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Its not all about photography these days.

In recent months a spark was lit which slowly produced a flame. A flame fed by the comments of others and old memories. In the corner of my closet the whispers became more insistent there in the corner sat my sketchbooks, watercolour paints, pencils and pens and long ignored work.

I mentioned in a blog post back in September of last year how I finally I gave in, took down the boxes and with baby steps picked up where I had left off all those years ago. It was the mid 1990's when I stopped painting it was time to put that to rights.

Fast forward to today, the sketchbooks are in constant use, the 'photo outings' on Saturday mornings were followed by tea and conversation. Now there is a new twist; tea, conversation and sketching. Well the conversation dies quickly when the sketchbooks appear but no matter the friendship and camaraderie remain as pencils and pens work to capture what is before us or at least what we see before us.

Yesterday it was Doug and I at Quebec St Mall (a good place to hide from winters icy grip). Somehow an hour disappeared but a drawing or two appeared in the sketchbooks and a "peaceful, easy feeling" to quote the Eagles had fallen upon us.

It's quite amazing how that happens. Maybe it is the returning to something deep within, the need to express what we see using simple tools instead of modern day technology. The time taken is repaid with satisfaction, the longer it takes the greater the satisfaction.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time". ~ Thomas Merton

As the year draws to a close another winter getaway ends.
This year we were treated to the hospitality of our friend Doug who shared his new abode in Tobermory with us.

Having a common gathering, eating and relaxing space made such a difference. The food, tea, banter and an occasional wee dram made for relaxing evenings, even the scent of Raclette cheese didn't dampen our spirits actually it added to the ambiance. Luckily it didn't linger for more than a day ;-)

I'm sure that Patrick would join me in extending a hearty thank you to both Doug for playing the perfect host and to Lynn for letting him.

Doug, Lynn and Patrick
Thanks guys it was truly memorable.

"The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it." ~ Hubert H. Humphrey

The wheel has turned once more, the darkest day is behind us.
From this day on the sun gets stronger as he begins his long journey Northwards.
Or..
Christ is born, let the world rejoice

To many this is a special time, be they Christian or Pagan, the one thread that binds all together is the wish for Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards Men.

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
~Calvin Coolidge

A freezing cold morning, the sun had not yet risen.
In fact it wouldn't rise today, just a lightening of the leaden sky as the snow began to fall. Of course we were out already racing the non existent dawn to get to the Blue Springs Trails
At -15c the snow was powder, the trails relatively unmarked, we noted that a coyote had passed this way sometime in the night, the odd squirrel and mouse tracks revealed the presence of some life in this frozen land.

Photography was hard this day, frozen fingers fumbling with tiny buttons on icy cold equipment a breath caused instant fog on the optical surfaces.

So why were we out there?

For the love of the craft
For the love of "being outdoors"
For the fellowship that may not warm the fingers but warmed the heart.
Indeed laughter echoed through the woods that morning conversation ebbed and flowed as images were taken quickly.

"All trails lead to Rome" said Doug.... No "all trails lead to OX and tea and croissants" said I as we started the homeward leg of the trail.

Soon the cold was forgotten we were back in downtown Guelph, sitting with tea, latte's and comfort food. More laughter, more chat as our toes returned to normal and our fingers thawed ...

Another great morning or as Doug (sort of) put it

"Being out in the woods, especially in winter makes you feel alive"

I think we all agreed with that.

"There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Another weekend, another walk in the woods..
Silvercreek Trails beckoned once again but we shouldn’t have worried there is so much to ‘see’ there.

We decided to follow a portion of a previously walked trail which joined a new-to-us trail for the return leg. The differences that a few yards make was amazing.
As we followed the first leg the scenery was shattered Dolomite, crevasses that were so deep that the light could not penetrate, tumbles of rocks, and worn steps made by many feet and weather over the years.
Across the valley the bare tree’s made a tapestry from textures.
When the trail split we took the left trail that looped back to our starting point.

Around us the tree’s creaked and complained, disturbed by the wind.
But no birds sang, no critters scampered across the leaf strewn floor. It was like the whole woods were holding its collective breath and waiting....

Here the forest floor was soft with fallen leaves, easy walking

At one point we heard voices and a stream of hikers came by, power walking along the trail. Not one of them stopped to look around. They saw nothing but the trail ahead and disappeared down it.
Some had ‘Bruce Trail’ emblems on their day packs I wondered if they were on a pilgrimage, hiking from one end to the other. Not to walk and enjoy but to walk a section, cross it off the list and move on.

Not my idea of a good time but ....

Once again the woods fell silent and we strolled on, stopping here and there to study a small stream, a clump of plants, a fallen tree or a mushroom.
All the important stuff

Finally we came back to the pond, the same pond that we have visited three times in the last few weeks but now it is covered in a thick layer of ice.

How did that happen so fast?
In the blink of an eye winter had appeared.

