Sue and Other Random Photos

I have nothing but pictures these days, but what else is there in February? I have had some thoughts about politics and hockey at the Olympics, but I think I will just let them subside. So, I'll just keep plodding on, doing what I do.

I begin with two photos of Sue from a recent walk. The bridge photo required removal and replacing of the background houses, but I liked the basis, so I went ahead and made the edits. For the bench photo, I had to get Sue peeking through all of the messy branches. Believe me, there are other recent Sue photos, but I am showing at least some restraint.

I posted the candle scone from the coffee shop recently, but decided that it needed to be lit.

Snow on branches as I look down from the trail bridge. What looks like a wall; in the background is actually the river from this angle.

Two ladies and their dogs in the park and by the trail. Most of the dog-walkers are women. They kept fidgetting, so I had to blend two photos into one.

Snow on and around our mailbox, but it doesn’t matter because the mailbox is quite redundant since our mail is delivered to community boxes just a little way down the street.

Finally, and at long last, I thought the ice and snow patterns on the distributary that flows around the mill that is being converted into apartments were interesting. Of greater interest to me, however, was the fellow just standing on the ledge by the wall, so I zoomed in and took a second shot. It's seemed like an odd place to hang out.

The Snow Pile and More

There is quite a mound of snow on the front lawn.

But it's not like last year, which was taken a few days earlier in February than this year's photos.

We had a good walk yesterday. The weather was rather nice, so we walked a little farther than we have been lately. We walked the bridge trail although this photo is from a little beyond the bridge. This is a shared-access trail. The pedestrian part is plowed, but the snow is fairly thick on the snowmobile side.

Then, we did our coffee routine, but we did the selfie differently. I got out of the car, went around to Sue's side, and stuck my head through the window. By the way, it's Roll up the Rim time at Tims. No, we didn't win anything on our first try and likely never will.

Meanwhile, light is returning. This was our living room at 5:17pm. I was so delighted that I had to take a snap.

Outtakes

I post many photos, but some don't fit at the time, and so they remain in the queue for awhile.

I took the first photo from the second-floor window of our new health centre on a snowy and overcast day.

The next two photos of icicles on the former main street mansions. I have shown both these houses in various ways in previous posts.

I experimented with an older photo and added some subtle stars in the dark sky. Now that we see it in the lower quality that I use for blog pics, I am not sure if the stars will show up. Maybe I'll find out when I click on it, but I can't do that until after I post. We shall see. :)

I very recently posted a picture of dawn from my window, and then I posted one of the missing windows in the church turret. I decided to play some more by combining the two images and further editing the result. I admit that I am liking this one but not because it looks realistic.

The next two are not photos, but I attempted to write humorously and in a more interesting way than ordinary text. The second image contains a typo; I omitted the f in for. I can't fix that easily now, so I am posting as is. I will also opine more about it at the end.

Twenty years ago, five or take, I had a blogger friend who was a hospice nurse. One day he sat with a client who would soon be leaving this life. He encouraged the client to thank his body as a preparatory step. That idea has stuck with me. While my end is not imminent, or so I think and hope, it's not a bad idea to think upon these things with gratitude.

No Bullies

I stumbled across a short reel that contends that humans don't really have alpha males in the way that other primates do. It is brief (2:58), easy and interesting (to me, at least) on a Sunday morning. Hint: it was because we both lead and follow by consensus, and we have a tendency to deal with those who try to bully us.

I had never thought this before, so I simply post it as an interesting thought to ponder. Make of it what you will on this final Sunday of February

200 steps

Sue's recent photo prompt was to photograph something within 100 steps of our house. We walked to our Dark & Deadly Cafe, which I am afraid is more than double the prescribed, or maybe even more. So, I don't know whether she will use any photos that she took, but I am about to do just that.

You've been to this coffee shop before, and we will likely all get there again.

I sat down beside a good-looking fella who was wearing a hat, just like mine, but I think he was up to some sort of skullduggery.

That ↑ was my photo; the next three are Sue's. She had me pose next to a rather tall and frightening dude. I was frightened, but I must do as my lady demands.

It's hard to resist selfies, even if they are taken using the mirror, rather in our more traditional way.

Back to another of mine: I returned to my seat like a well-behaved scaredy cat. I glanced cautiously around and decided to life my phone and take a shot of a candle sconce. Why not, eh?

Have a peaceful Saturday and weekend as I try to still my rapidly beating heart. 

Upkeep Required

We pass by the former St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on our main street often, but it took us until now to have a closer look and to see how the front stonework and windows require some attention. Of course, our phones came out, and the snapping began. But first, here's bit of a historical overview.

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Carleton Place has a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1888. The church was constructed of native stone with Beckwith stone trimmings and features a basement finished for Sunday School rooms. It was the first Presbyterian congregation in Carleton County and was served primarily by itinerant preachers until the 1840s. The wooden church was replaced by the present brick church and spire in 1884, and it has continued to be a hub of religious and social activity for Presbyterians in the village and surrounding farms.

What I cannot easily remember or find is when the church was sold, but I am guessing that it was perhaps around 2012, and what was left of the congregation merged with the Almonte Presbyterian Church. If I recall correctly, the building was sold to an All Nations Church, and it is now a Kindred House congregation.

Onto the photos, which after some experimentation, I decided to convert to b&w. 

Sue took her own angles. I haven't seen hers yet, but she will probably save them to use for a suitable prompt.

I have a final photo of the window in the turret on the other side of the door. I don't know if you can tell, but some of the panes are missing entirely.

Just for fun, here is another version of Sue taking her photo. I decided on using selective colour, even though her outfit isn't especially colourful. I like to experiment with this style every now and then.

Delightful Dawn

When I gazed out my den window at 6:30 yesterday morning, I spied a lovely sky. This is of note since they are rather scarce at this time of year, by which I mean all winter. At first, I thought, that's nice, and then I thought that the moment required a photo. I grabbed my phone, put in 8x zoom to miss as much of the roofs (why not rooves?) as possible, but I still had to crop a little afterward.

I guess that is nice enough, but editing is like kissing someone. Occasionally, things just take off, and you never know where you will end up. In this case, I just made this touch and that touch and ended up with something that I never envisioned.

Metaphorically speaking, kissing can take you to pretty exciting places.