Eerie Light/ Barn Charm

East Gwillimbury barn behind a pioneer cemetery

Wait! Do you hear something? Methinks it's not a good night to take the shortcut to the barn.

I am linking to BARN CHARM at Trish's Bluff Area Daily.

Spider/ Macro Monday

Trick or Treat :)

To see more macro shots visit  MACRO MONDAY at Lisa's Chaos.

Talbot River/ Scenic Sunday

Talbot River, Bolsover, Ontario

To see more scenic photos visit  SCENIC SUNDAY.

Creepy Crawlies/ My Town

Garter snake getting away

This week's My Town Shoot Out challenge: Creepy Crawlies

Garter snake hiding

I am linking to My Town Shoot Out

Mergansers/ NF Winged

 Merganser ducks swimming on Lake Simcoe

It was a cool, windy day...a great day for swimming if you're a duck!

Swimming with the gulls

I am linking to NF Winged (Nature Footsteps) HERE.

Fish/ Signs, Signs

Look who's parked out front

Yep, that's a boat for fishing,  and inside the restaurant are the three fishers who arrived with this boat. Hmmm.

I am linking to Lesley at Sign, Signs HERE

O/ ABC Wednesday

 OLD truck beside field of cranberries

Just how OLD is this truck?

 Lichen

It's PLD enough to have lichen growing on it's boards and...

Moss

and moss growing on it's rust.

ABC Wednesday.

Equestrian Farm/ Barn Charm

Alpine Equestrian Centre near Collingwood, Ontario

Pristine and lovely!

An overview of the farm above

I am linking to BARN CHARM at Trish's Bluff Area Daily.

Oak Leaf/ Macro Monday

Somebody has been eating this leaf!

To see more macro shots visit  MACRO MONDAY at Lisa's Chaos.

Georgian Bay/ Scenic Sunday

Sandy beach on south side of Georgian Bay, Ontario

Last Sunday was a day of ever-changing weather: sun, drizzle, overcast, rain and back to sun again...over and over. When we reached this beach it was going through a sunny phase so the water looked green in places. Then it clouded it over and...well, you get the picture.

To see more scenic photos visit  SCENIC SUNDAY.

Something Old.../ My Town

 Something Old

This week's My Town Shoot Out challenge: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Last weekend, the Board of the East Gwillimbury Public Library hosted a used book sale and Friday morning I was one of the volunteers who helped them set up. Lots and lots of OLD books there.

 Something new

True, the cellophane covered basket is not a book, but it was part of the sale. One of the board members is very good at putting together baskets of NEW goodies to be sold at a silent auction.

 Something borrowed

Some of the books were donated by the library, books that had not circulated for some time but certainly had been BORROWED in the past.

Something blue

And as you know, books come in every colour of the rainbow...including BLUE.

I am linking to My Town Shoot Out

Heron/ NFWinged

Great blue heron

This photo is from my archives. Last weekend I saw four blue herons in different places in the Holland Marsh so they have not migrated south yet.

I am linking to NF Winged (Nature Footsteps) HERE.

Diecast Toys/ Signs, Signs

Jolleys, Meaford, Ontario

This retailer sells scale replica die-cast toys including some hard-to-find and discontinued ones.  Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? :))

I am linking to Lesley at Sign, Signs HERE

N/ ABC Wednesday

 NUTS: black walnuts (each approx. 2 1/2 inches across) still on the tree

These NUTS are ready when they have fallen to the ground. Black walNUTS have a very different taste from English walNUTS. Black walNUTS have a smokey flavour with a hint of wine.

Two whole NUTS and one ravaged by a squirrel

Why is it humans require a heavy-duty nutcracker, a vise, a heavy hammer or a large rock to crack them open, and squirrels need none of these tools?

ABC Wednesday.

In Technicolour./ Barn Charm

Yesterday, Mono Mills, Ontario

The weather was iffy - alternating between rain and sun - but it was lovely to be out and about.

This barn must have been coated with stain this summer because it stood out against the sky big time.

I am linking to BARN CHARM at Trish's Bluff Area Daily.

Skipper/ Macro Monday

 Hobomok skipper (I think)

It's a skipper for sure but exactly which variety I'm not positive.  Last Monday was an unseasonably warm day here in south-central Ontario and a few butterflies and skippers were attracted to my butterfly bush (Buddleia) not yet hit by frost.

The sun was very bright, not a cloud in the sky, and the Buddleia is next to a white house so I think the orange on the skipper's wings is a tad bit duller in reality than shown here.

