The World Through Our Lens
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
One winter Bob and I caught sight of this Snowy Owl with a fresh kill out on the ice at Frenchman’s Bay, on edge of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. 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, in Alberta, Canada, 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. Read more
On our first morning in Banff National Park, in Alberta, Canada, 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
I was filled with anticipation when Bob and I boarded the B.C. ferry returning to Horseshoe Bay from Vancouver Island because it was from the ferry that I planned to cast adrift our Message in a Bottle. It had been over a year since we found the bottle that contained an inspiring message from its authors. Read more
After spending a few days on Vancouver Island, we returned back to the mainland for a trip to the BC interior. During a brief stay in Kamloops, we were lucky enough to see a number of Black-billed Magpies outside of our hotel. Read more
On one of the first really warm March days of the season, Bob and I enjoyed a walk to our local park. We were thrilled to see an Opossum scouting around for some food there amid the snowdrifts, and it reminded us of the three that had visited our own backyard in late December. We had seen no sign of them since then. We were no sooner home from the park when a little visitor came calling…a very large Opossum (Didelphimorphia). Read more
