A Dog & His Dock: A love affair

#photography, #photos, Cute, Cuteness, Dogs, Georgian Bay, Lakes, Life, Ontario, Otter Lake, Parry Sound, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Uncategorized, Water

We put a new dock in this August, and Linc, the ball hound has claimed it as his most favourite place!

Photo Credit: Linda Sullivan

Nothing like jumping off the dock after a ball!

Loving this dock mom!

Early Autumn, a time for contemplation

#gardens, #photography, #photos, Autumn, Canada, Color, Colour, Coumtry Roads, Country Living, Countryside, Fall, Georgian Bay, Land, Landscape, Leaves, Nature, Otter Lake, Parry Sound, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Skies, Uncategorized

The leaves are gradually changing colour, lighting up the early Autumn landscape with splashes and swaths of glorious orange, gold, yellow, red, burgundy, crimson, brown and maroon splendour. In a week or so, the forests, roadsides and countryside will be at their peak, on fire with intense colour. Mother Nature’s fashion show: my favourite time of year is here again. I am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy another Autumn in central Ontario.

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Around every corner is yet another inspirational scene.

Yellow daisy-like flowers spring up every Fall along this section of our backroad. I couldn’t resist taking a video of them as they were gently swaying in the early afternoon autumn breeze.

They are bewitching in the sunlight, so bright and cheery. Maybe the flowers are nature’s way of reminding those who pass by to slow down and enjoy them for a moment for winter is on it’s way soon.

Marshland, grasses and ground cover is equally stunning this time of year.

Soon winter will be here and the landscape will be blanketed in snow. But, I’ll be content to revive these memories of this Fall’s colour show.

Such reflection will see me through the cold winter, through the new, bright greens of spring and, God willing, eventually to the enjoyment of the splendour of another Autumn.

Living on the Precambrian Shield

Canada, Coumtry Roads, Great Lakes, Highways, Lakes, Ontario, Parry Sound, Roads, Rocks, Travel, Trees, Uncategorized

There’s much to be thankful for living in Ontario: a landscape complete with lush forests, countless lakes and rivers, a wide variety of wildlife, cities, and country roads dotted with villages and small towns. One of the most iconic aspects of Ontario’s landscape are the often endless rock formations. Especially in central and northern Ontario, it’s almost impossible to look around any local roadway, field or forest without seeing rock.

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Living inland from Georgian Bay, the rocks running beneath local waterways and ground are all part of the Precambrian Shield (also called the Canadian Shield) – the ancient geological core of the North American continent. Covering an immense portion of Ontario, the igneous rock that makes up the Shield reveals themselves along every lakeshore, roadway and almost every forest, backyard and driveway in central and northern Ontario. This rock formation also towers above many Ontario highways. When driving along many of Ontario’s highways and bi-ways, it’s virtually impossible not to marvel at the sheer scale of the Shield, and the immense effort it took our forefathers and construction crews to ‘get through’ the Shield in order to build central and northern roads.

Here are but a few photos of such rock beauty.

Signs of Fall

#gardens, #photography, #photos, Coneflowers, flowers, Garden, gardening, Gardens, Ontario, Otter Lake, Parry Sound, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Plants, Wildflowers

Happy Cacti & Succulents

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While other plants have wilted or retreated from this summer’s excessive heat, my cacti and succulents enjoying their seasonal residence on the front deck have relished the long, hot spotlight. Many of the cacti especially have been so happy they’ve rebloomed twice, a rarity for some species.

Of all the coneflowers, in all the gardens, you fly onto mine

#gardens, #photography, #photos, Bees, Butterflies, Canada, Coneflowers, Country Living, flowers, Garden, gardening, Gardens, insects, Monarch Butterflies, Nature, Otter Lake, Parry Sound, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Plants, Uncategorized, Wildflowers, Wildlife

I haven’t seen many butterflies thus far this year, so a few days ago I was excited to be treated to a wonderful scene on my garden coneflower. This beauty alighted and fed for a long time, but she wasn’t alone as another little flying beauty was also admiring the echinacea.

Photo Credit: Linda Sullivan

The monarch and the bee had a bit of an aerial scuffle, but soon the bee moved onto some other tasty wildflowers and the butterfly was left to alight and feed for an extended period of time.