that live there, though it's been awhile since I've seen any of them. 

Maybe they went to Paris to see the Monet exhibit.

Outside the back door, under a tree next to the driveway,  is a twig bench that my neighbour made for us several years ago.  I think it needs to be taken in for repairs, but the cat likes to use it as a scratching post, or as a perch in the summer to survey the territory and keep an eye out for raccoons.  Or skunks.

And this is how deep the snow was at 9:00 this morning--

Right up to my knees! 

It's snow time, babies!

Can you dig it?