Sunday at the Park

Inspiration, the sudden urge to pick up my camera and get "that shot", comes out of the blue more often than when it's planned. On Sunday afternoon, I was caught by the way the sun lit this flower arrangement on my table, and took a number of pictures just playing with the colours and composition and how close could I get (not as close as I would like :)).



That's all the excuse I needed ... my planned-for drudgeries at home suddenly evaporated, I changed from yard clothes to public duds, grabbed my camera bag and headed for Springbank Park, a large and well-known spot, sure to be busting with photo-op potential.

The park was full of maples and other trees in varying degrees of colour and defrocking. This striking yellow-leaved maple stood near the riverbank, and it's reflection looked like molten amber.






The carousel that would normally have line ups of children waiting to climb aboard these obedient steeds was nearly riderless.







The stairs led to the park's train depot and the pool area. Not a lot of foot traffic here now!







Even the swings are still and silenced, just one lone child, bundled and scarved, taking what might be the last turn of the year.





No reservations needed here ... not till next year ...

Day Tripping

My friend Laurel was visiting this weekend from Ottawa, and when I asked if there was anything in particular she'd like to do, she suggested going to Bayfield on Saturday to visit her friend's art gallery. Basically a summer tourist attraction, I haven't been there in years, although it's only about an hour away right on Lake Huron. Like many villages and towns that dot the lakeshore, Bayfield is filled with charm and history. The main street is lined with small shops of all kinds, eateries and inns. The weather started out miserable, rainy and windy, but by the time we got there and enjoyed a marvelous lunch at the Red Pump Inn, the skies had cleared somewhat and was just fine for a walkabout.

A sampling of some of the local sights ...

Pinecroft

There's a charming retreat of sorts just outside of London called "Pinecroft", nestled back from the road on a woodland piece of property, and offering a variety of attractions. Most widely known for it's tea room and pottery making, Pinecroft also hosts a bed and breakfast, a large pond with a small beach on one side and a picturesque waterfall on the other. There's also a number of small cottages, each one dedicated to one of many spa-type treatments. The trees are so tall that you truly feel embraced under their majestic canopy. It's a place that's good for the body and soul!

Here's one angle looking at the front of the tea room, the main building.



A view of the waterfall ...




This stone frog is a permanent resident, and has some history behind it. Of course you have to pet it ... it might bring you good luck!



This swan was very obliging, and looked so serene against the backdrop of fall colours.







I'm looking forward to going back again soon; I hear they have a heck of a bluegrass jam session on Sunday afternoons!

Pups at 10 Weeks

Here's a group shot of the pups at 10 weeks. Unfortunately, the boy (on right) will almost certainly be too large for the show ring, so he and his blue sister will be looking for new homes. The tri-coloured girl will be staying, and I have fingers tightly crossed that she turns out as nicely as I hope. Time will tell.

Cavies & KISS

We had a very full schedule last week, and were even busier this week, so I'm a little tardy posting these photos.

The one really nice thing about raising and showing Shetland Sheepdogs is the nice people you meet. It's pretty much a given that in most sheltie litters, the majority of the puppies will end up going to homes as beloved pets. In this current litter (hopefully up to date pictures coming this weekend) there was one tiny tri coloured female who found her perfect match with a lovely 9 year old girl, Summer, who had saved her Christmas and birthday money for two years for her very own sheltie puppy. They will be coming to pick up "Angel" this Monday, as the family was going away on a bit of a holiday. When they visited to meet the puppy the first time, we heard all about their guinea pigs and the occasional litter they have. It turns out that Pipi (their female GP) was due to have her own babies right before they were leaving, and Summer's mom was a little concerned about finding the right people to look after the mama piggy and her new brood. I guess I don't have to tell you; of course we took Pipi and her three 2 day old babies! I didn't realize that guinea pigs, or cavies, are born totally haired, eyes open and running around, ready to go. They are just the cutest little things ... we're such suckers for critters!:)

When I had agreed for Pipi to come stay with her babies until Angel's new family could come for her, Chelsea and I were looking forward to keeping two of the babies, but only of the same gender. So now we have two new male family members. The first picture is Pipi with her family. The girl's head is in front, pointing to the left. Then there's Rustle meeting Wilbur (Chelsea's), and my new piggy, who I named Steve. We hope we were interpreting the "how to sex your guinea pig" instructions correctly. I guess time will tell.






