finally…
the growing season in my area is behind due to cold wet weather…but the produce is finally beginning to arrive at the North Bay Farmers’ Market. These shots are from both the Saturday and Wednesday Markets last week. Raspberries, snow peas, peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and red and blue potatoes.
So happy to see the raspberries, they are my favorite…
don’t these look delicious…
here are the blue and red potatoes one of our vendor grows, apparently they are high in anti oxidants…and delicious in a potato salad!
last but not least, plump red cherry tomatoes…
puff the magic dragon…
On Saturday June 28th the local FLK Taoist Tai Chi Society, held a Dragon Parade, celebrating 35 years of Taoist Tai Chi activities! The parade ended at Civic Square beside the North Bay Farmers’ Market…when they arrived the Market walk way was too busy for them to parade through but after a bit of Tai Chi demonstration they were able to take the beautiful Dragon through…as they paraded it through the busker/entertainer for the day sang “Puff the Magic Dragon”…anyone old enough to remember that song???
a close up of the beautiful Dragon face
smaller Dragon…part of the parade
ominous looking clouds…
this was yesterday around 6:00pm as I was leaving the Market…looked intense, but didn’t really amount to much other than a light rain! Taken with my iPhone
wild…
I’ve taken a liking to “wild flowers’…those that are planted to appear to have no pattern but actually were planted with care to produce such an appearance!
perfect spot…
Monday was a hot, humid, hazy day, which you can see in the distance of the photo…but as I drove past the waterfront I decided to stop…saw this…perfect spot to sit, relax, and read a book!
Heritage Carousel
The Heritage Carousel, on the waterfront is a dream of a number of local citizens. It began in 1998, the carousel mechanism was repaired, 9 horses were carved by the North Bay Wood Carvers. Twenty eight were carved by Chuck Kaparich of Missoula, Montana. Once completed the horses and parts of the carousel where put up for adoption in order to raise funds to paint and furbish the carousel. See the full story here… http://heritagetrainandcarousel.weebly.com/carousel-history.html
coincidental!
Purchased this rose on Wednesday at the Market…I gave the flower lady a vase and said put in it what you want, came back a while later and this part of what she put in it! Coincidental!
Kentucky landscape…
this was taken on the drive home from Florida in 2013, when I began taking photos from the vehicle as we were driving…I’ve always been impressed with the Kentucky landscape, with the rolling hills, fences and gnarly looking trees.
yellow…
I’ve never been a fan of yellow…never, but I recently saw photos of a wedding and the flowers, bridesmaid dress, etc., was yellow…I have to admit it was beautiful. So in honor of yellow…
I have some daises in a vase right now…
Saturday at the North Bay Farmers’ Market
I’ve not posted photos of our local Market before but a first time for everything I guess…
Saturday not long after opening, before the crowds…you can see the RE/MAX balloon in the distance…they were offering free rides, but were accepting donations for the North Bay Habitat for Humanity
Mid morning, this is the west entrance of the Market, it is diffiuclt to tell but, there are a total of 46 vendors.
a closer look at the RE/MAX hot air Balloon, if you look closely you can see that it is tied to the ground…it goes up and down but not away!
lovely…
When I went for a walk yesterday morning I spotted this in my neighbor’s garden, lovely fuchsia peonies…I noticed today the rest of the buds have opened, but I didn’t have my camera or phone with me…I may go back and take a few photos.
dramatized!
I didn’t care for colors in this photo, they were very dull, but I really loved the cloud formations. Someone told me never to delete a photo that I didn’t like…to work with it, there might be something that can be done to it to improve the appearance…so I gave it a bit of color to dramatize it! I don’t usually do that to photos but I like it much better…
yellow, green & abandoned
I’ve been busy…I’ve taken on the job of Market Manager for our local Market, which is two days a week…it takes up a great deal of time. I have a many photos and will post some one of these days but for now, here is another abandoned building. I love the contrast of the old buildings with the green and yellow! Again, this was taken from my vehicle on the way to Sudbury…don’t worry my son was driving!
nesting…
A little over a week ago I noticed we had a boarder…a Robin decided to build her nest inside my garage. This spring I took my snow scraper out of my vehicle and leaned it against the wall in between two 2 x 4…look where the Robin decided to build a nest. Don’t know why I didn’t notice her building the nest? The garage was under construction and the garage door wasn’t on yet. There is at least one egg in the nest, so it looks like the garage door may be awhile before it goes on. 
