St. Nick

12 28 16 He does look a little Christmasy, don't you think? Not fun, but getting the work done... took over 2 hours of snowblowing to get everything opened up, and there were many aching muscles to deal with afterwards... :)

12 28 16 Ho ho ho!! We spent Boxing Day digging out from a Christmas night storm. Luckily the storm didn't start until late Sunday afternoon so everyone in our family was able to get home safe and sound before it started. Hope your Christmas weekend was not as 'eventful' as ours!

Symbols of the seasons

I was struck by the contrasts of our seasons - the snow covered boat waiting quietly for the steamy hot days of summer, left parked beside the piles of oak and ash that we'll need for the wood stove all winter long. Seems ironic somehow....

Regal Beauty

The spectacular beauty and presence of trees sometimes leaves me breathless....

Filling up the back 40

Winter comes & our back yard slowly but surely fills up with the things of summer & winter....

Sun dogs & ice crystals

It's hard to imagine how cold it was!

Winter whites

12 17 16 M'Lady Winter loves to bite us with the cold and bless us with her beauty, usually on the same day.

Sun dog drama

12.17.16 Sometimes the picture is just right there in front of you.... like this sun dog suspended above a lone tree... it was a bitterly cold afternoon, but I braved the temps, tucked my camera inside my jacket and managed to get some nice winter pics without freezing any body parts.... :))

The morning walk

not always done for fun! We are not sure what would happen to Shelby if she missed her morning walk, as it's never happened. But we know for sure, it would not be pretty (or bearable)!

And so it begins....

12.07.16 The never ending task of moving snow from where it wants to be to where we want it to be. Why can't it just land in the place that suits us best? It's hard to imagine how much extra time we would all have! Personally... I think science should be working on this immediately... just kidding of course... well, maybe not.... :))

Summer meets Winter

Someone forgot to put away the deck chairs ... (probably me).

The indoor view....

The very best thing about retirement is.... having the freedom to stay home on a storm day... yay!!

Hello Winter!

12.06.16 Winter blew in last night, we're trapped in a full blown blizzard. Hopefully it will taper off before tonight. Shelby is not impressed. It's rather annoying when one has to wait for their walk while the snow is cleared off the steps. Anything that delays the walk is almost unbearable. Poor thing...

11.25.16 Pouring rain is not something we often see here in November -actually, I would rather see snow than this cold driving downpour - but we get what we get & everything is a photo op! Thank you all so much for your comments over the last few days. Even though the photo I post does not seem to be the one you find, and it never makes it to the Popular Photos page, I have so enjoyed your hearty 'welcome back''... :))

The Normal Morning Walk

11.25.16 There is so much to be said for the 'normal' daily life. It's taken for granted and often unappreciated, but when we suddenly cannot do all those 'normal' things that tend to make our lives our very own - only then do we realize how precious those small routines really are.... For instance - the loss of the morning walk because of a broken bone in the foot. Yeah.... that was me for 6 weeks, most of August and all of September .... no morning walk and my oh my, did I miss that small 'normal' ritual of my day. It's much more special now, in a normal sort of way, each morning I walk with gratitude on two strong feet and I really hope it stays that way for a very long time to come.

Bullrushes... the final act

11.23.16 It's all over 'til spring.

Lurking in the fog

11.23.16 Foggy mornings, walking through the bush - things you've seen for years suddenly look different and everywhere there is an ominous sense of hidden danger. I walk fast and hurry home, always glad to close the door behind me and leave the spookiness to others who are blessed with less imagination than I am.

Miss Shelby out for her morning walk

11-22-16 Foggy, damp, cold & cloudy days... but they don't stop Shelby from enjoying her daily constitutional! A big thank you to everyone for all your comments on my pics yesterday, I'm so very grateful.... it's going to take awhile to get used to the way it works around here now, it seems 3 of my photos popped up yesterday, but not one of them was the picture I posted for the day! Oh well - will be interesting to see if this one makes it there... :)

Home of the World Famous Hot Dog

The infamous 'Skinners Restaurant'.... the place to go when we were kids and could talk someone with a car into driving us to the river - I swear the decor has not changed a bit! But that is of course, impossible - considering exactly how many years ago that we were, in fact, kids... :)) I punched it up a bit because that's how it is in my memory - super '60's and packed full of energy and rockin' music (with a table top juke box in each booth, that, by the way, are all still there!) Thanks so much for all your comments over the last couple of days and for your warm 'welcome back'. It is really nice to connect with you all once again.... 11.20.16

Skinner's waterslide

As far as I know, this monstrosity was Manitoba's first waterslide... found in Lockport, close to the Red River. It's been abandoned for years and so it sits - slowly rotting into the ground - too expensive to either fix or clear away. To everything there is a season..... 11.20.16

Dreamin' Retro....

It's been awhile .... actually it's been so long and there have been so many changes that I don't even know if this pic will make it all the way to - what used to be - Daily Photos! I've been missing you guys, so I'll give it a try and see what happens.... 11.18.16