f-Stop Friday

Wow! I haven't done one of these in a dogs age but seeing as how I'm back into posting photos again I thought it was in order. BTW, thanks for the positive comments on this latest bunch I've put up. Your comments are appreciated (and encouraged) Feel free to say what you don't like, too.

I'm not going to mess around with trying to put type where I want it.... too muc agg. Big, big shift in the weather - it got milder straight through last night and I've gotten up to a balmy 14C, which if memory serves, is around 55F. Huge difference from the -25 from just the other night., and I love it.

With that in mind I thought I'd clear the deck and look back on a few wintery shots so I can start thinking of the season in 'past' terms. (I know we aren't done yet but.....)

Shot #1 is Freedom playing sentinel on her hill over looking her domain during on particularily fierce storm. Good girl!!!

#2 was taken at work after we had been dumped on a couple of days in a row. It has been so cold that it hasn't alll had a chance to melt yet - no where near that deep anymore, but still..... go away.

#3 is looking straight up our driveway. Taken one morning after arriving home from work and being unable to negotiate the driveway because it was too deep and choked with snow to drive in. I'll do a spring or summer shot another time for comparison.

#4 is one I took last year while living at the townhouse. Meet my gate. I liked the stuck-on snow on the board faces and the blue cast that the low light gives this. It's a strong linear image, too.

Wintery White

A few shots from last winter and this.

Late afternoon, low light, blue cast view of our yard, the neighbour's and the greenbelt.






Shooting into the sun and picking up a nice flare effect - the patio area and woods at my workplace.

Nice swooping line to snow overhanging the eaves outside our kitchen door.

Last winter while still living at the townhouse... the crab apple tree in my yard laden with fresh snow. Hmm... taken from a second floor bedroom by the look of it.

It'll be spring soon, I promise.

More Snow

Some frost from one of those -20C nights.

Ice Sculpture on Steel

View from our front window this a.m. - my car is just visible peeking over the snowbank.

The flare above the sun is called an 'ice pillar'. Ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere refracting the rays of the setting sun.

Cool (as in cold) Pictures

Here are a few that have been taken over the last couple of weeks.

This is dog tracks frozen in the ice and snow.






















This was taken while it was still snowing. Shot from our kitchen/patio door toward the greenbelt.

A wider view from the same spot that shows more of our yard. Birch tree, willow, grape vines, wind mill.

A couple of shots got lost here so I'll publish these and try to track down the others.

Second Helping

Just finished round one of shovelling the walks, deck and driveway. I'm all out of breath and puffing like mad. Damn, I wish I had stuck with not smoking. Dumb ass!! To my small credit I've tried to keep it manageable at about a half pack a day - some days less; some a little more. Depends largely on the length of day at weeks end of my shifts as I'm up for maybe 10 hours when I'm turning it about to a day shift routine and sometimes I'm up for a full 24 going into night shift mode. I've been holding off playing my CD of my hypnosis session from when I quit because I want to psyche myself up properly for another full-on quit attempt. It had better be soon with the way I have felt these last few days. Exhaustion and smoking don't make good bed mates.

I also meant to mention my stepson is due back from Australia this weekend. He set up his shifts to run from 2 in the afternoon until 2 in the morning so he takes breakfast by the pool, swims and sunbathes before work and is apparently brown as a nut now. Lucky so-and-so!! Kel - we'll have to work on a house switch for next winter or the one after. Sounds like a worth goal to me. You and Mr X can enjoy the cross country skiing and downhill; Lynda and I can swim, sail and enjoy walking the waterfront in the heat. Fair trade!! Start saving your pennies.

Must get cleaned up and then go retrieve stepson #3 from his work; a 30 mile round trip in the snow storm. Loverly!! I should go take a picture of the front of the house so I can do a 'before and after' come May - one with all the snow and one without. Sounds like a must do. See ya!

