FARE THEE WELL

Fare thee well
My own true love
Farewell for a while
I’m going away
But I’ll be back
Though I go 10,000 miles

10,000 miles
My own true love
10,000 miles or more
The rocks may melt
And the seas may burn
If I should not return

Oh don’t you see
That lonesome dove
Sitting on an ivy tree
She’s weeping for
Her own true love
As I shall weep for mine

Oh come ye back
My own true love
And stay a while with me
If I had a friend
All on this earth
You’ve been a friend to me
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After what seems like months of deliberation I have finally come to the decision to end my blog. I had decided to do this a few months back but was persuaded not to by loving family members who didn't want me to quit.
At the time after thinking about it I decided to keep going, despite my reasons for wanting to shut it down.
But I have come back to the same reasons again and therefore am going to go ahead with my decision.
It is wonderful to be creative... I have found through my blog and other outlets that I enjoy this part of myself but it also has caused me quite a bit of stress trying to come up with unique ways of expressing myself without becoming boring and mundane.
I have found my photo taking and sharing to be repetitive and my stories uninspiring at times. The well does become dry and in searching for new things to write about I feel I am having to dig deeper and deeper.
The whole idea of blogging can be therapeutic but in my case some of the time it hasn't been.

I had hoped my readership would increase eventually but it hasn't beyond a few really loyal readers who come often. And it is those people that I wish to thank for taking the time to visit.....

Thank you Bob, Mom, Mike and Debbie, David, Bruce and Catharine. Thank you also to any others who have visited that I don't know personally but I do appreciate all of you for your interest, comments and support over the course of this blog.
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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3 1-8

AMEN

Karen
xoxo

MISTY GRAY SKY MORNING

To Beet, or Not to Beet

Beet Salad

So simple to prepare... so few ingredients....

Cooked sliced beets
Pear slices
Pecans or Walnuts sprinkled over the top
Onion pieces

Feta or Goat cheese could be used also

Arranged artfully on a plate with any kind of vinaigrette dressing poured over top.

Bye Bye Leaves

Dinner is Served

Sweet and Sour Meatballs.... so colorful. so tasty!!

SUNSHINE ON MY CHAIR MAKES ME HAPPY

OH NO... SAY IT AIN'T SO

I don't know if you can really tell by the picture or not but it is snowing! First it began as a light flurry, then it came down harder in pellets, then changed to beautiful soft Christmas snow... then it stopped abruptly and got sunny. Way too early but it is to be expected living in the north. Happily it was just a small taste of what is to come.

Sunrise... SUNSET

Sunset at the back of the house

ANOTHER GORGEOUS SUNRISE

The sunrise was incredible again this morning. The clouds were building in anticipation of a morning sprinkle and the combination of the two was stunning. So hard to capture the actual beauty of it.

Bruce took this with our old camera in the spring using the macro setting....

A solitary sunflower in our front garden

TIMBER .... Part 4 or BET YOU'RE GLAD THIS IS FINALLY OVER

Bruce sawing off the bottom half of the tree stump. His next job will be hacking away at the remaining stump to get it out of the ground, otherwise the tree will start sprouting leaves and growing up into a tree again. Also kind of dangerous to have stumps sticking up all over the yard.

TOTE THAT BARGE, LIFT THAT BALE aka TIMBER... Part 3

Bruce taking away the top half of the tree to a dumping station

TIMBER Part 2

Here are neighbor John and Bruce amongst the carnage.......

TIMBER!!

Today's photo is one of several I will post in the next two or three days. They are the latest in the antics of an over zealous Bruce. We have several large maple trees in our back yard all in the same area of the yard. A bit of overkill, they do provide good shade in the summer, but I suppose we really don't need that many trees all in the same space. So Bruce has been taking them down, one by one. After removing two of them in summers past he decided he needed to take out another one and began scheming about how to go about it.

This morning after he went out right after breakfast to do some raking I noticed a flurry of activity around the tree in question. He had built himself a makeshift ladder out of some rotting boards that were once a border around a vegetable garden. And he was up on the ladder sawing branches off the tree. After getting a few branches down the larger ones were starting to prove to be more of a challenge. Enter our neighbour with his large ladder and rope which they secured around the tree. Bruce sawed and John held the rope and between them they got the very tall top half of the tree down.

More tomorrow.....