Ice gone…
the weather is getting better, the ice is off the lake, I can see summer in the not too distant future! These photos were taken two weeks ago before all the ice was off the lake. I’ve not taken anything much since, too busy preparing for the Opening Day of our local Farmers’ Market.
the photos were taken at Sunset Park…a favorite childhood place for me to visit. The ice was moving about that day…you can see it piling up on the rocks.
when I took the photo below I stood at the shore line listening to the ice as it moved, I could actually hear it moving against itself…a very strange sound!
hopefully it is gone!
I took these two photos on the way to a meeting in Rosseau on April 27th, they are from separate lakes. Don’t know the names, but you would think I would after driving this way every Friday in July and August for eight years? I’m sure the ice is gone by now…hopefully!
touches of green…
simplistic I know, but I really liked how the evergreen trees popped through what appears to be a tangled mess of white trees…
I know some are Birch trees, but don’t know what the rest are, they almost look like they are dead or dying.
old and gray…
as always, while driving somewhere I bring my camera and snap photos as we drive along…here is a great old barn/shed!
white…
I love tulips…wish we were able to enjoy them longer, the petals on these were already beginning to pull apart…
flowing…
I had the chance to take a few photos last week…thankfully we have lost most of the snow we accumulated in the mini snow storm we had last week…but the lake still looks very solid…no dark patches at all yet, so it will be sometime before there is open water!
This creek is certainly running fast…hard to tell from my photos though…
old is new again…
I’ve not taken any photos for a couple of weeks now, which is why I’ve been posting photos I’ve taken in the last year or so…here are three more.
Lake Nipissing facing south west…
Leesburg, Florida, taken a couple of years ago.
Lake Nipissing, facing north along Memorial Drive.
cobalt blue & pine trees…
this is one of my neighbors garden areas, a bit of a hodge podge, but I’m fond of the cobalt blue flowers. I’m hoping to be able to do some planting this year?!
this photo is one that I took from my moving vehicle, I rather liked the scene…I know it is a bit blurry but I think it looks like a painting rather than a photo…
both…b & w & c
I love flowers, but I’m partial to specific colors, such as purple/mauve and white…maybe that is why I like black & white so much?
By the way…it is snowing here again, we are supposed to get between 10 and 15 cen…or between 4 to 6 inches! Hence the flowers!
treasures of the sea???
It all depends on how you look at things, what you see…right? I’m sure many see these as nothing of importance or worthy of a second look. To me these are interesting finds…especially the beautiful empty intact shell! Just look at the Nacre, or Mother of Pearl as it is known in the jewelry world… it is smooth, an even color, without damage. For those who aren’t familiar, Nacre is the white inner lining of the shell, the outer layer of pearls is also Nacre. This would make a beautiful piece of jewelry if you were into making something from raw materials such as this…
look what was washed up on shore after a windy day…
.
after the sunset II…
when your condo is facing west it is difficult not to be obsessed with sunsets or the after glow…here are two more photos…I particularly liked the contrast between the dark wispy cloud and the colorful one!
close up…
It is great when I’m able to get close…there is so much detail to see! This fellow along with a few friends was at a Marina on the North East side of Marco.
I got the feeling food tossed their way at this Marina, there were a few people fishing from the dock & something smelled tasty!
gray scale sunset…
when I take a photo of the sunset, sometimes the colors look right to me and sometimes they don’t…when they don’t I try the grayscale…I rather like it!
would you give it a try?
This is something I would like to do but won’t…my body would rebel! I always thought it looked like fun though. We saw boat drawn para-gliders each day, but only this motorized para-glider …as in the second photo, during the two weeks there.
fascinating clouds…
Our condo in Marco Island faced west, so of course I saw my share of sunsets…I do have to say the most beautiful sunsets were when there was some interesting cloud formations! The Gulf of Mexico sky does seem to offer strikingly beautiful clouds!
snowy day…
We got up to a snowy day on Saturday…wasn’t supposed to be but “surprise”! It was snowing and blowing on and off all day.
Did I mention it was darn cold a well? This street is one over from Lake Nipissing…couldn’t get to the public access anymore as the snowbanks are too high!
This coming week is supposed to get colder again! Both these photos are color but with the blowing snow they almost look B & W.
surfer dude…
the first couple of days it was windy…one of those days we saw a few fellows out catching a few waves…this fellow did well, I managed to capture one attempt.
I don’t know anything about surfing but I wouldn’t have thought the waves large enough for a descent ride?
He seemed to enjoy himself and make the best of it managing a few rides!
