(Day 186) Necessity of life

When we moved into our current home, we were warned about an open well situated about 30m/100' from the house. We had been shown it prior to buying the home, but had forgotten exactly where it was. Once I had time to look after we were settled in, I found it in a field of 2m/6' tall weeds - basically an open hole in the ground with a few boards thrown haphazardly over it. Eventually we turned the field of weeds into part of the lawn and I built a stone wall around the well using stones from the foundation of the old homestead.

This well isn't used anymore - a new one was drilled about 10 years ago. However, when the pioneers settled here one of the first tasks was to dig a well. About 3 years ago we had a dry spell over a period of a couple of months - and the well dried up, right to the bottom. We put the extension ladder down it and took turns climbing to the bottom - 5m/16'. We discovered that the well was hand-hewn from rock - all the way to the bottom! While we enjoyed the only time this well had been dry during our 7-year tenure, can you imagine what it would have been like for the pioneers when one of the necessities of life wasn't readily available! Today we take it quite for granted that there will be water when we turn on the tap.

(18-55mm  f4.5  1/2 sec  ISO800)

(Day 185) Powerful Pink!

A few years ago, friends of ours gave us some perennials. I'm sure they told us the names of the plants - some of them I knew, others I didn't. Today I don't remember most of them (did I tell you that I have a great memory ... but it's short!). However, there is one that I did remember because my son has some at his place and he asked me recently what it was called - astilbe.

I was making some shots of my grandson this afternoon and we happened to be sitting near these, so I focused on the astilbes and let the flowers fill the frame - I was surprised at the resulting explosion of colour.

And since it's also Sunset Sunday (see Scott's blog) I'm posting a contribution, taken the evening of our return from vacation just over a week ago.

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f8  1/50 sec  ISO200)

Sunset Sunday (taken in our backyard)

(Day 184) Time out

I think I passed a milestone of sorts with my last post and I didn't even realize it - I'm now past the 1/2 way point of my 365 project! I guess the saying is true - time flies when you're having phun!

Well, time flew yesterday too. We made a 800 km/500mi round trip to attend the wedding of a son of good friends of ours. It's a long weekend in Canada, as it is in the US, and since we both detest sitting in traffic jams, we decided to make the trek back home after the reception (we didn't stay right till the end). Better home late at night than spending hours fighting traffic during the day.

We weren't sure whether traffic would be heavy on our way there, so we allowed plenty of time to get there. Arriving an hour early, we decided to take a time out in a beautiful, idyllic park that my wife spotted near our destination.

(18-55mm  f32  1/10 sec  ISO100)

(18-55mm  f14  1/100 sec  ISO200)

(Day 183) Phriday Phun

I've been meaning to take part in Scott's Phriday Phun for a while now, but events always seemed to conspire against me. But today I set a goal to participate, and I think I achieved it - at least, I had phun, and that's the objective. I haven't learned to use any sophisticated photo tools yet, so I just went out and played a bit with the camera - you never know really what you have till you download and have a look. I call the first one 'hurricane' and the second one 'wet paint'.

(18-55mm  f22  1/5 sec  ISO100)

(18-55mm  f36  1/5 sec  ISO100)

(Day 182) Pure gold

When we moved into our current home just over 7 years ago, there was absolutely no landscaping - no flower beds, no shrubs, and no trees near the house - 'unspoiled' in realtor terms. It sat on an open piece of land, surrounded by at least 30m/100' of grass on all sides. Over time we've put in the 2 ponds, created flower beds, planted trees - primarily birches by the pond, and maples in the yard - and added shrubs and flowers.

Some of the perennials we bought about 4-5 years ago were asiatic lilies, of various colours. Since the birches by the pond have basically claimed that area as their own, the lilies we planted there need to be moved to a new area this fall. However, the ones at the front of the house have grown from single stem potted plants to large clumps - I suspect I'll have to split them this year. The ones in today's shot are nearing their full glory and bring beautiful colour for us to enjoy as we sit on the front porch. When I made some photos earlier this evening I had Eva Cassidy's version of 'Fields of Gold' playing in my head (even though the song refers to barley fields) - if you're not familiar with it, have a listen - I think you'll like it.

(18-55mm  f5  1/80 sec  ISO200)