Sunrise Over Elliot

Back to Laurentian Lodge Again

Fungus Growing out of Tree

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner out. We went to Dunlop Lodge just north of town for the third year in a row. Bruce was really looking forward to it and had been since we were there last year. They put on a really nice buffet dinner and the food is excellent, this year being no exception. Besides the obvious turkey they had ham, stuffing balls which are always my favorite part of the meal, mashed potatoes, a sweet potato dish, several autumn vegetables, two salads... their signature caesar salad which I always look forward to and a tossed salad with strawberries, buns, gravies and sauces, and several different desserts including the thanksgiving traditional pumpkin pie.
I was pretty careful selecting what I would be eating and besides the stuffing balls I stuck mostly to foods that wouldn't do too much damage to my blood sugar.
And I skipped dessert even which was a huge feat for me!

The day was lovely... sunny and breezy and we were seated by the door onto the deck overlooking the lake. The sun was shining brightly through the windows and the breeze was so nice, it was really relaxing and an enjoyable time.

We are both anticipating next year already!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy 10/10/10

Happy Birthday to my Brother, Mike!!

I'm The King of the Castle....

This is an experiment using a new program I found to make mosaic collages out of photograph collections. When I get a bit more time I plan on doing some interesting collections!

Willisville Rock Formation

WILLISVILLE

Yesterday when we went to Manitoulin Island we stopped on our way home in a lovely little village named Willisville. The scenery there is a photographers dream. It would be difficult for me to describe the village and the road into the village so I have included a history of the village below.........................................

The picturesque Village of Willisville is located on Frood Lake in the heart of the La Cloche Mountains , one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Less than two billion years ago and before glacial erosion these beautiful quartzite and granite mountain ranges were as high as the Himalayas. Frood Lake, Charlton Lake and Cranberry Bay are all part of the lake system accessible from Willisville.

The village derives its name from the first family, Ernest and Ada Willis, who settled on the northwest shore of Frood Lake in 1910. Mr. Willis became the first area postmaster on April 14, 1919 and continued until his death on December 24, 1928. He was also inspector of railway construction for the rail line connecting McKerrow and Little Current. On May 21, 1912 the line was opened.

Ada Willis was postmaster from February 25, 1929 until April 27, 1932 and was reappointed on May 13, 1932 after her marriage to Henry Bennett. She remained as postmaster until her death on November 13, 1943 at which time Henry Bennett assumed the position of acting postmaster until January 14, 1944.

The area prospered with the development of the Bousquet Gold Mine and Howry Creek Mining Camp until their close in the early 20's.

The highway to Manitoulin was completed in 1926 as a relief project and up to that time the rail line was used extensively.

The quartzite mountains, crystal clear lakes, windswept pines and abundant wildlife draw many visitors to the area to canoe, hike, camp, fish, snowmobile, hunt, photograph and paint the landscape. Many of Canada’s famous Group of Seven; including A.J. Casson, Franklin Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris and Arthur Lismer painted and camped in this area for numerous years. Franklin Carmichael’s summer cabin was built in 1934 and Willisville residents help construct the log building.

In the 1930’s three lodges were located where the present day village is situated. Golden’s Camp, Kinsman’s Camp and Willis’s Camp were moved when Inco opened nearby Lawson Quarry and built homes for the workers in 1941. In 1942 the school was opened for the children of the Inco workers living in the village.

It was a great place to live , work and raise a family for the quarry workers and today’s residents enjoy the same village life only 15 minutes away from Espanola, 20 minutes from Manitoulin Island and an hour from Sudbury.

In the mid 70’s Inco sold the village to Edward Bourque who made numerous improvements to the 26 residences and in 1984 turned it into one of Ontario’s most unique condominiums.

The 55 residents own their land and everything on it but share in the common areas and expenses...............................................................................

On a final note: Nestled in amongst rock, trees and water I think it would be difficult to find any prettier place to live or visit and to take pictures. I took many photographs and still couldn't capture the exquisite beauty and peacefulness of this place.

Link to Willisville site: http://www.willisville.ca/

Deer Readers

Yesterday we spent the day on Manitoulin Island. The deer in the photo surprised me and came out of nowhere and ran across the road in front of our car. I rushed to get my camera set up and had to take the pictures of them from the car which is awkward at best. This was the best shot of the three that I took. These whitetailed deer are plentiful on the island. We hardly ever see deer around Elliot Lake so I was excited to get a few photos. I love the deer... they are a beautiful and graceful creature.

Hello Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Thanks for visiting!!

Gazebo Overlooking the Lake

VIEW FROM MY BACKYARD

------- Laurentian Lodge ------

A beautiful sunny but windy cool day. Lunch was wonderful; scenery even better.
Sad to see the lodge close up for the winter.

Photo a Day

I have decided to try a new idea with my blogging.

A photo a day.

This will keep me posting on a daily basis plus encourage me to try using my camera more often.

The other day Bruce and I went out for a drive up north of the city along the Deer Trail. The leaves I think are pretty much at their peak right now and I didn't want to miss out. Unfortunately it was a gray day and the photos didn't have the brilliance I was hoping for but were still nice none the less. I took 112 photos in total and will feature some of them in the next couple of weeks.