That same week, KISS came here in London to the John Labatt Centre. It was an absolutely fabulous show. I had never seen them before, and it was well worth the wait. The band is incredibly tight, the hardest working rock group I've ever seen, from beginning to end, and put on a huge show. Chelsea took some pics with her Blackberry, but they didn't turn out very well. Nonetheless, we're very happy to have the pictures. Makes the band members kind of look like little toy figures, don't you think? :).

Super Weekend

I was at a dog show in Monroe, Michigan this past weekend with a lovely female I have recently purchased, and who was only 1 point shy of her American championship. "Jolie" acquired her Canadian championship some time ago, and then spent a number of months around the Carolinas and neighbouring states being shown with the hopes of completing her AKC championship as well, but just fell short by the time she came back up here to Canada. I promised my friend when Jolie came to live with me in April that I would get that last point on her, to give him his first homebred American champion. So off we went this weekend, with her coat ready to go into a full body shed, and also giving signs to any and all takers that she's likely coming into season before too long, to compete in one of the largest shows around. No mere 6 or 8 rings ... a full 18 rings, all full at any given moment, on a piece of property that you can't see one end from another. The weather was fabulous, downright hot at times, very fitting for what might be the last outdoor show of the season.

We showed well on Saturday, but not quite well enough, and took 2nd in our class. That was all right. When I showed Jolie for the first time, we were 4th of four, and then at the next show, an indoor specialty, we were 3rd, and now today, 2nd. Well, at least we're moving in the right direction! Sunday came, and it was one of those no pressure days. Our ring was in the far corner of the fairgrounds, with some shade trees and lots of grass, that by now was pretty much vacated. I took a big towel over to some shade and a long leash with a toy, after Jolie was all groomed up and ready to go in the ring, and with time to spare, we played and relaxed and enjoyed just being there, ready for our last shot for this year at her championship.

I knew we were "on" from the beginning. I was ecstatic when the judge pointed her finger to us and awarded us Winners Female. And I think my feet left the ground for a moment when she then gave us Best in Breed. That was all Jolie needed for her championship ... now she was finished! But the icing on the cake was in the very competitive group ring, where we were awarded 4th place in the group ... a delightful finish to a super weekend, and well-deserved recognition of a lovely Sheltie ... new American/Canadian Champion Shaydeechase Girl Interrupted.


I took this photo at the Detroit Specialty earlier this month. What a cutie!

Off to the Fair!

We went to the Western Fair over the weekend, something we don't do every year, but always have a good time when we do. The weather was phenomenal, the best in many years, and the crowds were still going strong by the time we were there on Saturday night, the second last night of it's ten day run.

While we were munching away on fair food (poutine and elephant ears), I took a couple of photos while it was still light out.

This ride was called "Super Shot", but I think it should have been called "Death Drop" :).



The ever-popular Tilt-A-Whirl.



We moved inside to the agricultural exhibits, watched a lot of the horse show, then of course visited all the farm critters. We saw a couple of very newborn lambs, chicks hatching on the spot, and even met a cow that didn't mind giving kisses. How special is that ? :)

This little black pony was very persistently flirting with this shiny beige "horse". I don't know if the pony ever realized that the object of it's affection was actually fiberglass, but it didn't seem to care.



And here's what the rest of the fake horse looked like! This guy was hilarious, great entertainment!



Here's Chelsea hamming it up with one of her very favourite characters, SpongeBob Squarepants. He was looking a little shabby and not very frightening, but made a perfect photo-op nonetheless.



Back out to the midway, and night had fallen when we weren't looking! I love the fair at night, the colours are brighter, the music's louder, the games are more fun to play, the rides are wilder ...



I forget what this ride is called, but there are people standing up along the whole inside. There was a huge lineup for this ride ... not my cup of tea!




These glow sticks and other glowy things were selling like crazy. They looked great, bobbing along in the distance.



And my favourite ride, the Himalayan ... first you go forward, faster and faster, and there's a bit of a dip and rise on each side. The music's hard and loud, the carnie's urging you to scream louder, and everything outside the ride is a teary blur. Then just when it slows down practically to a stop, and you figure you're safe, you've made it, the ride's over, it starts up all over again, but this time in reverse!! It's awesome!!