New Years Day 2011. Thaw!!

We just had to go for a bicycle ride today, as the temperature was well above freezing, and, well it just felt soooooo good!!



But is the river going to flood? Looks like it just might. It didn't! It was a good thing we had a thaw, though or it would have flooded in the spring for sure!

Well, maybe it did a little, but it receded and left a bunch of ice in it's wake!!






And the sunset was gorgeous!!

And then there was some sun!!

Nothing beats the sun coming out after you get a bunch of snow. Few things (in my opinion) are as beautiful!


There is sooo much light and amazing opportunities that weren't there before!!

And then it was winter!

And since we actually got snow days off from work, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than by getting out there!!

This is the Christmas tree in the Victoria park band shell


Some blowing snow and some columns...



How much snow was there, really you ask?

Some more birds

During the fall, I had a great time with birds. I was very fortunate to have captured this shot - my all time (so far) proudest accomplishment. Thank you so much, Mr. Eagle for letting me get so close to you!




I saw this bird because I heard it singing and the sound was so unusual - a kingfisher!!


This little cutie was in almost the same spot as the kingfisher An American Kestrel aka Sparrow Hawk...




And in the same spot again, a shy red tailed hawk..


And last but definitely not least, you just gotta love the friendly little chickadee!!

Fall - try to limit the # of pictures here

That will be the hard part of this post - I went out and took so many photos this fall - it was truly spectacular. I'll just put up one from each different spot we went to!!

This is one of my friend Bonnie's favorite spots - in Springbank Park. We always stop here to have a rest and look at the view


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This one was taken in Meadowlilly Woods - a stunning place to hike any time of year!



This next one is probably my favourite this year - taken driving along the lake Erie shoreline between Long Point and Port Bruce


Gibbons Park in London, one of the all time most beautiful spots, no matter how many times I go!!







And of course, have to have a close up of some of these amazing leaves!!


And, last but not least, another great spot - hawk's cliff near Port Stanley, Ontario

Not very consistent am I?

I seem to be so busy lately that I don't have time to remember to do the things I've said I really want to do!!
I have been taking pictures, though. I'm going to try to post somewhat chronologically, so, for those interested, here they come......
I took these late in the fall. Fot hose of you who don't know, London has an amazing river that we are built on called the Thames River. One of the best things about living here is this river. London has an amazing network of bicycle/walking paths built all along it, and being an avid bicycle/nature lover/photographer, one of the things I am always struck by is the variety of bridges that I see while touring along the river. The city did an amazing job last summer of fixing up a bunch of bridges and spots along the path, so I took a bunch of photos of these "London Bridges".....



Boys fishing at the Forks of the Thames



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This is the new footbridge they spent all summer re-doing




I love this one too, looking at all the vines growing up underneath...

Springwater conservation Area

Every year we go to this conservation area for the Fred Eaglesmith charity picnic. If you are not familiar with Fred, you should check him out here. He is a homegrown southern Ontario native who is an amazing singer songwriter. One of the best parts, after the music naturally, is the conservation area itself click here! There are 150 acres of mature Carolinian forest to explore, with lots of trails swimming and exploring to do. This year, my brother Michael and I went for a walk and found an amazing array of fungi - have a look!













There were even a bunch of creepy melted ones!




I have posted a whole set to my flickr account, you can see them here.

The forest itself is also extremely beautiful, here are a couple of shots of it..


And lots of swamps too...