Thaw

It doesn't feel very warm out but the snow is starting to melt;
could spring be just around the corner?

Saturday Stroll

Here are a few more I took yesterday with the macro lens!

I like this first one because you can see a woodpecker hole in the tree behind the (lonely) leaf! They've really done a number on the trees that line the road that goes to my parents' house.
A little bit of bokeh in this one :)
The road has quite a number of log fences and there's always something great to photograph on them, the older the better! Here is a gorgeous blue lichen covered in snow/ice.
The end of a log fence; again I love the blue lichens and green moss!There's no shortage of snow mobiles in the area either. There were six of them racing around the lake all afternoon yesterday.

First Snow

So, we're having a blizzard....in October. We're expecting about 15 cm tonight and by Friday it's supposed to go back up to 13 degrees. Lucky for the trick-or-treaters; I remember when I was little, some years we had to wear our costumes over our snowsuits! So I guess this isn't all that odd but it doesn't mean I have to like it!
I took these a few minutes ago (around 9 pm) and it's only been snowing for a couple of hours. I can't wait to see what we wake up to tomorrow. Obviously there is nothing fancy about these, just wanted to show what we're dealing with! It was so blustery out I didn't even both to change a camera setting!

I couldn't help myself...

I pledge that this will be my last 'snow' photo of this winter. Just when we thought spring had sprung here in Ottawa, we woke up to a disgusting morning of snow mixed with ice pellets that later changed to rain. I took pictures but then decided I couldn't post more snow pics but since my life has been consumed with house-hunting (we think we found our house though!!!) I just haven't had the time or energy to get out and find things to photograph so I have given in and done it again :(
I hope to find some time in the near future to take some more photos but I have a lot going on in the next couple of months - a comprehensive exam for my program and *hopefully* moving into a new house. Cross your fingers and toes for us!

It's Melting...

It's not warm here yet by any stretch of the imagination but all the snow we've accumulated is beginning to melt. The worries are starting to move beyond collapsing roofs to flooded basements. Will it ever end??

Blowing Snow

I happened to catch some powdery snow falling out of the trees; I didn't think the picture would come out well but it's not too bad...

I'd also like to wish my dad a happy birthday!

Even Tim Horton's is shut down!

Ok, so I know I've been discussing this storm a lot....and now you'll see why. I haven't heard the final amount that fell but I'm sure it's 50+ cm. People are stuck everywhere and even the Timmy's down the street is SHUT DOWN (along with everything else). Can you imagine?!?!?!? Whatever are we going to do?!?!!? lol
The first photo is outside of my patio door; I had to be quick (hence the poor angles, etc.) because I was afraid the snow would fall in the door!! To provide some kind of reference, that snow pile (not shoveled, that's how it fell) is taller than me (5'8")!!!
I live in an older town house complex and we're pretty much snowed in; the complex has been plowed (I knew there was a reason we pay such high condo fees!) but nothing outside of it has; so I was limited to where I could go. These are all in and around my house.

This next one is fun because it shows some of the snow hanging off a roof but I liked it more because of the kitty in the window :)

It's difficult to tell but these piles are taller than doorways!

This used to be a path; now it's beneath more than 6' of snow!

The end of the world as we know it....

Ottawa is expecting 50 cm of snow over the next 24 hours; Brannon and I just came home from yet another dinner out (last one for a while!) to this scene out our patio door. It's not-at-all uncommon for Ottawa to receive 30 cm of snow in one storm but 50 cm is pretty crazy. Over the last few days I've heard lots of people joke that it's the apocalypse....lol. The next few days are going to be unpleasant to be sure, but it's doubtful the world is going to end :)
Unfortunately, this poor weather is preventing us from celebrating a very important little girl's birthday party in Toronto on Saturday. We wish Danielle the happiest of first birthdays!!

It's not flowers in bloom.... :)

It's been a while since I posted any 'snow' pics and since it's snowing again.....

The Calm After the Storm

Not a creature was stirring.....

Wild Turkies

Guess what? It's snowing again! The turkies are around pretty regularly when it's snowy and gray outside; but never when the sun is shining. Boo. Regardless, I've been stalking them for over a week now and today I caught them eating right out of Brannon's parents' bird feeder. With the deep snow, they're having difficulty finding food.

