The World Through Our Lens
On a lark, Bob and I thought we would revisit Thickson’s Woods in Whitby, Ontario, to see if we could find the Great Horned Owls that inhabit that forest. It had been about a year since we earnestly looked for the Owls, and sure enough, one of the beautiful birds was found perched in the top of a tall pine tree. Read more
While visiting Banff National Park, Bob and I learned of a hiking trail at Johnston Canyon that promised views of frozen waterfalls after traversing the length of a deep river gorge beneath sheer canyon walls. We knew the experience would be right up our alley. What we did not anticipate was finding a group of ice climbers actively ice climbing the frozen waters of the Upper Falls. Read more
One of our objectives when visiting Ward’s Island was to go ice skating on Lake Ontario! We had heard from a friend, a long-time resident on the Toronto Islands, that, over the years, rare opportunities had arisen when people could actually skate around sections of Toronto Harbour and perhaps, more dependably, on the ice of the frozen lagoons. Those occasions have been few and far between. Read more
The winter of 2014 went down as the year of the Snowy Owl judging by the number of sightings here in Southern and Central Ontario, in Canada. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Mary has spotted one be it on a fence post, a light standard, the roof of a building, along a hedgerow, in a treetop and even lots of them in flight. Bob and I caught sight of this Snowy Owl out on the ice at Frenchman’s Bay, on edge of Lake Ontario. Read more
Before winter draws to a close, Bob and I wanted to make a visit to Ward’s Island in Toronto Harbour. With the coldest winter in years still embracing Ontario, we set off on the ferry at the bottom of Bay Street for the 10-minute ride across the frozen harbour. I think it took a bit longer since the vessel had to cut through a thick veneer of ice. Once on the island, and near the pier, I found a Street Piano. Read more
One winter, Bob and I decided to make a trip to Ward’s Island aboard a Toronto Island Ferry in Toronto Harbour. It is one of 13 in the chain of islands that gives protection to Toronto’s Inner Harbour. With the winter of 2014 being the longest and coldest in recent memory, the bay separating the mainland from the islands had become totally frozen over. We thought it would be a neat experience on board the ferry as it negotiated the icy waters on its way to Ward’s Island. Read more
On our first morning in Banff National Park, Alberta, Bob and I made a beeline for Lake Louise to take advantage of the morning sunshine for photographing that iconic location. When we returned to the parking lot at Chateau Lake Louise, Bob quickly pointed out an interesting bird loitering near the vehicles and seemingly unafraid of the humans coming and going about their business. The bird turned out to be a Clark’s Nutcracker.
On our first morning in Banff National Park, Bob and I had planned to go cross-country skiing, but with the sun shining brightly, we headed up instead to checkout the skating surface on Lake Louise. We were pleasantly surprised to find not one but two ice rinks, with one reserved for ice hockey, and the other set off by a glistening castle fashioned out of blocks of ice for ice skating. Read more
During our stay at Banff National Park, not a day passed without a dump of fresh snow. Either we awoke in the morning to an additional 6 inches weighing down the trees, or snow fell so thickly when skiing that we could barely see which way to go. One afternoon, owing to the lack of freshly trackset cross-country ski trails, Bob and I opted to go snowshoeing up into the mountains following the Lake Agnes Trail from Lake Louise. Read more