Challenges

Here are a few more photos from our walk through the woods on Sunday morning. This dragonfly was a challenge for both of us. He was completely backlit, and camouflaged by tree branches. Flustered by his choice of perch, we crouched down low, and craned our necks, angling for the best point of view.

Nature doesn’t always stop for us, which can be frustrating, but also a learning experience.   Sometimes you can make it work in a surprising way, capturing something in a way you hadn’t noticed before. Other times it’s best to just enjoy the moment and move on. I guess what I’m trying to say is…

…have patience, but learn to let things go.

Woven Rainbows

This morning a friend and I took a walk through a new trail. I’m still not exactly sure what it was called, this one was difficult to find any information on. If you are interested, it is on Corkstown Road, off of Moodie, and you can click this link for the co-ordinates.

The weather was wonderful; perfect the entire weekend, really. I am so glad I had the opportunity to share the day with another photographer. It’s always interesting to see different perspectives of the same subject. Today we both seemed to be mesmerized by spider webs:

The web was softly billowing in the wind like a sail, letting the sunlight reflect on its fine threads. Since I was using the manual setting on my camera, you can see how the wind changed my point of focus, and magnified the rainbow effect.

On Shadows and Simple Beauty

Lately I’ve been finding a lot of shadows in my photography travels. They’re always there, but we tend to see the foreground of things~ a flower, a leaf or a bird, and the rest is sort of a backdrop. Yet shadows have just as much character and movement as the real thing; swaying in the wind or flying underfoot. They are mysterious, giving you only the necessary details of a dark silhouette. The sun decides the length and angle of their reach, and the objects that they stretch out upon determine their texture and topography.

I have finally gotten my hands on a copy of a book by John Muir, The Mountains of California. It is a bit of a heavy read, as he was a bit of an intense observer, with an incredible attention to geographic detail. It is a lot of information to take in, but he describes it all with such poetic beauty. I find myself wishing high school textbooks could have captured my attention the same way. There is a beautiful paragraph on the transformative power of glaciers, and how they are made of tiny snowflakes (or snow-flowers, as he refers to them):

“Come, we are feeble; let us help one another. We are many, and together we will be strong.” 

Summer Flowers

Nothing much to report these days, just enjoying the last few days of summer. I have taken a short break from picture-taking. Over the last couple of weeks I took so many that I was overwhelmed by processing and organizing them into posts. Although I amassed quite a collection of pink flower photos, so I’ll share some of those with you:

 

Beehive, Work in Progress

Here is the latest embroidery piece that I finished the other night, for my work in progress. Each one has been very simple so far, so I am hesitant to add anything more to this one (I was thinking it might need a hole or a door). In any case, it will have to be put on hold. Yesterday I injured my left thumb in a peach pie incident. so my dexterity for stitching will be somewhat limited for a few days.

One of my new dragonflies was featured in a new Autumn treasury today, which is beautiful and golden. Click here to see it:

And while you’re at it, you should also stop by the curator’s shop, CaitlinSainio. We seem to have a few other things in common, and her work is lovely.

On Paper Wings

We the Fairies, blithe and antic,
Of dimensions not gigantic,
Though the moonshine mostly keep us,
Oft in orchards frisk and peep us.
~Thomas Randolph

One of my butterflies is in a pretty treasury~ click the image to see it:

Autumn Gardens

Last week we noticed some of the trees changing colours a little early~ it’s only August, after all. And although I wouldn’t necessarily call these autumn flowers ~except the sunflowers of course~ there were a great many with autumn-inspired colours. The yellow flowers on these vines caught the afternoon sun like little lanterns:

Oh dear…

I caught some photos of the White Whale, and I think he has seen better days. Who knows what kind of trouble he’s been getting himself into?

I’ve noticed that the Cabbage Whites seem to prefer tiny purple flowers. I’ve seen them on Lavender, Thistles, and these things that look like tiny foxglove:

The Bumblebees like the Lavender too:

Does anyone know what these are? I’d like to plant them in my future-imaginary garden so I can stalk white butterflies.

Wood Ducks at the Arboretum

On Sunday we had a quiet little picnic at the Arboretum. Although it wasn’t sunny at all, we found a tree to sit under, and enjoyed watching the ducks swim by. I was pleased to see three juvenile Wood Ducks near where we were sitting. Around here most of the ducks we see are Mallards, so I was really excited to see them. As ducklings they are brown with striped feathers, but as adults they are strikingly beautiful. (Click here to see the male Wood Duck from last January.)

I snapped a few photos before my camera battery died… oops! It so seldom needs to be recharged, it didn’t even occur to me. It’s probably for the best though. Here you only have to look at one photo of a baby wood duck instead of fifty. But isn’t he cute?

Calendars

I know that it’s early, but if I wait too long, some things just never get done! Available in my shop now are desk calendars for 2011. Each page is loose, so it can be pinned on the fridge, bulletin board or in a frame. When you are finished with each month, you have a 5x5 piece of art to hang on your wall. Thanks to RaceyTay for generously sharing her Photoshop skills. I am also considering printing a full-sized calendar, so stay tuned for that this fall.

Desk Calendar – 2011

 

 

Embroidery, a Work in Progress

When I saw this collection of batik cottons at Dragonfly Fabrics, I fell in love with them immediately. I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I wanted some inspiring canvases to practice my embroidery. I bought four pieces in complimentary colours, blue, green, purple and one that is multi-coloured (see mushroom below). I am very slowly putting together a collection of small squares, hopefully enough to put together some day!

Not perfect, but getting there, and enjoying the learning curve!

Forest Treasury

I woke up this morning to a very  pretty treasury:

See it HERE

Is it Autumn Already?

On our walk through Mud Lake, we spotted some red and orange leaves on some of the trees. It was hot and humid. and just the sight of the leaves changing made me yearn for Fall. It is my favourite time of year, weather-wise. It still feels like summer, except with crisp air, apple cider, corduroy and the desire to be cozy.

We’re planning to go apple-picking in September, as part of our new “finish-work-early to-do-something-fun” program. What are you looking forward to this Fall?

Little Brown Cow

…as seen through a split-rail fence at Upper Canada Village.

He quite happily let me scratch his head and back for awhile, and then decided he’d had enough.

Ribbit

I collected a summer’s worth of frogs on my camera today. I walked through Mud Lake with a photographer friend, whose eyes were keen to the frogs. I don’t always notice them, except the ones that are too far away. There were also a few turtles, like last time, but one was pretty close to the shore so we were able to see him better.

 

It was a great day, despite the on-and-off drizzle and grey skies!