November Sunset

Sue's photo group is heavily American, so it's a bit problematic for a Canadian when they insist on landscapes in December, especially when there is no snow cover to brighten the scene. However, when we saw the cloud formation as sunset was nearing, we headed to the trail (former railway) bridge. Sunset was to be at 4:23 that afternoon, and we were taking pictures at about 4:15.

For once, I was not shooting toward town hall, which was lying well off to the left of this ↑ photo. That is the dam in the lower section, and the faint lights beyond it are at the restaurant where we sometimes have had breakfast on the patio.

This ↓ is a landscape view in which you might see the green and red lights beginning to come on the bridge for Christmas. Presumably they would have been more vivid when it would become totally dark. There are vehicles on the bridge, and if my photoshop were working, I probably would have taken a moment to clone them away. (Of course, some of what I describe — lights and vehicles — are pretty difficult to see at this resolution, but they are quite visible on a high resolution view at full screen.)

I am thinking that the dam might be interesting if I were to use a telephoto lens in the right light when it would be snow-covered. I'll try to bear that in mind.

Early Snow Photos

It wasn't the very first snowfall of the season, but I wonder if it might be the first of the snow that will stay all winter, for we are forecasted to get a a pretty fair dose later today. Whatever the case, it was the wet kind that sticks, so with phones in hand, we popped just outside the door to do what we do — take pictures.

I began in the front yard. I know what I was trying to do in this photo by Sue, but I didn't like the result, so you won't see it here. I do, however, like her capture of moi, and it shows our little tree well.

We headed across the street to the very decorated yard that I have shown previously from my window. When one has a busy scene to contend with, it may be best just to concentrate of parts of it. I decided that the letterbox in the first photo and the fake street lamp in the second picture would do well enough.

Back across the street at ours, I captured these little twiggy remembrances of summer.

Then I took a few photos of the baskets that you might recall that Shauna decorated for us. Once again, I focused on bits of the scene.

I did a wee bit of snow-pushing from the walk. It was unnecessary to get out the electric shovel for this amount. In fact, I am not sure that I will need it at all, and it might very well be more trouble than it's worth. Time will tell.

Once we get today's dumping, I wonder if will we now have snow-cover until March. As I wrote above, time will tell.

Red for the Season

Walking through the pharmacy, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. Lookin around, I was expecting to see a friend but saw no one. I lowered my gaze when I realized  and realized that a little, old lady was talking to me.

In a British accent she complimented me on my red wardrobe, the one in the photo. I wish to heck I could remember exactly what she said in her sweet accent, but I thanked her and off we went in opposite directions.

Then, in another store, the cashier also remarked on my attire.

It is suitable for the season, don't you think?

Nuts and Pots

The nuts did come out at ours. I asked Sue about it, and it was the same for her. The difference is that Sue thought it quite the treat, but I just said nuts to it. Neither of us remember when the tradition stopped, but I can't recall us continuing it after we were married. If we did, it couldn't have been for long.

Another tradition from my youth was having a box of Cadbury Dairy Box. Now, that was much better than nuts, eh? I am pretty sure that this is not how the box looked all those years ago, but the name is the same.

Sue reports a similar tradition, but it was always Pot of Gold at hers. I still see Pot of Gold in the stores, but I don't know when I last spotted a Dairy Box.

You must have your own unique memories of Christmas treats. Fess up.

Getting a Lifter

With bodily constraints being what they are, Sue has been worried about clearing the snow on the walk by the front door. We have a contractor to plow the driveway, and the town will eventually get to the sidewalk. but the walkway will be up to us.

It's not a long piece to shovel, and I think I could manage around my shoulder issue, but Sue has been apprehensive. Then she saw a little electric shovel on FB. We don't require a big blower, but this little contraption might be sufficient to blow it from our entrance way without having to lift the snow. The snow pile beside out path can become quite high by the end of winter, so it could become quite a strain. 

Then, Shauna found this very model for sale, second hand, in our own little town. It's wasn't terribly expensive, so off we went. We closed the deal within minutes and were soon back with the device. 

We shall have to see if it is what we need, but it looks promising, but it won't be used where it is in this photo — the path to be cleared is behind me, near the front door.

Morning Phone Calls

Well, that was a major morning for me. Due to my poor hearing and the fact that I don't like people (kidding — sorta), I tend to put off phone calls as long as possible. They were mounting up, so yesterday morning, I girded my loins and made three calls. One was to resolve an issue with our property insurance. The second was to call CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) which is enough to cause a fit of the shudders. The third was to call our Honda dealer about a safety recall.

All things considered, the calls went well enough. That I can divert the phone audio directly to my hearing aids helps a lot. The sound is clear and the volume is good, and it is almost like I can interact like a normal person. 

However, I will have to spend at least a week recovering from the ordeal.

Maybe I should curl up in my chair and imbibe some Bailey's Irish Cream. Not being much of a drinker, I haven't done that at Christmas for several years, but my feeble eyes were attracted to a display while purchasing a bottle of wine for Sue. Maybe I should let my hair down and indulge, but I have some trouble locating hair.

Well, that's my short and sweet post for today. The question looms: will he or won't he? About the Bailey's, I mean.

Ice

November is the bleakest month: the colour has gone, and the snow hasn't yet arrived. Well, sometimes it arrives and stays by the end of November, but not usually. One thing that is beginning to happen is ice because most nights are now falling well below freezing. 

For the most part, our Mississippi River in this vicinity doesn't freeze because it runs so fast, but there is am embayment in Appleton where freezing is occurring already. In both of these photos, there is ice until the darker blue near the far trees.

This is the boat launch in Appleton.

At least we were graced with nice blue skies for these photos.

The pond at out local park ↓ is mostly frozen already. The outer, lighter section froze first and the darker section, near the water intake, later. I like the curving line where the two sections of ice meet.

When we walked from the park along the path by the river, we did encounter some ice right by the river bank, but it didn't extend very far into the river. (I decided to process this one in mono, but it was a mistake.)

To continue the ice there, when we made our way back to the car, there were some patches of ice in the grass in the park.

Apart from the ice, I nabbed this photo of Sue. She had just emerged back onto the path after photographing something or other in the bushes to the left.

And she took a photo of me.

Sunny, blue sky days with some clouds really help at this time of year.