Catch Up; Wind Down

Sunday night I had a call asking if I would do one of those 26 hour sleep over shifts Monday into this morning. What's a guy to say except, yes......
So, over the course of 10 days I've been on the job for over 120 hours.
Besides grocery shopping, laundry, sweeping and vacuuming my plan is to take it extremely easy today... and cook dinner. Lynda is working an extra long p.m. shift.

One problem though. It is January; this is Canada; there is also a bunch of freshly fallen snow to shovel. I'll rest later. It can't be left where it is because a very cold layer of air is pushing into the area today bringing temps in the -25C to -30C range. Yikes!! Time to hibernate.

Lea - if you check in here - check your junk email folder. I sent you a message a few days ago. I can re-send if need be.

Seems I've Hardly Been Away

.... back at work once again.


(If you haven't stopped by lately I'd suggest you scroll back a couple of posts to check out Kel's 'Aussie Christmas' guest post.)


For the last few days here it has all been about the weather, and how!! The sight of snow blowing horizontally past the windows becomes hypnotizing after awhile. And even while it is blowing about it still piles up and needs to be cleared so I have all the subsequent aches and pains that go with that sort of grunt work; Lynda too. On Thursday we had a few inches on the ground - tonight, pulling out of the drive I had to be careful because the snow was piled higher than I could see out of the car. The good news is that the plows, sanding and salting crews did a good job despite all the drifting and largely the roads are pretty good.


My Xmas shopping is done!! Woo-Hoo!! I only have Lynda to buy for and I made it out Saturday afternoon to cover that off. I hope she's happy with her variety of small gifts. During that excursion I made a quick stop at the liquor store - here they are all government run - and was surprised at all the new product on the shelves since I stopped drinking. I was like a kid in a candy store wandering up and down the aisles - ooooo, that looks tasty. It wouldn't take me long to get into a pack of trouble there, I tell ya.


I think I've mentioned here before about a friend of mine who is a documentary film producer / director / writer. Seems each time something of hers airs I'm at work so I emailed her asking that she drop DVD's of a couple of her latest productions with a common friend. I arrived at work tonight and found them waiting for me. Cool; I'll have plenty of time this week to check them out.

We won't have any kids around this Christmas and I think that is the primary reason I haven't much enthusiasm for the season this year. That and the fact it's a typical work week; no break. Two of Lynda's sons are coming over for an early dinner Xmas day and that'll be the extent of it. Then I come to work..... If we see #1 g'son Owen it won't be until the weekend.

Work is good - a good group of guys in-house. Quiet, just the way I like it.

Winter Wonderland

We had a small snow storm earlier this week but now we're into a cycle which will bring accumulations like we haven't seen since last winter. One system is coming east - cross continent from California -, another is slipping north from the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters are saying there are 3 storms backed up that we have to face one after the other. When I got up today I was expecting to see some snow but it didn't start until about 8:30. Now already at 11 my car, driveway and walks are completely covered. They're calling for up to 35 cm before this one is over and up to 60 by the end of the weekend. (That is over 15 inches today - over 25 inches total) We will be digging out for quite awhile; where to put it all?? Mom and I were supposed to go out to do some running around town but we thought better of it.

Yesterday after I left work I arrived home and put some beef ribs in the oven to slow roast through the day. Then I got into cleaning; with 2 dogs and 2 cats dusting, sweeping and vacuuming is a necessary daily routine otherwise the fur and dust bunnies quickly get knee high. (A slight exaggeration, but you get my drift.) A few loads of laundry and then it was time for a lie down before getting cleaned up in time for Lynda's arrival from work. We had dinner, cleaned that up and headed out to do some shopping for household supplies. I was surprised the stores were so quiet this close to Xmas. There wasn't much of interest on TV when we got home so we caught an early night.

Lynda has been caught up in a cycle of increasing pressure at work. They've lost a couple of people through buy-outs and so her workload just keeps increasing despite the fact she's very good at what she does. She is burnt out and about ready to blow a gasket. Overdue for a break. I put a call in to her earlier suggesting she leave early today as driving will get increasingly dangerous.

