Caturday 71: All about Sabine

Phew! Our tree party was last week already, and I temporarily forgot that I had saved Sabine photos to post today on Caturday. So, here I am at noon, when I usually post very early in the day.

When Sabine sees me, which isn't all that often, she expects to play the mouse game on my iPad. She couldn't quite believe that I had dared to come without it.

I caught a few more pictures during the event.

Finally, there was this one of the fish that got away – again!

She does keep trying though.

I hope all of ye yankee-doodle-dandies are recovering well from your celebrations. Our Christmas Parade is today, but I don't attend anymore although I used to enjoy taking pictures. It may snow this afternoon, which would be a nice touch for the attendees.

Reverse Hostage Exchange

I will head out at about 9 o'clock for the reverse hostage exchange. Heather doesn't want Sue any more, so I am forced to take her back. It is supposed to start snowing around 2pm, but if luck holds we'll be safely back by then. While I don't expect it to get too bad, I prefer not to drive when it is snowing.

Yesterday, after completing a few errands I ended up at O-Kee-Lee park, but when I say 'park' it is really just another, little scrubby trail. I do wish that the town would thin the vegetation out along the various trails to make them more aesthetically pleasing. I am not asking for landscaping, just thinning. These are phone photos, for I hadn't thought to take my camera on my earlier errands, and the walk was more of an afterthought. 

Before getting onto the trail, I thought that I was seeing ice forming on the river. When I got closer to take this photo, I decided that I was just seeing ripples out beyond the boulder where you see the see the tree reflections from the other bank. The water had been relatively calm behind me, so I don't know why it was being disturbed out there.

It was one of those bleak November days, but I took the next photo because I could see a few orange leaves up the way. Off to the sides, you can see how scrubby much of the vegetation is.

Here's another photo of a subsidiary path. I used those poor withered orange leaves as a foreground element.

As you have seen, it was a bleak day, but for something to do, I did take a closeup of lichens, or something or other, on a stump. No, I didn't nail the focus, but I think it is interesting enough to include it.

I'll be off soon. Have a good day. It's the day after for many of you, so hang in there.

Shapes and Serendipity

Every now and then, when there seems to be nothing else to photograph, I stick on my longest lens and head down to the trail looking for shapes. I must admit that this never works very well, but one tries. Here are two shapes with textures just off the trail. Make of them what you will.

  

I had hung my cane while taking the above photos, and it may be better than the others after applying a few filters. I don't know. Waddayathink?

But the best shot was pure serendipity. There are tons of squirrels along the trail, and they are always scurrying and fleeing. However, as I was taking the above pictures, this one just stopped and contemplated me. I had time to squeeze a shot before it decided that I wasn't worth the time of day. My quick shot was underexposed, but I like how a little bit of light caught him on the side in that very gloomy patch where we were were both pausing. (I hope that most you can see it, at least in enlarged format if you click on it.)

I hope that all you Americans have (or had) a good Thanksgiving.

The Hostage Exchange Went Well

The hostage exchange went well. We arrived at this ↓ door, where we were to meet at the Tim Hortons in Tweed, about 15 minutes before Heather got there. It's a very Canadian door handle, eh?

Hockey stick door handle.

The handle  makes sense because Tim Horton was a hockey player way back when I was still a teenager. I didn't love him because he played for the wrong team. But I like his places well enough now.

Tim Horton

Many thought he was a little crazy to open a restaurant selling just donuts and coffee, but now there   "are 3509 Tim Hortons locations in Canada." There are Timmies where there isn't much else, like in little Tweed. There are also "4,846 restaurants in 14 countries, including . . . 807 in the United States, 60 in Mexico, 29 in the Middle East, and 25 in the UK. "

Before the ladies headed west, Heather walked her dog in this nearby little park near. The light flare surprised me when I got home and saw it on the big screen, but they can be fun on occasion.

As you can see, it was quite a the lovely late-November day, but it had been cold overnight, and we passed much frozen water on the two-hour drive.  I would have loved to have stopped for a photo, but one doesn't do that while hurtling along a rural highway with shoulders barely wide enough to accommodate a car. We also had a set time to meet Heather.