All be it short rides…
different…
this vacation was much different from what I’ve done for the past eight or so years…I’ve not stayed at the ocean for two weeks, nor in a anything higher than the first floor, for that long…we generally rent a condo in Key West in a complex which is only two stories, and always choose the ground floor. Last year in Marco we rented a house, so being on the 5th floor was different…it was so awesome to sit on the deck and look around, watch the people, the water and the sky. So much to see from one view point. I do have to say I’m not a fan of highrises…but that was the only option if we wanted to be on the beach…
this is looking right/north off the balcony, it looks like a short walk, but in reality it is much longer than it appears…
this was our first day, a bit cooler for some, around 18c I think, but for us it was fabulous
this is looking left/south of our balcony…the beach ends there as a rock formation which would make it difficult to walk on.
Photos weren’t taken on the same day as you can tell from the sky…
fishin buddies…
From my balcony I watched a man fishing, he stopped by a few times, never saw him catch anything but I’m sure he enjoyed himself…it really wasn’t the gentleman that caught my eye but these two fellows…his fishin buddies! These two weren’t concerned about people walking by, I’m sure they were just hoping the man would leave something…the man completely ignored them, I’m sure he was used to them hanging around.
sunset…
Boring name I know, but I don’t really have a way with words! I had a difficult time while away trying to capture the sunsets…our condo faced west so I saw one most evenings, but was rarely happy with the photos. Not sure why, someone said I should have used a tripod and a longer exposure and I’m sure he was correct, I honestly don’t know enough about my camera, at this point, I’m enjoying taking photos but not yet feeling like I want to jump head first into the workings of the camera. I couldn’t bring my tripod on the plane, too much to carry…I was with my daughter so I wasn’t about to take the time to begin reading to find out what to do!
These are the same photos of course…but the colors in the colored are not accurate! I’m showing one B & W along with its color counterpart simply because even though the color isn’t accurate I like the photo!!!
home…
As you may know I was away for a couple of weeks, we were most fortunate to have missed the two coldest weeks so far this winter!!! Didn’t take my laptop so I couldn’t keep up with posting and visiting. This year my daughter and I went to Marco Island. I stayed there for a week last year in a house and enjoyed it so thought I’d try it again. This time we decided to go for a condo on South Marco Beach, with a west exposure. As a result the majority of my photos will be from that area…of course we went out, but for the most part when we did I forgot my camera, as we were going shopping, to the Market or to eat! If you’ve never been, the beach itself is a beauty, fairly wide, with most of the surface compact broken shells with some fine sand mixed in, the waters edge is small shells, some live some not. I enjoyed myself watching theses fellows moving along across the shells. Shoes are required when walking along the beach unless you are right at the waters edge…
I may not be around…
I’m leaving today for Florida for two weeks…I’m not bringing my laptop so I may not have the opportunity to post or visit until I return. I intend to take as many photos as I can so should have lots to work with when I return…
winter…
In the spring, summer and fall this is a beautiful park area beside Lake Nipissing…it is still beautiful but rather stark with the snow…when I was a child this was a busy happening place. Not so any more, I visit once in a while and there are rarely any people swimming here. Rather sad actually that such a great park isn’t utilized much…although we have a few that aren’t being used a great deal.
red barns…
In November I went to Sudbury with my son and his wife and of course along the way I took photos from the moving vehicle…so keep in mind all these have been taken from a moving vehicle… Some of you will know I have a thing for old buildings, barns, vehicles, etc., when I looked over these photos I realized I’d captured a few red barns…you can read here http://home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm why barns were painted red originally and why the tradition continues in some cases. 
to all my blogging friends…
I spotted this yesterday afternoon…not sure what it is all about as I don’t visit this area much…I was up a slight embankment and couldn’t walk down to look at the plaque beside it as the snow was too deep. I’m thinking it is some kind of beacon, totem pole, but honestly don’t know what or why it is there. I will find out eventually. The triangular shaped top looks like green glass. I did it in black & white as some areas of the snow and clouds were just too blue and I couldn’t eliminate it in Photoscape…notice the ridges behind it, they are all along the shore line but the rest of the ice as far as the eye can see looks fairly smooth…I’ve not heard if the ice is safe enough to venture out but I did notice a number of people taking ice huts out so I’m hoping so!
changed my mind…introducing Jade again!
I was going to do a year in review kind of post…but after taking a look back at some of my posts I’ve changed my mind! I think I’ll find something fairly recent to post! I couldn’t resist posting these two…this is Jade…I introduced her last Christmas. She is my daughter’s standard poodle and she thinks she is one of the children! Poor Jade, she is totally exhausted from the holidays…this was taken Christmas day.
The color of the photo below is a bit off but it was either washed out or too much color as the photo above is closer to her natural color, so I chose to use it like this. I wanted to show the photo below as it shows just how tired she was…Jade is laying on a couch, yes, at her size, with her two front paws under her chin. Just look at those eyes…and yet if you asked her to she would be willing to play.
Heather Cote... 