After that 11 day stretch of work, and different shifts, I'm pretty burnt out myself and trying to go easy. Quick rests when I feel in need of them; lots of water and tea; small frequent meals; vitamin supplements; whatever seems appropriate. I really don't want to be sick over the 'holidays'. (Holidays in brackets because I don't get any time off.)

I've had a look at a few blog buddies sites so far today and hope to find time to get completely caught up on blogland later on. Have a good one. It's time for me to find the business end of our snow shovel.

More Pics.......

So, in no partiicular order because blogger is grinding away as it tries to upload pictures. These took about 10 minutes to post including a few time out errors. Above - the source for the icicles for the ice altar installations. The height of the overhanging snow is about 18 inches.

I lucked out snapping this one on my way to work from behind the steering wheel while driving as a number of vehicles were approaching. Initially during the storm the wind was from the west and temps were pretty mild; a few degrees below freezing. As the storm progressed the wind started to switch, blowing and gusting from the north strongly enough to uproot this tree frozen into the ground. Temps are diving; -10C now heading for -20C.

Before leaving for work yesterday from my patio door. I like the blue cast to this one.

Again from an upstairs bedroom window; yesterday after I got up in the afternoon. Not many people had bothered during the day to clear their cars off. I guess they were smart and stayed in. Like how the snow drifts right in tight to the cars??

From my living room - the fence, a shelf, solar lights. Looking out there now the level of snow on the shelf is up to the top rail of the fence.

The drive home this morning was relatively quick and easy. Roads have been plowed but as a result they are icy so I geared down and took it slow. The worst part was getting into the parking lot here and ramming the car into my uncleared spot. Should be fun getting it back out later.

These last few days have been wild weather-wise and hopefully I'll have something else to post about in days to come. The eastern sky is lightening now and skies are clear. Amen to that.

I need to be up early this afternoon to give Lynda a hand so I'm off to la-la land. Later - peace, love and groovy-ness.

And So It Begins.....

The snow was just beginning when I got up around 2:15. Until then everything was clear but already the cars and roadways are getting covered. Environment Canada's weather prognosticators are predicting up to 15 inches of snow by Sunday morning. We're to get one storm moving through tonight, a bit of a break, then a second bigger front tomorrow into Sunday.

With today being the start of March break it is really messing up thousands of peoples travel plans as they try to leave town for warmer climes. Poor buggers...... not the sort of frustration you want to begin a holiday.

The vantage point for these shots was my upstairs spare bedroom looking south-east and south-west and I'll try to update these shots tomorrow to show the progression. Of course, those shots might be an overall indiscernible 'whiteness'. (Providing I make to work and back come morning)

Sunny Days.....

A large high pressure system swept in on the heels of the storm making for a 'beautiful day in the neighbourhood'. (kudos to Mr Rogers) We're being told to prepare for another biggie in a couple of days which is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. Temperature will dictate whether we are to be digging out from under another load of snow or we will get enough rain to wash the latest snow away.

These shots were taken from the spare bedroom upstairs showing the parking lot and more specifically my car. The vehicles to the right of mine haven't been cleared at all today. The residual heat from the engine kept the hood of my car clear but snow still managed to cover the windows and roof with what fell after I arrived home.

Time to get brekkie / dinner on - cereal followed by my favourite; baked chicken. Mmmm... Mmmm..... & then back to work. Hmmm..... maybe a quick pit-stop at Mom's on the way. We'll see.

Night and Day...

This from through the night last night just trying some flash shots in full dark. Pictured here is how the snow settled on a broad boarded picnic table.

Here is the yard at the house while I waited for the b-b-q to heat up showing how the setting sun glistens in the icy surface of the semi-melted and refrozen snow - highlighting people and doggie prints.

These are a couple of Lynda's hanging ornaments which happen to be right under a leak in the eaves trough. As the water drips onto them they get a nice lopsided build-up of ice and swing in the breeze.

