Sunday Trees _ 130

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..the trees are finally starting to turn green here

Both trees weathered the ice storm this past winter without too much damage. In the first photo you can seen the CN Tower in the background. Not too much green on this tree yet but upon closer inspection one can see the buds beginning to appear. In the second photo this grand old willow is bringing forth a blanket of spring greens. In a couple of weeks the foliage on this tree will obscure all views of the homes in the background. Both trees are situated on Ward’s Island, off the shores of Toronto.

For more Sunday Trees, check out Becca Givens blog.

Swarms of Gnats

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..it’s one thing when they’re outside…. BUT INSIDE?

I haven’t been able to exercise so my husband has been going for his long walks on his own for the last few days. The weather is still pretty cool but his biggest complaint concerns the swarms of gnats that he has to walk through. On his last walk he swears that the entire walk was one massive swarm. Now he does tend to exaggerate at times but I met my neighbour on Friday coming back from her walk and she complained of the same phenomena. Gnats, everywhere!

Two nights ago I noticed a few gnats in the house but the next morning the table in the kitchen was covered in them. I checked all the windows and doors and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how they were getting in the house. When I told my husband about the infestation in the house he thought about it and came to the realization that the gnats were coming in on his black jacket after his walks. Mystery solved. Solution – shake off outerwear before entering the house.

Today is another beautiful day but windy and cool. I decided to join David Suzuki’s 30×30 Nature Challenge (here) and enjoy 30 minutes a day outside. In the spirit of the challenge my husband decided to have his coffee on the deck. He wasn’t out there more than a minute when he called me to come and see something I’ve never seen in all the years I’ve lived here. The deck was covered in gnats. I don’t know if these photos really do any justice illustrating the amount of gnats that have landed on the deck and the siding of the house but it will give you some idea. Thank goodness they don’t live very long but they do breed quickly and we need some dry weather to end that cycle. Not likely. The weatherman is calling for rain off and on this week.

Sunday Trees – 129

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….there’s just a slight tinge of green starting to appear on the treetops

Everything seems late this year. This time last year I was writing about the cherry blossoms in High Park (here). We’re looking at another week or two before that will happen. Seeing that there is no canopy of blossoms or greenery I will focus on the bark formations. I’ve always loved the texture of bark.

Join Becca Givens at Sunday Trees – 129 for more photographs of trees and join the challenge and add some of your own.

Happy Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….it should be more than spending one day picking up garbage

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that we make children aware of their environment and how to keep it clean but maybe we need to be more diligent about making sure that it stays clean so that we don’t need community clean-up days.

For me Earth Day should be about celebrating the wonders of nature and respecting our environment. Nothing burns me more than seeing people dump their garbage from their cars onto the road, sidewalk or parking lot especially when there’s a garbage bin a mere 20 feet away. There’s a sense of entitlement that I find offensive. If you say anything to these people you know you will be accosted with profanity and rude gestures.

Now that the weather has finally turned around we need to get out and breathe in the fresh air and look up, down and all around us and take in what this beautiful world has to offer. Listen to the sounds of the birds and observe the wildlife that inhabits your backyard. Our environment is precious and we need to savour it and protect it.

Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Open Topic

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..open topic? …hmmm!

I don’t often take black and white photos but while in Calgary I set my camera on the black and white setting by mistake. I think this magpie looks great in black and white.

Cee’s Black and White Challenge

A Word a Week – Violet

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…. it’s been awhile since I’ve participated in this challenge

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-violet/

A Word A Week: Undulate

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….Sue’s word challenge this week is ‘undulate’, meaning to move with a smooth wavelike motion

From subtle ripples in the sand to man made structures (pipe organ and hallway at the AGO) and back to nature (The Cheltenham Badlands).

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-undulate-waveyripple/#like-11928

Daily Prompt: The Power of Touch

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..it’s no secret I love texture

Nature has an abundance of beautiful textures. Here are a few of my favourite subjects to photograph because of their textural surfaces.

Fossils embedded in the rock.

Tree Bark

Feathers in the sand.

Lichen

For more photos of texture check out Daily Prompt: Texture

The Colours of November

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….the contrast between the grey skies and remaining flora is stunning

Unexpected Pleasures

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..the joys of spontaneity

I really didn’t have much in the way of plans for the weekend. The only thing that I really needed to do was buy new tires for my car. So early Saturday morning I dropped the car off at the Tire Centre at Costco and walked home. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the walk was invigorating. I made an unexpected stop at the library and successfully signed out the next book for our book club meeting in December. So far I’d logged in 5 kilometres of walking and it didn’t stop there.

When I got home I changed into my running shoes and joined my husband, my daughter, G, her dog, Lucy and our dog, Frances for a walk to Sam Smith Park. I brought along the camera and found lots of wonderful things to photograph. Again, I played around with the macro setting and got close and personal with some plant materials.

Not only did I walk another 5 kilometres but some of that distance was covered with running. I didn’t want to get too far behind the family who were always a few steps ahead of me. The distance would get longer every time I stopped to take pictures so I found myself running to catch up. Near the end of the trail I found the group sitting on the rocks waiting for me. As you can see, Lucy has fully recovered from her surgery.

Later in the day, my other daughter called and wanted to meet and go to Ikea. We planned to rendezvous at Costco when I picked up the car but when I got to the tire centre the car wasn’t ready. I quickly called my husband to pick me and the girls up and drop us off at Ikea. This part of the day wasn’t so wonderful for K but the rest of us had a great time. Since it was already late in the day, we decided to have dinner together after our shopping adventure at Ikea. Again K picked us up and took me back to Costco to get the car and then we each had a job to do to get dinner organized. A and I were assigned to get the salad and wine and K, G and J were in charge of getting the pizza.

The day ended with a lovely unplanned dinner with all the girls. G’s husband was at a conference in North Carolina and our son of course is still in Rotterdam. We sent him a quick message to see if he still wants to participate in our Secret Santa draw but I haven’t heard back from him yet. Next week we’re getting together again for a planned meal where we will draw names to see who we will buy gifts for this Christmas. I didn’t think I’d like the Secret Santa concept but we’ve done it for a couple of years now and it certainly takes some of the stress off of buying gifts at Christmas.

Yesterday we got an unexpected phone call from old friends who live in Calgary. They were in town and wanted to get together before they go back on Wednesday. Today was the best time for all of us so we met at the house and then drove over to the Roncesvalle area and had a nice lunch at Hey’s. We had a long leisurely lunch and got caught up on what’s been happening in our lives. My husband and L have been friends since grade school and we all went to university together. We were at each other’s weddings and the births of our children. We literally had to drive L and L to the hospital when their first child wanted to enter the world in the middle of the night. As luck would have it, their car wouldn’t start at that crucial moment in time.

What a great weekend; fantastic weather on Saturday, walking 10 k in one day, an unplanned dinner with family and an unexpected visit from old friends. What more could you ask for? I hope your weekend had some special moments as well.

Cheers!