Dreamy – Ingonish Beach

A dreamy golden sunset on Ingonish Beach, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

WP Weekly Photo Challenge

Silhouette – Roman Ruins

The three remaining columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollox dating back to ancient Rome, stand proudly among the ruins of the Roman Forum.

In response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge.

World Pride Toronto 2014

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Happiness is celebrating Pride with the world.  World Pride Toronto 2014 is over but we have wonderful memories of the week-long celebration, including our friends’ wedding, a stroll in the gay village, the colours and diversity of the people joining … Continue reading →

Spring – plant seeds, save bees!

There is a whole world of living, thriving life that is so easily missed unless we pause and pay attention.  These snow drops were peaking up among last Fall’s discarded and dying leaves.  It was only when I got closer to take a photo that I noticed the bees on the petals of the tiny flower.

Did you know that our bee population  is declining? According to an article in the Globe and Mail  and information shared from the David Suzuki Foundation, almost one-third of the food we eat is pollinated exclusively by bees including apples, peaches, cucumbers and coffee.  If the bee population continues to decline, this will have a significant impact on agriculture and ultimately, world food production.  Scientists remain unclear as to the reason for the decline although there are some theories that pesticide use is a contributing factor.

Canadian Gardening  described some strategies that scientist and environmentalists are adopting to address this issue including filling our gardens with pollinator friendly plants.  Personally, I like the guerrilla gardening strategy that a friend recently shared with me – she and her partner plan to, under the cover of night, secretly scatter pollinator friendly wildflower seeds throughout the city.  (You go girls!!!).  So folks, save the bees, take up seeds and scatter.

Inspired by WP Daily Post Photo Challenge, Spring and Where’s my Backpack travel theme, Close up.

 

 

Today Is…

Today is…

a sorrowful, messy, ugly day,

a joyful, sunny, pretty day,

an instant in time

a moment,

the only moment.

Today is

what we have,

precious.

In response to WP Weekly Photo Challenge Letters

Weekly Photo Challenge: Frozen Object

The rain chain hangs outside the front door, water falling from cup to cup frozen by the cold winter winds.  

For more photographed objects visit The Daily Post

Generations

My nephew bowed his head forward as he watched intently while my mother showed him how to sew a button on his shirt.  Their hands young and old, gently touched as they worked together.   It was a moment filled with beauty and hope and peace, when all the differences between these two generations were temporarily erased.

Posted in response to today’s Daily Prompt

Italian Windows

This gallery contains 7 photos.

“A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books” Walt Whitman When I was in Italy, I found myself often looking up, trying to catch glimpses of the interiors of the gorgeous old buildings, wondering about … Continue reading →

Boundless – My Word for 2014

This year, I have chosen Boundless as my word.  This word holds a promise of infinite possibilities and limitless potential.  It is the word that I want to serve as guide and inspiration for how I want to live, love and walk in this world this year and beyond.

It feels like a big word and it both thrills me and scares me with the possibilities.  I am done with living my life within the boundaries and expectations that have been imposed on me and more importantly that I have imposed on myself.  This year, I challenge myself to  live life differently. Boundless.

What will you pick as your theme word for this year?

For more inspiration check out some of these sites:

• Ali Edwards and her One Little Word
• Elise Blaha Cripe
• Lissa Rankin

Inside a small nest

Over the summer, we visited MOO’s cousins J & J for a family BBQ.   J & J have a lovely ten-acre property in the Niagara Peninsula. Actually, we really went to see J’s new family members, Rusty and Scooter, two donkeys that J bought after they were retired from a local horse racer.

While we were visiting with the donkeys in the stable, J pointed out the bird’s nest in the rafter’s of the small stable, just above the window opening.  I stood on a stool to see if I could catch a glimpse inside the nest.  I couldn’t get high enough to make out what was inside but all of a sudden the tiniest head popped up, mouth open expecting its mama to come with food.  There were three birds in the nest and each time I made a clucking sound, their little heads popped up expectantly, their beaks wide open.

It was an incredible sight and I couldn’t believe that I was able to witness such fragile life so closely.

I wanted to stay and watch these little babies but I kept expecting mama bird and papa bird to swoop in à la Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and do a number on my head so I stepped off my stool and quietly left the stable to rejoin the cousins and Rusty and Scooter in the fields.

Anyone have any idea what kind of birds these are?

For more interpretations of this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge theme, Inside – visit WP Daily Post.