Up at the house there is a steep pitched roof that ends within arms reach which is always lined with icicles. One of the guys snapped a number of them off and arranged them on top of a snowbank like a little altar to the ice gods.

Since I got up I've been playing with these shots in Picasa - recropping and adjusting contrast and found I could upload them to the blog right from there. Woo-hoo!! The things you learn when you sit down and play about for awhile. But enough of that for now - it's time to get cleaned up and get some food into myself. Later ~-:)(x}

Let It Snow,......

Let it snow,.........

let it snow,........
We had a 3 day stretch of bitterly cold weather - daytime highs of -10, nighttime lows of -20+ - and thankfully most of the time winds were pretty still. When it did pick up the windchill was brutal like a saw. Yesterday afternoon it broke, got much milder and the snow began. It came down gently and steadily through the afternoon and evening lightening up by the time I went to bed. Depending on the region the accumulation was between 2 and 5 inches.

These shots were taken when I was leaving work this morning after running the staff meeting. Top to bottom they are scanning right to left across the grounds in front of 'the house' - my workplace. There was a little more fine light snow falling, partly obscuring the sun and diffusing the light so they aren't real sharp. It was peaceful in the neighbourhood at that early time of day with few people up and out clearing up after the storm.

Back when the house was built, I think by the way the trees are growing, that there must have been a circular driveway for horses and buggies, and early cars. Where the kitchen is located I believe was a carriage house originally.

March has come roaring in like a lion and so should leave like a lamb. Here's hoping for some warmer weather to come along soon. The new fallen snow is pretty and all but I'm due for some spring-like colour to zest things up.

Leave An Impression.....

.... wherever you tread.

Even if it is move a planter beneath a dripping downspout in order that the neighbours can sleep.

Snow certainly can get grungy looking when it has been lying around awhile......

Sunday Getting Up

These last couple of days we've enjoyed a large high pressure system which has given us lots of sunshine, livable day time highs nudging 0 degC and very crisp nightime lows in the -15 range.

Today as I was enjoying my 'morning' cig & coffee I was interested by some of the shapes the snow is taking on as it melts, the texture as it becomes more crystalline and the random patterns created by the wind borne detritus that accumulates through the season..... dirt, grit, bits of leaves... cigarette ashes, perhaps...

The neighbours may have thought me strange lying on my patio getting these shots, and maybe I am.... but what the heck. Barely awake gathering shadows and light - that's me. Take me as I am.

A Day At The Beach.....

...which is a bit of a lie.... 15 or 20 minutes was enough to bring me to the verge of frostbite. Althought the lakefront is just a quick 10 minute drive from either home I don't get down there very often. Because it had been fairly mild - just around freezing - early today and we were getting some sunshine for a change I thought I'd take a run down. Only problem being that the wind direction had changed from SW to NW causing the temp to drop and windchill to rise. This first shot is looking west toward Toronto along the north shore of Lake Ontario. This is the beach and lakefront park in Oshawa.

A look back the way I'd come; toward the pier and harbour area. Those domes are for storing the salt and sand mixture that is spread on the roads prior to and during snow storms. On the right side of this shot you can see some lake effect snow showers sweeping in.

An ice bridge at the waters edge. Unfortunate about the angle of the lighting..... and look at those crazy Canada geese floating out there. I'd perish in about 10 seconds in that water.

This is looking due south down the length of a man made look-out pod that juts into the lake. 25 or 30 miles across the lake is Rochester, New York. Hellooooooo!

This walk took just about 20 minutes and was perhaps a kilometer long but by the time I made it back to the car my eyes and nose were streaming, ears blazing red and damn near frozen off, chest heaving from gulping the cold air. If only the wind hadn't picked up... if I'd worn a hat and gloves..... it wouldn't have been as invigorating. Nice to be out and about enjoying the day - I'm ALIVE!!

It's time for something savoury for supper.

Snow Daze.....

