...birds & bags

......it was another cold start to the day...one that promised rain....lots of new birds this morning on our walk......I noticed more Loons out on the river (likely migrating north)....lots of female Red Winged Blackbirds (males have been back for some time), Blue Herons and Purple Martins
.....there have been 4 Merganzers hanging around for a week or more.....always together.....the male is so completely different than the female.....in the previous shot those are the Merganzers flying toward me -enlarge the picture to see them....

...this afternoon was very windy and I noticed bags...wretched plastic bags.....caught in trees, along the fence lines, in the creek, along the river bank....just recently several major grocery store chains announced they will start charging 5 cents per bag at their stores...all I can say ..."it is about time!!!"....perhaps soon they will eliminate them altogether.....I do use them as dog pooper scoopers however when walking Nellie on the local streets or in the park, etc....but they are recycled plastic and tiny hand size bags...

......it rained this afternoon...we do need it to green things up......cleared somewhat....clouded over again after sunset and is raining heavily right now with temperatures dropping to freezing later.......love the pastels of the sunset this evening......makes me think of the Northern Lights.......

Spring

Quite a delightful morning -still cold in the morning (near freezing), but calm, with the promise of a warm day. The birds are everywhere.....ducks.....

.....migrant snow geese that spent the night on the island.....

.....seconds away from sunrise, a Common Loon has flown up the river calling, for several days now. I heard and saw him in the evening as well. Years ago we never saw Loons on the river, now they nest somewhere close by and can be heard calling every morning and evening.
Amazingly - the previous 3 pictures were taken just minutes apart -just in different directions.

This afternoon, more crocus had opened......

...the Hazelnut bushes were full of bees on the catkins.....

...Chinodoxia carpet the ground....love that colour!!!!!

Sunshiny Morning

I was cutting some pussy willows from our "Curly Willow" yesterday, turned around and the yard was bathed in this glowing yellow misty light, with sunbeams shining through some Pine and Yew trees -luckily I had my camera (I always have my camera) and took two pictures before it faded. How sad for the people who aren't up and about as the sun rises each day and miss some of the most most magical moments that mother nature gives to us .....

Red Skies

As the red skies promised, the rain soon started again....it has been raining for 4 days now. On the brighter side -it is not snowing! Actually, the rain melted the last snowdrift today......poor Nellie, she will miss the snow...but now she has water puddles and a swollen creek to play in. The east wind was very cold this morning so I was glad I still had ear muffs tucked into a pocket for our morning walk -I soon needed them!
On the way to school I saw the first ship sail by....the Seaway system officially opened as of midnight last night so I suspect that this ship has left port in Montreal in the night.

Green things are appearing everywhere, even the mosses are beginning to green up but it has been too wet and cold to do any gardening .

It was muffin mania at school today as my "crew" made about 170 Banana Muffins. The Grade 10 students must write a half day Literacy test tomorrow. It is very important, as schools are judged on the results. Anyway, since I run the Breakfast Program for the school, we were asked to prepare something special for these students writing tomorrow, for their break -muffins, cheddar cheese and fruit juice. They are all ready and waiting for tomorrow -the kids did an excellent job!!! (and they didn't mind not doing math or geography today to bake all day!)

....living simply...simply living....

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. Agatha Christie

After several months of sometimes bitterly cold temperatures, too much ice and snow, long miserably dark days, great pain from some rather unfortunate injuries this winter........all seemed right this morning as we walked along the river (now open) under a leaden sky, when the sun magnificently broke through the clouds to shine all around. Soon the clouds disappeared, the birds started to sing, the newly arrived geese and ducks took to the skies to seek out food left over in the farmers fields from last falls harvest.........yes... I felt good...it is good to be alive ......."tis a grand day to be alive", as my Irish dad used to say,..."a grand day indeed!".

Ice & Snow -Departing Shots!

After another deep freeze last week and this, the gulf stream has shifted northward allowing warmer weather to invade the area. Temperatures today are rising above zero and predicted to last for the next week. YEA! I snuck away from school after a few parent teacher interviews (had to go back from 5:30 -8:00 for more interviews) and took some shots of the snow drifts in the yard which likely won't be the same after a few days melt.

Snowdrifts along the creek's north side....

Ice chunks along the rivers edge this morning.....

Caught the sunrise in a patch of clear sky -the rest of the sky is cloudy -expecting drizzle all day......really looking forward to the weekend...it has been a very exhausting week at school...way too much going on.....need rest......

Up, Down, All Around

No matter where I looked for about 10 minutes this morning it was simply breathtaking.

The sky glowed, the sun on the river ice shone and sparkled and the sea gulls were once again swooping and floating all over!

The river has opened up dramatically over night. It is quite jammed up in the narrows to the east, but the main channel is open for miles looking to the west. Of course it will open up, jam up many more times before it stays clear. It wasn't too thick this year judging from the broken pieces sticking up....I cringe thinking of the fool hardy snowmobilers who risked their lives for a joy ride across this ice only a few weeks ago....

This past week the river has been quite vocal...loud booming cracks in the still night air, burbling and blurping sounds coming from the moving water beneath the thin ice.....we have sat beside the rivers edge every day this week to listen.......spring may be weeks away...but it is coming!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

....another day, another storm...