After we three parted to go in our opposite directions, I had hoped to get a photo in the little pull-off near Tweed where there is a stream, but alas! it was barricaded, as were several others along the route. They do that here after our Thanksgiving in October on that highway. It makes sense because the rest areas are not tended in winter, and you can't have cars getting stuck in the snow. 

I tuned in to Louise Penny's, The Grey Wolf, on Audible, and the time flew. When I say flew, sometimes I feel as though I must sometimes drive faster than I want to on this rural and sometimes desolate, two-lane highway that has been called by some, The Forgotten Highway. I try to not drive too far over the 80kph speed limit, but when there is a huge transport barrelling down behind me at 100, I feel compelled to speed up, for it feels safer to speed up rather than risk the monster trying to pass me. (By the way, those speeds are roughly equivalent to 50 and 60mph respectively. While that is not breakneck speed, it seems plenty fast on that road.)

Obviously, I got home in good time, but Sue was texting me almost the moment that I opened the garage door because one can't get away with anything these days when even garage doors are online. She was able to see that I had opened the garage, and she was texting me before I had even unpacked the car and closed the garage door. They were also very close to Heather's home, so we are set until Friday when we will perform the next hostage exchange.

Chrismasfied and Gone

Sue is leaving me . . . for the week. This morning, I shall drive her halfway to Toronto, We will meet her sister, Heather, at Tweed and perform a hostage exchange (thanks Jenn). I will return home brokenhearted. ;)

Accordingly, Sue has been getting our place Christmasfied so that it's all done when she returns just in time for December.

There are touches all over the house, but this is the view from our chairs. YouTube runs constantly on the tv with its cracking fireplace. There is also a good chance that Alexa will be playing Christmas music in the background.

The carousel is out and many other decorations too.

Outside, Heather's Christmas wreath has been hung on the door, and the flowerpots by the garage have undergone their seasonal transformation.

It doesn't compare to what some people do, especially outside, but it seems comfy cozy to me.

The Tradition Continues

Our little family celebrated our 42nd annual Christmas Tree Decorating Party yesterday. It used to take place at our home in now faraway Sarnia, but now the tradition occurs at Shauna's place.

Picture are difficult there. The space is small, and the light is low but there is also strong backlight if we're not careful. But we try anyway because it is a record.

The lights are up; the star is being hung, and the tree will soon be adorned.

Pictures are taken.

Pictures are shared.

The ladies did most of the work.

Jonathan helped some and sat some and made faces whenever I pointed the camera his way.

It was done.

Sue will have more photos on her phone, but I do not have access to it in the moment, and I want to get it posted and to move on with the day.

Synchronous Mentions

Oops. I realized that I had been wishing Americans a Happy Thanksgiving, but that is still a week away. 🤷🏻 

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Oddly enough, Sue and I were both mentioned in recent publications. I am being ungentlemanly and posting mine first because I had thought to post them separately. Then I decided to put them into one post.

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I was momentarily confused when I received this message in October. 

Oh John; I've just received the cover proof for the wildflower book, and your photo of flowering rush bareroot makes the cover absolutely fantastic! You get credit for the photo, along with thanks in the acknowledgements for letting me use it. I should have a couple of copies of the collection for you within the next two weeks!

The light began to dawn, helped by looking back at previous messages from Claudia, for it was more than two years ago that she had sent this.

Hello John; Someone in the group has helped me chase down your photo of a flowering rush. Did you have more than one photo of it? You took this on September 15, 2020. My memory of it is of a fuller head of florets.

I could not place the photo at first when she messaged me then, way back in June 2022, but we eventually figured out that I had actually taken it three years earlier, in June 2019.

I emailed her a high resolution version and proceeded to do what I do best: forget all about it.

A few days ago, a grateful Claudia brought two copies of her newly-published book of poems, Sweet Vinegars. I did get a photo credit inside, but that isn't important.

Claudia wanted to include the full photo, so she had the publisher
complete the photo on a flap that folded under.

Meanwhile, . . . Sue has also been mentioned in a publication, in her case the prestigious magazine, The Hockey News. (Look to the right, under Publisher's Note.)

How in the world did Sue get a mention in a hockey magazine, you might ask. Well, there is a backstory there too.