“What a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel.” ~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866

“In this twentieth century, to stop rushing around, to sit quietly on the grass, to switch off the world and come back to the earth, to allow the eyes to see a willow, a bush, a cloud, a leaf, is ‘ an unforgettable experience’ “
~ Frederick Franck,The Zen of Seeing

This week the quote is at the beginning ...

Thinking of Franck’s words, of this statement, made me realise why I cling to my Saturday mornings.
Modern life takes us away from what is important or maybe it is we who allow ourselves to be lured away, responding to the siren song of the times.

I know that I while I am part of the concrete, the noise, the hustle and bustle of modern life ... I am not whole.
Monday to Friday I pay the piper, the pound of flesh is demanded and grudgingly paid.

The anticipation begins around mid week and builds until Saturday morning when things change,

I walk the trails and the modern day world slowly melts into insignificance.

Out there surrounded by the sounds of the forest the sirens sing a different song, one that I give myself too gladly and in the giving I am freed once more
Out there, amongst the tree’s, feeling the wind and snow chill my face and fingers I am at my happiest.

Simple pleasures, the tree’s, whispering tales of what is coming, birdsong from the chickadee’s, the sound of something moving through the brush up ahead and finally catching a glimpse of a deer at the edge of a meadow.
We watch him as he watches us...

We spy a Northern Shrike that quietly sits on a branch, an elusive ghost visiting from the northern woods brings delight and answers the question 'what's wrong with the chickadees this morning?' as they call out a warning...

All this becomes important and it is why I cling to my Saturday mornings

Friendship ....

I have talked about this several times but once in a while something happens and reminds you of how important friendship is to us all.

Yesterday was a typical Saturday, that meant being out of the door long before sunrise. A meet up at the usual spot but this time it was different, this time Doug was home and not at the cottage.

The Three Amigo's rode again ...

It was a great morning, we planned to revisit Limehouse (near Rockwood ON). A place of great natural beauty and part of the Bruce Trail system.
Patrick had never been so that made it even more special.

We walked the trails to 'Hole in the Wall' and became lost in details , shattered rocks, fallen tree's, some old, some new. Then the snow came and the landscape was transformed.
I ask you is there anything better than a walk in the woods on a snowy day with close friends who share the same mindset?

I don't think so.

Afterwards we retired to our usual spot, OX in downtown Guelph. Although it has been "found" by the students and laptops abound. We were still able to find a spot to sit, drink tea and other "frothy coffee" drinks and munch on forbidden fruit. That would be croissants and butter tarts (for some of us)

The conversation drifted around and around from serious to whimsical and back again. We talked of anything and everything and laughed a lot.

At one point Doug remarked how much he misses these times and we all agreed.
Good times, good food and great company.

And all is right with the world.

At least for a little while.

Friendship is a sheltering tree. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Saturday morning dawned bright and cold, quite a change from the past few weekends. This meant being in place for dawn that meant an early start, a really early start.

We arrived at our chosen trailhead in the gray/blue light of predawn., kitted up and headed down the trail.

There were three this time and Andrew yawned his way through the woods. Still he was awake enough to think ... His comment "being out at dawn is like sunset only I have the rest of the day ahead of me" made me smile.

We walked until something caught our attention, that tiny voice that said 'look here' and we stopped, barely a kilometer along the trail but covering a prescribed distance is not the object, its the journey and if we only walk a hundred meters and something finds us then so be it.

For me it was a slight clearing, a stream of blue juxtaposed with the warm tones of Autumn, the sun beginning to paint the forest floor with golden light.

Yes this was the spot for me, for all of us really but each one sought out his own muse as our breath hung in the air and Jack Frost nipped at our fingers.

Magic, pure magic. ...

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements. ~ Napoleon Hill

The days shorten, the wind has an 'edge' to it now.
Dark clouds replace the white of summer and the Trembling Aspen whisper of what is to come.
Fall in Ontario, not only has it arrived it is deeply encamped and prepares the way for the arrival of winter as the wheel turns once more.

Many people begin their hibernation at this time but for those who venture out there is a clarity to the air, a freshness that was not there before.

The woods smell not only of fallen leaves but pine, balsam and spruce scent the air
The squirrels race around gathering food and forgetting where half of it is hidden.
Fewer birds sing now as the land prepares itself for a long sleep
And the snows begin to fall....

What a great time to be alive.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~ William Shakespeare

Once more unto the breach dear friends...
Yes another rainy weekend in Southern Ontario.

Out on the sodden trails again, same place, same rain., same feelings, different company.

If you look, listen and wait the opportunities present themselves. It took 2 hours to walk about half a mile. But that half a mile was filled with potential.
When everything is wet a whole new world opens up, colours intensify, contrast increases, shape, form, and textures become more evident and you know black and white season is upon us.

But you have to put yourself in the right frame of mind.

Forget the rain trickling down your neck, the spattered glasses and lenses and open your mind to what is before you. Listen with your eyes and see with your ears ...

"And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being." ~ Black Elk, Lakota