Come Sail Away

"I look to the sea,
Reflections in the waves spark my memory,
Some happy, some sad,
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had,
We lived happily forever, so the story goes,
But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on ..."
Come Sail Away [Styx]

 I hope you're carrying on into 2014. If you need a momentary break from winter, then close your eyes and come sail away with me (click on the link below the photos) ...

Joy to the World ...

Luke 2:10-11

10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of 
       great joy, which shall be to all people.
11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

May you too experience the joy that the angel proclaimed to the shepherds, and which God intended for all mankind, not just at Christmas but throughout the year.

Have a blessed Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year !

Speaking of brass monkeys ...

I can state with certainty that I am not now, nor am I likely to become, a member of a polar bear club. You know, those people who think it's a lark to go out on New Year's Day and plunge into a hole hewed out of the ice in nothing more than a bathing suit. Having said that, I did find myself outside very early this morning in weather that would have prompted owners of brass monkeys to have brought them indoors. It was -26C and for those who keep score in Fahrenheit, that's 15 below zero. Even Sasha decided that only fools would be out in those temperatures.

I seem to have standing orders to be awakened if there's the promise of a sunrise worthy of being captured on camera. There was enough time to acclimatize the camera and I spent about 40 minutes traipsing around the yard alternating between preventing frostbite in my fingers and capturing the amazing colours.

Sometimes you do what you gotta do ...

The Night Alight

Like moths attracted to a porch light, we were likewise drawn last week to the 'Alight at Night' festival at Upper Canada Village, a reconstructed town that replicates life as it was in the mid-1800s. It's hard to imagine how long it took to string up the almost 1 million lights that illuminate the village during this season of light.

It was certainly impressive as we toured the village on a horse-drawn wagon, and enjoyed a ride on the riotously-festooned train.

Hop aboard.

[since there would have been no opportunity to deploy a tripod, these are hand-held using my trusty $92 50mm f1.8 lens - a must have in every camera bag]

"No, I am NOT tired !  Why do you ask ?"

We Ain't Goin' Nowhere

I live in a country that converted to metric 35 years ago. Unfortunately we didn't convert to metric time so we could have 100 hours in a day. It's been a roller coaster month since I last posted here. During that month

• I relived a lifetime of memories as I kept vigil with my family as my father passed from this life into the next [I don't tell you this to elicit words of sympathy – he almost reached 89 years and was ready to be welcomed into the New Jerusalem]
• Sasha was diagnosed with diabetes and I've become fairly adept at giving her a daily insulin shot [a side effect of her condition is that she can no longer accompany me on photo shoots – which were a rare occurrence in the last month anyhow]
• in support of my daughters' dog rescue team I've been researching government requirements to set up a charitable organization [and you thought completing your income tax return was complex !]
• I got an early Christmas present [Adobe Lightroom] and have been dabbling in learning its features. One of the prime reasons for getting it was to tame my rapidly-becoming-disorganized library of thousands of photos – a task that will likely require some months still

Thanks to all of the kind folks who dropped by and left a comment. Why don't all of you relax in the sunshine, get your mind off wintertime, and flop down in the easychair (click on the link below the photos to give it a try).