The publisher's mother was a neighbour of ours, and Sue became good friends with Ivy. Accordingly, she had met Graeme, the publisher, any number of times when he was visiting his mother. Since Ivy's passing, Sue has kept in some sort of loose touch with him. 

Graeme had taken a trip to Ukraine to check out how hockey was surviving in the conflict. If you can squint sufficiently read the article ↑ you will see that this documentary won in the Best Director Documentary Short category at the Cannes Festival in 2024. 

Sue sent him a short congratulatory note that Graeme cited in his Publisher's Note page. I have pasted that part separately, below, to make it a little easier to read. I hope it suffices.

What we have is a case of odd synchronicity: how we both got mentioned in other people's publications at approximately the same time in our generally modest and uneventful lives.

When We Were Just 65

Yesterday, I showed you new edits of old photos, but when I found myself in my March 2012 folder, I liked what I had done then well enough back then, so this is just a memory post and not a re-editing. They were all taken on and around Sue's 65th birthday. I converted them to B&W back then, and I guess that is what grabbed my attention now.

This was Danica about two weeks before the birthday. She was in kindergarten and we would most likely have taken this before or after school while we were still babysitting over there.

We often go out a day or two before Sue's actual birthday. The sap was running in March, and we headed off to the sugar camp but not the one we usually visit. It was crowded on that day, and seated at a nearby table was a group of red hat ladies*. In the photo I kept the hats red but converted the rest to b&w. Come to think of it, I don't believe that I have some across red hat ladies* since then.

This is Danica at the actual birthday celebration. I was playing with a faux framing look but not to print it, just to experiment.

Finally, mother and daughter with a bit of anti-vignetting around the edges.

* The Red Hat Society is a worldwide membership society that encourages women in their quest to get the most out of life. We support women in the pursuit of Fun, Friendship, Freedom, Fitness and the Fulfillment of lifelong dreams. 

Fiddling and Faddling or maybe Faffing

Although I am now less into wandering about toting my heavy camera than I used to be, I still enjoy looking at my old photos and, sometimes fiddling around with them. 

Our final Celtfest of many Celtfests that we attended was in 2019, before COVID. Now, even though COVID is over and Celtfest has returned, we are no longer moved to spend the weekend in the hot sun and lugging chairs and supplies. So 2019 was it for us unless we some year decide to sit under the shelter at the top of the hill with the old folk. But we are so far removed from the stage up there that I haven't yet been inclined.

Twin Flames was a wonderful group at the Celtfest, actually a non-Celtic group but they were still a roots group celebrating their native music. I posted about them here back then.

This was one of the photos, the lead singer playing the native flute at this point in the performance.

On a whim, I decide to change the crop, eliminate the old background and add a new one. We can do this much easier now than we could in 2019. I am not sure that I like my experiment, but that is what it was – an experiment.

Then, I had another idea: composite two images of this wonderful lady and then play with filters. I think the finishing filters gave it a better finish than the above photo, but both images took a lot of faffing about on a Tuesday morning.

I am not an artistic sort of bloke, but newer technology does give me some hope and assistance.

Maybe I was fiddling and faddling more than faffing. Watcha think?

Bleak November

When the trees are bare and the weather is cold and dull, November is the bleakest of months. Sometimes, it snows by month's end, and can be a very welcome bright lift. Mind you, we will then moan and groan about snow for months on end.

However, as I write this on the 18th, it hasn't been like that often this year and certainly not yesterday, the 19th. Mind you we do appreciate this nicer-than-usual November, but it was messing with my desired bleakness theme. However, when Monday was more overcast than it has been, I decided to make some photos that would explore the bleak motif. Even though the temperature was still rather pleasant, at least it wasn't very sunny, so I gave it a try. 

Off to the trail went we, and here are my shots, converted to mono in order to eliminate any remaining colour. 

Beyond the bend in those ↑ photos I waded off the trail onto a little path beyond the bramble. My outfit really stands out, but I am trusting that the overall bleakness is evident.

photo by Sue, editing by AC

I did some more editing, taking the first photo up there at the top, cropping it a bit, and making it rain.

I think November looks plenty bleak now.