I thought I'd share these as I finally got around to downloading my camera software to my re-jigged computer. If you happen to be in warmer climes perhaps these will cool you off for a moment or two. This top shot was taken about a week ago from my townhouse doorway looking across the complex. That is a crab apple tree with a nice dusting of the fluffly stuff.

This shot was taken yesterday over at the house from the kitchen looking out at the little side patio after our most recent storm. Nice, eh? Later on in the day a high pressure system swept in so it was clear, sunny and bright. We're in for another small storm tomorrow night and the forecasters are telling us there is another major one heading our way Sunday into Monday which is supposed to dump another 20 cm. (about a foot)

Ah, the joys of Canada in February...... (please tell me why I still live here.....) Florida, the gulf coast of Texas, Arizona and California all sound good right about now. So do Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Trinidad.

**TEASER** - I have some major news to share later; good stuff. Woo-Hoo!!!!!

Wild & Wooly

First the music.

Weather-wise this last 24 hours has been nuts, lemme tellya. It started to snow heavily around 2 a.m. last night and by the time I was leaving at 5:30 there was already 4 inches of snow on the ground. I took it easy going home and it took about twice as long to get there compared to usual. Driving in this stuff doesn't bother me but some of the other drivers sure do. They seem to think that because they have powerful vehicles , SUV's or 4 wheel drive it somehow makes them immune to the laws of physics. Duh!

There was a lull through the day while I slept but part 2 of the storm began when I got up for the day. Getting back to work was worse and when I got here called the bus company to cancel our intended trip to an outside meeting. It was being held in a town north and east of here with a lot of twisty, hilly terrain between here and there. I don't think so.....

It was relatively mild earlier - around 0C - but has cooled off considerably now. The snow falls have been coming in waves; sometimes heavy, some light. We have about 10 inches now and drifting in spots to 18. There are a few hours to go before I leave for home so I'm hoping the plows get out, get busy and have the roads clear.

Sister Linda has a post-surgery appointment this morning that I was supposed to stay up and get her to. I think she may have to reschedule that one - it's too distant for these sorts of conditions. I'm regretting now having agreed to drop a client at the train station on my way home. Drat & curses.

Maybe I should go listen to Lena Horne sing some more....hmmm?

Family Footprint

As promised, I said when I received another photo of Zeph that it would appear here. Sort of an unusual family portrait but a good one. Zeph will be 6 months old next week. That half-assed plan I had to go visit next month is gonzo; it was a short lived pipe dream. June will be along soon, right?

I did my overnight shift last night and the snow began to fall just before I was wakened to begin the day; before 6. It has been coming down hard and heavy ever since with strong winds piling it into drifts. The drive home around 10 was sloppy but now at mid-afternoon I'm debating the sanity of trying to drive over to the house in order to spend the night with Lynda. (It's normally a 10 minute drive) Looking out my window at passing traffic people are getting stuck, getting out to help push other cars and slip sliding about - not fun. It might be a good night to stay in with a pot of tea and a couple of good movies or a book.

This morning my boss returned my Johnny Cash book about the apostle Paul - The Man In White - so I may have to parcel it up to send off to cousin BJ. John said he had thoroughly enjoyed it and that it was evident Cash had put a lot of work and study into the writing of it.

Now ...... to pack up and get out in the white stuff .... or stay put. Hmm ... tough call. Did I tell you that Lynda told me 'she loves me' the other night?? She did. I hadn't heard that for an awfully long time.......

Peace

I'm at work and I've been watching it snow for the last few hours - there's likely between 2 and 3 inches now. Just out for a smoke break and it's a nice bracing cold; exactly what you need at 3 a.m. to wake you up a bit. The snow is the very fine sort almost like sand. As I was watching I'd hoped it'd really let loose with the big fluffy stuff so I could go stand and point my flashlight up into it and be tranfixed once again. But this will do - it's quiet here on the edge of the village, the grounds and trees are beautiful with the even frosting of snow. It's windless and the snow is falling gently out there. It's warm inside and there's a nice hot cuppa by my elbow. Ahhh...priceless.