12/3/4 Winter's Still Outside the Door

In March I begin to tire of winter whites, and the vast expanse of it directly outside my window as I look at my frozen river. To  say nothing of the snow deer in the yard, hoping to be untethered soon:

These are the days when cabin fever can strike, and the urge to get outside sends me roaming around the countryside hoping to find signs of life. Maybe a bird or two. It doesn't really matter what I see, I just want relief from the frigid crystals that bind us....however beautifully winter arranges itself  along the roadside...

over the fields...

 

and upon the rocks...

The moodiness of March is a force to be reckoned with!  Around the Ottawa Valley all manner of life is coping with winter's last gasp. 

Cows and horses out of the barn for the first time in months

Mourning doves wait patiently...

The Raven tires of endlessly surfing snowdrifts...

 

 Wild turkeys roosting. Do they dream of fresh green sprouts?

 Oh for the day when we can go for a walk without hats, mitts,scarves, boots, coats!

                           

The road is long to spring, but there are signs.

The harbingers of spring are there, like little rewards for being so patient.And as I drive down the icy road, a final magnificent present! Do you see what I see??

Look closely...a tiny oval speck...white to blend with the snow....in the middle  of the shot

 YES!!!!!!!

A gift from winter. Posing quietly while I grabbed the camera, got out of the car, walked across the road to the edge of the field...and sighed hello.

A perfect ending. Just perfect.

Good Morning Miss Cellanea

The past several weeks have been full of work, and more work,

then throw in some work, and that about sums it up.

Holidays are wonderful but there's a price to be paid besides the Visa bill at the end of them. Starts with W. So I haven't had much time to sit and relax, and go through the photo albums that are so easy to build on the computer! Take the camera, go for a drive, take lots of shots, download, name the file, and then...wait 'til there's a spare hour hanging about.

That would be now! Finally!

So going through the album for September, I remember this day clearly.

A soft, misting September morning.

Quiet. Perfect day to grab the bins, the books, a bun  

and just go.

The Ottawa Valley is a perfect place to ramble. Rolling meadows, roadside streams, very little traffic once you're off the main highway. You can take your time and look to see what the ditches have to offer.

Obviously well used, and right in the middle of a raspberry patch?

It's all about location, location, location.

Just beyond I spy a sure sign that summer is over, and birds of a feather

are making flight plans.

The signs were everywhere on this day. Some less subtle than others.

Obviously, this is where I was meant to stop.

A place to have a little picnic - or catch one if you can.

The area was originally settled in the 1800's, as loggers and farmers and merchants came to the Ottawa Valley in search of the tall stands of timber. It was a tough life, that spared no one. Coming across small family plots overgrown and unkempt is not an everyday event, but nor is it that rare.

This particular road is an old one, and it was likely once an animal trail, 

  that followed the river. It still is rich with life.

The hunted and the hunters dwell here.

They know they're being watched.

By this guy.

While the chickadees hunt juicy little seeds and berries, and

the Great Blue Heron heads to the next fishing hole.

It's all a matter of perspective. Yours. Mine. Theirs.

Life and death. Daily dramas.

Food for thought.