Here is the first...

Catching Up

No more excuses! I am not sure why I don't blog more often... it isn't because I don't want to or don't have the time. I won't analyze it to death, I will just do it.

Not a lot going on. Now that fall is officially here we have been having some typical fall weather. One day nice, ten days of rain and cool but no complaints as it isn't snowing and that is a good thing!

Speaking of the weather. We had a glorious day last week; very warm, brightly sunny, blue skies. We had to get out and take advantage of it since it may well be one of the last nice days of the year so we went down to our local butcher shop and deli where they barbecue out front all summer long and you can get a cheeseburger for $3. We each got one and took them up to the Firetower where we ate and then walked around and I took a bunch of photographs. The Firetower overlooks the whole town and outlying areas as well as some places further away. It was a super clear day and you could see a long way. My photos turned out amazing.


I got a new camera this summer; a Fuji, Finepix S1500 and am still not familiar enough with the controls. And I keep thinking I must pull it out and practice with it so that I become more comfortable using it. I ended up setting it to automatic and let it set up the photos for me. My pictures turned out amazing... I was pretty pleased.

The next day as it turns out was rainy. Not a gentle quiet rainfall but monsoonlike rains hit full force for the next three days. We got well over 50mm and more likely closer to 100mm when all was said and done. I don't know that I have seen that much rain since we moved here. But oh well. I had made plans with an old childhood friend of mine whom I have known for 35+ years. Did I just admit to that??
She was up north for work and we met up for lunch as she passed by at a small restaurant on highway 17. It is approximately at the half way point between Sault Ste Marie, where she had been, and Sudbury, where she was returning to. Because she didn't have to bother coming up the road to Elliot Lake it was convenient for her and not much of a drive for me. Well didn't this meeting coincide with these torrential rains. I am not a very happy driver and admittedly don't drive very much at all anymore so I was a bit freaked out at having to drive in such inclement weather but I managed and although I would have preferred to hide out in my home for the duration of the storms I forced myself to go and enjoyed the visit.
It was great to see Carolyn again. I think it was about a year since I saw her last and we talked fast in an effort to catch up. Since she had appointments her time was limited.

Other than that life has been fairly quiet. I guess that answers the question as to why I don't blog more often... I have nothing to say.

Enjoy some photos from Firetower Hill(click on the photos to enlarge them)...........



The above photo was taken on Panel Mine Road where dens of foxes live. They come out often to the enjoyment of a number of people who go to see them, feed them, and photograph them. Not sure if it is really such a great idea to tame them this way but I admit we like to go see them ourselves occasionally. The one in the photograph above was enjoying food provided by a couple in a truck ahead of us. So I was able to get a good shot using my zoom.

Just a Hello; And a Ramble About This and That

Well summer is seriously on the decline the past couple of weeks. It actually went strong and hot right up to and including August 31st. Then it abruptly changed and went right to cool and wet and it still is.



Because of the moist conditions we have discovered toadstools of varying kinds, sizes and shapes almost everywhere we go walking. They are under evergreen trees mostly... they must thrive in that environment. There are millions of them in groupings and some of the largest I have ever seen.



I don't carry my camera paraphenalia with me when I walk so I don't have any photos that I have personally taken but found some on the internet that resemble what we have seen.

Normally I am not interested in toadstools and mushrooms but these were so big and some different colors that they intrigued me.

We had an old and very saggy fence between our neighbour's and our back yard long before we ever arrived on the scene. We all marvelled at how that fence was still standing every summer despite all evidence to the contrary. Finally the fence was replaced this past week. Not by us but our neighbours who rent their unit had the rental company put up a new fence. We were astounded at how quickly that fence went up. It took all of two days to do and now we have a really nice division between our properties. Finally we are able to put our dog Jett out in the backyard again without fear of him running over to the neighbour's yard.

Last weekend we made a trek down to the city to do some shopping. On our way home a very young bear cub ran out in front of our car on the highway. We were forced to come to a very quick stop to avoid hitting the poor baby. This was my first bear sighting this year and I was not disappointed. I love to see the bears but always from the safety and distance of the car or from inside the house.

That is pretty much all the news I have for this time. Hope you keep checking in. I will try to be more present myself in the coming months as another fall and winter set in.

Ta Ta for now.

Sizzling August

I cannot believe this weather! I know I have been commenting constantly on how marvelous the weather has been since last fall. But here it is almost the final day of August and it is going up to 30C with a humidex of 37C. Same for tomorrow and then Wednesday it is going to rain but still humid and then finally the humidity is due to break on Thursday. I have to say although I am loving the long summer, I really can do without this humidity.