Where's the Bacon

After our search for a place to for coffee and food ended at the third restaurant yesterday, we talked and gabbed for awhile. Then, we settled into perusing our menus.

When it was Sue's turn to order, she chose bacon and eggs. After specifying her preferred toast option and  how she wanted her eggs – poached hard – she then said, "No meat."

The server regarded her in puzzlement. I regarded her in puzzlement. The fly on the window regarded her in puzzlement. A pigeon came and sat by the window with a look of puzzlement. The cook came out of the kitchen frowning with puzzlement. Drivers on the highway narrowly averted accidents as they looked toward the restaurant in puzzlement  

Sue was wondering why all the puzzled expressions  

Finally, the light dawned.

She had ordered bacon and eggs with no bacon.

And that is what she got a few minutes later  

And she also got laughed at – just a little.

Town Realities

We set a coffee date with Bob and Bard this Monday morning but small town realities struck us unexpectedly.

It shouldn't have been unexpected, but then this is no longer a small town, so it kind of was.

So, what happened, Mr Anvilcloud?

Well, we got to the coffee shop near us, but it was closed – because it is Monday, doncha see. We are familiar with most stores on Main being closed on Mondays, but this was a cafe and not on Main. And as I have already mentioned, we are no longer a small town – a town yes, but small no.

Without thinking we headed to Freska where we usually meet for breakfast. Yes, Bob was keen on more than just coffee, so I agreed.

Guess what: Closed.

Being somewhat determined, we next chose The Gourmet on the highway through town, and, as the saying goes, the third time did turn out to be a charm. I think they stay open to try to capture passing traffic and also to pick up folk such as us desperate townies. This was not a franchise place, but many new stores and eateries that are springing up along or near the highway are franchises, and of course they open, even on Mondays.

It remains to be seen whether the locally operated, in-town businesses will adapt or whether the old, town ways will prevail and then we shall see if those places willsurvive.

From One Parking Lot to Another

After having coffee with the photo boys at Tim Horton's on Thursday, there was a big Tim's truck in the parking lot. Nick told me to take a photo. Being an obedient and easily led sort of bloke, I did.

Pretty awful eh?

Can one make a silk purse out of a sow's ear? Well I tried, and with a combination of my own manual work in Photoshop and the program's ability to generate a vacant parking lot, this is the result. My usual warning applies, however. Do not look at the details closely, for I am not a details sorta guy. 

As long as I don't get too picky about the little things, I kinda like it. 

 

On the Diagonal

Sue's prompt was Diagonal, and I thought of the boom (that's what I am calling it) in the river near town hall. So, down we went. She took her picture and I took mine. Mine was insipid, so I converted it to b&w in post but let the boom keep its yellow colour. This is called selective colour. It is frowned up by elite photographers, but I am not elite, and I don't care.

We went over to the other side to photograph the boom looking back toward town hall. I didn't like the light and didn't even click. But if you see the steeple on the right up there ↑, I figured that has diagonals, so I clicked. In the end I also used selective colour.

Then we went on a little walk by the back b ridges. When I got out of the car, I liked the backlight on the thistlely thingies (by all means comment with a proper name). Converting to mono also seemed to be just the ticket.

Around the bend I spotted a tree with some leaves and a carpet below. One doesn't not convert such a scene to b&w.

So, my camera is pretty well on the shelf (ie kitchen table) these days, so I am taking phone photos when the spirit moves me. Then, I play a bit in post to try to make something out of them although the last photo did not require much play. This is far from best photographic practice, but it is what it is.

Upwardly and Crookedly

On a windy and chilly day, we opted to return to the somewhat sheltered trail near the arena. While a few trees had kept a few leaves, I was more attracted to this uphill view with the blue sky beyond and leaves on the ground, so I pulled out my phone.

After taking that shot, I thought I needed more sky since I was pointing upslope.

I think the second version works better as it also catches more verticality of the trees.

When I stoop down to get close to the ground, I invariably take a crooked image that I then must straighten in post. It was true for both photos but particularly the second where I got down a little lower than in the first photo. It is not an easy position for an old fella, and the result tends to be a little wonky. While I was able to straighten the picture in post, I also lost the tops of the trees.