Shadows on the Forest Floor

Shadows on the forest floor.

Frogs on the porch.

Snowflakes fall softly in the meadow.

A spotted salamander,

Slinks slyly,

Under the kitchen door.

Icicles

Icicles 
Popsicles

Sunflowers 
and roses

Water painting 
The river
is frozen.

Starlight
and candlelight
Ice in the summer.

Wanting,
waiting,
and watching
in wonder.

Popsicles 
Pickles
People in poses.

Walking on Ice

Kempenfelt Bay, upon whose shores the beautiful City of Barrie sits. It’s also home to other wonderful little spots, like Big Bay Point, and Shanty Bay.

A Bay, that grows ever more beautiful as winter melts into spring. When spring moves into summer, then autumn, and back to winter, and ice huts will once again dominate the landscape.

The frozen waters provide a perfect playground for this beautiful chocolate lab. A chocolate lab, much loved by his Oma and Opa.

Pressure cracks, and nature’s sculptures, cover the bay as water begins to pool on top of the ice.

Deep below the layers of ice lurks the legendary lake creature named Kempenfelt Kelly.

Kempenfelt Kelly is said to have a long stove-pipe neck, topped with a face that looks like a dog.

It is about 12 feet long, or prehaps a lot longer.

Folklore also says that it has three pairs of legs, and looks like an octopus, topped with two long and sensitive antenna.

One source noted that it has “exquisitely beautiful feather-like appendages, that are constantly in motion.”

When I finally lay eyes on the mysterious Kempenfelt Kelly, I will give you a full, and accurate description of this remarkable being.

Along the shore of Kempenfelt Bay, in Big Bay Point.

Winter Blues

Shadows in the snow,
how sullenly they flow.

In the depth,
of winter blues.
The colours,
varying in hues.

One war
is almost over.
Another one
may soon begin.

The clouds open,
and shadows form.

The forecast, 
as unsure.
As the winter
is long.

February

This old tree.
The forest. 
And me.

Following footsteps. 
Of those who walked.
These trails.
Before us.

Let your imagination. 
Go wild.
And you will see.
Dragon wings.
And other things.

Listen to the wind.
Listen to the trees.
Listen to the sounds.
Floating on the breeze!

January

The orange/blue sky 
of January. 
The long, dark nights,
crisp and airy.

Cushioned in snow,
as the cold winds blow.

The winter garden,
waits.

An intricate design,
of shadows, fall.

Softly folded,
amoungst,
Two old stumps.

A chair,
too cold,
For,
our bums.

January, the beginning of a wonderful, New Year!

Pink

Pink

Some people think
That I am a dink,
on a rink, wearing pink, 
with dirty dishes in the sink.

But in a blink
I could make a stink
and call them a fink
because that's what I think. 

As I wear my mink
Down on the rink,
neither of them 
the colour pink.

Maria Tuttle

Snowshoe Trails…..

After snowshoeing in our beautiful Simcoe County Forest for so many days, I think it is time for us to hang up our snowshoes and start thinking about spring.

Snowshoeing with family, and friends. Busting new trails and traveling on those well groomed.

Midnight strolls, and sharing our tracks with wildlife.

Our snow trails have seen better days.
They gave us joy, in so many ways.
Stomping through,
Knee deep snow.
Tracks grew,
Wherever we would go.
Until a maze of twisty trails,
Cured all of winter's ails.

Until next winter, when we will meet again!

Strange Sights and Sounds

Different shades of brown, and a stand-on-
guard lawn chair.

It was a rainy Sunday in February. The last day in February to be exact. February 28th, not February 29th, as this year is not a leap year.

Some of the sights that we seen, and the things that we witnessed, were just a little bit out of the ordinary.

It might have had something to do with the gloominess of the day. The grayness of the sky. The old dirt on the snow.

Or the strange, frozen mist that covered the world this morning.

Strange faces found along the side of the road.

Graveyards; for old barns, and old Christmas trees.

Icebergs, not as big as those in the Atlantic Ocean, but Icebergs none the less.

Daytripping during Covid19.

Photos from the Back Deck

From a green Christmas Eve to knee deep in snow on Boxing Day, you need to love winter in Southern Ontario.

I’m thinking that God made the snow so beautiful so that we will automatically give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us as we shovel and plow our decks and drives to travel roads that are mostly white.

Giving thanks for the beauty of our wonderful world of wintertime.