It is so great to have light again before 7 in the morning! Nellie and I can walk back our lane way before I leave for work, something I don't care to do in the dark. Heading back, I could see the colour coming into the sky -the forecast was for a mostly sunny day with milder temperatures. I am a weather /sky watcher...always have been...I like talking and hearing about the weather around the world...I think in another lifetime, that is what I'd like to be ...a meteorologist. I like maps, I like weather, I like collecting data, most of all I like observation....
Everything turned golden as I was leaving...a little later than normal....no kids at school today....exams are over.....we have 2 PD days before the second semester begins. I had to attend an intake meeting first thing...new student to my class. It was very sad to see this mom, obviously a very caring, supportive mom to her son, trying to make light of her husband's obvious discomfort......dad unfortunately, even after 14 years does not seem to want to accept the fact that "his " son has an intellectual disability. I sensed all he saw were the things he couldn't do rather than all the wonderful things this boy can do and will do in the future! I hope I am wrong...but if I am not, it will become part of my job to mentor the parents as well as the child. Another major snowstorm on the way for tomorrow...like we need more!!! On a positive note -the temperature is always milder when we have snow and after the -20's --30's C we've had lately....bring on the snow!!!!

Avoiding Work

I spent a good part of the afternoon and evening yesterday, adding some embellishment to the felted bag I finished last weekend. It all started with the old brooch (from my departed mother in law's stash). I wore it for a number of years, then noticed a few of the stones were missing, so I added it to my embellishment stash.....I thought the colours went well with the pink and green of the felted bag. Then, I needle felted (the bag was wet felted), bits and pieces of wool roving, old yarn etc. I wanted some texture, but overall quite flat so as not to catch on things. Then, I added some seed beads of various colours and textures -to bring out the fawn colours in the bag and complement the brooch. I'm going to hang it up for awhile and look at it from time to time to see if I want to change some or add to it. I already know I want to replace the bigger iridescent beads -have to hit the bead shop to find replacements....then I have to decide which niece is going to get this one....I leaning towards the niece that might recognize her grandmother's pin...........she does like pink too.......??????

......avoiding work...well that refers to the massive amounts of school work I have to do this week...this weekend I completed report card comments....completed I.E.P. (individual education plan) program pages on each subject, for every student (20 pages worth), did some research on the Internet, reviewed 2 textbooks for ideas (I don't use texts with my kids)....and then I'd had enough!! I didn't want to do any more!! I kept looking out the windows as I wandered from place to place in the house yesterday to watch the birds....thank goodness for that....JJ was feeling poorly with a cold and followed my advice and stayed stretched out with a book all day.....I tend to wander around when I have work to do but would really rather be doing other things.....

I had to make a detour before arriving to school to take a few pictures of the sun rising through the mist from the open water on the river (very cold again this morning -22C) I was standing by my car just gazing at the beauty of it all, when a man and woman drove by and slowed to a stop. They inquired, "Are you alright??? Is it car trouble?" I really was taken aback....did they not see the sunrise????? I told them all was well with the world, I was just admiring the sky......I knew what they were thinking as they drove off, exchanging looks and words I couldn't hear...she must be daft...freezing cold and she's standing outside admiring the sky!!!! Then when I got home there was an e-mail from a friend....so appropriate......

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the case and without stopping continued to walk.A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

I'm glad I am one of the ones who would stop to hear the music and admire the view!!! Are you???

Mother Nature's Artistry

After days and days of not seeing the sunrise, I was rewarded with this site as I walked Nellie before school this morning.....
Mother Nature is the artist I aspire to be....

Frozen St. Lawrence River looking towards an island on the American side....sometimes we see fox and even the occasional deer crossing the ice......sometimes they don't make it ...the ice is dangerously unstable.....

When admiring these views and taking pictures, I tend to forget about the cold and arrive at school with very frozen fingers...but another sunrise is worth it....

Studio Day

Friday at last -especially fabulous when it looks to be like a mostly sunny day! After days and days of such dreary gray weather, it is nice to see a golden sunrise.....
I consider myself lucky to have a large bright studio to play in ....it is a very multipurpose place depending on what I feel like doing...stained glass, sewing, quilting, painting, scrapbooking......with lots of storage space...I have a lot to store....not a magazine quality studio....but it works for me......currently, trying to finish up several glass mosaic windows and cut glass snowflakes for birthday and Christmas gifts....

...stored on the shelves are fabric, glass, unfinished projects on bottom shelves......on the walls, bits and pieces, experiments, some trial paintings, etc

...snowflake in progress

...I'll post a pic of this completed snowflake... I'll finish this one tonight.....

...on the way home from school today the sun was still trying hard to shine ...this was about 3 p.m.....I love the little sunbeams......

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Busy, stressful week is over - we were pet sitters again last weekend, a dog and 3 cats - but our animals all get along thankfully - it was the dreadful cold rain/snow last weekend combined with fighting off a throat infection that got the better of me. I didn't feel well again until Wed. Now the much cooler temperatures have arrived - it has been minus 8 - 10 degrees with the wind chill all week. Today the winds died down and the morning was better -snapped a few this morning of the eastern tip of the island with the mist rising off the water - it looks so cold though - not so cold to stop Nellie from wading into the river to get a drink -she is such a "hot" dog!!

Nellie is in need of a hair cut but with all the wet last week and little attention from me -she had lots of new matts that I'll have to spend this weekend getting out!! I was so happy last night to learn that my youngest son is coming home from Edmonton for Christmas. I have to get busy and finish up Christmas gifts. He arrives home on the 19, then we're heading to Toronto to visit my other son, then on to my older sister's farm -where a reunion of sorts will take place as all her girls will be home this year too - it will be CRAZY -hearing about adventures, schools, new boyfriends etc., then back home on the 23 to get ready for all the other side of the family to descend - I can't wait....... I love all the family events at Christmas.......