Sunday, March 26, 2017

A Soft White Damn

The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.
~ E.E. Cummings


There is no snow on the ground as I write this. In fact, it's been teetering between rain and freezing rain all morning. The following images were taken after February's big snowfall. Hopefully it was the last big one.

Peterborough after the snow
Stepping outside of my apartment, I can see that the parking lot and walkway have been shoveled. Not all of the roads and sidewalks were as clear though. Let's head out to the lake.





Peterborough after the snow2
If those slingshot chairs, aptly named The Launch Pad were real, they might just be powerful enough to send you out into the open water.





frozen little lake
A fresh snowfall makes it difficult to discern where the land ends and the lake begins. The tree does grow rather close to the water.




Peterborough after the snow3
This walkway leads onto a large T-shaped dock. It's mostly covered in snow but you can still make out the outline.





Peterborough after the snow4
You can see it a lot better from this angle. Just a few months ago, these guys were having the time of their lives fetching tennis balls thrown from the pier, into the water.





Peterborough after the snow6
This was as far as I could get around the lake. The snow was too deep to traverse beyond this point.





firefighter in snow2
In a different direction, this guy was accepting his fate of trudging through the snow.





firefighter in snow3
He had several metres of frozen hose behind him, too.





reflection in snowy red
Heading back toward home, this bright red truck amid all of the snowy white caught my eye.





snow covered little library
The Little Library was wearing its snowcap. Nobody had visited since the recent storm.





memorial centre after snow
This is the parking lot at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. It took a long time for those piles to melt. I do believe they're completely gone by now - more than a month after the snowfall.





snow melts away2
A few days later, warming temperatures made for a quick melt. Bright, late afternoon sunshine made for saturated hues. And puddles offered some colourful reflections.





golden blvd
Walking into the lowering sun made for golden light.





golden blvd2
The road that leads to home - where Netflix awaits.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The Great Indoors

I like winter because I can stay indoors without feeling guilty.
~ Teressa Skelton

This winter hasn't been overly difficult. We've had cold temperatures but we've also had unseasonably warm spells. We've had significant snowfalls but also long periods of rain to do away with the evil white stuff. As some significant snow has fallen over much of the eastern United States and much of Ontario, as I post this, I can still see the grass but snow has begun falling in the last hour. Over the winter, many days were great for being outdoors but some of them lent themselves to enjoying the comfort of indoors. This post is about the latter.

Peterborough snowstorm
More than a few times, this was how the world looked outside my apartment window this winter. This was one of the bigger snowfalls we had - just a couple of weeks ago but it's long gone now. It looked a lot prettier from up here than it did whilst trying to drive through it in the pre-shoveled parking lot.





Neighbour kitties Oliver and Zephyr
It was the kind of day which lent itself to cozying up together in bed. The grey and white guy on the right is my Zephyr and the orange tabby is Oliver who belongs to my neighbour, Carol across the hall. He never hesitates to take advantage of an open door opportunity. If both Carol's and my doors are open, he bolts into my apartment and makes himself comfy. Zephyr doesn't seem to mind too much.. anymore.





Judy3
In February, I had the great enjoyment of listening to my cousin Judith lecture and perform at Trent University. She's an Ethnomusicologist, and a very entertaining speaker who engaged her intimate audience with stories about Spain's Medieval musical history in the Catholic, Jewish and Muslim cultures. I realize that sounds rather specific, particular and possibly a tad dry but I assure you that it was anything but. My friends Carol Anne, Dakshina and I enjoyed the evening greatly. Here, Judith is singing and demonstrating a style of tambourine. It was great to be able to spend time with my cousin during her first trip to Peterborough. She came by for dinner the following day before she had to head back to Toronto.





Angular stairs
This vertigo-inducing staircase was the way up to washroom. It was as narrow and angular as it appears when looking down. Maybe even more so.





freezing rain
The weather really doesn't quite know what to do with itself, this winter. On this night, we had rain which eventually froze over to leave this interesting pattern on my window.





bboyizm
A couple of nights after the lecture, Carol Anne and I attended a performance at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough. Here are five of this group of seven (usually eight but one was recovering from an injury) which forms a dance company called Bboyizm. They "promote and preserve the foundation, authenticity and true essence of all street dances." We weren't permitted to take photos during their performance but were allowed to do so afterward, during their very interesting and informative question and answer period.





bboyizm3
The man speaking is the Artistic Director/Choreographer/Founder and dancer, Yvon Soglo aka Crazy Smooth. From the program: "He has come to be known as one of Canada's top street dancers and the first "b-boy" to obtain a Canada Council grant to pursue and hone his art. He has studied with some of the top street dancers in New York, Philadelphia and Orlando. He has also coached acrobats at Cirque de Soleil and performed, taught and judged at events throughout North America and Europe. He has also facilitated projects and acted as advisor and received numerous prestigious awards." This very talented group from Gatineau (Quebec)/Ottawa (Ontario) has been together since 2004 and if you are given the opportunity to see them perform, I strongly advise you take it.





frost and freezing rain
I have no idea how some of the window had some liquid/melt and the rest had frost but it made for an interesting image.





FUtrump
Back in January - the twentieth to be exact. This was an image I caught on my television screen during the inauguration. Her face and earrings expressed the sentiments of many and her mittens might have represented her Canadian roots. I like how the closeup caught that she forgot to peel the size sticker off of the mits. She wears a size small/medium or petite/medium en français.





pothead
I had Carol Anne over for dinner one night and I had to laugh when I caught sight of the big smile on this pot of boiling potatoes. The face reflected in the curve of the pot was actually the two empty burners and a paring knife resting on the surface of the stove. What a happy cooking utensil.





sun peeking
I took this photo because I liked the colours that came out in the lighter clouds over to the left, above the tree. I bumped up the vibrancy a bit on this one so that you could see the subtle but colourful effect. It made for a pretty sky as seen from the great indoors.

More photos coming up before too long.

Friday, March 3, 2017

So You Walk

How can you explain that you need to know that the trees are still there, and the hills and the sky? Anyone knows they are. How can you say it is time your pulse responded to another rhythm, the rhythm of the day and the season instead of the hour and the minute?
No, you cannot explain. So you walk. ~ Author Unknown

The following photos were taken during various walks throughout December and January. I hope you enjoy the stroll.

daybreak
Daybreak brought some rich colour to the morning sky as seen from my apartment window. The vertical line is just a reflection from inside.





toward the lock - O rivers
My feet first brought me down to the Otonabee River where the sunlight sparkled on the water.





toward the lock - O river2
There's a vague promise of spring in the daylight.





lock 19
The view facing north from the lock.

lock 19 rushing water2
And a bit of an idea of how quickly that water is rushing.





turbulant waters
Not someplace I'd fancy losing hold of my camera.





toward the locks
Heading back along the riverbank, let's make our way through town and to Little Lake.





parking
This sign in front of a driveway amused me.





Wintry Little Lake
You can see some open water in the distance but much of the lake was frozen over and snowed upon.





winter docks
The empty docks await the return of boaters in late spring or early summer. That's when the city comes alive again.





batman delivers
Did you know that Batman is alive and well, and living in Peterborough?





Crescent street view
Late in the afternoon, clouds roll in. A small break in their puffiness allows the sun to shine her golden charm upon the lake and shoreline - enhanced somewhat with Photoshop.

More photos coming up before too much longer.