Another view of the skipper

This little guy would NOT sit still for a proper photo shoot so it was near to impossible to adjust the dials on my camera before it moved to another spot.

To see more macro shots visit  MACRO MONDAY at Lisa's Chaos.

In the Pink/ Scenic Sunday

Pink clouds over corn field

From my archives: I like the contrast of the texture of the corn stalks with the fluffiness of the clouds.

To see more scenic photos visit  SCENIC SUNDAY.

Sweets/ My Town

Sweet Peas

This week's My Town Shoot Out challenge: SWEETS

Each of these sweets grows in my yard: the sweet peas in my garden, the sweet violets in my grass. and the sweet potato vines in pots by my kitchen door,

Sweet violet

Sweet potato vine

I am linking to My Town Shoot Out

American Pipit/ NF Winged

American Pipit

I'm pretty sure this is an American pipit but if you know otherwise please speak up!


I am linking to NF Winged (Nature Footsteps) HERE.

Lost?/ Signs, Signs

Seen at an oldies car show

I'm not so sure I'd want to be lost back in the 50s but the owner of this 50s vehicle seemed happy there.


I am linking to Lesley at Sign, Signs HERE

M/ ABC Wednesday

 River just below the MILL dam, Owen Sound, Ontario

This pond and creek are a popular destination in early October. Are you wondering what the little girl and her grandmother are looking at?

 The MILL pond above the dam

They are watching the same things the people standing over the dam and beside the fish ladder are looking at.

Sydenham River

Chinook salmon are heading up the river to spawn. Males abd females are returning to the streams where they were hatched. Females are looking for places to bury their eggs. This is the end of a four-year cycle ending in a mating dance and, sadly, death soon after.

 Salmon swimming against the current

The river is so shallow in some places that some fins are above water. Many will climb up the fish ladder (which the little girl in the first photo is standing beside) to lay their eggs further upstream. As the fish climb the ladder, they actually jump into the air.

Many salmon swimming upstream

We were at the MILL Dam at the beginning of the salmon run. Apparently in a few days there will be many fish jumping up the ladder. It must be an amazing sight!

ABC Wednesday.

Autumn/ Barn Charm

Barn in autumn

Wish I could remember where I took this photo...but I cannot.

I am linking to BARN CHARM at Trish's Bluff Area Daily.

Crabapples/ Macro Monday

Ripe crabapples

The crabapples look big in this photo but each one is approximately an inch and a quarter across.

To see more macro shots visit  MACRO MONDAY at Lisa's Chaos.

Thistles/ Today's Flowers

Thistles gone to seed

If you love flowers check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/ 

Thankful/ My Town Shoot Out

Canadian Thanksgiving, October 10, 2011

The list of things I am thankful for is way, WAY too long to publish here, so instead I have decided to show you what this turkey is thankful for.

I am linking to My Town Shoot Out

Clouded Sulphur/ Winged

Clouded sulphur butterflies

From my archives: These butterflies rarely sit still, but one early September afternoon on a damp dirt road we came upon a huge gathering sipping moisture from the soil. They must have been very thirsty.

I am linking to NF Winged (Nature Footsteps) HERE.

For Bears/ Signs Signs

 Seen in Gravenhurst, Ontario

The bin

I am linking to Lesley at Sign, Signs HERE

L/ ABC Wednesday

LANDMARK tower, LAKE of Bays, Ontario

Situated on Bigwin Island, this water tower can be seen for miles around -  a reference point for many boaters who can easiy become confused boating on Lake of Bays, a large lake with 500 miles of undulating shoreline.

When I first spied the structure, I thought it might be a LOOKOUT tower. Well, actually, brave souls can climb the circular staircase on the outside wall until they reach the cement circular staircase on the inside, which apparently used to have no handrail and maybe still doesn't. (Just thinking about it makes my palms sweat!) At the top they climb up through a hole in the ceiling to the viewing level. Not for the faint of heart! But the view is said to be spectacular.

ABC Wednesday.

Late Afternoon/ Barn Charm

Golden light

Gotta love this time of day!

I am linking to BARN CHARM at Trish's Bluff Area Daily.

Marbles/ Macro Monday

 Green marble

Green, amber and blue marbles

To see more macro shots visit  MACRO MONDAY at Lisa's Chaos.

Autumn/ Today's Flowers

Toad lily (Tricyrtis)

Doesn't it remind you of a tiny orchid?  This lovely little lily blooms in late September/ early October in the shade beneath a little-leaf linden tree in my side yard.

If you love flowers check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/