Bits and Pieces

I received this wood engraving (below) in the mail last week. An artist in New York State used an original picture of mine from last July of Ian Byrne the lead singer of The Elders, which is Celtic band. He asked for my permission to use the photo to make a wood engraving, and I requested that he send me a copy of his work if he could spare one. He will make a number of copies, have them signed by Ian and will sell them at a festival in his town this summer. He will make a charitable donation from each sale, so it's all good.

Winter is moving along, and we begin to think of spring. So, we have purchased our first hyacinth. In an experiment, I took this extreme macro of one very tiny flower. We must purchase another hyacinth soon, but it must be purple. The purple ones are those that smell so beautiful. Pink or white don't. I purchased this while it was still closed. I thought I saw hints of purple, but it came out pink.

We took a little stroll by the river in Almonte last week. As you can see from the ice on the trees and railings (to the right), the spray from the waterfalls freezes quite prettily.

Below is another view of the river from a little farther upriver than the above photo. This was taken from behind the building at the top left in the previous photo. This building is a restaurant/pub called the Barley Mow.

Also from our walk about Almonte, below is the townhall beyond the railway bridge and processed using sepia tones. It's a fine, old building.