Today we are going off in the air conditioned car for a drive.... don't know where yet. Anywhere... just to escape the heat and humidity and enjoy the day. I plan on taking my camera.... hopefully I will see something interesting to take a picture of.

Speaking of pictures. Something so interesting happened here yesterday morning as we were eating breakfast. Two hummingbirds flew up to our patio door and hovered there for a few seconds. They looked as if they were trying to get in. They are so quick and so tiny... one could miss them very easily and then they are gone in a flash. One of those moments you wished you had your camera poised and ready to snap a picture.

Well... we are off on our adventure. Enjoy your day... wherever you may be!

Stay cool!

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME

Oh, the summertime is comin'
And the trees are sweetly bloomin'
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows among the bloomin' heather
Will you go? Lassie, go?

And we'll all go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All among the bloomin' heather
Will you go? Lassie, go?



I will build my love a bower
By yon pure and crystal fountain
Yes and on it I will lay
All the flowers of the mountain
Will you go? Lassie, go?



And we'll go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All among the bloomin' heather
Will you go? Lassie, go?



If my true love won't come with me
I would surely find another
To pick wild mountain thyme
All among the bloomin' heather
Will you go? Lassie, go?



And we'll all go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go?
Will you go?
Lassie will you go?

Come On In... Have a Seat and Listen To The Music

I know it has been a really long time since I blogged but I have to tell you, I just have not felt inspired in a really long time. Today is the first day I have felt strongly enough about anything to put pen to paper or should I say fingers to the keyboard. My apologies to those faithful people who have come to visit only to find nobody home. Not that there have been that many of you knocking but I will try to do better.



This afternoon I made my way down the dark dank basement to do my daily workout. I try to mix things up every day and do something just a bit different than the day before. Today was my longer workout day. I did step aerobics and heavier weights using the Bowflex. I have a collection of compilation CDs I like to play when I workout in the basement. Listening to the music today got me thinking about how music has played such a pivotal role in my life from very early on.
It has always stirred something deep within my soul and today was no exception.



What I noticed was how it brings images to my mind and feelings to my heart and takes me back to the moment when I first heard the song, or reminds me of an event or special moment that took place when that particular song was playing. I can remember things that were said, important moments that occurred that have shaped my life, emotions that were felt and even vivid colours and scents are brought to my mind.

I have some really early memories of music which I believe were records or the radio station that my Mother may have played when I was really young back in the early sixties... in particular Nat King Cole and Bobby Vinton.

My brothers also figured prominently in my life musically speaking. Mike had a large record collection, he is most definitely the biggest music fan I have ever known.
And I could always count on Mike to buy me for my birthday and Christmas presents the most popular 45s of the day.... some of which I still own to this day.

The music from my childhood and teen years is particularly poignant and stirs up some really interesting and intense emotions and vivid memories... some happy and some painful. I remember as a young girl one particular summer when I was 11. The music that summer was really speaking to me. That might have been one of the best summers of my life. I got a radio that year for my birthday and I would turn it on at night when I would go to bed and leave it on all night long listening to the songs I loved that would almost hurt they meant so much to me. I would listen until I fell asleep and sometimes would wake up to hear a song I particularly loved and would force myself to stay awake to hear it all before I went back to sleep.

Every year end starting on New Years Eve my favorite radio station would play the top 100 countdown for that year. I would be glued to the radio listening to the songs I had loved and listened to. Each one would strike a chord in my heart.

Certain songs remind me of important people in my life. When I was a teen my sister in law Debbie gave me an album of Leonard Cohen. She loved him so much at that time and wanted to share him with me. Whenever I hear the songs from that album I think of Debbie.

I remember Sundays spent at home with my parents listening to their favorite records. Mom would be resting on the couch and Dad in his chair listening to their favorites at the time... Glen Campbell, Petula Clark, Englebert Humperdink and Neil Diamond.

I received a record player one year for a Christmas gift and I would play my records constantly... the same ones over and over. I always played my favorite records while I was getting ready to go to school and my Mother could hear them when she was in her room getting ready for work. She would come knocking to find out what a particular song was because she liked it. When I hear those songs now I think of those moments and they were good memories for me and for my Mom. One time not too long ago we were down visiting my Mom and I deliberately played some of those songs on my Ipod and down she came to the room to hear them again. I know we were both remembering that time so long ago as if it were yesterday.

I have almost 2000 songs on my IPod. Mostly the songs of my youth from the sixties and seventies. They are the ones that I love the most dearly and when I hear them now I feel like that young impressionable girl again. They take me back to a time when life didn't move as fast. A simpler time... when I didn't have a care in the world and was footloose and fancy free. That is what music does for me...it reminds me of the person I was and who I have become.