I mentioned last week that I had a special interest in wild turkies; that is because when I was a kid my parents raised them in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to repopulate eastern Ontario. We raised them and then the MNR released them. Literally all of the turkies we see here now (and there are lots!) are descendants of ours. I absolutely love them and have countless hysterical stories about 'life with turkies'. This post is dedicated to 'Peaches', the only one that ever became a pet. He was never released because he was far too tame and eventually lived out his days on a breeding farm after my parents stopped raising them :)

I also have to shout out a huge congratulations to Canada's Junior Men's hockey team who won gold at the World Junior Championship today in a nail-biter against Sweden; they won 3-2 in overtime. I didn't think to snap a photo of the tv during the game, nor even during the victory celebration, so here are James Duthie and Bob Mackenzie discussing the game on TSN. Brannon and I watched each and every game (like we do every year) and loved every minute of it!!

Getting caught up....

We were feeling a little bit rough yesterday so I didn't get any photos posted...we had a great time on New Year's Eve and despite taking lots of pics, I've decided not to post them in the interest of privacy :)

Earlier in the day though, I took this shot of the sun. This is straight out of my camera with no enhancements; the trick was taking it through the visor-portion of my car windshield (hence the blue tinge).

The rest of my photos for today I took this morning; I was so excited to see the sun!

A chickadee in the lilac tree in the front yard. I like how the sun shines on his back.

One of the Madden twins playing in the gigantic snow banks from yesterday's snowstorm.

The wind continues to swirl the newly-fallen snow around. Here is Canada's version of the crop circle :)

A day on the Tay

So, I stalked the turkies that I mentioned in my previous post but I was only able to take photos through windows from the house (the second you go outside they run/fly away) and I'm not-at-all pleased with what I have to show you so I'll merely show you one; just to show you how close to the house they venture. I SO love them :)

As I said, we are visiting Brannon's parents today in Port Elmsley where they live on the Tay River. During my turkey stalking I took some photos of the river as well. It's snowing like crazy again here today (although so much of the snow we had has since melted) so I find the photos look pretty washed out and dreary.
The hammock is still hanging from the tree by the river so I thought I'd take a few shots of that. Imagine how nice it is to lay on in the summer by the river in the back yard...

What to say about today??

I don't even know what to say about today; nothing about it went as I expected it would...thanks to an emergency dental visit for my dear Brigitte - I hope you get better soon!!
You know it's funny - I've been lugging my big ol' camera around with me now pretty much every day since I started this blog but today I thought I'd have lots of time for photos once I got home so I didn't bring it with me. Of course, plans changed and I didn't have my camera AND I found a number of things I would have liked to photograph. Isn't that always the way?!?!!?
It's a good thing I snapped one photo this morning before I headed out. It's the first time I've seen frost on our windows so far this winter (usually we can't see for all the darn snow!).

In true science-geek fashion I have to admit that these 'round' frost formations kinda remind me of bacterial colonies :) :)

Hog's Back

Welcome to Hog's Back; another stop along the Rideau Canal. Clearly though, the boats don't traverse this part of it!
I'm so disappointed with my photos from today:
1) I knew that I was going to try to make it over here at some point and I knew I should have gone this morning before work because the sun was shining brilliantly but I was itching to get into the lab (to get the final go-ahead from my advisor on a project I've been working on) so I decided to wait until later on. Well, when I came out of the hospital this afternoon it was overcast - ick.
2) It's next-to-impossible to shoot from any interesting angles here because of the fences that completely block off any access (I know, I know; it's for my own safety!), not to mention the deep deep snow I had to trek through to get there....
On a positive note though, all this trekking around is great exercise that I wouldn't be getting otherwise. I actually went out after my little jaunt today to get some new and more appropriate clothing for this....lol....I plan to spend every spare moment I have in Banff next week outside with my camera so warm clothes are key! :) Also, my new winter boots are in so I can go and get them any time - YAY for goose down and warmth capacity to -40 degrees!
Anyway, so enough chatter and onto the photos; keep in mind these would be a lot more impressive in the summer and if there was good light!

Why hang out in the frigid water when you could fly south?!?!?

Doesn't it look cold?!?!?!

Here I was just playing around with the colour.

Lastly, this is the railing that's supposed to protect you from falling into the rapids. They're not kidding when they say that our infrastructure is crumbling!

It's a Snow Day!

Given that I didn't go into the lab on account of the weather today I decided I had better not venture very far (in other words, no use of the car) for my photos. So I ran around the area searching for things to photograph. Nothing overly exciting today....

I followed this little critter around as he literally ran along the side of a building.

I liked this one because not only is the knot covered in snow but you can still see the colourful mosses on the bark.

This chair sits outside between 2 lilac bushes year-round; the snow gets knocked off by the squirrels dancing around in the trees!

I just thought this looked neat; the snow melts perfectly as the heat escapes.