strawberry jam

it must have been a good summer for strawberries - i'm eating this by the spoonful!

puddle reflections at sunset

sunset reflections in a puddle . . .

fallen flowers . . . .

some of them fall to the pavement. others fall to the grass. still others hold a pose in the face of a slight breeze . . . .

clouds . . .

skies change so quickly!

from cloud fairy . . . .

to incoming storm . . . .

through another leafy portal

this morning i rode my bike through another green leafy portal. this one took me to the lakefield farmers' market where i picked up some breads from graham and jess at hard winter bread company.

along the way i saw this lovely old lichen-encrusted boulder, shadow-painted with sumac leaves.

i also saw this sweet family of flowers taking in the morning sun!

quality time with sid

wow! what a gorgeous day . . . it's beautiful . . . and i'm spending some quality time with my fave cat in the neighbourhood - sid.

buttercup

for myself i hold no preferences among flowers, so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous.

edward abbey

soft symmetry

river side farm . . .

this is such an idyllic setting . . .

making the most of a beautiful day!

a good day for sunning on a log in a pond . . .

flowers near lakefield . . .

lunch at lakefield farmer's market

i shared a gorgeous slower ride to lakefield with wendy. when we got there it was lunchtime so we each ordered wood-fired pizzas from the night kitchen people and bought a bottle of wine.

we ate and drank while sitting beside the river among the flowers ...........

bacon, strawberries, pesto, goat cheese . . . it's called "joy" (the pizza that is), and rightfully so!

held

a moment on a bike ride . . . .

on reflection . . .

a quiet morning ride . . . everything so still . . .

flowers in the rain . . .

turtle crossing . . .

i enjoyed a beautiful ride to lakefield and back yesterday morning. the wind was like a strong hand behind me on the way north, and like a marshmallow wall on the way back.

the best, the very best part of the ride though was coming 'round a corner and seeing this beautiful little animal crossing the road. this was my first ever opportunity to help a turtle across the road. i can tell you in truth that i have hoped for this moment for such a long time. i stopped traffic and directed the cars around the little beast.

this is all you see as you approach a little turtle beast at 35 kp/h on a bicycle. i can only imagine what you see from a much faster car . . . .

"come on sweetheart . . . pick it up!"

across the road with a big hill to climb - which it did . . .

at first drivers appeared confused by me standing in the middle of the road leaning on my bike and waving them around, but then when they saw the turtle they started laughing! one woman leaned out of her car window and called out "thank you!"

i talked it across the road and up the verge on the other side until i knew it was safe.

the little flower

i gave this day over to reclaiming the garden at the back of my house. late last summer, wendy and i laid down the bones of a small, but lovely perennial bed that had (through the overwhelming rains of june and the underwhelming efforts of yours truly) become difficult to see through the undergrowth.

i love reclaiming beautiful things so the whole process was happy-making, but when i saw this tiny little flower through the density of the many-hued and variegated "guest" plants, i was drawn to its fragility and its gentleness . . .

muddy's pit!

i enjoyed a wonderful summer bike ride out to the little village of keene, ontario where i stopped at muddy's pit barbecue shack and enjoyed some super good ribs and some even better beer!

in her garden . . .

gorgeous . . . the clock is half way done . . .

what a gorgeous good day!

a wonderful evening . . .

i shared a wonderful night last night in cobourg at the woodlawn inn in cobourg with my mum, wendy, and two of my mum's friends. the gentleman in the picture is richard w. judy who figured in my own life as a teenager when he was my mum's employer. the lady to the right of my mum is dick's partner jane, herself a very fun and fascinating woman!

during the time in which he figured so largely in the life of my family, i travelled to new york at dick's expense with my mum for a ton of fun visit built around the last sailing of the s.s. france. i also worked on his ranch in kansas. he's a fascinating and knowledgeable man with a wry sense of humour . . . . here's a sort of cv of his academic and professional life . . .

the unlikeliness of colour

i love the unlikeliness of colour and even the very small light that exists in dark places. it makes me think of the idea and experience of hope.

here are the fragile remains of what was once a little mushroom tucked in under the overhang of my back porch . . .

flowers in the darkness . . .